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Meta — the owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp — is preparing to enable advertisers to fully create and target their campaigns using artificial intelligence tools by the end of next year.
The plan, first revealed by the Wall Street Journal, could dramatically reshape the advertising landscape, posing a direct challenge to the traditional roles played by ad agencies that currently handle creative work, planning, and media buying for major brands.
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Meta’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, has doubled down on AI-powered advertising as a key strategic priority, calling it “a redefinition of the category of advertising.” Under the new plan, brands using Meta’s advertising platform will be able to generate entire ads — including images, videos, and text — from a single product photo and a specified marketing budget.
Currently, Meta’s ad platform already offers some AI tools to tweak existing ads for optimal performance on Facebook and Instagram. However, the new suite of tools goes much further, promising end-to-end ad creation and fully automated audience targeting — including options like geolocation targeting for travel companies looking to tailor offers based on users’ likely destinations.
The news triggered a sell-off in shares of some of the world’s largest marketing services firms on Monday, as investors digested the potential impact of Meta’s plan. Shares in WPP fell 3% in early trading, while French rivals Publicis Groupe and Havas saw drops of 3.9% and 3% respectively.
Meta’s ambitions also align with its previously announced capital expenditure plans. The company revealed in April that it expects to spend between \$64 billion and \$72 billion in 2025, with a significant portion earmarked for AI infrastructure. This marks a substantial increase from its earlier projection of up to \$65 billion, reflecting the scale of investment required to support such advanced technology.
Despite fears of disruption among agencies, Meta has sought to reassure the industry that AI will complement — rather than replace — the work of traditional advertising firms.
“We believe in the future of agencies,” said Alex Schultz, Meta’s chief marketing officer and vice-president of analytics, in a recent post on LinkedIn. “We believe AI will enable agencies and advertisers to focus precious time and resources on the creativity that matters. While we think there will ultimately be more automation in marketing, the role that agencies play is going to become ever more important through their ability to plan, execute and measure across platforms.”
However, Schultz acknowledged that the new tools would help “level the playing field” for millions of small and medium-sized businesses that lack the resources to hire agencies. “For these businesses who aren’t able to work with an agency, or don’t have time during their busy days to think about their creative or targeting, that’s where AI can help,” he explained.
The planned rollout of AI tools could also help Meta expand its advertising base by enabling businesses of all sizes to run professional-quality campaigns at a fraction of the cost of working with traditional agencies. With advertising revenues already topping \$160 billion annually, the move could further boost Meta’s bottom line while reshaping how marketing is done globally.
As the year progresses, the advertising industry will be watching closely to see how Meta’s AI plans develop — and what impact they will have on the jobs, creativity, and business models of agencies around the world.
