Meta Platforms is gearing up to announce that its Meta AI chatbot will feature custom voices from a lineup of celebrities, including Kristen Bell, Judi Dench, and John Cena.

The company has secured a deal with five prominent Hollywood actors to lend their voices to the digital assistant, a strategic move aimed at enhancing its competitive edge against rivals like OpenAI.

This initiative comes amid ongoing concerns about AI's impact on actors and writers, particularly following last year's strikes in the industry.

Meta's approach may help avoid controversies that have plagued competitors, such as the unintentional use of likenesses, as seen in the ChatGPT incident involving Scarlett Johansson.

The celebrity voices are set to be available in the U.S. and other English-speaking markets across Meta's apps, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, later this week.

Users will have the option to select from five celebrity voices, alongside several generic voice options, for their interactions with the chatbot.

The official announcement of the celebrity voice feature is anticipated during Meta's annual Connect conference, which begins Wednesday.

In addition to the voice feature, Meta is expected to unveil its first version of augmented-reality glasses at the conference, showcasing its vision for future hardware products.

Currently, the feature is under development and will initially support only English, although there are plans for future language inclusion.

This development follows a controversy involving ChatGPT, where a voice resembling Scarlett Johansson led to legal action, highlighting the sensitivity around celebrity likenesses in AI.

The strategy of incorporating celebrity voices aims to make AI feel more approachable and less intimidating for users, while targeting an underserved market of fans.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently promoted the integration of these celebrity voices in a video featuring John Cena testing the company's Ray-Ban smart glasses.