On Tuesday, Mark Zuckerberg had a chat with Instagram head Adam Mosseri as part of the launch of the company’s collaboration feature on broadcast channels. This means that broadcast channels allow users to invite other creators or fans to talk to them.
In February, Instagram launched its broadcast channel feature for the first time, with select creators having a separate medium for announcements. Followers can subscribe to the channel and receive notifications when a creator posts there.
Zuckerberg has made a number of announcements across broadcast channels, including Meta Verified, a new WhatsApp client for Windows, and an individual chat lock feature for WhatsApp.
During the conversation, Mosseri revealed that Instagram has finally started supporting GIFs in comments — both on posts and on Reels. The feature is already rolling out to users and leverages GIHPY searches. Last year, UK competition watchdog Meta ordered GIPHY to be sold, saying the social media giant could limit others’ access to the GIF hosting platform or ask customers for more data.
Image Credits: meta
Mosseri added that Instagram is also working on lyrics in the Reels feature. It builds on the automatic captioning feature that the social network introduced last year.
Zuckerberg also asked people in the channel what kind of features they’d like to see in the next Instagram release, including AI-powered chatbots and using AI to create images.
In a separate announcement, the company said it will be rolling out the Instagram Gifts feature for tipping in India in the coming weeks.
Last month, Instagram brought editing tools for video clips, audio, stickers, and text under one screen. The company said today that it will be rolling out features like splitting clips, adjusting playback speed and replacing clips under editing tools in the coming weeks.