What Meta’s Vision for an AI-Driven Future Means for Advertisers

Meta has long invested in AI behind the scenes, and now they’re going all in. As detailed by their VP and Head of Infrastructure in May 2023, they continue to progress in building their AI infrastructure, tailored for the growing demands of AI computing power and the important role AI plays in their advertising platform.

Their major AI initiatives include the development of a custom hardware for AI models, an AI-optimized data center design, the deployment of CodeCompose, an AI-powered coding assistant, and the expansion of their supercomputer for AI research. These efforts aim to enable the development of larger and more sophisticated AI models. 

Meta’s evolving AI infrastructure will have a profound impact on the Facebook advertising network. They plan to further streamline and automate the entire advertising experience. From ad writing to optimizations, AI will take advertising processes to the next level.

So what does this mean for advertisers? We have three main takeaways.

1. AI should eventually put concerns from iOS14 in the rearview mirror

Since Apple rolled out iOS14 and tanked a big chunk of Facebook’s conversion tracking in the process, advertisers have generally hesitated to spend where they couldn’t reliably track outcomes. And in a world moving away from cookies, old user tracking methods are no longer reliable.

Enter AI to clear up a murky picture. Simply, the more intelligent and sophisticated Facebook’s algorithms become with AI and machine learning, the better optimizing, targeting, and tracking the algorithm will enable. Advertisers will need to devote less time to manual optimization and more time on testing bigger strategies and audiences while machine learning helps campaigns learn and optimize in real time.

2. Data will drive success

Meta’s data center is where the behind-the-scenes magic will happen. The more clean data processed, the more intelligent the machine learning and models will become in serving ads more effectively to the right users. Advertisers should not approach this passively; any offline data they can feed back into Facebook’s back end – such as offline purchases, progression through the B2B sales funnel, subscription renewals, etc. – will help teach the algorithm more about your most valuable audiences and how to identify future customers most likely to benefit from your offer. 

3. Creative will matter more than ever

The algorithm will help every kind of advertiser find the right user, which leaves content, messaging, and offers as differentiating levers. If the algorithm does all the smart work to target the right people, but the ad is lacking in effective messaging, alluring creative elements, and relevant offers, users might blow right by without engaging. AI is fueling a host of tools for producing creative at scale, but it’s still up to the advertisers to test and learn – and to make sure their creative is infused with an understanding of what drives their audience.

Performance Manager Bryan Locke contributed to this post.

Make sure to subscribe to the JDM blog to stay on top of developments in the advertising landscape.