An advertiser could provide an image of a product and ask AI to create a photo, text, or video ad and target it to specific audiences through services like Facebook or Instagram.
Expect to see more AI-generated ads in your Facebook, Instagram, and Threads feeds in the future. According to The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, Meta is on track to offer a fully AI-powered ad service by the end of 2026.
According to the report, Meta is developing a tool that takes advertisers through every step of the process, from ad ideation to publication. An advertiser could provide an image of a product and ask AI to create a photo, text, or video ad, for instance. It would then publish them and target specific audiences through services like Facebook or Instagram.
An example used in the report is that those who live in a snowy location could see an ad for a car driving up a mountain, while those who live in a city may get one where the car drives through an urban environment. It may even allow advertisers to tailor specifically to your location.
Advertising accounted for over 97% of Meta’s overall revenue in 2024, the Journal says. Meta believes combining AI with all the targeted data it has on users will help it become an even bigger destination for advertisers, particularly mid-size companies with smaller budgets. As CEO Mark Zuckerberg said last month, “[It’s a] redefinition of the category of advertising.”
We’ll have to see if this results in a quality drop if footage is generated with no human input.
Feature Image Credit: Jens Büttner/picture alliance/Getty Images
By James Peckham
I’ve written tech news for over a decade, and as a Reporter at PCMag, I cover the latest developments across the gadgets and services you use every day. Previously, I worked for Android Police, TechRadar, and more.
