The topic Meta now wants to use your activity from other websites to personalize its AI is currently the subject of lively discussion — readers and analysts are keeping a close eye on developments.
This is taking place in a dynamic environment: companies’ decisions and competitors’ reactions can quickly change the picture.
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Meta will soon start using your data from other businesses to personalize your feed and its AI responses to your queries. The company announced in a blog post that it’s changing how it uses data shared by businesses (via Neowin).
Right now, Meta uses your activity on third-party apps and services to show you more relevant ads on its platforms. While that in itself is something many users dislike, the company will now also use this data to personalize your feed and AI chats.
The company also announced that it’s changing how you manage your data. Instead of the two options available right now: “Your activity off Meta technologies” and “Activity from other businesses,” it will soon only offer the “Activity from other businesses” option to users.
You will still be able to use this setting to disable personalization. However, Meta clarifies that this won’t stop it from collecting your data. Businesses can still share your data with Meta, and it will use that data to improve its services, per its privacy policy. Meta will simply not use this to personalize content for you. Its “services” also include Meta AI, which means your data can (and will) be used for training purposes.
Additionally, this could also be a step toward the introduction of ads in AI chats. If Meta is personalizing its AI responses based on your activity outside Meta products, it could soon start using that data to offer sponsored products and services within your chats with Meta AI.
The company already uses AI chats to show targeted ads across its platforms. Introducing ads within AI chats could be a natural next step. Users in the UK can already pay to get rid of ads in Facebook and WhatsApp. One can only hope that Meta expands this option to the US as well.
Meta says that it’s not collecting any new data as part of this change. It’s just adding yet another way it will use the data it collects. That may be true, but I’m not sure if it’s something to be happy about.
The changes will start rolling out in the US and several other countries from next month.
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