Meta unveils new AI chatbots, VR headsets

STORY: Meta unveiled AI chatbots and Ray-Ban smart glasses among a host of new products Wednesday (September 27) evening.Boss Mark Zuckerberg hosted the California launch event. He said new headsets they showcased marked a leap forward: "First, we are incredibly proud to introduce Quest 3, the first mainstream mixed reality headset. Quest 3 is the most powerful headset that we have ever shipped and it allows you to blend the physical and digital worlds together.”Mixed reality means users can still see the world around them, but overlaid with computer graphics. Meta said games will make use of the tech, which can also be used for things like exercise and yoga instruction. Jeff Morin is chief executive of Litesport, which has been developing such apps for the Quest 3: “So I'm really excited for people just to be able to have like celebrity trainers and coaches and teachers in the room with them that they might not have access to.”Meta also unveiled more than two dozen AI chatbots that will work within its social media applications. That includes a conversational assistant:"Meta AI is your basic assistant, right, that you can talk to like a person. You can message Meta AI and any of the messaging apps WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram direct. Soon you're going to message it in Quest 3 and it's going to help you, you know, answer your basic questions or requests.”Other chatbots will have the personalities of celebrities like Bear Grylls and gold medalist snowboarder Chloe Kim. While another product will allow developers to create custom chatbots for use on Instagram and elsewhere. Rounding off a busy day of launches, Zuckerberg also revealed the new smart glasses made with Ray-Ban.They too will have AI built in, and will allow users to live stream their view direct to social media. Meta’s new chatbots launch this week in the U.S., with the headset and glasses to start shipping next month.