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Meta significantly shortens app development cycle with AI, more new apps on the way
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- DeepHorus
Meta is dramatically shortening application development cycles with artificial intelligence and plans to launch more new products. CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed on the second-quarter earnings call that several new apps are in the pipeline, including recently launched apps for Marketplace sellers, Facebook Groups, a gaming app built through "vibe coding," an Instagram photo app, and an AI bedtime story experiment. Meta has long sought to create new standalone social apps beyond its core platforms like Facebook and Instagram, but previous attempts have almost all failed. The company believes large language models can significantly improve software development efficiency, allowing teams to ship products faster and validate new ideas. Zuckerberg said AI is helping teams accelerate product development, making it much easier to launch new apps in the future, so Meta is preparing to try more ideas and use recommendation systems to drive app growth. AI is also improving Meta's core business, not only making content more relevant to users but also delivering better results for business customers. CFO Susan Li noted that large language models are becoming increasingly effective at improving content ranking and recommendation quality. The models can truly understand content topics, generate higher-quality training data, and make existing recommendation systems smarter. Additionally, AI agents can evaluate content quality, discover trending topics, and test ranking adjustments, thereby speeding up engineering development. Investors did not press further on which new apps Meta is working on, instead focusing on AI investments and the expanding enterprise business. Zuckerberg responded that consumer-facing new products are coming soon, and the public will see the next batch of apps shortly. Meta has previously attempted to incubate new apps many times. While still under the Facebook name, the company set up an internal incubator, Creative Labs, specifically to test new social product ideas. That incubator launched photo-sharing app Slingshot, anonymous chat app Rooms, Flipboard competitor Paper, photo-sharing app Moments, and collaborative video app Riff. Unable to attract enough users, Creative Labs ended experiments in 2015, and all apps were later shut down. In the 2020s, Meta tried again through its internal R&D team NPE Team. NPE Team tested chat app Bump, social music app Aux, task app Move, dating app Spark, call app CatchUp, mini magazine maker E.gg, events app Venue, creator Q&A app Hotline, Cameo competitor Super, couples app Tuned, and music app BARS. This second round also failed to produce a hit, and those apps were likewise cut. Despite past setbacks, Meta now pins high hopes on AI-driven efficiency gains. Zuckerberg believes that with AI, products can be launched and iterated faster, increasing the chances of success. As more new apps enter testing, the public will closely watch whether Meta can break through in the standalone social app space.
