Meta is hiring US-based contractors to develop character-driven interactions for its AI-powered chatbots, tailored for key international markets, including India, Indonesia, and Mexico, with hourly pay up to $55.
The roles focus on providing creative direction and shaping chatbot personalities across Meta’s platforms, including Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp, to suit specific languages and cultural nuances. Candidates are expected to have at least six years of experience in storytelling and character creation, along with a strong understanding of prompt engineering and AI content pipelines.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has highlighted the potential of these chatbots to broaden the company’s social influence, envisioning them as tools that could complement real-world friendships and foster a greater acceptance of digital companionship. “Over time, we’ll find the vocabulary as a society to be able to articulate why that is valuable,” Zuckerberg stated in a recent podcast.
Meta’s initial foray into AI-powered chatbots began in 2023 with celebrity alter-ego characters, featuring personalities like Kendall Jenner, Snoop Dogg, and Tom Brady. However, within a year, Meta shifted its strategy, discontinuing the celebrity bots and introducing a system that allows users to create their own chatbots. In 2024, Meta launched AI Studio, a toolkit that empowers anyone to design and build chatbots, currently available in the US and Indonesia.
By hiring contractors to create localized chatbots, Meta is signaling a more direct involvement in shaping the personalities of these AI entities, ensuring they resonate with audiences in countries like India and Indonesia. This hands-on approach contrasts with relying solely on creator-built bots for growth in these markets.
Meta’s increasing investment in chatbots has raised concerns about potential misuse and ethical implications. A Reuters investigation revealed that Meta’s internal guidelines had previously allowed its bots to engage in inappropriate conversations with teenagers and children, disseminate inaccurate medical information, and generate racist content. These findings led to calls from US lawmakers for greater scrutiny of Meta’s AI policies.
Privacy concerns further complicate the issue. A Business Insider report in August revealed that contractors reviewing Meta’s AI conversations regularly encountered personally identifiable information (PII), including users’ names, emails, phone numbers, and even selfies. Meta has stated that it enforces strict policies and technical safeguards to protect user data.
In the US, some of Meta’s more controversial chatbot personas included “Russian Girl,” “Step Sister,” and “Step Mom,” which users discovered could engage in overtly sexual roleplay. In Indonesia, Business Insider found that two of the most popular Meta AI characters were named “Lonely woman” and “Deviant male,” highlighting the delicate balance Meta and its contractors must maintain between user appeal and reputational risk.
Meta is utilizing staffing vendors to fill these new roles, with job listings explicitly stating the roles were for Meta. This initiative reflects Meta’s commitment to expanding its AI capabilities and tailoring its services to diverse global audiences, while navigating the ethical and privacy challenges that come with deploying advanced AI technologies.
