Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is planning to significantly reduce funding for the metaverse division, which he previously described as the company’s future and the reason for Facebook’s rebranding. This was reported by Bloomberg, citing sources.
According to the agency, the company’s management may cut the budget of the Reality Labs division by 30%. This unit is responsible for the development of the metaverse, including the Horizon Worlds platform and the Quest VR headsets.
Such a significant budget cut will lead to layoffs, although a final decision has yet to be made, Bloomberg noted.
Investors reacted positively to the news.
Last month, Zuckerberg held a series of meetings in Hawaii focused on budget planning for 2026. The head of the corporation ordered a 10% reduction in expenses across all areas, calling it a standard optimization measure.
The group working on the metaverse was asked to cut the budget more drastically, as the company “did not face the expected competition.” Since the initiative’s launch in 2021, the cumulative losses of the division have exceeded $70 billion.
Zuckerberg has stopped mentioning the metaverse during the company’s earnings reports, focusing instead on artificial intelligence and hardware solutions like Ray-Ban smart glasses from Meta.
New Support Center
Meta has enhanced its focus on customer support by launching a centralized help center for Facebook and Instagram users.
The corporation acknowledged that previous solutions “did not always meet expectations.”
The new platform offers tools for reporting issues and restoring account access. Users can also get answers through AI-based search.
The new feature is available in iOS and Android apps for users worldwide.
The new AI assistant is designed to provide more personalized assistance. The company emphasized that the use of technology has improved account protection and reduced hacks by more than 30%.
AI is used to combat phishing and detect suspicious logins. It also helps avoid erroneous account deactivations and speeds up the appeal process.
However, thousands of users express a different opinion. Many complain about losing account access due to Meta’s errors, linking incidents to algorithm malfunctions.
As the blockages affect businesses, the affected parties are threatening legal action. The situation has escalated to the point where a community on Reddit has emerged to coordinate lawsuits against the corporation.
The company believes the new support center will rectify the situation through a centralized and optimized account recovery process. The system will send more accurate notifications of suspicious activity and better recognize account owners’ devices.
Challenges in Europe
Meta is facing legal challenges in the EU.
The European Commission has initiated an antitrust investigation due to the exclusive integration of the Meta AI chatbot in WhatsApp.
In October, the company changed its policy regarding business API, banning the use of general-purpose chatbots in the app. The changes take effect in January but will not affect customer support tools.
“As a result of the new policy, competing AI providers may lose the ability to reach their customers via WhatsApp,” the regulator’s notice states.
Back in September, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced the start of an investigation into seven tech companies producing chatbots for minors: Alphabet, Character.AI, Instagram, Meta, OpenAI, Snap, and xAI.