Meta Platforms is accelerating its push into artificial intelligence, aiming to enable brands to fully automate the creation and targeting of advertisements across its platforms by the end of 2026.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, with a global user base of 3.43 billion unique active users across its suite of apps—including Facebook and Instagram—Meta is uniquely positioned to reshape the future of digital advertising.
Its AI tools are already capable of generating personalised ad variations, modifying video content, and designing background visuals, offering advertisers a highly efficient and scalable solution.
According to the report, Meta envisions a future where a business can simply input a product image and budget, and the AI system will generate an entire ad campaign—from images and videos to accompanying text—and autonomously determine the best audience and spending strategy. The platform will also provide budget recommendations and placement optimisation for Instagram and Facebook.
Additionally, Meta plans to roll out features that allow advertisers to tailor ads in real time. Using AI, the platform will show users different versions of the same ad based on factors like geolocation, enhancing personalisation and relevance.
When Reuters approached for comment, Meta referred to CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s recent public statements. “Advertisers need AI products that deliver measurable results at scale,” Zuckerberg said last week. He emphasised Meta’s vision of an AI-powered one-stop advertising hub where businesses can define their goals, set budgets, and leave execution to the platform.
The development comes as social platforms like Snap, Pinterest, and Reddit also invest in AI and machine learning technologies to stay competitive in the digital ad market.
Following the news, Meta’s stock rose nearly 1% in morning trading. However, traditional advertising firms felt the pressure: Interpublic Group and Omnicom Group saw declines of 1.9% and 3.2% respectively, while France’s Publicis Groupe dropped 3.8%, and WPP—parent company of GroupM, Ogilvy, and VM—fell by 2.2%.
Although other tech giants like Google and OpenAI have introduced AI tools for image and video generation, widespread adoption in advertising remains cautious. Marketers continue to weigh issues such as brand safety, creative autonomy, and content quality before making the leap.