AI Increased Time Spent on Facebook and Instagram in Q2
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that AI increased time spent on Facebook and Instagram during the second quarter of 2025, fueling higher engagement and growth across the company’s family of apps. As social media users grow more vocal about “AI slop,” or low-quality AI-generated posts flooding platforms, Meta insists its AI tools are actually making the experience more relevant and enjoyable. The company’s advanced recommendation systems are helping users discover content that aligns with their interests, ultimately increasing the time they spend scrolling and interacting on the apps.
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According to Zuckerberg, these AI-driven improvements have led to a 5% rise in time spent on Facebook and a 6% increase on Instagram in just one quarter. This surge highlights how strategic use of artificial intelligence can drive engagement, even as the social media landscape becomes more competitive. With billions of users across the globe, Meta’s focus on AI-powered personalization is shaping the future of how people consume social media content.
AI’s Role in Driving Meta’s Engagement and Revenue Growth
Meta reported that its family of apps—Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger—reached 3.4 billion daily users in June 2025, reflecting a 6% year-over-year growth. This surge in user activity helped push the company’s Q2 revenue to $47.1 billion, marking a 22% increase from last year. The rise in engagement and revenue showcases how AI recommendations can directly impact Meta’s bottom line.
One major driver of this growth is video content. Meta revealed that video watch time increased 20% year-over-year in Q2, fueled by AI optimizations to its ranking systems and efforts to highlight more original content on Instagram Reels. This aligns with Meta’s strategy to compete with TikTok and YouTube by keeping users engaged with short-form and creator-driven videos. By leveraging AI to promote content users are likely to watch and share, Meta is reinforcing its dominance in the attention economy.
Threads and the Expansion of AI-Powered Experiences
Beyond its core platforms, Meta continues to expand engagement with Threads, its competitor to X (formerly Twitter). Threads has benefited from AI features that recommend trending discussions and relevant posts to users, helping the app carve out a growing audience in the crowded social media space. While Threads remains smaller than Facebook and Instagram, Meta’s AI-first approach is giving the platform a better chance to retain users who are seeking fresh, interactive experiences.
At the same time, Meta is balancing user concerns about the quality of AI-generated content. While some users criticize the rise of repetitive or spammy posts, Zuckerberg reassured investors that Meta’s AI systems are being trained to prioritize original and high-quality content. By continuously improving its recommendation algorithms, the company aims to reduce low-value “AI slop” and focus on enhancing user satisfaction.
The Future of AI-Driven Engagement on Social Media
The success of Meta’s Q2 performance highlights a broader industry trend: AI is becoming the key to driving engagement and revenue on social media platforms. By optimizing what users see and when they see it, AI helps extend the time people spend on apps while giving creators and advertisers better reach. Meta’s continued investment in AI-powered recommendations, video promotion, and platform optimization is setting the tone for how social media will evolve in 2025 and beyond.
For users, this means more personalized feeds and relevant video content. For Meta, it translates to higher engagement metrics, revenue growth, and stronger competition with platforms like TikTok and X. As AI continues to shape the digital experience, Meta’s Q2 results show that smart deployment of these technologies can keep billions of users scrolling—and advertisers spending.
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