The company says the update is the next phase of its AI-driven media tools development, allowing users to either create videos from scratch, remix existing ones by altering visuals or styles, or add music to suit personal preferences. 

Once created, these videos can be posted directly to the Vibes feed, sent privately, or cross-shared on Instagram and Facebook as Stories or Reels. Over time, Meta says the feed will become personalised as users engage with different types of AI-generated content.

Mark Zuckerberg confirmed the launch in a post on Instagram where he showcased a series of AI-generated clips, including cartoonish creatures bouncing on cubes, a cat kneading dough, and an ancient Egyptian woman appearing to take a selfie.

But the response in the comments wasn’t enthusiastic. One user wrote, “gang nobody wants this,” while another said, “Bro’s posting ai slop on his own app.” A third comment stated: “I think I speak for everyone when I say: What….?”

The reactions are not surprising. Social platforms are already facing an influx of AI-generated material, usually dismissed by users as low-quality or inauthentic. YouTube, for instance, recently revealed its intent to clamp down on what it called “AI slop.” 

Meta’s decision to launch a feed centred entirely on this type of content appears to contradict its own earlier guidance to creators, where the company urged a focus on “authentic storytelling” rather than generic short videos.

Still, Meta insists Vibes is designed to encourage experimentation. The company has partnered with Midjourney and Black Forest Labs for the early version of the tool, though it says it is continuing to refine its own in-house AI models. “We’re working on even more powerful creation tools and models with a number of talented visual artists and creators,” the company noted.

Meta has recently poured resources into restructuring its AI division, now called Meta Superintelligence Labs, as it tries to keep pace with competitors such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind. 

The division has been split into four areas, foundation models, research, product integration, and infrastructure, to accelerate progress after several high-profile staff departures earlier this year.

Vibes was built to become a creative hub, and we hope it becomes that.

In the same way that mastering email and social media became non-negotiable for businesses in the 2000s, prompt engineering is becoming the must-have skill of the AI era for every entrepreneur. But here’s the catch: the output you get is only as good as the instructions you give. That’s what this article will explore.

What is prompt engineering?

Prompt engineering is the art and science of crafting the right instructions (or prompts) to get the best results from generative AI. The right inputs steer AI systems to produce useful and reliable outputs.

It translates business intent and structured instructions, turning AI into a repeatable, low-cost “team member” for marketing, research, or any creative thing you want to do.

However, you need to be clear, precise, and sometimes strategic about how you ask questions for the right outputs. For example, if you want ChatGPT to generate a marketing plan for a new fintech product, simply typing “write a marketing plan” will give generic results.

But if you write: “Create a 6-month digital marketing plan for a Lagos-based fintech startup targeting university students with a mobile payment solution.

Include social media, influencer marketing, and campus activation strategies, with estimated costs in naira”, the AI delivers insights tailored to that context. The difference is like night and day.

Why does prompt engineering matter?

First is cost efficiency. According to a 2024 McKinsey report, companies that adopted generative AI in their workflows cut content creation costs by up to 40%.

For African startups that often operate with lean budgets, mastering prompt engineering means you can save money on tasks you’d otherwise outsource, like branding, copywriting, and the like.

Next is speed to market. In a fast-moving tech ecosystem, speed can make or break you. Prompt engineering allows founders to generate pitch decks, test marketing messages, or draft partnership proposals within hours instead of weeks. Imagine an agritech founder preparing for an investor meeting. With the right prompts, (s)he can generate sector-specific data summaries, visual charts, and a compelling narrative almost instantly.

Prompt engineering provides a level playing field. With it, a solo-entrepreneur can produce work that looks like it came from a full-fledged team.

In this way, AI becomes a democratizer of opportunities and a strategic partner. It is useful for drafting sales proposals or campaigns with structured sections tailored to customers in a specific region, or for conducting quick A/B variants in minutes.

Right prompting is the game changer

Generic or unclear instructions often lead to irrelevant, inaccurate, or surface-level responses.

Similarly, bad prompting equals bad results. Worse still, business decisions based on poor AI output can be costly. For instance, asking Claude for “business ideas in Africa” without narrowing to industry, market size, or regulatory realities will only yield generic and unusable suggestions.

You can punch above your weight by mastering prompt engineering, and narrowing the capability gap with bigger competitors. Founders who can quickly draft and refine compelling thoughts and ideas with the right prompts gain a competitive edge.

Understanding the right prompting will multiply your business opportunities. If you are a fashion entrepreneur, you can use MidJourney or DALL·E, guided by the right prompts, to create professional-looking product catalogues without hiring expensive photographers.

Remember, you are giving tasks to a super-intelligent device that can do more than basic tasks while you iterate based on the results you seek.

Clear prompts reduce AI hallucinations. It could be as simple as writing an ad copy: “Write 3 headline/body pairs for product A, for audience B, in language X, under character limit Y, each with a different value proposition.”

Start developing your prompting skills

Prompt engineering is not just a “techie skill” but a leverage business skill. It is a skill that you can acquire, and you should do that urgently.

It is a skill that empowers you in crafting and optimizing the input given to generative AI models to guide them toward producing accurate, relevant, and desired outputs. A better input equals a better output.

Begin to practice by experimenting with various AI models to understand how phrasing impacts responses.

Learn by doing, iteratively refining your prompts and analyzing the outputs, and where to improve. It’s a way to amplify creativity, cut costs, and compete globally with limited resources.

Don’t expect perfection on the first try, as you can improve with time. Once you learn how to communicate with AI, you can start creating extraordinary results.

The future of entrepreneurship will not just belong to those who adopt AI but to those who know how to interact with it. Don’t just walk alone; train your team to skill up.

The teams that master prompt engineering skills win more business without bloating headcount.

When you communicate your intention well, you will get the right machine execution. Mastering prompt engineering could be your competitive edge.

The flagship event, organized by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), with the theme, ‘New Tech: Threats and Opportunities’, brought together key players in the technology and telecommunications and financial services industries.

This year’s edition reflects Nigeria’s present journey towards a self-sustaining and productive digital economy; highlighting the transformative power of emerging technologies, mitigating the associated risks and exploring the endless possibilities they present.

The focus on fintech and telecoms sectors, evaluating their operations, challenges, yearnings and how to improve their services and productivity derives from the critical way in which they are deeply embedded in our lives today.

During a panel discussion on the impact of regulations on fintech operations and innovation, Emmanuel Abadi, partnerships Specialist at Moniepoint Inc, alongside other industry leaders, made a compelling case for increased collaboration across the fintech ecosystem.

Abadi stressed the importance of finding equilibrium between fostering innovation and implementing necessary regulations to ensure stability and consumer protection in the rapidly evolving fintech landscape.

“The regulatory landscape in Nigeria is evolving in a good way especially to the extent that we have hundreds of fintechs that are driving some of the mandates of the CBN today. At Moniepoint, we are very passionate about powering the dreams of millions of business owners and the individuals that they support and we have seen that financial inclusion has grown and thrived on the strength of existing regulation. We understand the imperative of using regulation as the lynchpin for driving stability in the nation’s economy at large, as well as the need to deepen consumer protection by building systems that will increase the public and regulator’s trust in the services that we as fintechs provide. Thankfully, there are channels in place that facilitate information exchange between the regulators and the players, and this has helped us a great deal,” Abadi noted.

Abadi also took the opportunity to showcase Moniepoint’s significant contributions to advancing the government’s socio-economic agenda, as evidenced by the launch of a definitive report around the informal economy, partnerships with the CAC, SMEDAN and Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment whilst underscoring the potential of fintech solutions to drive positive change in Nigeria’s financial services landscape.

The discussants also called on the need to have targeted guidelines that cater to the nuances and peculiarities of the fintechs and other innovative players, as against the current practice where majority of the rules in place are the same ones developed and applicable to the traditional financial institutions.

They maintained that regular and collaborative engagement between the fintechs and the regulators can fast track the formulation of regulatory guidelines that will be proactive and grow the industry.

The session which was moderated by Hakeem Olajide, CEO, Ascentree Services Ltd also had Ochanya Dan-Ugo, Director /Group Chief Risk Officer, Unified Payments and Seun Folorunso, AGM Projects & Relationships, FintechNGR as co-panelists .

The two-day expo featured a diverse array of activities, including special presentations, masterclasses, product demonstrations, exhibitions, and pitch sessions.

These events provided attendees with valuable insights into the latest trends and developments in the information and communication technology sector. Special guests at the event included President, Lagos Chamber Of Commerce and Industry Mr. Gabriel Idahosa, FCA; Engr Leye Kupoluyi, Deputy President, LCCI; VP and Chairperson, Trade Promotion Board , Abimbola Olashore and Director-General, Chinyere Almona.

The ICTEL Expo, now in its tenth year, continues to serve as a crucial platform for industry stakeholders to exchange ideas, showcase innovations, and discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the ICT and fintech sectors in Nigeria.

As the fintech industry continues to evolve rapidly, the insights shared at this event underscore the importance of ongoing dialogue between innovators, regulators, and other stakeholders to ensure a thriving and responsible fintech ecosystem in Nigeria.

Tech leaders are willing to spend to reap what they hope will be game-changing business improvements and streamlined operations, with a 61% rise in planned spending on AI in 2024, according to new research.

But business leaders should strike a balance between their excitement for AI with the needs of the business. For all the promise of this technology, many companies have already ended up with AI proof-of-concepts which have not delivered the results they hoped for.

Attaining tangible results from AI investment requires both careful thought, and attention to detail in execution.

There is a huge gap between exciting tech built in the laboratory and the day-to-day reality of business applications. It’s all too easy to take a short-sighted view and become over-excited by technology that has not yet crossed this gap. This is exactly how AI investment is wasted. 

The Risks and Challenges

AI holds significant promise for positive impact in Africa, yet it also brings substantial risks. Unfortunately, these risks may disproportionately affect those least prepared to address them, particularly within the African continent.

Research indicates that AI can perpetuate biases, amplify injustices, and infringe on human rights. The technology has negative implications for transnational organized crime, with criminals exploiting AI to breach personal datasets, applications, and impersonate individuals for extortion or fraud.

In South Africa, impersonation fraud surged by 356% between April 2022 and April 2023.

Moreover, AI can manipulate public opinion through the spread of misinformation or disinformation, a form of soft power.

For instance, during Nigeria’s 2023 general elections, a widely circulated deepfake audio on WhatsApp, Facebook, and other social media platforms falsely portrayed a secret conversation among leaders of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) planning to compromise the elections.

The advent of advanced deepfake technologies and expansive language models introduces complex socio-technical challenges to democratic processes.

As African countries strive to develop robust AI policies, proactive measures to address AI-related concerns are still in their infancy.

Despite this, many nations on the continent are likely to prioritize staying abreast of AI advancements and harnessing its potential benefits. This focus may obscure potential threats and postpone solutions to future challenges.

Strategic Approaches for AI Governance in Africa

African countries can design and adopt their own governance approaches to address the current and future roles of AI through several key strategies:

Develop comprehensive national AI strategies: While African countries can begin to implement AI strategies to capitalize on their potential immediately, they should prioritize the creation of comprehensive national AI strategies.

These strategies should encompass regulations, investment opportunities, and consideration of country-specific peculiarities while aligning with existing continental and global policies.

Integrate AI Policies with broader initiatives: AI-related policy activities and interventions should be woven into broader initiatives focused on privacy, security, data access, intellectual property protection, human rights, and cross-border data interchange.

A coordinated effort by diverse stakeholders is necessary to connect these policy areas and develop a coherent action plan for policymakers.

Foster partnerships and knowledge sharing: African governments should prioritize partnerships and knowledge-sharing opportunities to advance AI initiatives on the continent.

This involves collaborating with other governments, regional organizations, academic institutions, and industry players to exchange best practices, resources, and expertise in AI governance.

Identify and mitigate AI risks: Governments and partners should begin to identify, amplify, and mitigate potential AI risks. This can be achieved by prioritizing ethical AI education and increasing awareness of AI-related harms.

Integrating AI ethics and responsible AI principles into educational curricula and raising public awareness about the implications of AI technologies are essential steps.

Given the evolving nature of AI, continuous research is crucial to track emerging threats and provide early warning support.

AI Adoption and Innovation

African consumers, educational institutions, governments, and companies are rapidly adopting AI to aid in content creation, improve the delivery of public services, and streamline business processes.

Although there is limited information on consumer adoption of AI tools across the continent, usage has surged due to the introduction of ChatGPT, DALL-E, Midjourney, and other commercial AI tools.

According to the 2024 Stanford AI Index, 27% of Kenyans use ChatGPT daily, placing Kenya third behind India and Pakistan.

Google search trends also reveal rising consumer interest in AI across Africa, with searches related to AI increasing by 270% over the last year and 400% over the last five years in countries such as Kenya.

African educational institutions, such as the University of Pretoria in South Africa, Makerere University in Uganda, and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana, have developed prominent AI labs and published research focused on leveraging AI for social impact.

The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), launched in 2003 with educational centers in Cameroon, Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, and Rwanda, has established several Master’s and PhD programs in AI, machine learning, math, and data science, graduating over 3,000 students.

Additionally, large tech companies have established AI research labs in Africa. Microsoft set up the Microsoft Africa Research Institute in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2020. Google launched an AI research lab in Accra, Ghana, in 2018, and IBM Research opened labs in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2013 and Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2016. These initiatives reflect a significant commitment to advancing AI research and application across the continent

Staying Agile in the Ever-Evolving Era of AI

Business leaders must stay strategic when dealing with AI and avoid getting caught up in the excitement surrounding the technology.

This requires taking a step back to focus on real, tangible problems and prioritizing which ones to address first.

A holistic approach is essential: AI integration should be seamlessly woven into the solution for a real-life business challenge, and the project should be something that multiple teams can actively engage with.

By adopting a measured, holistic approach, leaders can ensure that AI projects move beyond the planning stage and truly harness the benefits of this transformative technology.

A recent in-depth analysis by Sujan Sarkar at writerbuddy.ai explored the AI industry’s growth from September 2022 to August 2023.

Covering over 3,000 AI tools, the findings are impressive. ChatGPT stands out, attracting 14 billion visits, which is 60% of the top 50 AI tool traffic. Of the 24 billion total visits during this period, ChatGPT was the clear leader.

The spotlight also shines brightly on CthatGPT, Character AI, and Google Bard, witnessing net traffic growths of 1.8 billion, 463.4 million, and 68 million visits, respectively.

However, not all sailed in the same boat.

Craiyon, MidJourney, and Quillbot faced significant traffic declines during the same period.

Writerbuddy used SEMrush, a reliable SEO tool, to collect data. They gathered info from AI tool directories and narrowed it down to the most visited 50.

The insights they’ve uncovered are genuinely unparalleled, offering a holistic view of the AI industry’s digital footprint.

Key Insights from the AI Industry’s Traffic Analysis

• 50 AI tools garnered 24 billion visits from Sep 2022 to Aug 2023.
• ChatGPT captured 60% of the traffic with 14 billion visits.

Winners: ChatGPT, Character AI, Google Bard.

Losers: Craiyon, MidJourney, Quillbot.

• AI industry grew 10.7x, averaging 236.3 million growth in visits monthly.
• The US contributed 22.62% (5.5 billion visits), while Europe totaled 3.9 billion.
• 69.5% male vs. 30.5% female user disparity in AI tools.
• 63% accessed AI tools on mobile devices.

A crucial moment was when ChatGPT hit 1 million users in just five days, propelling the industry to peak at 4.1 billion visits in May 2023. Despite a subsequent 1.2 billion dip, the latter half of the year still averaged an impressive 3.3 billion monthly visits.

This trend suggests that investors in leading AI tools could witness returns between 3-10x, linking interest to financial growth.

1. ChatGPT

ChatGPT, an AI Chatbot, recorded a monumental total traffic of 14.6 billion over the past year. Averaging at 1.5 billion visits every month, it dominated the chart by accounting for a staggering 60.17% of the entire traffic. This platform witnessed a positive net traffic growth of 1.8 billion, translating to an average monthly growth of 195.1 million visits.

2. Character AI

Another AI Chatbot, Character AI, garnered significant attention with a total of 3.8 billion visits.

With an average monthly visit of 318.8 million, it contributed to 15.77% of the overall traffic.

3. QuillBot

Quillbot, specializing in AI Writing, attracted a total of 1.1 billion visits over the year. Averaging 94.6 million visits monthly, it represented 4.68% of the total traffic. However, it faced a slight decline, with a net loss of 5.1 million visits, equating to an average monthly loss of 461.4K.

4. Midjourney

Midjourney, an AI-powered Image Generator platform, drew a total of 500.4 million visits. With a monthly average of 41.7 million, it constituted 2.06% of the entire traffic. The platform, unfortunately, experienced a decline with a net traffic loss of 8.7 million, averaging a monthly dip of 787.7K.

5. Hugging Face

Huggingface, catering to Data Science enthusiasts, secured a total of 316.6 million visits. With its monthly visits averaging at 26.4 million, it contributed to 1.31% of the total traffic. Positively, it saw a net growth of 3.5 million visits or an average monthly gain of 316.4K.

Google Bard, another entrant in the AI Chatbot category, had a total traffic of 241.6 million. Its monthly average stood at 34.5 million, comprising 1.00% of the total traffic. The platform enjoyed a net growth of 68 million, which means an average monthly increase of 11.3 million.

7. NovelAI

Novelai, an AI Writing tool, reported a total of 238.7 million visits. Averaging 19.9 million visits every month, it made up 0.98% of the entire traffic. The tool saw a net growth of 10.1 million, or an average monthly increment of 918.9K visits.

8. CapCut

Capcut, a Video Generator, amassed a total traffic of 203.8 million. With 17 million visits each month on average, it contributed 0.84% to the overall traffic. The platform experienced a net traffic growth of 14.6 million, which breaks down to a monthly gain of 1.3 million.

9. Janitor AI

Janitorai, another AI Chatbot, attracted a total of 192.4 million visits. Its standout feature was its high monthly average of 48.1 million visits, comprising 0.79% of the entire traffic. It showed a robust net growth of 48.8 million, with an average monthly leap of 16.3 million.

10. Civitai

Civitai, an Image Generator tool, drew 177.2 million visits in total. Averaging at 17.7 million visits monthly, it constituted 0.73% of the total traffic.

The platform marked a net traffic growth of 23.3 million, translating to a monthly increase of 2.6 million.

You can access the complete research here. [Featured Image Credit]