Meta's AI Lifts Ad Revenue 27% as $199.99 Hatch Agent Targets New Subscription Sales
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Sep 1
Meta's AI Lifts Ad Revenue 27% as $199.99 Hatch Agent Targets New Subscription Sales
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Sep 1
Summary
Bernstein and Bank of America said Meta’s AI spending is starting to show measurable returns, with gains already visible in advertising and a new consumer AI agent potentially opening revenue beyond ads.
27% ad-revenue growth through Meta’s latest second quarter helped it gain 2 percentage points of digital ad market share, while Google’s network ad revenue fell 1%, strengthening the case that AI is improving Meta’s ad performance.
Hatch, a planned AI agent for Instagram and WhatsApp, could browse the web for users and offer tools like fitness tracking and travel planning; Meta is weighing premium subscriptions priced up to $199.99 a month.
The monetization case still faces scrutiny because Meta shares are down more than 12% this year, and July earnings kept capital-expenditure guidance as high as $145 billion, above what Wall Street expected at the midpoint.
That pressure has grown after Meta agreed last week to pay up to $18 billion to settle U.S. youth social-media addiction claims, leaving investors focused on whether AI can create multiple durable revenue streams.