Meta to use AI chats for ad targeting from December 16

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Meta Platforms will integrate user conversations with its AI assistant into its advertising and recommendation systems starting December 16. The move represents a major step in monetising generative AI at scale, with implications for billions of users across Facebook, Instagram, and other Meta apps.

Any interaction with Meta AI — whether voice or text — will now join the data pool alongside likes, follows, and clicks to shape personalised content. For example, a chat about hiking could result in suggested groups, friend updates, or ads for outdoor gear.

Christy Harris, Meta’s privacy policy manager, described the change as “a natural extension of our personalisation strategy,” adding that conversations will inform ads and feeds in the same way other activity does. Sensitive subjects — including religion, health, political views, and sexual orientation — will be excluded from ad targeting.

Critically, there will be no opt-out option for users outside the EU, UK, and South Korea, where stricter data protection laws apply. Notifications will begin rolling out from October 7.

The announcement underscores Meta’s ambition to position Meta AI, which already has more than one billion monthly active users, as a central driver of engagement and revenue. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has called AI-powered personalisation the company’s “biggest focus for 2025.”

Unlike rivals Google and Amazon, who emphasise enterprise applications, Meta is betting on consumer-facing AI as a commercial engine — spanning apps, smart glasses, and future hardware.