Is META building an own Search Engine? Folks on X have observed increased scraping activity by META on thei…
by Marcel Hollerbach · World of Commerce
Is META building an own Search Engine? Folks on X have observed increased scraping activity by META on their websites. Also Malte Landwehr just recently posted about it.
I think you could make the case that META is looking for more independance.
Meta's AI assistant currently relies on Google and Microsoft (Bing) for real-time web data. Building an in-house engine ensures Meta won’t be left stranded if these competitors ever decide to restrict API access.
I also think that protecting training data becomes increasingly important. When Meta’s AI queries external search engines, that query data can theoretically be used by Google to train their own AI models. A web index keeps Meta's search volume and training data proprietary.
On a strategic level it allows META to keep users inside its own walled garden (Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, Threads). A native search engine allows for seamless, conversational answers without ever needing to send user traffic to a competitor.