Inside Meta’s AI: The Technology Behind Ads on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp

Every time you scroll past an Instagram ad that feels too on-point, it’s not a coincidence. Behind the scenes, Meta’s AI is predicting what will grab your attention next. But how does it actually work?

With nearly 98% of Meta’s revenue coming from advertising, its platforms- Facebook, Instagram, and now WhatsApp are powered by one of the most advanced AI ad systems in the world. In Q2 2025, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg credited this AI backbone for their revenue surge, noting: “The strong performance this quarter is largely thanks to AI unlocking greater efficiency and gains across our ads system.”

This deep dive reveals what’s happening inside that AI engine: how Meta builds, personalizes, delivers, and optimizes ads using deep learning, generative AI, and reinforcement models.

AI-Powered Targeting: Personalization at Scale

In a post-iOS 14 world, Meta had to pivot from data-heavy user tracking to privacy-respecting personalization. Enter Meta Lattice: a high-capacity neural network that replaces isolated targeting models with a unified one across Feed, Reels, and Stories.

Instead of predicting ad performance in silos, Lattice connects the dots across platforms, formats, and user signals resulting in more accurate ad delivery even with limited user data.

Key Impacts:

• 8% improvement in ad delivery quality
• 5% higher time spent on Facebook and 6% more on Instagram
• 5% increase in conversions on Instagram and 3% on Facebook

Meta’s Advantage+ campaigns also leverage this infrastructure. With minimal manual input, AI auto-optimizes budget allocation, ad creatives, and audience targeting in real time helping even small teams achieve high-impact outcomes.

Use Case: A mid-size DTC apparel brand switched to Advantage+ for their launch campaign and saw 3.7x more ROAS in 10 days without adjusting a single ad manually.

Generative AI: Ad Creatives at the Speed of Thought

Meta’s AI Sandbox is where LLMs, generative visuals, and creative testing converge. Here’s what it enables:

• Generate multiple ad copy variants tailored to different segments
• Create visuals (backgrounds, product scenes) using image diffusion models
• Resize, reframe, and localize creatives for different placements or geographies

2025 Feature Expansion:

• Video Expansion Tool: Transforms landscape product videos into mobile-ready vertical formats using AI interpolation
• Image Animation: Breathes life into static shots with smooth zooms, pans, and animated text
• Multilingual generation: Creates ad variations in 12+ languages with localized tonality

Use Case: A skincare brand used AI Sandbox to animate their static product line into Reels. Result: 13% higher view-through rates, 17% lift in engagement, and a 2.1x return on ad spend.

WhatsApp Ads: From Passive Viewing to Active Conversations

WhatsApp is Meta’s most intimate platform and it’s finally monetized.

New Formats in 2025:

• WhatsApp Status Ads: These resemble Stories, sit in the Updates tab, and come with CTAs like “Send Message”
• Click-to-Chat Ads: When tapped, they launch a direct chat, allowing brands to engage in real-time
• Lead-gen Forms within Chat: Pre-filled forms triggered mid-conversation (rolling out beta)

Targeting respects privacy norms and is based on:

• Device language
• Followed Channels
• Broad location

Use Case: A luxury travel operator launched a WhatsApp-only campaign targeting bilingual users in metro cities. Their lead quality doubled, and conversion rate jumped by 24% compared to similar Instagram campaigns.

Beyond Meta: Third-Party AI Tools That Multiply Impact

Meta’s native tools are powerful—but brands that combine them with external AI tools often see compounding results.

1. Adam by Deepsolv — AI Creative Strategist

What it does: Tracks the top-performing ads across Meta, TikTok, and YouTube, then turns those insights into campaign-ready creative blueprints.

Features:

• Competitor ad intelligence across platforms
• Script and storyboard generation based on trending formats
• Channel-specific creative briefs
• Hook + CTA suggestions rooted in real-world performance

Use Case: A DTC skincare brand used Adam to discover that “before vs. after” Reels were trending for competitors. With Adam’s script and visuals brief, they launched a similar campaign and achieved a 3.2x ROAS.

Related read: How Meta Ads & Smart Content Strategy Took DTC Brands to $1M/Month

2. Brandy by Deepsolv — AI Comment & DM Manager

What it does: Automates community engagement on paid ads.

Features:

• Auto-replies to high-intent comments
• Real-time spam and hate comment moderation
• Multilingual DM flows
• Escalation triggers for sales or support teams

Use Case: A d2c brand used Brandy to reply to 92% of comments on their Facebook ads within 5 minutes. Result: 2.4x increase in conversion from comments and near-zero spam visibility.

What's Next? AI-Native Ad Campaigns

Meta is quietly testing full-funnel campaign creation with AI:

• You upload a product photo
• Choose a goal (leads, conversions, app installs)
• AI builds creatives, audience segments, and sets the campaign live

Beta Tests Reveal:

• End-to-end campaign creation under 10 minutes
• Adaptive creative testing across placements
• Live performance adjustments using real-time signals

If rolled out broadly in 2026, this could:

• Shrink the gap between SMBs and large teams
• Replace manual campaign creation for 70% of Meta advertisers

Meta is investing $64B+ in AI infrastructure to power this vision.

TL;DR: What You Need to Know

• Meta Lattice powers smart targeting across all surfaces
• AI Sandbox generates scalable creative variants
• WhatsApp Ads open real-time chat-based conversions
• Pairing Meta’s AI with tools like Adam and Brandy from Deepsolv supercharges ROI

Fully AI-generated campaigns are on the near horizon