No recommendation
No news or research item is a personal recommendation to deal. Hargreaves Lansdown may not share ShareCast's (powered by Digital Look) views.
(Sharecast News) - Facebook-owner Meta Platforms is looking to ramp up the use of artificial intelligence in advertising, it was reported on Monday.
The US social media giant - which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp - already offers advertisers some AI tools.
However, according to The Wall Street Journal, it wants advertisers to be able to use AI to create and target entire campaigns from scratch by the end of 2026.
The WSJ said the tools currently being developed would require a company to input the brand and budget only. AI would then be able to do the rest, creating the advert - including imagery, video and text - and deciding which end users to target.
Advertising makes up the bulk of Meta's earnings, bringing in more than 97% of overall revenues in 2024.
In May, first-quarter earnings per share came in at $6.43 while revenues jumped 16% to $42.31bn. Advertising revenues contributed $41.39bn of that, comfortably ahead of Wall Street targets for $40.44bn.
It is also spending heavily on AI, however, including investing in the specialist semiconductors needed to power the technology and data centres.
Meta did not comment on the report.
However, speaking at the annual general meeting last week, founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said: "In the not-too-distant future, we want to get to a world where any business will be able to just tell us what objective they're trying to achieve, like selling something or getting a new customer, how much they're willing to pay...connect their bank account and then we just do the rest for them."
The value of investments can go down in value as well as up, so you could get back less than you invest. It is therefore important that you understand the risks and commitments. This website is not personal advice based on your circumstances. So you can make informed decisions for yourself we aim to provide you with the best information, best service and best prices. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment please contact us for advice.