Meta’s smart glasses will get AI update

Meta is giving its Ray-Ban collaboration smart glasses an upgrade next month that will have users talking to their specs.

The Ray-Ban Meta glasses, which have features including taking photos and videos, live streaming, and playing music, start at $300. Meta is adding the Meta AI feature to the smart glasses in April, it said, which will allow users to ask for real-time answers and recommendations based on their surroundings.

Some examples include asking the smart glasses to identify objects, translate languages, and make suggestions based off of photos taken with the glasses. Wearers start by saying, “Hey, Meta,” before giving it a prompt, then receive a computer-generated voice reply through the spec’s speakers, according to the New York Times, which got early access to the new features.

The smart glasses’s AI features will only be available in the U.S., and voice features are only available in English, Italian, and French, Meta said. A Meta spokesperson told the Times that since the AI features are new, Meta AI won’t always get things right, and Meta will improve the features with feedback over time.

Adding AI features to its smart glasses is one of the ways Meta is propping itself up as a contender in the AI race. The company has already spent billions on Nvidia’s high-in-demand AI chips. Now, its chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly trying to poach researchers from Google’s DeepMind division to work on Meta’s AI efforts. The company is also reportedly offering jobs to candidates sans interviews, and has stepped back its policy of not offering higher salaries to employees with competing job offers, sources told The Information.

Earlier this month, a Meta executive said the company’s “technology roadmap” leading up to 2026 includes developing an AI model to power recommendations for videos and user Feeds.