Meta plans to test premium subscriptions on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, offering AI-powered tools, creative features, and advanced automation for paying users.
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| Meta’s premium plan introduces AI-driven tools and creative features behind a paywall, aiming to monetize advanced users while keeping core services free. Image: CH |
Tech Desk — January 28, 2026:
Meta is preparing to expand its monetization strategy by testing premium subscriptions across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, offering advanced AI tools, creative features, and productivity-enhancing services to users willing to pay. While the core social platforms remain free, the subscriptions aim to attract power users who value automation, creative capabilities, and enhanced functionality.
Central to the offering are AI-driven features, including the Vibes video-generation app and “agents” powered by Meta’s acquisition of Singapore-based Manus for $2 billion. These agents can complete complex tasks with minimal input, from planning trips to creating presentations, differentiating Meta’s subscription tier from standard offerings. Manus’ AI is designed to operate more autonomously than conventional chatbots, highlighting Meta’s ambition to turn social media platforms into productivity and creative hubs.
Meta’s premium push follows earlier experiments with monetization, including paid verification services that offered blue ticks for a monthly fee and link-sharing limits in select markets. These steps indicate a gradual shift toward a subscription-based revenue model, reducing dependence on advertising while testing users’ willingness to pay for enhanced features.
However, the strategy is not without challenges. Manus’ technology is currently under scrutiny by Chinese regulators over potential export and national security concerns, and Meta must balance premium incentives with maintaining the usability of its free services. The success of the subscriptions will hinge on whether users perceive clear value in AI agents, creative tools, and other paywalled features.
Industry observers see the move as a strategic attempt to diversify revenue and position Meta in the growing AI-powered productivity and creative tools market. By offering subscription-based AI services, Meta is signaling that the future of social media may involve a two-tiered ecosystem: free access for basic social interactions and paid tiers for advanced automation, creativity, and productivity.
If successful, Meta’s subscriptions could reshape user expectations for social platforms, turning messaging and social media apps into AI-enabled assistants while providing the company with a more stable, user-driven revenue stream amid evolving advertising pressures and competitive challenges.