Published in Tech, XR, Ads, Meta
Image credit by Argo
Sophie
May 6, 2025
Zuckerberg's war against advertising and its impact on the XR industry
Mark Zuckerberg is preparing a radical transformation of advertising with his "infinite creative" vision, where Meta's AI would automatically manage the creation, targeting, and performance measurement of ads. This strategy, backed by a $72 billion investment in 2025, will have a major impact on the rapidly expanding XR market. It promises to democratise immersive advertising creation through Meta devices (connected Ray-Bans, Quest headsets), but raises crucial questions about the future of XR creators and privacy protection.
Today, I am going to dissect this bomb that Mark Zuckerberg has just dropped on the advertising industry and explain how it will shake up the world of XR (virtual/augmented reality). It’s heavy, so hold on tight!
Zuckerberg wants to completely revolutionise advertising with AI
In a recent interview with Stratechery, Zucko outright stated that he wants to radically transform the advertising industry. He calls it "infinite creative," and it’s quite crazy: he wants companies to simply come with their goals and their bank account, and Meta's AI will take care of the rest - creation, targeting, measuring results, everything! According to him, "you are a company, you come to us, you tell us what your goal is, you connect your bank account, you don’t need any creation, any demographic targeting, any measuring, except to read the results we communicate to you."
This vision has sparked a brutal reaction in the industry. Nilay Patel from The Verge has stated that it would "annihilate the entire advertising industry as we know it."
How Meta is preparing for this revolution
Meta is heavily investing in this transformation. Zuckerberg announced that investment spending could reach up to $72 billion by 2025, primarily to fund AI infrastructure. It’s colossal!
The company has established four strategic axes: improving advertising through better recommendations and targeting, increasing user engagement, monetising messaging platforms with AI agents, and developing new native AI products such as the Meta AI app.
The XR boom will amplify the impact of this strategy
XR is exploding, and Meta is very well positioned for it. According to Mordor Intelligence, the global virtual reality market is expected to reach $67.66 billion in 2024 and grow at a compound annual growth rate of 24.74% to reach $204.35 billion by 2029. It’s huge!
Meta Reality Labs saw impressive growth in 2024 with a 40% increase in revenue. The Quest 3S headset has even surpassed the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch to become the best-selling game console on Amazon.
The Ray-Ban Meta glasses have also seen remarkable success with over 730,000 units sold during their first three quarters, and the second generation already includes an AI voice assistant.
How AI advertising will transform the XR experience
Here’s how this new approach to advertising will change the game for XR:
Democratisation of advertising in XR
Creating advertising content for XR has thus far been complex and expensive. With Meta's AI, any SME will be able to offer immersive experiences without technical expertise. According to Counterpoint, global shipments of XR headsets are expected to rise from 11 million units in 2021 to 105 million by 2025, creating an immense advertising market.
Highly personalised experiences
AI will be able to adapt XR experiences in real-time based on user interactions and preferences. The "infinite creative" model will allow for continuous production and optimisation of content, making each experience unique and more engaging.
Impact on XR creators
Big hit for professionals specialising in XR creation! If Meta's AI can automatically generate high-quality immersive content, agencies and freelancers will need to find new ways to stand out. We may see a massive restructuring of this industry.
Integration with Meta's XR hardware
Zuckerberg has clearly stated: "Glasses are the ideal format for both AI and the metaverse." Meta is building a complete ecosystem where AI advertising will naturally integrate into our daily experiences through their smart glasses and VR headsets.
The risks to privacy are enormous
With this new advertising approach, concerns about privacy will explode. As noted by an expert from Common Sense Media, "The more time you spend chatting with an AI 'friend', the more personal information you disclose." In an XR context, devices can collect unprecedented data about our environment and behaviours.
The dizzying numbers
To understand the magnitude of the transformation to come, let’s look at some stats:
The global virtual reality market is expected to reach $204.35 billion by 2029, with an annual growth rate of 24.74%
Taking into account average development in usage, the global virtual and augmented reality market could exceed €70 billion by 2025
Meta has already generated $42.3 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2025, primarily through advertising on its platforms
Since 2020, Reality Labs has spent $60 billion on developing XR technologies
Conclusion: XR will never be the same
Zuckerberg's vision for AI advertising represents a radical turning point for the XR industry. By automating the creation, targeting, and performance analysis of advertising, Meta could fundamentally change how brands interact with consumers in virtual and augmented environments.
For XR professionals, it’s both an opportunity and a major challenge. While this approach democratizes access to XR advertising and enables more sophisticated experiences, it also threatens to displace some specialised creative skills and raises important ethical questions about privacy and the concentration of power.
As Meta continues to invest billions in AI infrastructure and development, the XR industry must adapt to this new paradigm. Whether we like it or not, the revolution is underway!
What do you think? Will Zuckerberg's vision really transform the industry, or is it just another marketing buzz?
Today, I am going to dissect this bomb that Mark Zuckerberg has just dropped on the advertising industry and explain how it will shake up the world of XR (virtual/augmented reality). It’s heavy, so hold on tight!
Zuckerberg wants to completely revolutionise advertising with AI
In a recent interview with Stratechery, Zucko outright stated that he wants to radically transform the advertising industry. He calls it "infinite creative," and it’s quite crazy: he wants companies to simply come with their goals and their bank account, and Meta's AI will take care of the rest - creation, targeting, measuring results, everything! According to him, "you are a company, you come to us, you tell us what your goal is, you connect your bank account, you don’t need any creation, any demographic targeting, any measuring, except to read the results we communicate to you."
This vision has sparked a brutal reaction in the industry. Nilay Patel from The Verge has stated that it would "annihilate the entire advertising industry as we know it."
How Meta is preparing for this revolution
Meta is heavily investing in this transformation. Zuckerberg announced that investment spending could reach up to $72 billion by 2025, primarily to fund AI infrastructure. It’s colossal!
The company has established four strategic axes: improving advertising through better recommendations and targeting, increasing user engagement, monetising messaging platforms with AI agents, and developing new native AI products such as the Meta AI app.
The XR boom will amplify the impact of this strategy
XR is exploding, and Meta is very well positioned for it. According to Mordor Intelligence, the global virtual reality market is expected to reach $67.66 billion in 2024 and grow at a compound annual growth rate of 24.74% to reach $204.35 billion by 2029. It’s huge!
Meta Reality Labs saw impressive growth in 2024 with a 40% increase in revenue. The Quest 3S headset has even surpassed the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch to become the best-selling game console on Amazon.
The Ray-Ban Meta glasses have also seen remarkable success with over 730,000 units sold during their first three quarters, and the second generation already includes an AI voice assistant.
How AI advertising will transform the XR experience
Here’s how this new approach to advertising will change the game for XR:
Democratisation of advertising in XR
Creating advertising content for XR has thus far been complex and expensive. With Meta's AI, any SME will be able to offer immersive experiences without technical expertise. According to Counterpoint, global shipments of XR headsets are expected to rise from 11 million units in 2021 to 105 million by 2025, creating an immense advertising market.
Highly personalised experiences
AI will be able to adapt XR experiences in real-time based on user interactions and preferences. The "infinite creative" model will allow for continuous production and optimisation of content, making each experience unique and more engaging.
Impact on XR creators
Big hit for professionals specialising in XR creation! If Meta's AI can automatically generate high-quality immersive content, agencies and freelancers will need to find new ways to stand out. We may see a massive restructuring of this industry.
Integration with Meta's XR hardware
Zuckerberg has clearly stated: "Glasses are the ideal format for both AI and the metaverse." Meta is building a complete ecosystem where AI advertising will naturally integrate into our daily experiences through their smart glasses and VR headsets.
The risks to privacy are enormous
With this new advertising approach, concerns about privacy will explode. As noted by an expert from Common Sense Media, "The more time you spend chatting with an AI 'friend', the more personal information you disclose." In an XR context, devices can collect unprecedented data about our environment and behaviours.
The dizzying numbers
To understand the magnitude of the transformation to come, let’s look at some stats:
The global virtual reality market is expected to reach $204.35 billion by 2029, with an annual growth rate of 24.74%
Taking into account average development in usage, the global virtual and augmented reality market could exceed €70 billion by 2025
Meta has already generated $42.3 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2025, primarily through advertising on its platforms
Since 2020, Reality Labs has spent $60 billion on developing XR technologies
Conclusion: XR will never be the same
Zuckerberg's vision for AI advertising represents a radical turning point for the XR industry. By automating the creation, targeting, and performance analysis of advertising, Meta could fundamentally change how brands interact with consumers in virtual and augmented environments.
For XR professionals, it’s both an opportunity and a major challenge. While this approach democratizes access to XR advertising and enables more sophisticated experiences, it also threatens to displace some specialised creative skills and raises important ethical questions about privacy and the concentration of power.
As Meta continues to invest billions in AI infrastructure and development, the XR industry must adapt to this new paradigm. Whether we like it or not, the revolution is underway!
What do you think? Will Zuckerberg's vision really transform the industry, or is it just another marketing buzz?
Today, I am going to dissect this bomb that Mark Zuckerberg has just dropped on the advertising industry and explain how it will shake up the world of XR (virtual/augmented reality). It’s heavy, so hold on tight!
Zuckerberg wants to completely revolutionise advertising with AI
In a recent interview with Stratechery, Zucko outright stated that he wants to radically transform the advertising industry. He calls it "infinite creative," and it’s quite crazy: he wants companies to simply come with their goals and their bank account, and Meta's AI will take care of the rest - creation, targeting, measuring results, everything! According to him, "you are a company, you come to us, you tell us what your goal is, you connect your bank account, you don’t need any creation, any demographic targeting, any measuring, except to read the results we communicate to you."
This vision has sparked a brutal reaction in the industry. Nilay Patel from The Verge has stated that it would "annihilate the entire advertising industry as we know it."
How Meta is preparing for this revolution
Meta is heavily investing in this transformation. Zuckerberg announced that investment spending could reach up to $72 billion by 2025, primarily to fund AI infrastructure. It’s colossal!
The company has established four strategic axes: improving advertising through better recommendations and targeting, increasing user engagement, monetising messaging platforms with AI agents, and developing new native AI products such as the Meta AI app.
The XR boom will amplify the impact of this strategy
XR is exploding, and Meta is very well positioned for it. According to Mordor Intelligence, the global virtual reality market is expected to reach $67.66 billion in 2024 and grow at a compound annual growth rate of 24.74% to reach $204.35 billion by 2029. It’s huge!
Meta Reality Labs saw impressive growth in 2024 with a 40% increase in revenue. The Quest 3S headset has even surpassed the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch to become the best-selling game console on Amazon.
The Ray-Ban Meta glasses have also seen remarkable success with over 730,000 units sold during their first three quarters, and the second generation already includes an AI voice assistant.
How AI advertising will transform the XR experience
Here’s how this new approach to advertising will change the game for XR:
Democratisation of advertising in XR
Creating advertising content for XR has thus far been complex and expensive. With Meta's AI, any SME will be able to offer immersive experiences without technical expertise. According to Counterpoint, global shipments of XR headsets are expected to rise from 11 million units in 2021 to 105 million by 2025, creating an immense advertising market.
Highly personalised experiences
AI will be able to adapt XR experiences in real-time based on user interactions and preferences. The "infinite creative" model will allow for continuous production and optimisation of content, making each experience unique and more engaging.
Impact on XR creators
Big hit for professionals specialising in XR creation! If Meta's AI can automatically generate high-quality immersive content, agencies and freelancers will need to find new ways to stand out. We may see a massive restructuring of this industry.
Integration with Meta's XR hardware
Zuckerberg has clearly stated: "Glasses are the ideal format for both AI and the metaverse." Meta is building a complete ecosystem where AI advertising will naturally integrate into our daily experiences through their smart glasses and VR headsets.
The risks to privacy are enormous
With this new advertising approach, concerns about privacy will explode. As noted by an expert from Common Sense Media, "The more time you spend chatting with an AI 'friend', the more personal information you disclose." In an XR context, devices can collect unprecedented data about our environment and behaviours.
The dizzying numbers
To understand the magnitude of the transformation to come, let’s look at some stats:
The global virtual reality market is expected to reach $204.35 billion by 2029, with an annual growth rate of 24.74%
Taking into account average development in usage, the global virtual and augmented reality market could exceed €70 billion by 2025
Meta has already generated $42.3 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2025, primarily through advertising on its platforms
Since 2020, Reality Labs has spent $60 billion on developing XR technologies
Conclusion: XR will never be the same
Zuckerberg's vision for AI advertising represents a radical turning point for the XR industry. By automating the creation, targeting, and performance analysis of advertising, Meta could fundamentally change how brands interact with consumers in virtual and augmented environments.
For XR professionals, it’s both an opportunity and a major challenge. While this approach democratizes access to XR advertising and enables more sophisticated experiences, it also threatens to displace some specialised creative skills and raises important ethical questions about privacy and the concentration of power.
As Meta continues to invest billions in AI infrastructure and development, the XR industry must adapt to this new paradigm. Whether we like it or not, the revolution is underway!
What do you think? Will Zuckerberg's vision really transform the industry, or is it just another marketing buzz?
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