Meta, the parent company of social media giant Instagram, has revealed that 40% of the platform’s content is recommended by artificial intelligence (AI). The company, which recently rebranded from Facebook, has also reiterated its focus on the development of the Metaverse – a virtual reality space where users can interact with each other and digital content. This announcement underscores the growing importance of AI technology in shaping our digital experiences, and suggests that the trend towards personalized content recommendations is set to continue.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has been using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve its content discovery capabilities, according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. During the Q1 2023 earnings call on April 26, Zuckerberg noted that AI has already been driving 20% of the content on Facebook and Instagram feeds through suggestions of accounts that users do not follow. Moreover, AI has been a significant factor in improving monetization efficiency, with Reels’ monetization increasing by 30% on Instagram and 40% on Facebook quarter-over-quarter.
Zuckerberg also discussed the potential of generative AI, which is capable of creating media and content. This technology could create engaging advertising experiences, and Meta is considering using it to create advertisements on behalf of clients. Additionally, small businesses can use generative AI to create agents that can handle a larger volume of customer interactions.
The CFO of Meta, Susan J. Li, noted that the company will resume hiring once it completes its layoffs in April and May. Li highlighted generative AI as one of the biggest areas where the company will increase its headcount. However, she noted that the firm does not yet have “enough visibility” into how AI will make its workforce more productive.
Zuckerberg emphasized that the company is still focused on the metaverse, and the two areas of AI and metaverse will work together. Zuckerberg believes that Meta will create an “AI-centric operating system” for its AR headsets, which he sees as “the basis for the next generation of computing.”
In summary, Meta’s use of AI has benefited content discovery and monetization on Facebook and Instagram. Generative AI has the potential to create engaging advertising experiences and enhance customer interactions for small businesses. Despite rumors to the contrary, Meta remains committed to the metaverse and sees AI as an essential part of its development.