Meta to Use GenAI to Automate Ad Creation and Targeting

Meta Platforms plans to create and target advertisements using artificial intelligence by the end of 2026.

The move is a key element of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s vision for the future evolution of Meta, where advertising remains the core revenue driver, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday (June 2).

The development could potentially benefit small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), which represent a large portion of Meta’s advertisers and often lack the resources for extensive ad creation efforts, the report said.

However, some larger retail brands have expressed caution regarding potentially ceding more control to Meta, amid concerns that AI-generated content may not consistently achieve the quality or specific aesthetic of human-made campaigns, per the report. AI tools sometimes produce distorted visuals that need to be refined, for example.

The new AI tools represent an expansion of Meta’s offerings, which primarily allow generating variations of existing ads or making minor adjustments. The company intends to enable brands to develop advertising concepts entirely from scratch, according to the report.

The proposed workflow involves brands providing a product image and a budgetary goal, after which the AI system would generate a complete ad, including imagery, video and text. The system would also determine optimal targeting for Facebook and Instagram users and suggest budget allocations, the report said.

Meta also plans to incorporate AI-powered personalization, allowing users to see different versions of the same ad in real time based on factors such as geolocation, per the report.

AI-driven content creation is competitive, with Google, for example, releasing tools such as Veo for video generation, per the report. Many brands use third-party tools like Midjourney and OpenAI’s DALL-E for creating ad content across digital platforms, including Meta’s. Meta is looking for ways to integrate such third-party capabilities into its own platform.

The company’s move into AI ad generation follows a reorganization of Meta’s AI team. The company announced last month that it is splitting the team into two groups, with one focusing on AI products and the other focusing on foundational AI technology.

The reorganization aims to streamline operations and clarify responsibilities. It came as Meta faces challenges attracting top AI talent after losing several researchers to French AI startup Mistral.

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