Meta rolls out AI-powered ad tools at NewFronts

While the potential TikTok ban may be the talk of the town, Meta wants advertisers to focus on all the new features it’s bringing to its own short-form video platform.

During its Thursday NewFronts presentation in New York, Meta touted several new features for advertisers on Reels, and yes, some include generative AI. The new features make it the latest tech giant to announce new AI investments during the NewFronts.

Here’s what’s on the roster for Reels, which, according to data eMarketer published last year, more US marketers are using for influencer marketing than TikTok:

Creator recommendations: Instagram’s Creator Marketplace will feature personalized creator recommendations for brands, according to a company press release. Brands will be able to search for collaborators by using creator and audience filters, and can either send their campaign briefs to individual creators or “make them discoverable to many creators.”

“We are very focused on creators at Instagram, because we believe that power is going to continue to shift from institutions to individuals across industries, from teams to players, from labels to musicians, from publications to journalists,” Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, said in a video appearance during the event.

Reminder ads: Advertisers can build awareness leading up to product launches, promotions, and other events through Reminder ads, and can place external links to a product or sale within those ads.

AI enhancement: Meta has integrated AI into Reels in a few different ways. Advertisers can use it to more efficiently reuse creative assets across different Meta features, like Feed or Reels, according to the press release. AI will also enhance shopping on Reels, the company said

Advertisers will soon be able to make ads more Reels-like by using catalog-based videos. Meta is testing the feature, which is now available on Facebook Reels, on Instagram Reels as well.

Surprise, surprise: AI was a hot topic at several tech companies’ NewFronts presentations. Google unveiled an upcoming AI-enhanced targeting tool for advertisers. Snap debuted ML Face Effects, which lets brands make custom AR ads using GenAI. Samsung Ads introduced Smart Acquisitions, a tool that uses machine learning to identify users for advertisers, as well as a CTV marketing tool.