TL;DR
- The new role is earned by answering questions, sharing firsthand experience, giving tips and recommendations, and starting conversations.
- Admins can grant the role directly, Meta will nominate candidates, and members are notified and can remove themselves at any time.
- Meta is also testing two Forum Ask features, Compare your options and Pick up where you left off, plus topic labels such as Solo Travel.
- Forum has been in testing since May 2026 and is available only in the US on iOS and Android; Meta says more admin tools are coming in the next few weeks.
Meta said on 29 September 2026 that it is testing a new role in Facebook groups that recognises top community voices, replacing the older contributor badges and the group expert role. Members who earn it get a new badge and benefits that include posts that publish faster. The role is starting to test on Facebook globally and on Forum, Meta's standalone Facebook Groups app in the US, which also gets new AI search tests and topic labels.
What Meta announced on 29 September 2026
The news came in a Meta newsroom post titled "Find Your Community With Forum, a Dedicated App for Facebook Groups", published on 29 September 2026. The post is an update on Forum, an app Meta describes as purpose-built for people who want to go deeper into Facebook Groups. It contains four tests: a member-recognition role, two additions to Forum's AI search tool Ask, and topic labels on posts. Meta also says it will share more about tools for group admins "in the coming weeks".
Only one of the four tests reaches beyond the US. The new recognition role is starting to test on Forum in the US and on Facebook globally. The Ask additions and the topic labels are described as tests on Forum, which Meta says is available to download in the US on iOS and Android.
Forum, the standalone Facebook Groups app
Meta says Forum syncs with a person's groups on Facebook and brings them together in one place, so people can see what is new and join the conversations they care about. People log in with their Facebook account to find their groups and discover new ones. Meta says it started testing Forum in May 2026.
Trade publication PPC Land, which covered the 29 September post, reported that Forum first appeared in the US App Store on 22 May 2026 without a launch event, and that Meta previously ran a standalone Facebook Groups app from 2014 until it was discontinued in 2017. PPC Land also noted that Meta's post gives no user numbers, no size for the test groups and no mention of advertising. That matches the post itself, which says nothing about ads, placements or measurement.
The 29 September post is the first time Meta has described Forum at length in its newsroom. It positions the app around one idea: making it easier to find firsthand experience from real people in groups.
The new role for top community voices
The biggest change for anyone who runs a group is the recognition role. Meta says it is testing "a new role to recognize top community voices in groups" and that the role replaces its previous contributor badges and group expert role. According to Meta, the role reflects the quality of a member's contributions and the value they bring to the community.
How members earn the role
Meta says the role is earned through contributions that help a community. It lists four kinds: answering questions, sharing firsthand experiences, offering practical tips and recommendations, and starting conversations that bring people together. The post does not give a numeric threshold, a minimum tenure, a score or a posting count. It describes the criteria in terms of behaviour rather than volume.
Who grants it
Awarding works in two ways. Meta says admins "know their communities best" and can spot members making these contributions and grant the role directly. Meta will also nominate members to help admins identify top voices in their group. Members are notified when they receive the role and can remove themselves from it at any time.
What it gives members
The role comes with a new badge and what Meta calls new benefits, including posts that publish faster. Meta adds that all posts remain subject to its Community Standards. The post does not say which delay is shortened, for example an admin approval queue or an automatic review, or by how much. It also does not say whether the role affects how widely a member's posts are shown.
What changes for group admins
For admins, the practical change is that two older tools are being folded into one. Contributor badges and the group expert role have been the ways admins marked helpful members. Under the test, one role does that job, and the admin can hand it out directly while Meta suggests candidates.
The faster-publishing benefit is the part admins should think through. In groups where admins approve posts before they go live, a benefit that speeds up a trusted member's posts changes how moderation works for that member. Meta's post does not explain the mechanism, so admins in the test should watch how posts from members with the role behave in their own group before relying on it. Admins also keep a clear lever: they choose who gets the role, and a member can drop it.
Meta has promised more admin news. The post says Forum introduces new tools for admins and that Meta will share more on how it is building for them in the coming weeks. It gives no date and no feature list.
Ask: AI search over group conversations
On Forum, a feature called Ask helps people find what others are saying in Facebook groups. Meta says Ask uses AI to highlight existing group posts and comments, so people get answers "grounded in real experience". It shows conversations from groups a person has already joined and from public groups they have not joined yet, and people can jump from Ask straight into the group discussion.
Meta is testing two additions to Ask. The first, "Compare your options", pulls together recommendations when a person is weighing choices. Meta's examples are picking a running shoe, choosing a gift and deciding what to read next. The second, "Pick up where you left off", changes the Ask home page so it suggests new questions based on recent searches.
Meta's examples are purchase decisions. A shopper comparing running shoes on Forum would see recommendations drawn from group posts and comments, not from ads or product pages. The post does not name the AI model behind Ask, explain how it ranks posts when members disagree, or say whether members can keep their posts out of Ask results.
Topic labels on posts
Meta is also testing a way to explore interests on Forum. People may start to see topic labels on posts, with "Solo Travel" and "Korean Food" given as examples. Tapping a label shows more conversations on the same topic. The post does not say who applies the labels, whether posters, admins or an automated system, or whether results come from one group or many.
Labels add a second way to organise group content. Until now, group posts have been sorted mainly by which group they sit in. A topic label organises them by subject instead, which is closer to how people search.
The four tests at a glance
The table below lists each test Meta described on 29 September 2026 and where Meta says it is running.
| Test | What Meta says it does | Where it is testing |
|---|---|---|
| Top community voices role | Replaces contributor badges and the group expert role; new badge and benefits including faster-publishing posts | Forum in the US and Facebook globally |
| Ask: Compare your options | Pulls together recommendations from group posts when a person is weighing choices | Forum (US) |
| Ask: Pick up where you left off | Ask home page suggests new questions based on recent searches | Forum (US) |
| Topic labels | Labels such as Solo Travel or Korean Food link to more conversations on the same topic | Forum (US) |
What the post does not say
Meta's post leaves several things open. It does not say how many people or groups are in the tests, whether any of the tests will become permanent, or when. It does not explain what "publish faster" means in practice. It does not say how Meta decides which members to nominate. And it says nothing about advertising, brand Pages in groups, or data use in Ask. These are tests, and Meta frames them that way throughout.
What this means for Thai marketers
The role test is the part that can reach Thailand. Meta says it is starting to test on Facebook globally, so admins of Thai Facebook groups may see the new role, and some may notice that contributor badges or the group expert role are being replaced. Meta did not name countries or say how many groups are included, so not every Thai group will see it. Forum, Ask, the comparison feature and topic labels are US-only for now.
The following is RA analysis, not something Meta said. Many Thai brands run or sponsor Facebook groups for customers, fans and buyers. If the test reaches a brand's group, the new role is a straightforward way to reward the members who already answer other people's questions, and a reason to review who holds expert or contributor status today. Brands whose staff answer questions in their own groups should check whether those staff members would qualify, and be clear with members about who works for the brand.
The Ask tests point somewhere else. Meta is building search that answers product questions from group conversations. If that reaches Thai users, what members say about a brand in groups could become part of the answer a shopper sees, alongside Facebook ads and brand content. That makes honest, useful group activity more valuable than it already is. For teams planning community work alongside paid media, RA's social ads team can help connect the two.
FAQ
What is the new top community voices role in Facebook groups?
It is a role Meta began testing on 29 September 2026 to recognise members whose contributions help a group, such as answering questions and sharing firsthand experience. It replaces contributor badges and the group expert role and comes with a new badge and benefits, including posts that publish faster.
Will Thai Facebook groups get the new role?
Possibly, because Meta says the role is starting to test on Facebook globally. Meta did not name countries or say how many groups are in the test, so availability in any specific Thai group is not guaranteed.
Can admins choose who gets the role?
Yes, Meta says admins can grant the role directly. Meta will also nominate members to help admins spot top voices, and members can remove themselves from the role at any time.
Is the Forum app available in Thailand?
No, Meta says Forum is available to download in the US on iOS and Android. The Ask additions and topic labels are tests on Forum, so they are US-only as well.
Do faster-publishing posts skip Meta's rules?
No, Meta says all posts remain subject to its Community Standards. The post does not explain which delay the benefit shortens or by how much.
Next steps
For now, this is a test with a global reach for one feature and a US-only reach for the rest. Admins of Thai groups should watch for the new role, review who holds expert and contributor status, and note how faster publishing behaves in their group. If your brand wants to plan group communities and paid social together, Relevant Audience can help you map where each fits.
