Threads is adding a Grok-like AI search feature

Meta brings its AI chatbot to Threads in a way that should feel familiar to anyone who’s spent any time on X.

According to Engadget, the company is testing a new feature that gives Meta AI a dedicated Threads account – @meta.ai – that users can tag in posts and replies to add additional context to the discussion. The premise is essentially the same as Grok on X, where tagging the bot to fact-check or contextualize a viral post became its own kind of response behavior.

The feature is currently in beta and is first rolling out to users in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Argentina and Singapore, according to Engadget.

Meta’s own blog confirms the wider rollout ambitions, noting that @meta.ai mentions in Threads posts and replies are part of a wider initiative to introduce its new Muse Spark model to WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Messenger and Threads – appearing in search bars, group chats and posts.

For users who prefer not to have an AI bot pop up under their posts unprompted, Meta says the @meta.ai account can be deactivated and its replies hidden.

The Threads feature is part of a larger set of announcements around the new version of Meta’s AI. The company is also testing “side chats” on WhatsApp, which allow users to privately query Meta AI for context about what’s happening in a group conversation without the response being visible to the rest of the group – a significant distinction from the Threads version, where Meta AI’s responses are public.

The comparison to Grok is obvious, but not entirely flattering.

Grok struggled with X, generating pro-Nazi content, producing sycophants about Elon Musk, and surfacing child pornography. Meta has generally maintained stricter guardrails on its AI products than X with Grok, but giving any AI chatbot this kind of public visibility on a social platform invites the same potential for bad behavior, and it’s worth watching as deployment expands.