Meta Will Use AI Chats for Personalization, Calling It ‘Natural Progression’

Meta announced it will begin using conversations with its AI assistant to shape the ads and content users see across its apps. The company said chats with Meta AI will serve as new inputs for personalization alongside existing activity signals.

In a briefing reported by CNBC, Christy Harris, Meta’s privacy-policy manager, called the shift “a natural progression of our personalization efforts.” The update takes effect December 16, with notifications rolling out to users beginning October 7.

The change in personalized content and ads recommendations will be extended across Facebook, Instagram, and other Meta services linked through the Accounts Center. At launch, the update will not apply in the UK, South Korea, or the European Union. Users cannot opt out of the change, but if they do not engage with Meta AI, the new system will not affect their accounts.

Hero/feature image – An example of the notifications that people will see starting October 7. Source: Meta

From prompts to posts

Both text and voice conversations with the AI chatbot will feed into recommendations, with inputs also captured through Ray-Ban Meta glasses.

For example, chatting with Meta AI about planning a family vacation could influence the Reels suggested on Facebook, surfacing travel destinations or ads for hotels. Harris said the company is giving users advance notice of the change to be “super transparent.”

Sensitive topics will not feed into personalization

Meta said conversations touching on areas such as religion, politics, sexual orientation, health, racial or ethnic origin, or trade union membership will not be used to tailor ads or content.

The social media company added that microphone access is permission-based and only active while a feature is in use, with a light indicating when it is on.

Interactions with services not included in the Accounts Center will not affect personalization elsewhere.

AI companies tying revenue to conversations

OpenAI is also experimenting with monetization within its chatbot, having recently launched Instant Checkout to enable users to make purchases directly in ChatGPT. The service, which starts with Etsy in the US, charges merchants a small fee on completed sales and is set to expand.

The Wall Street Journal noted that Meta’s use of AI conversations for ads is part of a broader strategy to bankroll its AI ambitions. Mark Zuckerberg has cast building superintelligence as the next frontier, with spending projected to reach as much as $600 billion on infrastructure over the coming years. 

With AI tools completing orders in chat and tuning ad strategies, the same trend is emerging — AI companies are now turning a private prompt into a commercial event.