Meta won’t let you block its AI account on Threads

Meta announced on Tuesday that it’s testing a Threads feature that lets users tag a Meta AI account to get answers to questions or context about a conversation on the platform. If you’ve spent any time looking at replies on X as of late, this new feature sounds a lot like Meta’s take on people tagging xAI’s Grok. But, as reported by Engadget, Threads users quickly discovered that you can’t block the new Meta AI account, and they aren’t happy about it. Meta has invested heavily in AI as it works to catch up to rivals like OpenAI and Google, spending billions to hire AI talent. It launched a new AI model called Muse Spark in April, which it said it would bring to its apps and services, and now, it’s showing up on Threads with the new Meta AI account. A pinned video shows how the new feature, initially available as a test in Argentina, Malaysia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore, lets you tag Meta AI to get answers to questions like “why is everyone obsessed with matcha” or “how do you actually pronounce ‘Cannes’?” [Media: https://www.threads.com/@meta.ai/post/DYPiw7XiT5o?xmt=AQG09WjBCR3s01IJDFCqHi-gj1R2yBWvqBIdgy1n3mhnZw] But if you go to the three dots menu on the Meta AI profile, there’s currently no option to block it, like you can find on other accounts. There are many angry replies to posts from Meta AI, the main Threads account, and Threads boss Connor Hayes, and users who saw the option to block the feature reported hitting errors when they tried to do so. Engadget’s Karissa Bell also says that “Users cannot block Meta AI” was a trending topic on Threads with more than one million posts about it, but the trend isn’t showing up for her anymore. I’m also not seeing it. “Users can manage their Meta AI experience during the test,” Meta spokesperson Christine Pai tells The Verge. “We want to give people a way to quickly gather context before jumping into the conversation, but if you want to see fewer Meta AI replies in your Threads feed you can mute or hide Meta AI replies, or use the ‘Not interested’ option on any Meta AI post.”