Meta AI gets business upgrade to analyse ads, benchmark brands and create reports

MUMBAI: Small businesses are getting a new AI sidekick, and this one comes with access to the numbers. Meta is introducing new features for Meta AI that can analyse business performance, review advertising campaigns, compare results with similar brands and automate routine tasks.

The new capabilities are being rolled out across meta.ai, the Meta AI mobile app and the new Meta AI desktop app. Businesses can choose to connect their Facebook and Instagram accounts, Meta ad campaigns and Google Workspace, including Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Slides.

The idea is simple: give Meta AI more of the business context so its answers can be more specific. Instead of offering broad marketing suggestions, the assistant can use information from a company’s own social media engagement and advertising performance to identify what is working and where there is room for improvement.

For organic social media, businesses can ask Meta AI to examine Facebook and Instagram content using signals such as reach, saves, shares, comments and profile visits. It can then highlight which content is resonating with audiences and suggest changes based on previous performance.

The assistant can also help businesses size up their competitive landscape. Users can ask it to examine publicly available content and engagement patterns from comparable brands on Facebook and Instagram, allowing them to benchmark their performance and understand how competitors are building their presence.

Advertising analysis is another key addition. Meta AI can review Meta Ads performance over a selected period and identify which audiences are generating results, what high-performing creative has in common, which ads may be losing traction and where budgets could potentially be used more effectively.

Businesses can then ask the assistant to turn those findings into practical work, including presentations, documents and spreadsheets. For example, a business owner could ask Meta AI to review 90 days of advertising data, identify the strongest and weakest areas and turn the findings into a three-slide presentation for a team meeting.

The new features also aim to reduce some of the repetitive work that comes with running a small business. Users can set recurring tasks and reminders, allowing Meta AI to provide regular updates on business performance rather than requiring them to start the same analysis from scratch each time.

Meta is also adding features to its new Mac app. Users can share a window during a session so Meta AI can see what they are working on and provide advice tailored to the task. Built-in dictation is also available across Mac applications.

Early testers have highlighted the more personalised nature of the recommendations. Max S., growth marketing lead at Repriced, said Meta AI was able to quickly identify which advertising angles, formats and creators were driving results and suggest what to do next.

Sandy P., owner at Wild Prairie Photography, said the recommendations stood out because they were based on her actual business, existing content and brand rather than generic marketing advice.

Katey H., CEO and co-founder at Nocturnal Skincare, said the tool reduced the time normally spent preparing information for AI systems, including downloading, converting and uploading business data.

Meta said the new features are free to get started with. As the offering expands, businesses seeking greater use of the tools will be able to subscribe to Meta One.

The company is also positioning Meta AI alongside its other business-focused AI offerings, including Meta Business Agent and Meta AI business assistant, giving businesses different options depending on whether they need insights, support or more task-oriented assistance.

Meta said the latest update is part of a broader effort to bring capabilities once associated with companies with large teams and bigger budgets to smaller businesses. More integrations and features are expected in the coming months.

For small businesses juggling marketing, customer engagement and day-to-day operations, Meta’s pitch is straightforward: less time wrestling with data, and more time putting it to work.