Meta Explores Google AI Models for Ad Targeting Amid Conflicting Reports

Meta Denies Report It's Considering Google AI Models for Ad Business | PYMNTS.com

Reached by PYMNTS, a Meta spokesperson said the company is only using Google's models for benchmarking. "We've always built our own industry-leading, proprietary ad targeting and recommendation systems," the Meta spokesperson said in an email. "Separate from that, we regularly evaluate third-party tools for the purpose of benchmarking, which is the case here." The Information report said Meta was looking into using Google's AI models to help summarize ads for its ad recommendation system, which aims to show ads to the people for whom they are meant. According to The Information report, this consideration of another company's technology signals that Meta has seen "stumbles" with its own AI and may be looking for an interim solution until its new Superintelligence Labs team refines its own Llama AI models. The report said the talks with Google are in their early stages and may not result in a deal. Google did not immediately reply to PYMNTS' request for comment. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during a July 30 earnings call that advertising efficiency is one area in which AI is already changing the company's products. He said new recommendation models had lifted ad conversions 5% on Instagram and 3% on Facebook in the quarter. Zuckerberg also outlined his ambition for "superintelligence." "Over the last few months, we've begun to see glimpses of our AI systems improving themselves, and the improvement is slow for now, but undeniable," Zuckerberg said during the call. "Developing superintelligence -- which we define as AI that surpasses human intelligence in every way -- is now in sight." It was reported in June that Meta plans to create and target advertisements using AI by the end of 2026 and that the move is a key element of Zuckerberg's vision for the future of Meta, where advertising remains the core revenue driver.

Meta in talks to use Google's Gemini to improve ad targeting, the Information reports

(Reuters) -Meta staffers have had discussions with Alphabet's Google Cloud about the possibility of using its Gemini models to improve the Facebook parent's ad business, the Information reported on Thursday. The talks are still in relatively early stages and may not result in an agreement, the report said, citing people with knowledge of the conversations. Meta and Alphabet did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. The Meta employees have proposed fine-tuning rival Google's Gemini and open-source Gemma models on Meta's ad data to improve its ad targeting capabilities, the report said. The Instagram and WhatsApp owner's move to pick Google's AI over its own in-house models underscores the issues the company has had with scaling AI technology, despite the billions of dollars it has spent on research, infrastructure and talent. Meta and Google directly compete in the online advertising market. In their most recent quarterly earnings reports both companies said that their investments in AI are fueling gains in their core ad businesses. Meta had already been considering partnerships with Google or ChatGPT maker OpenAI to improve AI features, including conversational responses for queries on its chatbot Meta AI and to power AI features in Meta's social media apps, the Information reported last month. (Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)