Meta on Monday said it is rolling out its Meta AI chatbot within Threads’ DMs, giving users a way to chat with the AI assistant privately. Although Threads users in select markets could already interact with Meta AI in public posts, this new integration lets users talk with the AI assistant privately. By giving users an easier way to talk to an AI chatbot, Meta is looking to keep users within its ecosystem, with an eye toward discouraging them from using third-party assistants like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google Gemini. Meta AI is already available within DMs on Meta’s other platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The new integration lets users share Threads posts, images, links, and videos directly with Meta AI. The update will be rolled out globally starting Monday. Meta noted it’s continuing to test Meta AI in Threads’ public feeds in a handful of global markets and is considering feedback before expanding availability more broadly. Users who want to see fewer Meta AI replies in their feed can mute @meta.ai, use the “Not interested” option on any Meta AI post, or hide Meta AI replies that appear on their post.