META Taps AI to Boost Safety Features: Ad Revenues to Grow?

Meta Platforms META is strengthening security and safety features across Facebook and Instagram with the launch of a new AI tool. This is expected to boost user engagement, driving advertising revenues that contribute the majority of revenues (98.6% of Family of Apps revenues). META’s focus on integrating AI into its platforms — Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Threads — is driving user as well as advertiser engagements. AI is heavily dependent on data, of which META has a trove, driven by its more than 3.58 billion daily users, including 2 billion daily actives each on Facebook and WhatsApp.

The social networking giant is rolling out the Meta AI support assistant, a tool designed to provide reliable, 24/7 support for nearly any support issue at any time. The tool will be available within the Help Center on Facebook and Instagram on desktop apps for iOS and Android. The new Meta AI support assistant is designed to help resolve account problems for users from start to finish. The tool can act on users’ requests, including reports of scams, impersonation of accounts, or problematic content, management of privacy settings, resetting passwords and updating profile settings, among others. The tool can respond to requests typically in under five seconds.

Meta Platforms also started rolling out the support assistant to people who need help logging into their Facebook and Instagram accounts, starting with select cases in the United States and Canada. It eventually expects to expand to more countries and other types of account access situations soon. META has been experimenting with more advanced AI systems for content enforcement and has found them effective in reducing scams, identification and prevention of impersonation of celebrity and other high-profile people accounts, violation of adult sexual solicitation content, fake site spoofing and other violations.

The new tools are expected to boost META’s share in the digital advertising market, where it is facing stiff competition against the likes of Alphabet GOOGL and Amazon AMZN. Meta Platforms expects total revenues between $53.5 billion and $56.5 billion for the first quarter of 2026. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is currently pegged at $55.34 billion, suggesting 30.8% growth from the year-ago reported figure.

META Faces Tough Competition in Ad Space

Alphabet’s Search business is benefiting from AI infusion. The company has been actively embedding AI, especially within Search, to enhance user experience, provide better AI-focused features and consequently improve ad performance. AI Overviews and AI Mode are driving overall queries and commercial queries, thereby driving monetization opportunities. Alphabet’s Google advertising revenues increased 13.6% year over year to $82.28 billion and accounted for 72.3% of total revenues in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Amazon’s rich partner base is allowing advertisers to buy ad space on Netflix, Spotify and SiriusXM Media through Amazon Ads, thereby expanding its advertising reach beyond its own properties. The strong performance in advertising reflects successful AI-powered optimization of the platform and growing market share in digital advertising. In the fourth quarter of 2025, advertising services sales increased 22% year over year to $21.3 billion.

META’s Share Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Meta Platforms shares have plunged 8% year to date, underperforming the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s drop of 4%.

META’s Stock Performance

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Meta Platforms stock is trading at a premium, with a forward 12-month price/sales of 5.92X compared with the Zacks Internet Software industry’s 3.89X. META has a Value Score of C.

META Stock Trades at a Premium

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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter 2026 earnings is pegged at $6.67 per share, unchanged over the past 30 days, suggesting 3.7% year-over-year growth.

Meta Platforms, Inc. Price and Consensus

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Meta Platforms currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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