• by Colin Kirkland , Yesterday

Meta is quietly rolling out “Pocket,” an app that invites users to create, share, and discover playable AI-generated experiences (called “gizmos”), highlighting the tech giant’s urge to introduce more consumer-facing products dependent on artificial intelligence (AI).

While Pockets has officially been listed on iOS and Android app stores since June 29, the app is not widely available, and Meta has not made an announcement about it publicly.

Word spread about Pockets when app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi made an X post on July 2. 

“You can interact with gizmos created by others, or create your own using text prompts,” per a description in Meta’s help center. “You can interact with gizmos directly in your Feed on the Pocket app.”

Gizmos are mini-games created entirely through the use of a text prompt and Meta’s AI system, delivering users immediate playable experiences they can then share with friends or even allow other users to tweak the game however they want. 

The app likely results from Meta’s recent acquisition of the team of engineers behind AI startup Gizmo, which was originally founded by ex-Snapchat employees. At the time, Meta confirmed that the team would join its AI Superintelligence Labs unit.  

Pockets follows other stand-alone AI-first apps Meta has launched over the past couple of years, including its Meta AI app, as well as “Meta Vibes,” which allows users to create and share short-form AI-generated videos, and an AI-powered companion app for Facebook creators. 

By launching more consumer-facing AI apps, Meta is using the public’s in-app behaviors and feedback to further inform its AI systems, while also attempting to widen the array of use cases for AI creation tools in the mainstream. 

“Your interactions with gizmos on Pocket will be used to improve AI at Meta,” the company’s help center description of the app notes.