The short version

Ben Thompson predicted on October 29, 2024: “Meta is the best positioned to do that in the short-term, thanks to the obvious benefit of applying generative AI to advertising... This, by extension, will give long tail advertisers more access to more inventory, which will increase demand and ultimately increase prices.” Verdict: Called it. Meta launched AI-driven ad tools in 2024,…

Prediction by

Ben Thompson

On October 29, 2024

“Meta is the best positioned to do that in the short-term, thanks to the obvious benefit of applying generative AI to advertising... This, by extension, will give long tail advertisers more access to more inventory, which will increase demand and ultimately increase prices.”

Follow-up

Meta launched AI-driven ad tools in 2024, contributing to ad revenue growth. Q4 2024 ad revenue hit $40.1B (+24% YoY), with Meta attributing ~10-15% uplift to AI efficiencies. Long-tail advertiser participation rose with 4M+ monthly active advertisers by end-2024, and average CPMs increased ~15% YoY.

From the High Caliber AI network — see the AI for PR module in the course.