Emily Dalton Smith, with the Facebook parent company since 2015, previously served as Vice President of Product Management and Head of Product for Meta’s Threads app, which resembles Twitter.
Her exit follows approximately two months after Meta announced that she would spearhead product development aimed at enhancing internal AI tools during a company-wide initiative to integrate AI into both consumer-facing products and internal processes.
The restructuring aims to create AI agents capable of independently performing tasks currently done by human workers, leading to dissatisfaction among Meta employees.
Workers have openly voiced their concerns and criticism of executives in company meetings and on internal message boards regarding the project, which has involved a 10% workforce reduction, transferring a similar number of employees to new divisions, and rolling out mouse-tracking software, viewed by many as a tool to facilitate their own AI replacements.
Dalton Smith’s team, referred to as a “pod,” was tasked with handling “the interfaces, platform components, memory systems, automations, and shared product experiences that enhance AI utility for all,” according to a memo from Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth detailing the Agent Transformation Accelerator (ATA) initiative in April.
This also included oversight of Metamate, Meta’s primary internal enterprise AI assistant.
A Meta spokesperson declined to confirm Dalton Smith’s departure but noted that the company continues to enhance AI capabilities within Metamate.
In a separate memo regarding ATA last month, Dalton Smith informed employees of the executives’ intention to streamline internal AI tools into Metamate, admitting that the current systems were disjointed.
”Our aim is to establish Metamate as the foundation for various tasks — from conducting in-depth research to prototyping new features and preparing sales presentations,” she stated.
Her team was also planning to incorporate functionalities from AI systems that can navigate work files, facilitate coding coordination through chats, and retain “persistent memory” of user activities, she explained.
She noted that the team would also add “refined dashboards and microsites,” including elements from Manus, a Singapore-based AI agent startup acquired by Meta for about $2 billion in December.
The incorporation of Manus-like features presents additional sensitivities since the Chinese government mandated the unwinding of this deal in April, prompting Meta to restrict the tool’s access to its internal systems while addressing the situation.
Dalton Smith mentioned in her memo that her team anticipated the rollout of new features within Metamate by June 1.
In her announcement on Wednesday, she indicated that she would remain at Meta to collaborate with Bosworth on the transition to “what’s next,” without providing further details.
