Meta is developing a search engine, competing directly with Google and Bing

Meta is currently developing a search engine, aiming to reduce dependence on the world's largest search engine Google and Bing Search.

According to a direct report from The Information, Meta is currently developing an artificial intelligence (AI)-based search engine to reduce its dependence on Google and Microsoft. The search engine is expected to provide current events and AI-generated summaries integrated into the Meta AI chatbot.

Currently, Meta AI bots on Instagram and Facebook use Google along with Microsoft Bing to answer users' questions about the latest news and events.

However, that may soon change, as Meta's web scraping tool's activities have been documented on the internet for the past few months. According to The Information, a team of engineers has been working for about eight months to build a database of information for Meta's chatbot.

Meta is also said to be developing location data that could compete with Google Maps, and last month, Bloomberg revealed that Apple's search tools in the App Store show that “Apple has what it takes” to create an AI-powered alternative to Google Search.

Last week, Meta also announced a multi-year deal with Reuters that will allow Meta’s chatbot to use Reuters articles to serve user queries. The Verge also reached out to Meta for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

OpenAI also confirmed that it is developing an AI search engine called SearchGPT. Meanwhile, Perplexity's AI search engine is facing lawsuits from News Corp and other legal challenges from publishers, including The New York Times.