WhatsApp Lets You Keep Separate Chats With Its Meta AI Helper

WhatsApp is rolling out a way to keep your conversations with its Meta AI helper in separate chats. Each one gets a name and a profile picture you choose, and it sits in your main chat list like a chat with a friend. For now, only some Android beta testers can use it.

What changed

WhatsApp already let people sort Meta AI talks into topic threads. Each thread kept its own context, so what you said in one did not carry into the others. The catch was that you had to open the main Meta AI conversation and use a separate panel to switch between threads. Now each thread becomes its own chat.

To start one, open your Meta AI conversation and pick the new chat option from the overflow menu, which holds extra options. A box appears where you type a name. You can also choose a profile picture to match the topic.

• New AI chats appear in the main chat list.
• A dedicated AI filter in the Chats tab helps you find them fast.
• The Meta AI logo on the icon sets them apart from chats with people.
• You can delete any AI chat, or move the filter to a separate section.

Who gets it, and what is unknown

The feature is reaching some beta testers on WhatsApp beta for Android, version 2.26.44.6, according to WABetaInfo. A beta is an early test version of an app. Having that version does not guarantee the feature yet. WhatsApp says more users will get it over the coming weeks.

WhatsApp has not said when every Android user will have it, or when it will come to iOS.