On Facebook, Meta is unifying its video ecosystem around the Reels format and strengthening its advertising tools with generative AI, in order to simplify the work of advertisers.
Meta’s social platform ecosystem is increasingly structured around a common model. While advertising is arriving in WhatsApp’s Statuses (vertical video formats), as it is on Instagram, Facebook is generalizing the vertical format for videos, which will all be called Reels. This change responds to current trends, with an impact for content creators, as well as for brands, which benefit from a new advertising tool integrating generative AI.
On Facebook, all videos become vertical Reels
In a move to “simplify video creation and publishing,” Facebook announced in a blog post that “all videos will be shared as Reels .” This means that verticality for video playback becomes the basis, regardless of the length or orientation of the clip. Until now, a Facebook user could share two types of posts: a video in the feed and Reels. In the coming months, they will no longer have to choose between one or the other; the clip will be automatically published as Reels, freeing them from their 90-second limit. To support this change, Facebook is also renaming its Video tab to the Reels tab .
Now, we’re combining these experiences (classic video posting and Reels, editor’s note) with a simplified publishing workflow that gives you access to even more creative tools. We’ll also give you control over the audience settings for your trailers.
With this small but significant change to Facebook’s UI, Meta continues to unify its networks. Instagram had already made this conversion to the Reels format in 2022. The goal is also to simplify the work of brands, advertisers, and content creators with a single publishing feed. However, long and short formats, as well as horizontal and vertical videos, could end up mixed within the same feed. Annoyingly, this phenomenon could push Facebook users to favor the vertical format when posting, which is likely one of the platform’s goals.
A new range of AI-powered advertising tools
Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Meta presented several new features for its advertising tools, particularly for video. The group is testing generative AI features: one can transform several static images into dynamic videos with several scenes with animations, text, and music; the other, Video Highlights, identifies key moments in an advertising video to allow users to watch them directly in “highlight” mode.
Additionally, Meta unveiled additional generative AI tools aimed at improving ad performance and creativity while maintaining brand consistency. Among these innovations, the Advantage+ Branding and Personalization modules will automatically integrate logos, colors, fonts, tones, and brand visuals into text and visual creative, leveraging existing assets (websites, campaign history, Shopify integrations, etc.) to ensure stylistic consistency across all touchpoints.
On the user engagement side, Meta will offer customizable creative stickers to encourage action, available on Facebook Stories/Reels (and soon on Instagram), as well as a generative virtual try-on that allows users to visualize clothing worn by avatars of various sizes and shapes. Finally, Meta is extending its Business AI capabilities to advertising formats on Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram Stories, and Facebook Reels: chatbots will be able to answer questions about products, with voice features being tested via a “Tap to talk” button.
