Meta has announced that user conversations with its AI chatbot will soon be utilized to personalize advertisements, enhancing the relevance of ads across its platforms.
Meta Platforms Inc. revealed on Wednesday that conversations between users and its AI chatbot will soon play a role in shaping personalized advertisements. While users can expect to see initial changes as early as next week, the full implementation of this feature is set for December 16.
The company has long employed various methods to target users with ads, including analyzing their posts, clicks, and social connections. With this new update, Meta aims to gain insights into users’ shopping interests and travel plans based on their interactions with the chatbot.
In a blog post detailing the change, Meta stated, “Just like other personalized services, we tailor the ads and content you see based on your activity, ensuring that your experience evolves as your interests change.” The company emphasized that users increasingly expect their interactions to enhance the relevance of the content they encounter. “Soon, interactions with AIs will be another signal we use to improve people’s experience,” the post continued.
Meta elaborated on the implications of this update, noting that whether through voice chats or text exchanges with the AI, the new feature will refine recommendations across its platforms. For instance, if a user discusses hiking with the Meta AI, the system may recognize this interest and subsequently present ads for hiking gear, posts from friends about local trails, or suggestions for hiking groups.
Users can engage with the chatbot across various Meta platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and the standalone Meta AI app. This integration aims to create a more tailored user experience by aligning advertisements with individual interests.
In May, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the AI had reached one billion monthly active users. He hinted at future possibilities for monetization, suggesting that there may be opportunities to introduce paid recommendations or subscription services that offer enhanced features.
During a media briefing, Christy Harris, Meta’s privacy and data policy manager, acknowledged that many users already suspected that generative AI interactions were influencing ad targeting and content recommendations. “While this is a natural progression of our personalization efforts and will help give us even better recommendations for people, we want to be super transparent about it and provide a heads up before we actually begin using this data in a new way, even if people already thought that we were doing this,” Harris explained.
Harris further indicated that this update could significantly impact the types of content and advertisements users encounter across Facebook, Instagram, and other Meta-related applications.
As Meta continues to evolve its advertising strategies, the integration of AI-driven insights promises to enhance user engagement while raising important questions about privacy and data usage.
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