Meta Says It Has Scanned Every Single Public Instagram Post With its AI
During a Q2 earnings call this week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that Instagram has improved its algorithm by scanning every public post and using that information to provide better recommended content.
Zuckerberg says that the LLM AI model that scans public Reels and posts allows Meta to better analyze them for topics and tone, which he says is “a key building block toward greater personalization.”
The company is rolling out the process to Facebook as well. Zuckerberg lauded the AI technology that he says has contributed to users spending more time on the app by improving their feed and Reels recommendations.
“Our recommendations are also becoming more personalized, surfacing more fresh content while giving people more direct control over what they see,” Zuckerberg says. “This drove a 15-basis point increase in sessions on Instagram, with particular strength in reshares and time spent, which are both strong indicators of better content-to-user matching.”
But despite Zuckerberg’s upbeat messaging on how Meta is deploying AI internally, Wall Street was down on the company as its share price slid by 8%.
That is largely because of its earnings results that came in below expectations. Meta grew its revenue by 28% compared to a year ago to $61 billion. But profits fell 14% to $6 billion.
The fall in profits is in large part because of voracious spending on AI infrastructure. The company estimates it will splurge $130 billion to $145 billion in 2026. Just three months ago, it said it would spend $125 billion.
Investors are growing increasingly concerned that what Zuckerberg calls a “big bet across the industry” will not pay off as they fret about how AI firms will get a return on their huge investments. “My personal bet is that the people who invest in this will feel very good and be rewarded over time,” Zuckerberg said this week.
But an analyst tells the BBC that there are parallels to what’s happening now and what happened a few years ago when Meta spent tens of billions of dollars on the metaverse, despite there being no proven demand for the product.
“What it generated in cash this quarter almost all got eaten by AI infrastructure spending,” says Mike Proulx, who works at Forrester Research. “Investors now have to decide whether Meta’s growing list of AI initiatives represents company diversification or distraction.”
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