Meta AI to Replace Entire Advertising Process, Says Zuckerberg

In what could be the most disruptive shift in the history of marketing, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has unveiled a sweeping vision where artificial intelligence not only assists in ad delivery but completely takes over the entire advertising process. From generating creative content to publishing and targeting, Meta AI is being designed to handle everything—potentially spelling the end of traditional advertising as we know it.

In a candid conversation with Ben Thompson of Stratechery, Zuckerberg laid out how far Meta has come with AI in advertising and how far it plans to go. He explained that the company is rapidly advancing toward a future where a business can simply input its objectives, link its bank account, and let AI do the rest—without any need for creatives, demographic targeting, or manual measurement.

"We're going to get to a point where you're a business, you come to us, you tell us what your objective is, you connect to your bank account, you don't need any creative, you don't need any targeting demographic, you don't need any measurement, except to be able to read the results that we spit out. I think that's going to be huge," Zuckerberg said, calling it a complete redefinition of advertising.

This new AI-driven model would automate the entire lifecycle of digital ads. Meta AI would generate images and videos of the product, write compelling ad copy, identify the ideal audience using its data capabilities, and automatically publish and optimize the ads across Meta platforms. If an ad performs well, it will be scaled up and aggressively promoted, with users directed to buy through Meta’s own ecosystem.

This announcement represents a monumental leap in the role of artificial intelligence in business. Meta has already invested heavily in AI-enhanced advertising over the past few years. The results speak for themselves—Meta recently implemented a new AI-based recommendation engine for Reels, resulting in a 5% increase in conversions. Over 30% of businesses on Meta platforms now use AI tools for ad creative development, reflecting strong adoption of the technology.

During the company’s latest earnings call, Zuckerberg noted major improvements in user engagement thanks to AI enhancements. “In the last six months, improvements to our recommendation systems have led to a 7 percent increase in time spent on Facebook, a 6 percent increase on Instagram, and 35 percent on Threads,” he said.

What’s even more striking is that this AI revolution is just beginning. Zuckerberg also hinted that advertisements are coming to Meta AI interfaces themselves, and a paid subscription tier will soon be introduced. This paid tier would offer users more powerful computing capacity, enabling even faster performance and deeper integration across Meta’s platforms. For businesses, this means access to real-time, AI-generated media and precision marketing at unprecedented speeds and scales.

But while the prospect of AI-managed advertising sounds like a dream for efficiency-driven marketers, it raises serious questions about the future of the traditional advertising industry. What happens to creative agencies, ad copywriters, graphic designers, and media planners if AI can produce and manage campaigns in minutes? Will smaller agencies be able to compete with AI’s speed, scale, and data-driven precision?

Zuckerberg’s vision represents both a massive opportunity and a potential existential threat. On one hand, businesses of all sizes could launch global ad campaigns without needing expensive marketing teams or creative departments. On the other, thousands of industry professionals may find themselves obsolete as AI takes over tasks once thought uniquely human—like storytelling, persuasion, and visual branding.

Some experts have already voiced concerns about the ethical and economic implications of such sweeping automation. AI-generated media, if left unchecked, could flood digital spaces with synthetic content, challenge human creativity, and lead to homogenized ad experiences. There's also the matter of data control—Meta would not just host your content but actively create, distribute, and analyze it, giving the company unprecedented control over marketing narratives and consumer influence.

For Zuckerberg and Meta, however, the future is clear. The AI-first strategy is no longer an experiment—it’s the foundation of Meta's next growth phase. With billions of users and massive data reserves, Meta is uniquely positioned to dominate the future of advertising in a way no company has before.

Still, this transformation won’t happen overnight. Zuckerberg noted that for at least the next year, Meta’s focus will be on scaling up and deepening engagement with AI tools before monetization efforts begin in earnest. "I expect that we're going to be largely focused on scaling and deepening engagement for at least the next year before we'll really be ready to start building out the business," he said.

As this AI-led advertising revolution gains momentum, the rest of the industry must now decide whether to adapt or risk being left behind. The age of AI-powered marketing is here—and according to Zuckerberg, it's not just an evolution; it's a total redefinition.