Meta is stepping up its game in the AI space, as it races to catch up with rivals like OpenAI and Google. With new AI models under development and a fresh roadmap led by Alexandr Wang, Meta is hoping to make a strong comeback in 2026.
New AI Models in the Works: Mango and Avocado
Meta’s AI team, now working under the newly formed Superintelligence Lab, is building two key models:
- Mango – an advanced model focused on images and videos
- Avocado – a text-based model aimed at becoming better at coding and reasoning
These models are expected to launch in the first half of 2026, according to an internal Q&A session reported by The Wall Street Journal. The roadmap was presented by Alexandr Wang, who previously co-founded Scale AI, and Meta’s Chief Product Officer, Chris Cox.
What Meta Aims to Achieve
Wang shared that the goal of Avocado is not just better text generation but also to improve coding abilities. On the other hand, Mango will try to go beyond simply recognizing images or videos. The company wants to build world models that can:
- Understand complex visual information
- Reason logically about what’s happening
- Plan actions and make decisions
- Do all this without needing to be trained on every single possibility
In short, Meta is aiming to build smarter, more flexible AI systems.
Internal Changes and Challenges at Meta
While these projects sound promising, Meta has been going through some turbulence in its AI division. Some major points include:
- Leadership changes and a restructuring of its AI teams
- Hiring researchers from top competitors — but some have already left
- Yann LeCun, Meta’s Chief AI Scientist, announced his departure recently to start his own company
All of this has raised questions about the stability and direction of Meta’s AI strategy.
Meta AI Assistant: Popular, but Not a Leader
Right now, Meta doesn’t have a breakthrough AI product to show off. Its Meta AI assistant is used by many, mainly because it’s built into the search bar of apps like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. This wide user base boosts the assistant’s numbers, but in terms of innovation, Meta still lags behind its competitors.
Why These New Models Matter
With so much attention and pressure on Meta’s new Superintelligence Lab, the success of Mango and Avocado is crucial. These could either help the company finally take the lead in AI or further prove that it’s struggling to keep up.
Meta’s future in AI depends heavily on what comes next — and all eyes are now on 2026.
FAQs
Q. What are Meta’s new AI models Mango and Avocado?
Mango is a new AI model focused on image and video understanding, while Avocado is a text-based AI model aimed at improving coding and reasoning capabilities.
Q. When will Meta release the Mango and Avocado models?
Meta plans to release both models in the first half of 2026.
Q. Who is leading Meta’s new AI efforts?
Meta’s new AI strategy is being led by Alexandr Wang, co-founder of Scale AI, along with Chief Product Officer Chris Cox.
Q. Why is Meta developing new AI models?
Meta is trying to catch up with AI leaders like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google by creating more advanced, flexible AI systems that can reason, plan, and act intelligently.
Q. Is Meta AI assistant as advanced as ChatGPT or Gemini?
Not yet. Meta’s assistant is widely used because of its placement in popular apps, but it lacks the advanced capabilities seen in products from OpenAI and Google.
