“Optimizing the industry with AI”: Mark Zuckerberg’s warning shot to the advertising market

Mark Zuckerberg 's vision is unequivocal. Interviewed on a Stratechery podcast last Thursday, the Meta CEO discussed several "business opportunities" for his artificial intelligence, LlaMa , due out in February 2023. For the Facebook founder, "the most fundamental is to use AI to optimize the advertising industry" and save businesses time.

According to the Facebook founder, AI would thus make it possible to "improve recommendations and ensure that any company wishing to achieve a business objective can simply come to us, without having to produce content or know its customers." He cites the example of a possible request: "Here is the business outcome I want, here is what I am willing to pay, I will connect you to my bank account and I will pay you for as many business objectives as you can achieve." In other words, if companies ask AI for their needs, it will signal the death of advertising agencies.

Mark Zuckerberg doesn't stop at this idea and even believes that at "this point, we are simply better at finding people who are likely to be interested in your product" than the companies themselves. The CEO of Meta does not exclude "the creative aspect" , which, according to him, must come directly from the requester. Exit, therefore, the intermediary of agencies. "I think it will be huge, I think it's a redefinition of advertising" , he assures. Statements poorly received by some specialists in the sector, interviewed by The Verge : "Letting them create and optimize the creatives is scary. No client will trust what they produce." For another, the group displays towards its clients "a certain condescension" , which does not encourage companies to turn to Meta.

AI is particularly strategic for the future of the advertising sector. Already, in 2023 , David Leclarbart, co-president of the Association of Communication Consulting Agencies, specified that "a new profession was beginning to emerge: that of "prompter", that is to say the employee in the company who will best know how to interact with the machine to bring out qualitative content" . An advertising executive then told Le Figaro that he "had no choice but to adapt to these technological developments" .

Last year, Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun stated that "AI is at the heart of our entire connected media ecosystem: it helps us strengthen our understanding of a consumer's profile and tastes, and personalize an advertising message accordingly." It remains to be seen whether companies will continue to rely on advertising professionals or whether they will directly train themselves in the use of AI to minimize their budgetary costs.