Meta’s new ad tools continue its AI blitz

After leading an artificial intelligence field day at its Connect conference last week, Meta today announced a suite of new generative AI-powered tools for advertisers, available inside Meta’s Ad Manager network. Background Generation will produce multiple backgrounds to be used in advertisements. These images will complement the product being advertised and are intended to help brands show different ads to different audiences. Also read: Why BeReal is launching its first marketing campaign now Image Expansion will automatically resize ads to fit different formats. For example, the tool can quickly adjust the aspect ratio of a creative asset so that it appears flush on both Instagram Feeds and Reels. Text Variation produces multiple versions of ad copy from an original text. The tool is meant to give advertisers options for reaching different audiences while preserving an ad’s key selling points. Meanwhile, other big tech companies are looking to fit generative AI into their ad offerings. Microsoft debuted its first AI ad format last month, which will generate side-by-side ads for consumers to compare product details and prices. This week, LinkedIn announced a self-serve platform for brands to auto-generate campaigns on the social networking site. As for Meta’s new features, a small group of companies, including Publicis and Media.Monks, have had ongoing access via AI Sandbox, an AI testing ground that Meta launched in May. Early feedback from this group suggests that the simplicity of Meta’s generative AI tools, operable via the click of a button, could help brands cut down on time-consuming tasks, such as editing and repurposing their ads across the tech company’s apps. For example, half of the advertisers estimated that these tools will save them five or more hours a week, or the equivalent of one month a year, according to a survey conducted by Meta last month. Meta’s ad-focused features come a week after the company announced a slate of generative AI services for its family of apps. These rollouts included image generators, celebrity AI chatbots and an AI studio for developers to create their own AI assistants. While Meta declined to offer specific brand use cases for the celebrity bots during a call with reporters on Tuesday, the company did provide a glimpse into how marketers may use bespoke AI assistants for customer service on Messenger and WhatsApp. Rolling out at the end of this year, these bots will be able to answer top-of-funnel questions specific to brands and their products or services. Human assistance will still be needed for more complex inquiries, however. Testing is currently open to a small number of businesses. Also read: A Gen Zer’s AI-powered marketing ideas for brands

Meta’s new ad tools continue its AI blitz

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