Meta rolled out its AI chatbot on Threads this week, and it comes with a catch you didn’t agree to.
The new @meta.ai account, reported by Engadget, works a lot like Grok on X. You can tag it in a conversation, and it jumps in with answers about trending topics, live sports, entertainment, or breaking news.
The bot is currently in early beta access, limited to users in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Argentina, and Singapore. Its public-facing account @meta.ai is visible to everyone on the platform, but here’s the problem: you cannot block it.
Why are Threads users frustrated with Meta AI?
People are angry because the three-dot menu next to @meta.ai’s profile does not have a block option, unlike every other account on the platform.
Some users tried to report it as spam, which usually triggers a block prompt, only to find the option either missing or broken. “Users cannot block Meta AI” became one of the top trending topics on Threads, with over a million posts demanding answers.
What is Meta’s official response to the backlash?
Meta spokesperson Christine Pai told TheVerge that users can mute the bot, hide its replies, or tap “Not interested.”
However, those options are not the same as blocking, though. They can reduce how much you see the bot after the fact, but they do not stop it from appearing in your conversations entirely.
The backlash is part of a bigger conversation happening across social media right now. Companies are pushing AI into every corner of your feed, and users are pushing back.
Meta has already been rolling out AI features across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads is just the latest addition to that list.
For Meta, it is a strategy to keep users engaged on its platform and make Threads more competitive against X. The problem is that most people want AI to be something they can choose, not something they are stuck with.
Meta says it will keep collecting feedback during the beta before expanding further. Whether that feedback actually changes anything remains to be seen.