Meta to Personalize Ads and News Feeds Using User AI Chat Data

Meta has announced that starting December 16 of this year, it will utilize data from user interactions with its AI tools to personalize content and advertisements across its platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. This means that conversations users have with Meta’s AI—whether through text or voice—could influence the types of posts, videos, and ads they see in their feeds. The social media giant plans to notify users of this change beginning October 7, giving them advance notice of the feature’s activation.

This new personalization feature works by analyzing topics and preferences expressed during AI interactions. For instance, users who chat with Meta’s AI assistant about hiking or cooking might see related posts, videos, or ads in their feeds. By leveraging AI chat data to shape content and advertising, Meta aims to compete with other tech giants like Google and Amazon, which are also exploring ways to integrate AI-driven personalization into their advertising strategies.

At the same time, the company, led by Mark Zuckerberg, emphasized that certain sensitive topics—such as religion, political views, health matters, sexual orientation, and race—will not be used for ad targeting due to privacy and ethical considerations.

Despite these safeguards, the company’s latest move is likely to spark controversy, as users won’t have the option to opt out of having their AI conversations used for personalization. Instead, those who wish to avoid sharing such data can choose not to use Meta’s AI products altogether. Initially, the rollout will exclude certain regions—including the UK, the European Union, and South Korea—due to regulatory restrictions. This is a notable move, especially as the company claims that more than one billion people use Meta AI each month.

“The information we use, including interactions with Meta AI, comes from the accounts you choose to add to your account center,” the company stated. “This means, for example, that if you haven’t added your WhatsApp account to your account center, interactions with Meta AI on WhatsApp won’t be used to personalize experiences across different accounts on Meta products.”

This development comes amid multiple controversies and legal investigations involving Meta’s AI chatbot. For example, the AI has faced heavy criticism for engaging in sexually explicit conversations with users, including minors, raising significant safety and ethical concerns. Just last month, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission launched an investigation into the company over concerns that its AI chatbot could expose children to harm. Additionally, the company is facing a major copyright infringement lawsuit, alleging that it used millions of pirated books to train its LLaMA AI model—a practice reportedly carried out with Zuckerberg’s knowledge and approval.