Online Communication: Instagram will offer users the option to create a virtual friend for chatting

It’s amazing how tightly all kinds of chatbots and artificial intelligence have penetrated our daily lives. However, this is just the beginning. Also, there is no doubt that in the near future, AI will become an important part of our daily lives.

Sometimes, artificial intelligence and machine learning find their use in the most unexpected places. One example is the announcement of the implementation of an AI-based chatbot on Instagram. We tried to figure out this innovation to know why the developers want to implement it, and whether it can change Instagram completely.

Chatbot on Instagram: What the developers say as well as the prospects it opens up for the user

The first rumor about the possible implementation of a chatbot on Instagram appeared in the summer of 2023. Users can literally create a virtual personality in the app that they can communicate with subsequently. There will be 30 personality “templates” to choose from, if necessary, which can be adjusted to suit your wishes such as making the bot witty, sarcastic, calm, or sensitive. Instagram aims to provide a wide range of virtual friends to suit everyone. You can indicate your virtual friend’s ethnicity, gender, age, name, character, and interests. The chatbot will be able to answer questions, give advice, help compose messages, joke, flirt, and much more. It will be available at any time of the day and will not require any obligations or financial investments from the user.

Who might be interested in this?

Firstly, such a function can attract those who experience loneliness, miss communicating, need support, or simply want to have fun. A virtual friend can become a good conversationalist who is always ready to listen, understand, sympathize, or cheer you up. It can also help develop communication skills, improve self-esteem, improve your mood, relieve stress, or just pass the time.

However, it should be understood that a virtual chatbot cannot replace real communication and interaction with a real person. It will never become a close friend, even if it tries to seem like one.

There is no information yet on when the chatbot feature will be introduced on Instagram. Currently, there are both supporters and opponents of such functionality. A chatbot can help you cope with loneliness and just have a good time. On the other hand, it can cause addiction and make people escape reality more often. Therefore, the feature is truly ambiguous.

Instagram is far from being a pioneer in this niche

The introduction of chatbots based on artificial intelligence is no longer a new phenomenon. If you follow this niche, you’ve probably heard about the Replica application, in which you can also create a virtual friend who will always be in touch with you.

The Snapchat service offered its users something similar. The chatbot, My AI recently appeared and offered original communication and useful functions. For example, writing haiku, planning trips, suggesting birthday gifts, etc. It would seem that the feature is useful. However, many users described the chatbot as too intrusive. Also, they are not happy with the fact that My AI uses human location data and other information. Instagram developers will have to take into account the experience of other similar services and offer their users a qualitative new product. Time will tell whether they will succeed.

Don’t replace real communication with chatbots, communicate in online video chats

If you want to communicate with interesting people on various topics, a random video chat may be your best option. This is a site or application in which the system connects you with random interlocutors, allowing you to communicate on almost anything. This format has existed for almost a decade and a half since the launch of the Omegle and Chatroulette services. Over the past few years, it has become extremely popular. It’s convenient.

There are a lot of interesting online video chats today such as;

• . Flignster — a random video chat for adults where you can discuss the most explicit topics, flirt, and spend time as you wish. There are no strict restrictions here. You can give free rein to your imagination. However, it should be remembered that Flignster is unlikely to be suitable for those who are looking for a serious romantic relationship.
  . CooMeet — a great video chat for those who want to meet and communicate only with the opposite gender. The gender filter works flawlessly on this platform. Additionally, coomeet.com/flingster has a very good moderation and support service, there is a built-in message translator, a Stories feature like in Instagram, and many other useful features that you will surely like.
  . Chatki — a free online video chat with gender and language filters, as well as a search for interlocutors based on interests. Chatki has a separate section for communicating with ladies only. However, to use it, you need to register and pay for premium access to the service.
  . Tinychat — a combination of video chat and video streaming platform. You can conduct live broadcasts to a large audience or watch streams of other users that interest you. A useful feature of Tinychat is to search for live broadcasts from nearby users. This way, you can meet people who live in your area or city.

Today, there is a huge number of random video chats for every taste. This is a very convenient and promising format for dating and communication, which allows you to significantly expand your circle of acquaintances, communicate with new people, and get rid of the feeling of loneliness. Be sure to try it if you haven’t done so before!

What you should expect from Instagram and artificial intelligence in the future

The implementation of an AI-based chatbot is just one of the first steps in this direction. It is likely that in the future we will see other important changes:

. Instagram will use artificial intelligence to improve content moderation and user safety.
. Instagram will use artificial intelligence to help users report and block offensive or unwanted messages, comments, and accounts.
. Instagram will use AI to improve its personalization and recommendation systems to offer users more relevant and interesting content.

Certainly, it is very difficult to think ahead. After all, just a year ago, we knew nothing about ChatGPT, large language models, and more. Today, smart chatbots and other forms of AI are found almost everywhere. Therefore, we have every reason to believe that in the near future, we will not recognize the applications and sites that are familiar to us currently. They will change, that’s for sure. Well, these changes will soon become clearer in the future.