Meta will use actors’ voices for its AI chatbot

Meta (META) plans to announce it has secured a deal with five well-known actors for its digital assistant, Meta AI.

The Facebook parent company’s audio feature will give users the option of selecting the voices of actors, including John Cena, Awkwafina, Kristen Bell, Keegan-Michael Key, and Judi Dench, in addition to the generic voice options currently available.

Per Reuters, the tech company is set to announce the voice component at its annual Connect conference, which starts Wednesday.

The company also plans to reveal the first version of its augmented reality glasses at the conference, as well as to provide a “road map” for the Ray-Ban (EL) Meta smart glasses, an existing product that became the tech giant’s first product to include an audio version of the Meta AI chatbot.

The rollout of the celebrity voices will happen in the U.S. and other English-speaking markets this week across Meta’s apps, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Ahead of the company’s formal announcement of the deal, CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to Instagram to post a promotional advertisement with actor and wrestler Cena, filmmaker Matthew Vaughn, and singer Benson Boone showing the individuals performing various stunts while wearing the Ray-Ban Meta glasses.

Meta’s AI chatbot currently helps users engage with text chat capabilities and generate images for various prompts. Last year, the company attempted to integrate celebrities with its products through projects such as launching its text-based character versions of its chatbot.