Facebook, with over 2 billion monthly active users, is one of the largest social media platforms in the world. With such a massive userbase, advertising on Facebook is a hugely lucrative business, generating over $85 billion in revenue in 2019 alone. This raises the question – does Facebook use artificial intelligence (AI) to target ads to users?
Does Facebook Use Bots or AI For Anything?
Yes, Facebook does use AI and bots for a variety of purposes across its platforms. Here are some of the key ways Facebook utilizes AI and bots:
- Content Moderation – Facebook uses AI to proactively detect policy-violating content like hate speech, nudity, terrorism, etc. This content is then flagged for human moderators.
- Facial Recognition – Facebook uses facial recognition technology to detect faces in photos and automatically suggest tags. Users can then tag people they know.
- Text Understanding – AI is used to analyze text in posts and comments to better understand context and meaning.
- Recommendation Algorithms – Advanced AI algorithms are used to recommend relevant content – posts, pages, groups – that users might like based on past activity.
- Chatbots – Facebook has bots like ‘M’ on Messenger that can automatically respond to common queries and requests.
- Targeted Advertising – AI is used to better understand users and target relevant ads to them (more details below).
So in summary, yes Facebook does use artificial intelligence and bots in many aspects of its platforms.
How Does Facebook Use AI for Advertising?
Facebook uses cutting-edge AI technology to target ads to users based on their interests, behaviors, demographics, and more. Here are some of the key ways Facebook utilizes AI for advertising:
Analyzing User Data
Facebook collects vast amounts of data about its users including pages and posts liked, Groups joined, articles read, search queries made, ads clicked on, shopping habits, location, demographics, and more. Sophisticated machine learning algorithms analyze all this data to build detailed interest and behavioral profiles for each user.
Micro-Targeting
Facebook’s AI allows advertisers to micro-target users based on their interests and demographics. For example, a clothing brand can target women aged 18-35 years who are interested in fashion and live in New York. This level of granular targeting provides highly relevant ads for users.
Lookalike Audiences
Lookalike Audiences use AI to find new potential customers who share similar qualities to a business’s existing customers. The algorithm analyzes the existing customer base and then identifies new users with a similar profile. This expands the reach of ads.
Contextual Targeting
AI analyzes the context – text, images, videos, etc. – of posts and pages to discern topics and themes. Relevant ads are shown based on this contextual information. So a post about baseball would feature sports-related ads.
Conversion Optimization
AI optimizes the whole conversion process – right from ad creation to measuring results – to get maximum ROI from advertising spend. It A/B tests ad creative, captions, calls-to-action, placement, etc. to improve performance.
Automated Bidding
Facebook’s automated bidding algorithms use machine learning to set the optimal bid price for ads in real-time based on campaign goals, budgets, and expected ROI. This removes the need for manual bidding.
Analyzing Ad Performance
Powerful analytics tools enabled by AI give deep insights into how ads are performing – clicks, impressions, CTR, conversions, etc. Marketers can use these insights to tweak campaigns for better results.
So in summary, Facebook leverages AI across the advertising process – from understanding users, creating targeted audiences, optimizing creative, placing ads, automated bidding, to analyzing performance – to deliver highly relevant, effective ads.
Does Facebook Have an AI Assistant Like Siri?
No, Facebook does not have a general artificial intelligence assistant like Siri, Alexa or Google Assistant that can understand natural language, have conversations and perform tasks. However, Facebook does have more limited AI-powered bots and assistants:
- Portal Assistant – The AI assistant exclusive for Facebook’s Portal video calling devices can recognize voices, understand requests, and control smart home devices.
- M Assistant – M is an AI-powered virtual assistant on Facebook’s Messenger app that can automate responses and provide information like news, weather, etc.
- FAQ Bots – Facebook allows businesses to build chatbots on Messenger that can respond to frequently asked customer questions.
- Account Support – Facebook uses automated bots to handle common support queries from users like password resets, account access issues, etc.
However, Facebook does not have a general conversational AI assistant that has advanced language understanding capabilities and is capable of complex dialogue and tasks. Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant are far more sophisticated in terms of natural language processing and contextual understanding.
Facebook’s current assistants and bots are designed for narrow, specific use cases rather than as a general assistant like Siri or Alexa. But given Facebook’s investments in AI research, they may potentially build a more advanced AI assistant in the future.
Does Facebook Store All User Data Including Messages?
Yes, Facebook does store extensive amounts of user data, including messages in some cases, though the exact extent of the data stored depends on the Facebook service being used.
Data Stored by Facebook
Here is some of the key user data stored by Facebook’s services:
- Profile info – name, bio, email, phone number, photos, etc.
- Posts and content shared – text, images, videos, links, etc.
- Likes and reactions to posts
- Groups and Pages followed
- Friends/connections
- Location data
- Search and browsing history
- Interactions with ads and businesses
- Device and connection information
Facebook Messages
For Facebook Messages (texts chats), messages are stored in encrypted form for long as the sender and recipient maintain their accounts and do not delete the messages. Messages are deleted if either person closes their account.
Messenger and Instagram
Facebook also owns Instagram and Messenger. For Instagram Direct messages, the data is stored until either party deletes the messages. For Messenger chats, the data is generally stored indefinitely.
Data Use
Facebook uses the data it collects to generate targeted ads, provide users with relevant content, conduct analytics, and improve its products and services. Users can manage privacy settings to limit some data collection.
So in summary, while the specifics vary by product, Facebook does store extensive user data including messages in some cases to train its algorithms and provide its services.
How Does Facebook Build Psychological Profiles of Users?
Facebook builds psychological profiles of users by collecting and analyzing their personal data to discern their interests, behaviors, preferences, habits, personalities, and more. Here are some of the key ways Facebook builds these profiles:
Likes and Shares
The pages, posts, articles, videos and other content that users like and share provides insight into their interests, views, personalities, and habits.
Friends and Connections
The people and Pages users connect with indicates common interests, beliefs, aspirations, and personalities.
Groups and Forums
Analyzing the groups users join and forums they participate in gives information about their passions, ideologies, causes, and desires.
Photos and Videos
Computer vision algorithms analyze users’ uploaded photos and videos to identify objects, scenes, emotions, activities, and metadata like geotags.
Posts and Messaging
Natural language processing examines the textual content of posts, comments, and private messages to ascertain tone, meaning, sentiment, and psychological state.
App and Web Activity
Monitoring which apps users access through Facebook Login and their general web browsing behavior paints a picture of habits and personalities.
Purchase History
Records of users’ past purchases, both on and off Facebook, provide information about financial status, lifestyle, consumption preferences, and desires.
Demographics
Basic demographic data like age, gender, location, education, job title and relationship status allows Facebook to segment users into groups.
By combining all this behavioral and personal data from diverse sources, Facebook constructs intricate psychological profiles of its users.
Is Facebook Listening to Conversations Through Phone Microphones?
There is no evidence that Facebook is secretly activating phone microphones to listen to real-world conversations. While some users have noticed coincidental, targeted ads after discussing products, Facebook targets ads based on other data sources.
Facebook’s Response
Facebook has directly denied listening to user conversations for ad targeting. As per their statement: “Facebook does not use your phone’s microphone to inform ads or to change what you see in News Feed.”
No Evidence Found
Independent security researchers have found no evidence of the Facebook app covertly activating phone microphones in the background to listen to conversations.
Other Ways of Targeting Ads
The coincidental ads targeting users after verbal conversations can be explained by Facebook’s vast user data from other sources like online activity, purchase history, location, demographics etc. No microphone access is required.
Microphone Permission
The Facebook app does request microphone permission but only when users specifically opt to record a video, go live, or make a voice post. The app does not otherwise access the mic.
Legality Concerns
Secretly listening to phone mic recordings without user consent would be illegal in many jurisdictions where Facebook operates.
So while highly targeted ads can sometimes feel like Facebook is listening, the evidence suggests this is not the case. The targeting is made possible by Facebook’s powerful AI algorithms analyzing billions of user data points without needing microphone access.
Can You Trust Facebook With Your Personal Data?
Facebook has faced scrutiny over its handling of user data, especially after major controversies like Cambridge Analytica. But the company has also taken steps to be more transparent and give users more control. Ultimately, it requires balancing risks versus utility.
Risks and Downsides
- Data can be compromised in security breaches
- Overreach in data collection and use
- Lack of full transparency
- User manipulation concerns
- Questionable third party data sharing
Benefits and Utility
- Connect with friends and family
- Find communities and people with shared interests
- Convenient platform for content sharing
- Access useful products like Marketplace, Jobs, Groups etc.
- Entertainment and escapism
Steps Taken by Facebook
- Introduced clearer data policies and controls
- Enhanced transparency about how data is used
- Restricted third party developer access
- Improved security protocols and systems
- AI for detecting fake accounts and abuse
Ultimately, users themselves must decide if the utility they receive from Facebook platforms is worth the potential privacy risks involved in sharing their personal data.
Conclusion
In conclusion, while Facebook has access to vast troves of user data, and employs sophisticated AI for a variety of purposes including targeted advertising, they likely do not secretly activate microphones to listen to conversations. The reported cases of coincidental ad targeting are explained by Facebook’s existing data sources. However, users should still be cognizant of the privacy risks when sharing personal information online.