Meta has announced that starting December 16, conversations with its AI assistant on Facebook and Instagram will begin shaping the ads and content users see. Whether you’re chatting by text or voice, those interactions will be treated like posts, likes, or page follows—feeding Meta’s recommendation engine to adjust what shows up in your feed. The company says this will help tailor content so users see more of what they “actually care about,” using the example that chatting about hiking could trigger recommendations for hiking groups, trail posts, and ads for boots. Notably, WhatsApp chats with Meta AI won’t be included in this system—for now.

What makes this update more controversial is that there is no way to opt out. Meta is equating private AI conversations with public engagement, using them as yet another stream of behavioral data to fine-tune targeting and increase ad revenue. Users are being told their chats are just another signal of interest, but critics argue it blurs the line between personal interaction and surveillance. In reality, the only way to keep Meta AI from mining your data is to avoid engaging with the chatbot altogether. This shift underscores how AI assistants are being woven deeper into digital ecosystems—not just to “assist” users, but to monetize every interaction.

SOURCE: Tech Radar