Remember the Meta AI Celebrity Avatars? They’re Being Discontinued.

Meta AI has officially retired its celebrity avatars after less than a year in operation.

According to reports, Meta has disabled AI characters that were modeled after celebrities such as Kendall Jenner, Snoop Dogg, and Tom Brady. The company confirmed that users can no longer engage with these AI representations. While no specific reason was provided, it appears the feature failed to capture significant user interest. A spokesperson mentioned, “We learned valuable insights from creating them to understand how people can utilize AIs for unique connections and creativity.”

Snoop Dogg’s AI avatar, designed to be a Dungeon Master for Dungeons and Dragons, attracted only 15,000 followers, a stark contrast to his actual Instagram following of 88.4 million. Similarly, Jenner’s AI persona, intended to be “your ride-or-die older sister,” garnered 179,000 followers but fell short against her impressive total of 292 million.

The discontinuation of Meta’s AI personas underscores the challenges of delivering generative AI features that hold genuine consumer appeal. While successful chatbots like those from Meta have gained traction, other offerings struggle to provide real value or engagement. Users have voiced frustration with the introduction of Meta’s AI search functionalities on Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger, often perceiving them as unnecessary disruptions to the user experience. Furthermore, Google’s AI-driven search summaries faced criticism for their initial inaccuracies.

Reports indicate that Meta invested as much as $5 million in each celebrity’s likeness under a two-year contract. However, the ambiguous nature of the project, unveiled during last September’s Meta Connect event, may have hindered user engagement. Meta did not provide comments regarding the financial details of this initiative.

The AI avatars featured celebrity profile images and attributes but did not serve as actual replicas. For example, the Padma Lakshmi persona unexpectedly portrayed a “travel expert” named Lorena. All links to these AI profiles on Instagram are now marked as unavailable.

Shifting its strategy, Meta is now exploring alternative methods for incorporating generative AI into its platforms. Recently, the company launched AI Studio, which allows users to create personalized AI models of themselves, similar to existing platforms. This initiative encourages both creators and general users to interact with their AI replicas online while clearly identifying them as artificial. Additionally, Meta is offering AI tools for advertisers to produce images and promotional content.

As we bid farewell to these AI characters, including Billie (Kendall Jenner), Bru (Tom Brady), and Lorena (Padma Lakshmi), Meta’s pursuit of integrating AI into user experiences continues unabated.