Meta at Cannes 2023: more AI magic is on the way for businesses!

Published: June 21, 2023

min read

With the popularity of generative AI exploding in recent months, tech giants from Google to Meta to Amazon are racing to launch their own AI products and incorporate AI features into their existing products. Needless to mention, Google has recently introduced AI-powered search ads to help advertisers level up their game, and Snapchat launched "My AI" to provide audiences with intuitive experiences on its platform.

The race is ongoing, and the Meta’s sales pitch at Cannes 2023 shows that. The two prominent things on which Meta focused at Cannes were AI and Reels.

With many companies exploring different paths for AI to help create ads and plan campaigns, Meta took the stage at Cannes to promote new ways for AI to assist in ad generation and media buying.

Meta has a lot going on. For years, the company has been working on AI as part of its overall strategy.

Meta's head of global business group, Nicola Mendelsohn, stated the ongoing creation of Meta's AI assistants in Cannes. The assistants were touted as a way for businesses to communicate with customers as well as a way for creators to communicate with fans.

Most of Meta's cutting-edge generative AI concepts presented at Cannes have not been given a specific timeline.

Besides, the company is also developing AI media editing tools. The idea is that a brand could repurpose an existing video ad using AI.

Meta also talked about AI-generated stickers as an avenue for brands to create advertisements. Users could instruct AI within Messenger to create a sticker that could be placed on messages, and Meta is now discussing how brands could get their images included in the creation process.

Beyond AI, Meta also promotes its plan to serve more ads in Reels. According to Meta, Reels are gaining popularity as a consumption format, but they do not yet generate ad revenue in the same way that ads in feeds and other videos do.

What does it mean for brands?

In the fear of not being left behind, almost all social media platforms are ramping up their game when it comes to AI experiments. And the Meta’s recent announcements reiterate the same.

With social media being a crowded place for brands, it is already hard to catch their audience's attention and stand out from the competition. Which makes it important for brands to constantly keep an eye on new announcements so that they can adopt them early and stay ahead of the curve.

With Meta's comments on Reels ads, it's clear that the company is honing its strategy to compete with TikTok. We believe it is a strong signal to businesses to closely monitor how their reel ads are performing in the coming days, as they have a high chance of noticing differences in performance so as to make changes to intensify it and plan their media mix accordingly.

Here are the perspectives on Meta’s AI announcements:

We definitely see it as a big move, as these features can benefit businesses in various ways.

Meta’s AI assistants can help businesses significantly in handling routine customer doubts and providing instant responses. By automating these customer support processes, the marketing team will be able to save a significant amount of time so that they can allocate the corresponding resources to focus on other complex tasks. This way, businesses can proactively engage with leads and enhance the overall customer experience with AI assistants.
It is critical for any business to take care of their online reputation to grow and sustain itself in this competitive market. With Meta’s AI assistants, the gap between target audiences and brands can be easily filled. As AI assistants can monitor online mentions and reviews, they can considerably help businesses identify potential issues or negative feedback. This, in turn, will alert businesses in real-time so that they can respond promptly and mitigate any reputational damage.
With Meta's plans to focus on Reels ads in the coming days, businesses can use its AI media editing tools, once made available, to generate high-quality, visually appealing videos to catch their audience's attention and increase engagement. Indeed, it will speed up the creative process and save significant amounts of time and effort for creative teams. As a result of these advanced capabilities, marketing teams will also be able to ensure timely delivery and keep up with trends.

With that said, it is already known that AI regulations are on the horizon, and businesses can be hit with regulatory practises anytime. Thus, although these to-be-launched AI capabilities sound promising for businesses, it is also important for them to make certain that their use of generative AI is strictly compliant and does not involve any deceptive practises.

Author

Jasmine Jackson

Jasmine is a social media maven with a talent for building engaged communities. She's a natural storyteller and has a way of making complex ideas accessible to everyone. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, and exploring new cuisines.