Mark Zuckerberg said that Meta✴ is developing an AI system capable of automating the entire cycle of an advertising campaign. A business will only need to formulate the goal of the campaign, indicate how much it is willing to pay to achieve the result, and connect a bank account, and the AI system will automatically go towards the intended goals. A key component of such a product will be the placement of thousands of “test” ads generated by AI on Facebook✴, Instagram✴ and Threads.
Image source: about.fb.com
During the Stripe Sessions conference in San Francisco, Zuckerberg described the system as a “business results machine” and said it could be one of the most valuable AI developments ever created. He first described the concept in an interview with Ben Thompson’s Stratechery podcast a week before the conference. He described the system as a “black box” that runs from start to finish without user intervention. He also noted that if such a system were to be implemented, it would have a massive impact on the entire digital advertising industry.
Meta✴ has already implemented generative AI in advertising tools. Now, according to Zuckerberg, its algorithms are so accurate that clients no longer need to specify demographic parameters — AI is able to independently determine the interested audience better than a person. The next step is to apply this technology to the creation of ads: Meta✴ plans to generate up to 4,000 variations of one advertising idea, test them on users in real time and choose the most effective ones.
Businesses may see this as an advantage, but for users, the situation is different. Meta✴’s social platforms are already oversaturated with generative content, from images and comments to chatbots. Now, it looks like another category of generative AI — advertising — is poised to flood Meta✴’s social networks. This is alarming because Meta✴ is turning its social networks into a testing ground where user attention is consumable. Whereas it was previously unclear who was Meta✴’s client and who was its product, now there is no longer any doubt.
However, there are still voices of cautious optimism in the advertising industry. Earlier this week, Johnny Hornby, founder of The&Partnership, published an article arguing that creating successful advertising campaigns remains a human endeavour.