Meta uses AI chats to enhance ad targeting strategies

On October 1, 2025, the social media company Meta announced that it will begin using user interactions with its artificial intelligence chatbot to enhance the targeted advertising experiences on its platforms, Facebook and Instagram. The implementation of this new recommendation system will officially start on December 16, 2025, following notification to users on October 7. By leveraging interactions through text and voice, Meta aims to improve personalization in ad targeting, while allowing users to maintain some control over the types of content and ads displayed to them. However, opting out of the recommendations stemming from these interactions is not possible unless users disengage from the AI features altogether. Meta’s decision to harness these interactions aligns with broader trends in digital advertising, aiming to provide users with more relevant content based on their expressed interests and shopping behaviors. As CEO Mark Zuckerberg previously indicated, the company's AI digital assistant has reached noteworthy engagement metrics, boasting one billion active monthly users. Meta’s officials assert that they want transparency regarding these enhancements, even if the expectation of such targeted advertising has been prevalent among its user base. Moreover, the platform is already familiar with profiling user interests through existing data—gathering insights from their posting history, click patterns, and social connections. This innovative use of AI interactions invites users to communicate their preferences more directly, which could lead to more effective advertising strategies. For example, if a user discusses hiking with the chatbot, Meta recognizes this interest and can eventually push hiking-related ads or content to the user timeline. However, the ethical implications of this change raise concerns, particularly regarding sensitive topics such as mental health, relationships, and privacy. The company is under increasing scrutiny to ensure safe handling of potentially vulnerable conversations. This new phase also emphasizes the competitive landscape of digital advertising, especially as other companies like OpenAI are rolling out integrated shopping experiences through their own chatbots. As Meta looks to further monetize its AI offerings through enhanced ad targeting, the potential for growing revenues is clear, especially in light of the significant $46.5 billion advertising revenue reported from the previous quarter, demonstrating a marked increase over the previous year. In summary, as Meta prepares to roll out these advertising changes, users can expect their engagement with AI to shape not only the content they see but how they shop online moving forward.