Meta Platforms is charting a course toward a future where advertising could become almost entirely autonomous.
According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, Meta aims to fully automate ad creation and targeting by the end of 2026 using advanced artificial intelligence.
If realised, this would represent one of the most radical shifts in the advertising industry since the rise of programmatic buying.
At the heart of this plan is a system where brands need only submit a product image and budget.
From there, Meta’s AI will generate everything else: images, videos, text copy, audience segmentation, and even real-time delivery and targeting decisions across Facebook and Instagram.
It’s a seamless ecosystem, envisioned as a one-stop-shop where businesses can define campaign goals and let the platform handle execution.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stressed the urgency of building tools that provide “measurable results at scale,” and described the future of Meta as one where AI tools become central to marketing strategy.
The company’s 3.43 billion active users globally provide a massive testbed for its ambitions.
But while the promise of speed and scale is appealing, it raises several critical questions for the global advertising ecosystem and particularly for creative agencies and marketers in Malaysia and elsewhere.
Automation vs Authenticity: The Creative Tension
One of the most immediate tensions is between automation and creativity.
Can an AI-generated campaign capture cultural nuance, emotional resonance, or local humour the way a seasoned copywriter or art director can?
Will Malaysian audiences, who oscillate between English, Bahasa Malaysia and Manglish, respond as effectively to templated AI ads as they do to ones crafted with cultural wit and local flair?
In a market like Malaysia, where festive storytelling, language fluidity, and hyper-local references often drive engagement, the risk of brand voice being flattened by AI is real.
“AI can generate multiple variations quickly, but it doesn’t always mean they’re effective,” notes Jayden Abdullah, a Kuala Lumpur-based creative consultant.
“A Hari Raya ad, for example, isn’t just about visuals and hashtags. It’s about a shared feeling, a mood. That requires a human touch.”
Personalisation at Scale – A Double-Edged Sword?
Meta’s plan to personalise ads in real time, adjusting versions based on factors like geolocation, is undoubtedly powerful.
In theory, a user in Shah Alam might see a different ad than one in Johor Bahru—even for the same product.
However, this kind of hyper-personalisation also raises concerns over brand consistency, safety, and control.
What if the AI over-personalises or delivers an ad that contradicts brand guidelines or misreads cultural sensitivities?
Agencies fear losing creative oversight.
“Right now, we run every final output by a local client committee,” says Nabila Rahman, brand strategist at a leading media agency.
“If Meta’s AI is handling this in real time, who’s accountable if something goes wrong?”
Disruption for Agencies – Threat or Transformation?
It’s no surprise that news of Meta’s AI push sent jitters across traditional ad holding companies.
Stocks for giants like WPP and Publicis Groupe dipped shortly after the WSJ report.
The fear is clear: If AI can create and deliver ads autonomously, what’s left for agencies to do?
The optimistic view is that this will push agencies to reposition themselves as creative consultants, cultural curators, and brand guardians rather than mere execution partners.
“The agencies that survive this will be those who double down on strategic thinking and storytelling,” argues Dr. P. Ramalingam, an advertising lecturer at a local university.
Malaysian Brands at a Crossroads
For Malaysian marketers, Meta’s automation promises lower costs and faster campaign turnarounds—particularly attractive for SMEs who may lack creative teams.
But larger brands and government-linked companies will need to assess whether AI-generated campaigns can meet brand and regulatory standards.
Take for example Mamee’s pilot TikTok ad campaign in 2024, which blended AI-generated visuals with culturally contextual copywriting.
While it attracted eyeballs, internal teams still had to rewrite much of the AI copy to resonate with Malaysian slang and humour.
Meanwhile, brands in regulated sectors like banking or healthcare must tread even more carefully.
Balancing Efficiency and Emotion
The road to full AI automation in advertising is exciting but paved with creative and ethical complexities.
Yes, Meta’s tools may allow an entrepreneur in Penang to launch a nationwide campaign within hours.
But that same speed comes with trade-offs.
At what cost do we exchange efficiency for empathy, reach for resonance, or scale for soul?
For now, the best approach for Malaysian advertisers may be a hybrid one: leverage AI for scale and optimisation, but anchor campaigns in human insight and cultural depth.
As AI continues its march into adland, one truth remains: technology may generate the ad, but it still takes a human to create a brand story worth remembering.
The APPIES is an annual event that presents a rare opportunity for creative, media, digital and marketing agencies or brands to present their best campaigns to the industry.
This is the only event where Live Presentations meets Live Judging.
Similar to TED Talks, The APPIES is the chance for great presenters with outstanding work to show it off to some of the industry’s most important industry leaders.
This year’s winners will receive Gold, Silver or Bronze trophies for 21 categories, and 6 special Best of Best categories (red trophies) that require no submissions!
Campaign entries must have run between June 2024 to May 2025
