Facebook, now known as Meta is starting to see an AI path for recovery after its worst year. According to internal documents that were analyzed by The Wall Street JournalInterviews and reports from people who know the facts.
It Wall Street Journal reports that due to Facebook’s significant investment in AI tools, the company is now better able to target advertisements and make more accurate predictions with less information. The company’s plans to get around an Apple privacy change that limited Facebook’s ability to collect data about what its users do outside the boundaries of its platforms depend heavily on this and a shift to forms of advertising less reliant on gathering user data from off its platforms.
Mark Zuckerberg (Drew Angerer /Getty)
Despite the difficulties brought on by Apple’s decision and TikTok’s increasing popularity, in addition to the fact that businesses generally cut back on ad spending due to the unstable economy, Facebook’s financial performance last year was severely hampered, and its stock price fell by nearly 25 percent in a single day following its most recent financial report. But, it is beginning to see some positive results from AI-driven advances.
Facebook’s short-form video products, Reels and other key features have been a success. Internal data reveals that while the company was still having trouble convincing users to watch Reels videos last summer, viewership has increased on Facebook, which continues to be by far the company’s biggest revenue generator. In an internal meeting in October, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President of Analytics Alex Schultz attributed a 20 percent increase in time spent watching Reels to improvements in Facebook’s algorithms and the computing systems on which they are based.
Reels, the full-screen, short-form videos that are shown to users of Facebook and Instagram based on their interests, have also benefited from the company’s AI tools. They are usually strangers to users, and do not have any other connections to them. According to Schultz’s statements, which were taken into consideration by the Journal, Facebook had additional AI-driven enhancements in the works that it hadn’t yet released.
While Schultz acknowledged that Apple’s privacy changes remain painful, he added that thanks to the company’s successful adaptation efforts, they will no longer have an adverse effect on future earnings. Schultz stated that during the meeting. “Year over year, they are a tailwind to our business because of improvements we’ve made on artificial intelligence.”
Despite a slight rebound, Facebook’s stock still ended 2022 down more than 60 percent, wiping out more than $600 billion in market value. However, the shares have risen by 22 percent so far in this year. Analysts expect it to post a slower decline in profits and revenue. The company may still be able to meet these expectations, even though its outlook is more positive.
The company still has some issues despite improvements on certain fronts. Documents reviewed by the JournalThis suggests that even though app use was up in the second quarter, engagement and content creation, especially among younger people, has continued to drop. User creation of Instagram’s “stories” posts was running about 10 percent below the company’s expectations, and users on both Facebook and Instagram were posting and commenting less frequently.
Moreover, while Facebook is making strides towards the acceptance of Instagram Reels, it’s clear that the social media giant has lost the cultural impact they used to have. TikTok, a rival mobile application was downloaded the most last year. ByteDance, a Chinese company that owns TikTok, now has two-thirds American teenagers using the platform for short-form videos. “Creators universally believe TikTok is the best way to get in front of a younger audience,” an internal presentation noted.”
Continue reading at Wall Street Journal here.
Breitbart news reporter Lucas Nolan reports on issues such as free speech and onlinecensorship. Follow Lucas Nolan on Twitter @LucasNolan
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