Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has launched its artificial intelligence assistant in the UK, alongside AI-boosted sunglasses modelled by Mark Zuckerberg. Meta's AI assistant, which can generate text and images, is now available on its social media platforms in the UK and Brazil, having already been launched in the US and Australia. Regulatory issues and product testing held up the UK launch, while Meta's AI services remain unavailable in the EU due to the "unpredictable" regulatory environment. Facebook and Instagram users in the UK will now be able to access the Meta AI chatbot by tapping on an icon in their app or by buying a pair of 299 Ray-Ban Meta frames from a UK retailer and accessing its voice assistant. Zuckerberg, Meta's co-founder, sported a pair of the Ray-Bans at a company event last month when he also announced that Meta AI would be able to respond to voice commands and use the voice of celebrities including Judi Dench, John Cena and Keegan-Michael Key.

Meta Connect is over for another year, leaving nought but some paper plates on the floor and a raft of new AR/VR gear on the table. Because we're nice, we've prepared a comprehensive list of all the goodies announced at the show for you to peruse at your leisure. The headline act is the Quest 3S, a stripped-down version of the Quest 3 that's 200 cheaper than its namesake. Getting the base price down to 300 has meant some compromises, however, like removing the pancake lenses, dropping 4K and reducing the storage. The 3S seems like a smart idea, since cost remains the second biggest barrier to getting VR/AR gear into people's homes.