Artificial intelligence was the main theme of Meta Platforms’ (META) second‑quarter earnings call, as executives highlighted how AI is transforming the tech company’s social media apps. While the long‑term path to directly monetizing AI is still unclear, the technology is already paying off by improving content ranking. In fact, thanks to better recommendations, users are now seeing more relevant posts, which has led users to increase the amount of time they spend on Meta’s platforms.
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More specifically, CFO Susan Li noted that the time spent watching videos on Instagram grew by more than 20% year-over-year in the second quarter. Unsurprisingly, she attributed this to AI‑driven improvements in recommendations, which now adapt more quickly to what users are engaging with during specific activity periods. Li said that Meta expects to see even more gains as it refines these systems and pushes fresh original content to users right after it’s posted.
Interestingly, this focus on original content also benefits creators. Indeed, Li said that over two‑thirds of recommended content on Instagram in the U.S. is now original, not recycled from other platforms. That shift has been especially important for Reels, which is Instagram’s short‑form video feature that once relied heavily on repurposed TikTok clips. With the AI improvement, Reels has now become a stronger competitor to TikTok and is leading to more opportunities for advertising revenue.
Is Meta a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on META stock based on 43 Buys, three Holds, and zero Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average META price target of $847.49 per share implies 9% upside potential.
