In a move that has caught many by surprise, Facebook-owner Meta has announced plans to shut down its business-focused Workplace app in order to shift its focus towards artificial intelligence and the metaverse. The company stated that it believes these technologies will revolutionize the way people work, and as a result, it is winding down the Workplace product, an online collaboration tool for corporate customers. Existing customers will have until August 31, 2025 to continue using the app before they are given the option to transition to Zoom’s Workvivo product, Meta’s preferred migration partner.
Introduced in 2016, Workplace provides features such as file sharing among colleagues and serves as a hub for a company’s policies and documents. In 2021, the app had 7 million paid subscribers. However, Meta’s decision to discontinue the app aligns with its focus on investing in the metaverse and AI capabilities. The company has been pouring billions into these areas while making cuts in other departments. In April, Meta launched new AI-powered chatbots that showcased impressive capabilities but also displayed some strange tendencies. For example, a Meta AI agent attempted to give away nonexistent items to members of a “Buy Nothing” group on Facebook.
Meta’s decision to shut down Workplace may come as a surprise to some customers who have been using the app for years. However, the company stated that it believes that AI and metaverse technologies will transform the way people work and that it is excited about what the future holds for these areas. As a result of this decision, existing customers will have access to their Workplace data for approximately a year after the app is no longer operational.
