Meta's AI Ad Tool Alters Products and Models Without Consent, Leaving Advertisers Frustrated

It has been reported that an artificial intelligence (AI) advertising tool promoted by Meta to advertisers on its social media platforms is frequently malfunctioning.
According to a report by the U.S. business media outlet Business Insider on July 13 (local time), Meta's AI ad generation tool has been seen blurring or distorting text within ad images, and in some cases, depicting products in completely different forms.
REI, a U.S. outdoor retailer, claimed that an ad displayed through Meta's tool featured an absurd image of a bicycle with two sets of handlebars—one on the front and one on the back.
Furthermore, Meta's AI tool reportedly changed a one-piece pajama product into a shirt and pants set without the advertiser's consent, and in an ad for a women's community, it even changed a female character into a male.
Such image modification errors were common in the early days of AI image generation tools one to two years ago, but have become rare following the emergence of tools like Google's Nano Banana and OpenAI's Duct Tape.
Advertisers are particularly pushing back against the fact that Meta applied these AI tools without their consent, even when they had no intention of using them.
As a result, advertisers argue that even when they run ads with carefully crafted images, the actual images displayed are completely different.
When a bookstore brand protested to Meta's customer service center, a representative explained that it was a one-time error and accepted a request for an advertising fee refund.
Advertisers are complaining that because Meta keeps trying to automatically enroll them in AI ad tool usage, they must check every single time they run an ad to prevent the AI feature from being accidentally turned on or malfunctioning.
Some advertisers and agencies manage hundreds to thousands of ads at once, leading to a significant increase in their workload.
Robert Webster, CEO of the advertising firm TAU Marketing, pointed out, "The default settings (for Meta's AI tool) are aggressive, and it is easy to miss the toggle button to turn them off." He added, "Realistically, most advertisers cannot withdraw from their social media advertising contracts, so the company (Meta) can essentially profit (from the use of AI tools) without facing any sanctions."
In response to these AI-generated ads, Meta stated, "AI can make mistakes, and it is the advertiser's responsibility to review the results generated by AI."
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.