Meta to use AI chats to personalize ads, content

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SAN FRANCISCO - Meta will begin using people's conversations with its artificial intelligence chatbot to tailor the ads and content they see on Facebook and Instagram, the social media giant announced Wednesday.

The company said it would start notifying users about the change on October 7, with the new system taking effect on December 16, 2025.

Under the update, interactions with Meta AI -- whether through voice or text -- will be utilised much like how the platform currently tracks likes, shares, and posts to determine user interests and what ads will have the highest potential impact.

The result could mean that users who discuss outdoor activities with the chatbot start seeing recommendations for hiking groups, posts about trails from friends, or advertisements for hiking equipment.

More than one billion people use Meta AI, the company's generative artificial intelligence assistant, across its family of apps, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

"The goal of the announcement is to be super transparent and make sure that users understand what's coming with plenty of lead time ahead of the change going into effect," Christy Harris, Meta's privacy and data policy manager, told reporters.

Meta said the changes would roll out "in most regions" initially, with Europe and the United Kingdom -- where regulation on data and privacy is stricter -- getting the updates at a later date.

While users cannot opt out of the data collection when using Meta AI, the company said they had control over the level of personalisation of ads and content on their feeds.

It also said that conversations about sensitive topics -- including religious views, sexual orientation, political views, and health -- would not be used for ad targeting.

AI interactions on WhatsApp accounts linked to users' overall Meta accounts would also be used for personalisation.