Meta's 'AI Sandbox' to create advertisements, predict performance

By Alex Barinka
 

Meta Platforms Inc. is giving marketers artificial intelligence tools to create ads and make them more effective.
 

The company Thursday introduced the “AI Sandbox” for advertisers to test early versions of features that use artificial intelligence technology. Initially, the tools will generate different text for ads that cater to various audiences, create alternate background images based on the words provided and automatically resize ad images to adjust for changes in platforms, the company said in a blog post. Meta is working with a small group of advertisers to test the tools and said it intends to gradually expand access beginning in July.

Meta, which runs Facebook and Instagram, also introduced a new AI-based model that can help businesses predict the performance of ads using a bigger data set than previously. In early tests on Instagram, the technology, called Meta Lattice, increased performance for advertisers, the company said.

Meta has been under pressure to rediscover growth in its core digital advertising business. Last month, the company reported that revenue increased after falling for the previous three consecutive quarters — its first ever sales declines. That first-quarter report suggests the possible end of a difficult stretch in which a choppy economy depressed marketer spending and iOS privacy changes from Apple Inc. made ads on smartphones less effective.

At the same time, the tech industry writ large has been trying to feed a newly insatiable appetite for AI-based technology from clients, investors and analysts. Digital advertisers, in particular performance-focused growth marketers, have been hungry for tools that can help create ads more efficiently and make them more successful.