Significant AI advancements that have enhanced user engagement on Facebook and Instagram, while improving ad-targeting capabilities, have been instrumental in Meta’s strong Q3 results, with revenue climbing 26% year-over-year to $51.24 billion. The media giant’s results surpassed analysts’ expectations. Its annual revenue run rate for Meta’s end-to-end AI-powered ad solutions, including the Advantage+ suite, has surpassed $60 billion, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Advertiser adoption of Meta’s video-generation tools increased 20% compared to Q2 2025, demonstrating growing confidence in these AI-driven offerings.
Zuckerberg envisions a future where AI handles most advertising tasks automatically, requiring marketers to input only campaign objectives and budgets, while Meta’s systems manage asset creation, personalization, and targeting.
Meta’s average price-per-ad increased 10 percent year-over-year in Q3, reflecting strong demand despite some offset from less-monetized ad formats and regions.
Instagram Reels has become a major success story, achieving an annual revenue run rate surpassing $50 billion as the platform capitalizes on shifting user preferences toward creator content and TikTok’s ongoing ownership uncertainties in the United States, according to media reports.
However, maintaining a competitive advantage in AI comes at considerable cost. Meta raised its full-year capital expenditure forecast to $70-72 billion, up from a previous low of $66 billion, to fund specialized infrastructure and energy-intensive data centers. The company recently laid off approximately 600 AI division employees. Additionally, Meta’s Reality Labs unit, responsible for virtual reality and metaverse development, posted a $4.4 billion loss in Q3.
Despite these challenges, analysts view Meta’s execution as exemplary. Rather than chasing experimental AI projects, the company has successfully industrialized AI-powered advertising at scale, transforming itself into what experts call “the most efficient ad company on Earth.”
In February this year, Meta announced the expansion of its AI assistant, Meta AI, to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The feature’s full accessibility was already available in key markets, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
