Meta is testing three additions to Forum, its standalone app for Facebook groups: a top-contributor role, an AI comparison mode and topic labels. Together the additions nudge Forum toward answering questions about group conversations instead of offering a second place to scroll.
The app mirrors the groups a person already belongs to, so logging in with a Facebook account is the entire setup. Per Meta, testing began in May, and Forum can be downloaded in the US on iOS and Android. Meta describes it as an experiment it is still exploring.
The role is the change with the most social weight. It replaces the existing contributor badges and the group expert title, and Meta says members earn it by answering questions, passing along practical tips drawn from their own experience, or starting conversations that bring people together. Holders get a new badge and perks that include faster publishing of their posts, though Meta gives no detail on how much faster. Admins can hand the role out directly, Meta will nominate candidates for them to consider, and members can drop it whenever they like. The test runs on Forum in the US and across Facebook worldwide, and every post stays subject to Meta's Community Standards. Because admins keep the final call, the nominations work as a suggestion list and recognition stays a human decision.
Ask is Forum's AI-powered search. According to Meta, it scans posts and comments that already exist in a user's groups, plus public groups the user has not joined, and surfaces the relevant ones instead of composing an answer by itself. That keeps answers tied to what group members actually wrote, and it doubles as a route to communities worth joining. The new comparison mode gathers recommendations when someone is choosing between options, with Meta citing running shoes, gifts and books as examples. The Ask home page also proposes follow-up questions based on recent searches.
Topic labels are the smallest change. Posts may carry tags such as Solo Travel or Korean Food, and tapping one opens more conversations on that subject.
Group owners decide where a community's attention lives, which makes the admin tools Meta has promised in the coming weeks the next test of whether Forum is more than a side door into Facebook groups.
