Meta expands subscription push with new AI-focused plans
TechCrunch
β’Tue, 15 Sep 2026 17:05:24 +0000
π° What Happened
Meta introduced a new subscription service called Meta One, offering expanded AI usage and premium features across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The plans give users access to AI tools for creating and editing images and generating videos, along with in-app features such as Instagram's AI-powered Restyle editing tool, and include tiers aimed at AI power users plus plans for businesses and creators, among them a $7.99-per-month Core tier and a $19.99-per-month Premium tier. The launch is designed to help Meta monetise its Muse AI models, following the company's 2025 $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI, which brought Scale AI chief executive Alexandr Wang into the company to lead its AI efforts. It builds on subscription tiers added to Meta's top social apps in March, which include Instagram Plus and Facebook Plus at $3.99 a month and WhatsApp Plus at $2.99. Market intelligence provider Appfigures told the article that Instagram's daily worldwide revenue now averages $1.2 million and Facebook's $528,000, increases of 475 percent and 143 percent respectively from the week prior.
π The Backstory
Meta's business has rested almost entirely on advertising, and the company has been searching for consumer revenue streams as its AI infrastructure spending climbs. The Scale AI investment in 2025 was an unusual structure that effectively brought talent and influence in the AI race into the company, and Wang's remit has included embedding AI more deeply in Meta's apps. The earlier March subscription tiers were a test of whether users would pay small amounts for cosmetic and engagement features, and the reported revenue jumps have encouraged the company to go further.
π― Why It Matters
Meta One tests whether consumers will pay meaningful amounts for AI features embedded in social apps, which would open a second revenue line against a backdrop of enormous capital expenditure on AI. It also puts Meta into more direct competition with OpenAI, Google and others selling AI subscriptions outright. If the model works, expect more aggressive gating of AI capabilities behind paid tiers across Meta's apps. Regulators in Europe and elsewhere will scrutinise how AI features are bundled across platforms that already face competition scrutiny.
Meta introduced a new subscription service called Meta One, offering expanded AI usage and premium features across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The plans give users access to AI tools for creating and editing images and generating videos, along with in-app features such as Instagram's AI-powered Restyle editing tool, and include tiers aimed at AI power users plus plans for businesses and creators, among them a $7.99-per-month Core tier and a $19.99-per-month Premium tier. The launch is designed to help Meta monetise its Muse AI models, following the company's 2025 $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI, which brought Scale AI chief executive Alexandr Wang into the company to lead its AI efforts. It builds on subscription tiers added to Meta's top social apps in March, which include Instagram Plus and Facebook Plus at $3.99 a month and WhatsApp Plus at $2.99. Market intelligence provider Appfigures told the article that Instagram's daily worldwide revenue now averages $1.2 million and Facebook's $528,000, increases of 475 percent and 143 percent respectively from the week prior.
Meta's business has rested almost entirely on advertising, and the company has been searching for consumer revenue streams as its AI infrastructure spending climbs. The Scale AI investment in 2025 was an unusual structure that effectively brought talent and influence in the AI race into the company, and Wang's remit has included embedding AI more deeply in Meta's apps. The earlier March subscription tiers were a test of whether users would pay small amounts for cosmetic and engagement features, and the reported revenue jumps have encouraged the company to go further.
Meta One tests whether consumers will pay meaningful amounts for AI features embedded in social apps, which would open a second revenue line against a backdrop of enormous capital expenditure on AI. It also puts Meta into more direct competition with OpenAI, Google and others selling AI subscriptions outright. If the model works, expect more aggressive gating of AI capabilities behind paid tiers across Meta's apps. Regulators in Europe and elsewhere will scrutinise how AI features are bundled across platforms that already face competition scrutiny.