Meta is training an AI clone of Mark Zuckerberg – but it’s not for you

Sure, you might own one of the best AI phones, but are you even taking it seriously if you don’t have an AI clone of yourself? We only ask, because Meta, according to a report from the Financial Times, is training an AI-powered replica of Mark Zuckerberg himself. Yes, really.

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According to the report (via Ars Technica), the AI character is being trained on Zuckerberg’s image, voice, tone, mannerisms, public statements, and views on company strategy. There’s no way of knowing what the current iteration looks like (the above image is based on Zuckerberg’s updated Metaverse avatar), but we’d love to be a fly on the wall at Meta HQ.

Designed for internal Meta use, the idea is that employees could interact with this digital version of the CEO and get responses that reflect his thinking when the real Zuckerberg isn’t available.

This isn’t Meta’s first attempt at personality-led AI. In 2023, the company launched chatbot characters modelled on celebrities – including one based on Snoop Dogg – as part of its early push into conversational AI. It later expanded that with AI Studio, which lets users and creators build AI versions of themselves.

The Zuckerberg project appears to sit within a wider internal AI push, with reports suggesting that Meta has been encouraging employees to use agentic tools and build their own AI helpers. There’s also a technical challenge behind it – Meta has reportedly been working on photorealistic, 3D AI characters that can hold conversations with minimal lag – something that requires significant computing power. It has also been investing in voice technology, including acquisitions like PlayAI and WaveForms, to make interactions feel more natural.

Separately, a report from The Wall Street Journal suggests that Zuckerberg is also developing a personal AI assistant to help with his own workload, though details there remain limited.

Whether an AI Mark Zuckerberg becomes part of everyday office life is still unclear. For now, it sounds like an internal experiment – but one that points to a future where even the CEO might have a digital stand-in. It’s certainly something – for better or for worse – to think about.

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Esat Dedezade Contributor

About

Esat has been a gadget fan ever since his tiny four-year-old brain was captivated by a sound-activated dancing sunflower. From there it was a natural progression to a Sega Mega Drive, a brief obsession with hedgehogs, and a love for all things tech. After 7 years as a writer and deputy editor for Stuff, Esat ventured out into the corporate world, spending three years as Editor of Microsoft's European News Centre. Now a freelance writer, his appetite for shiny gadgets has no bounds. Oh, and like all good human beings, he's very fond of cats.