Meta is centralizing support for Facebook and Instagram, and is testing an AI support assistant

Meta is launching a new central support hub for Facebook and Instagram users, the company announced Thursday, adding that previous support options didn’t always meet expectations. Within the hub, users will find tools to report an account issue, restore an account they lost access to, and get answers via AI-powered search and AI Assistant.

The feature is now rolling out to global users on Facebook and Instagram on both iOS and Android apps.

The new AI assistant being tested is designed to provide more personalized help with things like recovering your account, managing your profile, or updating your settings. This special feature will first be available to Facebook users, but the company expects to roll it out to other applications in the future.

The company claims that its use of artificial intelligence systems helps protect user accounts, noting that account hacking operations have decreased by more than 30% globally via Facebook and Instagram. AI is also used to help identify and stop other threats, such as phishing, suspicious logins, compromised accounts, and more.

Additionally, Meta says AI has helped it avoid accidentally disabling accounts more than ever before, and has sped up the appeal process when errors occur.

However, this claim does not match the lived experience of thousands of Meta app users, who complain that they have lost access to their accounts or Facebook pages due to errors made by Meta’s systems. Some even suspect that AI is to blame, as the errors and support requests do not appear to involve any human oversight. A portion of these users threaten or participate in legal action, especially when the loss of their accounts has real implications for their businesses or livelihoods.

The situation has now gotten so bad that an entire Reddit forum was created this year to help people who are suing Meta over their deactivated accounts.

Meta believes the new hub can address these types of issues, saying it will centralize account recovery options and offer a simpler account recovery experience with clearer instructions and simpler verification. In addition, the system sends improved alerts via SMS and email about risky activity and will recognize users’ devices better than before, Meta promises. It will connect users to other tools to secure their accounts, such as running a security check, setting up two-factor authentication, or adding a passkey.

Account recovery methods now also offer the option to take an optional selfie video to verify your identity.

While Meta claims that the new hub will make things easier for its users, just navigating where the settings and help are located can lead to confusion. Over the years, Meta has regularly moved key areas like account settings, data management tools, and privacy features, ostensibly to make things easier for users. But constant changes also mean that users can’t remember where they found things in the app, because they’re often not where they were found before, and the various menus and navigation systems have changed.