Meta is trying out an app that makes up special stories for kids
Stories have existed for as long as humans have. Without humans, there wouldn’t be a single story, because we have always been the storytellers. But that may be about to change. Has a second storyteller been born? At least for now, it seems so. Meta has recently been spotted quietly testing a new iPhone app that uses AI to generate personalised children’s stories. Where human stories come from imagination, Meta’s AI-generated stories reportedly come complete with illustrations, narration, and music. The app is called StoryKit: personalised stories.
The app was first found by 9to5Mac. It is available in some areas. Now you can use it in Mexico. You cannot use it in the US. This means Meta is trying out the app in a places, to see how it works before they decide to make it available everywhere.
Meta told TechCrunch that the app is real. A person from Meta said StoryKit is an app that helps people make fun and imaginative storybooks for kids. This person also said that the app has safety filters to keep kids safe. The app does not let kids talk to each other. You have to be at least 18 years old to use it. This makes me think that the app is for parents to use with their kids not for kids to use by themselves. Meta is testing StoryKit to see if it is an idea and StoryKit is a special app, for making stories.
How StoryKit works
Creating a story on the app involves three simple choices. Users start by creating a character, which can be done by taking a photo of a child’s favourite toy or person to “bring them to life,” according to the app’s description. Next, users pick a setting, such as an enchanted forest or a distant galaxy, and finally choose a lesson built around values like kindness, courage, or empathy, letting the app “weave in values without it feeling like a lecture.”
Once those choices are made, StoryKit can generate the story in several formats. There’s a Picture Book format with illustrated pages, narration, and a musical score, an Audiobook version for hands-free listening during car rides or bedtime, a Read Aloud mode that displays the full text so a parent can narrate it themselves, and a Printable PDF that can be turned into a physical keepsake.
Part of Meta’s broader AI push
StoryKit fits into Meta’s larger push into AI beyond its conventional chatbot offerings. Earlier this year, the company replaced its Llama models with Muse Spark, the first model to come out of Meta Superintelligence Labs. Since then, Muse Spark has powered new features across Meta’s standalone Meta AI app, as well as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, and Threads. StoryKit appears to be another experiment in that same direction, testing whether AI-generated storytelling has a place among parents before any wider rollout.
Now, the last question that remains is whether a soulless AI’s large language model can truly replace human imagination. That is something only time will tell.