July 29 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms ( META ) on Monday

said it will roll out a new tool called AI Studio that will

allow users to create, share and design personalized AI

chatbots.

The AI Studio will allow users to create customized AI

characters and also allow Instagram creators to use the AI

characters "as an extension of themselves" that can handle

common DM questions and story replies, Meta said.

Users can share their AI characters on the social media

giant's various platforms.

The new tool is built with Meta's Llama 3.1, the biggest

version of its mostly free artificial intelligence models

released last week, which is available in multiple languages and

has performance metrics that compete with paid models from

rivals like OpenAI.

ChatGPT maker OpenAI is working on a project code-named

"Strawberry," the details of which are tightly kept secret even

within OpenAI, as the startup races to show that the types of

models it offers are capable of delivering advanced reasoning

capabilities, Reuters exclusively reported earlier in July.