Instagram Co-Founder are Decided to Drop AI-Powered News

Meta, the parent company of Instagram, has opted to withdraw from a project due to shifts in the market. Over the past few months, the brand has introduced several AI features to Instagram, enhancing user experience. However, recent reports suggest that Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger’s AI-driven news aggregation app, Artifact, is on the verge of shutting down just a year after its launch in January 2023.

The speculation arises from a blog post hinting at Instagram’s intention to discontinue the project. Systrom explained that while Artifact has a devoted user base, the overall market opportunity doesn’t justify sustained investment. According to Systrom, “we have built something that a core group of users love, but we have concluded that the market opportunity isn’t enough to warrant continued investment in this way.”

Despite adding new features like AI-powered article summaries, the ability to comment on and flag clickbait articles, and a Twitter-like posting feature, Artifact faced challenges with extensive moderation needs. The app’s small eight-user team struggled to support these features effectively.

To facilitate the transition, Artifact will gradually wind down its features over the next few weeks. This process will begin by disabling the ability to create new posts and comments, with existing posts remaining temporarily visible as the team works to reduce moderation demands. The core news aggregation functionality will continue operating until the end of February, allowing users time to find alternative services.

Artifact attempted to differentiate itself through AI-powered features like rewritten article summaries, but it failed to establish a cohesive and compelling identity.

Also Read: Google Assistant Updates: Removing these features for enhanced user experience – Details here