Social media is on the cusp of a major transformation in the ever-evolving digital landscape. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, envisions a new era where AI-generated content will become a core element in users’ feeds.
Meta’s journey has seen a shift from a focus on friends and family content to influencer-driven feeds. However, Zuckerberg now believes that the next wave of engagement will be led by AI-generated or AI-enhanced content. “I think we’re going to add a whole new category of content which is AI-generated or AI-summarized content, or existing content pulled together by AI in some way,” he shared, underscoring the potential this approach holds for Meta’s platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and even Threads.
Central to this vision is Meta’s Llama large language model, a robust AI tool that powers the Meta AI chatbot, now engaging over 500 million monthly users. As Zuckerberg highlighted, “I have high confidence that over the next several years, this will be one of the important trends and one of the important applications.” The company is already experimenting with various AI applications, which Zuckerberg described as “promising” but still in the early stages of exploration.
Zuckerberg elaborated on Meta’s history of content curation, explaining how it began by connecting users with content from friends and family and then shifted to recommending influencer-driven content based on engagement metrics. Now, AI-generated content is emerging as the next evolution. “It’s something we’re starting to test different things around,” he said, signaling a pivot to AI-curated feeds.
Signs of this new trend have already surfaced. On Facebook, AI-generated content—sometimes labeled as “AI slop”—has started to populate user feeds. These posts, often strange or humorous images, are crafted with the intent of going viral to capitalize on Meta’s creator payment program, which reportedly pays up to $10 per 1,000 likes on a post.
Similar content may soon spread to Instagram. In a report by User Mag, a curious instance surfaced of an Instagram account posing as a restaurant, complete with AI-generated images of food, staff, and even a fabricated association with Jeff Bezos. Despite its fictional nature, the account has attracted a significant following, gaining around 10,000 followers since its AI origin was disclosed.