At the start of February, Meta shared information about their ad targeting efforts during a roundtable discussion. The company provided some key metrics on adoption and audience sentiment of their AI-powered ad tools.
It became evident that Meta is all in on AI for its customer advertising suite.
Meta’s AI Strategy Discussion
Let’s dive into the information Meta shared last month.
Meta’s Data-Based Ad Strategy
The Meta Business Suite is the second-most used ad platform behind Google. However, in recent years, it’s stumbled a bit and has seen new participants like TikTok intrude on their share of the market.
One event that set Meta back was Apple’s 2021 iOS update requiring user opt-in for apps to collect user data. Not surprisingly, most consumers did not opt in and Meta estimated this change could cost them up to $10 billion annually.
Meta Turned to AI to Recoup Losses
Meta turned to AI in an effort to recover some of the lost revenue and from the discussion in February, that pivot worked.
The company posted a 25% revenue increase for the 2023 fourth quarter over the previous year. An increase driven in part by their advertising platform based on the key discussion points outlined below:
- Customer adoption of Meta’s new AI features is promising and early data tells Meta their customers are seeing improved ad performance
- 40% of content you see on Instagram is now from AI recommendations, leading to increases in time spent on both Instagram and Facebook
- Despite some pushback, more brands today are leaning into AI targeting tools like those on Meta’s Advantage+ campaigns
Meta’s AI-Powered Ad Tools
Image Expansion
Have you ever tried to use an image in a different size format and wished you could change the original format or aspect ratio of the photo so it looked better? Well, Meta’s image expansion makes it so you don’t have to wish anymore.
Image expansion uses machine learning to create new pixels to make an image fit better across multiple ad placements. Think of creating a post ad with a square image and then letting image expansion change the picture so the ad can be served as a Reel.
Background Generation
Product images on plain backgrounds can get bland but not all companies have the budget to place their products against elaborate backgrounds.
Using background generation, you can now generate a background for your product images on catalog ads using text prompts. Image generation can be hit or miss. Consider your prompt carefully and understand it may not work for all types of products.
Text Variations
Based on the original ad text you provide, Meta Advantage+ campaigns can generate up to five variations to target customers accordingly.
The Meta Ad Manager then takes your optimized ad versions and serves the one most likely to convert accounting for both format and audience.
What’s Next?
These three features represent only the initial batch of AI-powered ad tools. As the technology improves, Meta is looking to generate ad copy focused on key selling points, create generative backgrounds with tailored themes, and bring AI to its Messenger and WhatsApp platforms to help brands communicate with customers.
Last Words
Artificial intelligence has already changed the way many work, research, and create. And it’s not only Meta pushing new AI features to their ad platforms. March brought about the end of lookalike audiences on LinkedIn’s ad platform in favor of AI-generated audiences.
But while AI may be the future, it’s still in its nascent stages. Back in 2022, Meta’s newly announced AI language model was leaked despite their efforts to keep it a secure system for the AI community.
Also, some people fear the spread of AI and could turn away from companies obviously using AI for both creation and targeting. Rather than jump in head first and give up all control to machine learning, test out the features and work with them as you feel comfortable.
For assistance with your ad campaigns and other marketing needs, BranDimensional is here to help. We make it our priority to become an extension of your brand to represent competitive advantage in current and emerging markets by staying up on trends and technological developments. Contact us today to set up an initial free consultation with one of our experts.