Meta's strategy of integrating AI agents with its social platforms and hardware is promising; the speaker is optimistic about the company's direction.

And you know, I was looking at Meta and thinking about September. Risks happen quickly, and the story can change really suddenly . This stock, after its recent earnings, seemed to be returning to square one, but it apparently did so quickly because it is now at its highest levels.

The company has truly succeeded in changing the course of its story. For me, I think this is a company with a huge footprint, and a large part of everyone's day is spent with some of their social media platforms.

They have proven highly efficient in making a profit from it over the past few decades .

So, I think what we are seeing from the company now and what they announced at MetaConnect is a real move towards the personal agent " Muse" and third-party connections. They have also entered the hardware field with a keychain-shaped device called " Charm".

So, I think there is a lot to like here in terms of the company's destination.

If you've browsed any of Meta's social platforms in the past week, you'll find Muse ads everywhere. So, wherever people start to engage and generate momentum, that's what we'll be looking for, but overall I'm very optimistic about what they're doing .

Yes, I think my question to you, Stephen, is: They obviously do things a little differently. I do n't want to downplay the innovation, but what makes this seem so special compared to "Cloud" or " ChatGBT"?

Is it simply the connection they have and the additions with other companies? Or is it the idea—and I don't mean it in a negative way, but it's the easiest way to describe it—that their huge user base for their other platforms is acting almost like a Trojan horse for this "Muse" platform?

Alex, I think the way I look at it is that the platforms you mentioned, such as OpenAI and Cloud, have largely penetrated the market through the business context. They may have penetrated the category of students who are considering using them in their schoolwork, but I don't know if they are yet part of the fabric of their daily lives.

You know, having an AI agent linked to a third party like Walmart, Gap, Sephora, or Best Buy, that's how people live their daily lives. This is where they spend their money. If there are ways to connect that huge reach that Meta has with apps like Facebook, Threads, and Instagram, and connect it to people’s daily lives, then virtual reality glasses can become something people wear and use comfortably.

If those more speculative ideas, such as a wearable keychain-like device , begin to materialize, it will mean integrating artificial intelligence directly into people’s lives and the places where they spend most of their time.

This, to me, is the difference between companies like Anthropic and OpenAI in our world today.

I recall some of the decisions Meta made, Stephen, even with its Instagram platform, which started out primarily as a way to post photos in chronological order. Your timeline was displaying it that way, then they made minor changes, whether that was by formatting the content and then gradually adding things like stories .

But it suddenly became more of an advertising platform at the same time , with shopping options and all that other stuff included.

And I also think, as you know, that something as simple as the trust factor that consumers already have towards Meta to use that data to create login credentials elsewhere is similar to what they probably do with Alphabet or Apple.

Is this also a big difference because you mentioned the business context for companies like GPT and Cloud, but perhaps the lack of communication with the consumer? Is it down to trust?

Has Meta established that trust through its other platforms over the past ten or fifteen years?

One hundred percent, Alex. For me, it's about the smoothness of the experience. How many of us have clicked on an ad we saw or a marketing link in an Instagram post and actually made a purchase?

If you had said that 5 or 10 years ago, people would have laughed at you . But in our current situation, it has become part of people's daily shopping journey.

So, integrating artificial intelligence with some of these external partnerships they've made, along with that huge community of people who were on Instagram looking for beauty products.

I have four daughters. They always follow this kind of thing. So, the ability to link " Muse" with "Sephora" and make it seamless, like: " Hi, these are the beauty trends." Sure, I could get some help here, but joking aside, if you look at these beauty trends, you'll find they're happening on Instagram and some of these platforms.

The ability to integrate this with the Muse platform and achieve that confidence I mentioned to make it seamless for the user and complete the purchase process. This is where the value of the matter lies for me.

Do you think this thing could be truly popular , or should we at least commend Meta for trying to do something innovative, something we do n't see many big tech companies doing outside of software these days?

We have seen multiple forms of these wearable devices, from necklaces and pins on clothes and watches , all the way to this keychain-like device. As for me, as I said, I applaud this innovation that you mentioned.

As for whether it will be successful, that is something that has not yet been proven in my opinion.

But smart glasses, they have now reached the third version of the " Meta Ray-Ban" glasses. If they can make it less bulky, I haven't tried it myself but I have dealt with the second generation.

If they made the design less bulky, there are a huge number of people who wear glasses on a daily basis.

Also, what they announced regarding its approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as hearing aids for people with mild conditions. This is a huge deal. If you wear glasses and need hearing aids, being able to wear a device and use it to describe the world around you and enhance your daily experience is tremendous.

So, once again , we'll probably see how that special piece develops . I'm not entirely convinced, but I applaud the innovation and continued focus on glasses and wearables , and what they announced today about audio and the third generation. Here I see the source of success and progress.