Is AI Making Social Media Better?

A recent report shared by Meta, which owns Instagram, claims that AI is driving social media engagement and the quality of the user experience – improving the way users are shown, and react to, content. 

But is this true?

What Does AI Do On Instagram?

An excellent example of AI in practice over on Instagram, is the reels page – specifically what happens when you click to watch one reel and then keep scrolling down. AI is what drives the association between different clips and recommends the next clip for you to watch. It considers things you’ve engaged with and clicked on and finds things that are relevant and related.

The stats seem to show that this is a popular feature! Content is more relevant which means users are discovering new content with ease and interacting with new accounts more readily.

How Can You Capitalise on This?

As a creator, the way to use AI powered tools and algorithms is to clearly outline what your content is all about – and who it is for. 

Instagram needs to know exactly what you’re creating and who your audience is, so as to connect it with other similar and relevant content. Organic discovery is built on good captions, relevant hashtags, and trending topics – with paid followers and views only helping to build an effective foundation.

We would argue that yes, in many ways AI is making the way we use social media better. However, there are caveats – from fake news to falsified and AI generated content. It’s crucial that users proceed with caution, and only use AI for the things it’s good for – like uncovering the algorithm!