How Is Meta Using AI And Your Data For Personalisation?

Scrolling through Instagram late at night, you might ask Meta AI for a playlist to match your mood. The next day, your Facebook feed is filled with posts and ads that seem almost eerily relevant. Coincidence? Unlikely.

What’s happening here is part of Meta’s latest experiment in personalisation – that is, using artificial intelligence to learn from everything you do, from the posts you like to the conversations you have with its AI assistant, in order to craft a “tailored” online experience.

It’s a strange mix of convenience and surveillance – a tough one to come to terms with.

On one hand, the AI remembers your preferences, anticipates your needs and can even respond 24/7 when you have questions or want recommendations. On the other, it’s quietly building a detailed profile of who you are, what you like and even how you think – all while you may not even realise it.

So, the question is, how much control do we really have when our interactions are feeding into algorithms designed to predict and influence our behaviour? And, at what point does helpful personalisation become intrusive manipulation?

This new wave of AI-powered personalisation isn’t just about improving your experience, it’s also reshaping advertising, data ethics and the very way we engage with Meta’s apps.

The questions it raises, about consent, privacy, and influence, are only just beginning to surface.

What’s New With Meta AI?

Meta has upgraded its AI assistant to deliver a deeply personalised experience across its apps. Unlike earlier versions, which relied largely on general user behaviour like likes, follows or shares, the new system incorporates your direct interactions with the AI. Every question, every request, every conversation can be used to tailor the content you see and the recommendations you receive.

Imagine asking Meta AI for vegan meal ideas. Later, your feed may be subtly nudged to display vegan-friendly content, Reels and even advertisements related to plant-based products.

On the surface, it feels like a helpful assistant. But, the deeper question is whether this is convenience or influence, and where the line between the two should be drawn. So, how do we find the balance?

Where Is Your Data Coming From?

The AI doesn’t just look at your posts or the pages you follow. It also analyses your conversations with the assistant itself — the words you use, the topics you explore, and the patterns in your interactions. Meta can link activity across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, creating a multi-layered profile that’s more nuanced than anything generated from likes or follows alone.

This approach raises further questions. Are users fully aware that conversational AI interactions are feeding into their profile? Is it possible to opt out, and if so, how easy is it to exercise that option? And perhaps most importantly, are we truly comfortable knowing that casual chats with a digital assistant could influence the content and advertisements presented to us across multiple apps?

Advertising Like Never Before

The integration of AI conversation data into ad personalisation is where the stakes get high. Traditional targeting has always relied on user activity like likes, clicks and follows, but now, AI-driven insights allow Meta to capture intent directly from your conversations.

For example, if you discuss planning a hiking trip with Meta AI, your feed could be filled with posts about hiking gear, outdoor holidays, and trail memberships. And, while this can feel useful, it also prompts ethical questions.

How much of our choice is being guided subtly by the system? Are we interacting with ads we genuinely want, or with content shaped by a machine that knows more about our habits and intentions than we realise? Do we even realise how much we’re being influenced by these things?

Consent, Opting Out and Ethics

Meta has said that sensitive topics like health, religion, sexual orientation and politics are excluded from AI-driven ad personalisation. But, in many regions, there is no full opt-out – using the AI assistant often means your data is automatically incorporated into the personalisation engine. This raises important questions about transparency, user autonomy and control.

How clear are the terms of use? Are users actively consenting, or simply agreeing by default?

In regions like the UK and EU, stricter privacy laws require Meta to provide more options, but outside those areas, opting out may be impossible. Are users being given enough information to make informed choices about how their data is used? And ethically, is it right for AI systems to learn so much about us without our explicit, ongoing consent?

The Benefits and the Trade-Offs

There’s no denying the convenience of a responsive AI assistant. It can answer questions, provide recommendations and offer 24/7 support when a human operator isn’t available, and for high-ticket services like event planning, private dining or catering, this constant availability can convert previously lost opportunities into revenue.

But, the trade-off is subtle and significant. AI doesn’t just serve – it observes, records and influences. Each interaction shapes your digital profile, your feed and potentially your decisions. We gain convenience, sure, but at the cost of being tracked and subtly guided. The question becomes, is that a price worth paying, and how aware are we of it?

So, it’s become clear that AI is no longer just a tool. It’s become an active participant in our online lives, learning from us, predicting our preferences and shaping the content we see. With Meta leading this evolution, the implications are vast, and now, the real question isn’t whether AI will use our data, but rather how and to whose advantage.

Next time you interact with Meta AI, consider this: could your friendly digital assistant also be mapping your habits, predicting your choices and influencing the ads and content you see? Probably. And whether that leaves you excited, uneasy or somewhere in between, it’s a conversation worth having.