50% of all the content on Instagram is now recommended by AI: Paras Sharma

Meta unveiled the latest Instagram product features in India designed to boost creative expression, as well as new educational resources tailored for emerging creators at an event held yesterday (August 29, 2024). The Creator Lab initiative aims to provide support to young people across India, who are interested in content creation.

Speaking at the launch, Paras Sharma, Director - Global Partnerships, Meta, India, said, “We are dedicated to empowering creators to express themselves freely and succeed in their own unique way. We recognize that success means different things to different people, and we are constantly seeking ways to add value through product features, programs, collaborations, and economic opportunities. To support aspiring creators, we are now launching Creator Lab, a resource that provides content by creators, for creators. Our goal is to help creators across the country take advantage of this opportunity and achieve their goals.”

In conversation with Adgully, Paras Sharma discussed the innovative features, how they cater to the evolving needs of users, and Meta's strategic focus on nurturing emerging talent, and more.

Enabling user engagement and content creation on Instagram

The first thing is how do we continue to get more and more creators enabled to create the right kind of content, to find their sensibilities with the audience whom they want to engage with. This is our primary and starting point of doing anything for creators, and the biggest and happiest occasion right now is the launch of the Creator Lab content on our platform, because that, to me, is the largest enabler of the Indian creator ecosystem.

To hear from creators themselves in multiple languages about their journey of becoming a creator and using the most updated features and tips and tricks to become a successful creator. We will continue to enable better expression on content through those features.

Importance of Genz for Instagram

We keep picking signals from the people who shape culture and who drive content. Thus, Gen Z forms a core part of what Instagram is and we endeavour to enable everyday creativity for this audience in a way and manner through which they can engage with the content and people who have similar interests. Each of these features is a reflection of what the Gen Z wants or what the creators are looking for.

Depressurizing content creation

If we’re talking about everyday creativity, then it has to be enabled in a manner which is very creative. However, at the same it is also about depressurizing the creation of the most polished content and photo dumps. Audiences want to engage directly with the source of content or with the creator of the original piece of content in different ways and means. That is where comments and stories come in. They have skin in the game in engaging with the content. They are no longer passive, but giving their own creativity to the original source of content. This creativity comes either through audios or giving one’s point of view, engaging with that which comes through comments.

Ranking and recommendation algorithm

One of the key focus areas that we are super committed to is how do we enable more and more original content and emerging creators to have their content reach out to the largest possible base. This new change will enable that – even if you are in the early part of your journey as a creator, now you are assured that your content will be exposed to people even if they don’t follow you.

Over the years, our AI system has improved so much that we are able to predict that and deliver it in a far more efficient manner. 50% of all the content on Instagram is now recommended by AI, and that is becoming better day by day.

Monetization ventures

There are two parts to it. One is, creators who create content. The size and the level of engagement that they have with their audience becomes attractive for the brands, depending on the specific objective that they have. The higher the engaged audience that the creator would have, the more the brand would be interested in that creator. And it’s not limited to or governed only by the size of the following that they have. Creators are able to engage with their community and their community is able to engage with them better, whether it’s through superfan community on Instagram broadcast channels, or whether using comments, which means that more new touch points are being created. That is the bedrock, because the largest amount of monetization that a creator gets across the globe comes from branded content.

So, our first pursuit is how do we continue to build that? And then how do we educate them as well? What are the ways you can monetize, what are some things which work for monetization or not? And then create a lab and the content which comes from there comes into play.

Second is the brand, which is how we create opportunities for creators to connect with such brands. There are five different ways in which Instagram does that:

IG creator Marketplace - It gives the most scaled way for the creator community to get the brands in front of them who are seeking out solutions.

Platform based solution - We ensure that those creators who are emerging creators in the early part of their journey also get an opportunity for the brands and what they’re looking for. We have been enabling hundreds of such creators to be discovered by brands and solutions being created and campaigns done by both of them through on Instagram.

Subscription-based product - Creators can decide, based on their own nature of content and the nature of the audience that they have, who can subscribe to their content. They can have periodic delivery of that piece of content and get paid for it through subscription.

Gifts - Fans may want to show their love for a piece of content by a creator. We have gifts which do that.

Advocacy role - We keep on telling the immense potential and the value that the creator ecosystem brings in marketing and communication. Studies show that creator-led content has a far higher believability with the audience than a purely manufacturer or a brand speak. We bring creators to talk to agencies through our presence, our advocacy with clients, brands, agencies, CMOs, and founders forums.

Trends which influenced the development of these new features

The rise of user creators - where users themselves want to contribute to original content and showcase their creativity. This is becoming increasingly prominent. This trend, along with the growing inclusion of friends and family in personal experiences, is shifting the focus from “me” to “we”. These dynamics come together in various ways, with the concept of a photo dump serving as a physical manifestation of this shift.

On the other hand, the rise of superfan communities highlights the growing desire for creators to connect more deeply with their fans. Instagram’s broadcast channel caters to this need, allowing creators to engage with their superfans through live chats, personalized themes, and more. From the fan’s perspective, there’s a desire to feel special and cared for, which is addressed through these interactions.

When it comes to music, it’s being used more creatively across different formats. Music has become the language of social media for many, especially among the Gen Z. To support this, Instagram has enabled various forms of musical expression, whether it is through audio notes, stories, stickers, or reels. These trends reflect the features we develop, which are heavily influenced by the needs of Gen Z and the creators who serve them.

How is AI reshaping Meta’s business?

There are three broad areas – the role that the AI can play in amplifying your knowledge, the role it can play in amplifying your creativity, and the role it can play as an assistant. And the latest manifestation is Meta AI, for which India is the largest market globally, where we see increasingly large number of people using AI to work for you as an assistant, enabled to get more knowledge, enabled to get more information which can amplify your content, as well as amplify your knowledge, and acting as an assistant.

Of course, there are foundational technologies, whether the success of Lama and Pytorch or our generative AI image, and the tools which are now possible with Meta AI enhance the ability to search across multiple surfaces. That is AI empowering you. AI is what empowers the feed and the ranking and recommendation that we all see.

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