European Users Can Now Purchase AI-Powered Ray-Bans from Meta

According to Meta AI, four European nations currently sell its Ray-Ban smartglasses.

These artificial intelligence (AI)-powered glasses will be available to consumers in France, Spain, Ireland, and Italy starting Monday, November 18. The responses will be available in English, French, Italian, and Spanish.

"People have a hands-free way to ask questions on-the-go and receive real-time answers and information, recommendations, or even some creative writing inspiration with Meta AI on Ray-Ban Meta glasses," the firm stated in a news release.

For instance, users can ask, “Hey Meta, what’s the best patisserie in Paris?” or “What are some good gift ideas for my kids aged 6 and 8?” and instantly get an answer. Features that rely on Meta AI’s ability to answer questions about what the user can see (“Tell me about this landmark”) are only available in the U.S., Canada and Australia.

Meta stated that it has been working to make sure the product complies "with Europe's complex regulatory system" and that it will shortly be expanding the sale of the glasses to additional regions of the European Union.

The deployment occurs while the IT behemoth, like many of its peers, is under constant pressure from European regulators.

Meta was fined 797.72 million euros (about $842 million) by the European Commission last week for violating EU competition laws by linking Facebook Marketplace to Facebook.

According to the commission, Meta offered its online classified advertisements service a major competitive edge by granting its social network users automatic access to it, regardless of their desire to use it.

In addition to attempting to address the concerns brought up by the EC, Meta has stated that it will appeal the ruling.

Last week, the firm announced that it was showcasing its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses at a Meta Lab pop-up store in Los Angeles. The store lets customers try the product out before they buy it.

“When you let somebody try out a pair of Ray-Ban Meta glasses, you become the best salesperson ever,” Creative Director Matt Jacobson said in a blog post. “Getting these on people’s faces so they could play with it and discover Meta AI, that is really magical.”

In a different, unrelated development in this area, it was reported this month that Apple was investigating the feasibility of entering the smart glasses market by starting an internal analysis of items that are currently on the market.