Shih's appointment comes as Meta increasingly integrates AI-generated content into its social media feeds. However, it is unclear whether Meta will sell these AI tools or offer them for free to increase ad spending. Prior to joining Meta, Shih led Salesforce’s AI efforts, which were not particularly successful, leading to a significant drop in Salesforce's shares. At Meta, Shih will have the opportunity to start afresh, potentially bringing her vision of accessible AI to life.
Key takeaways:
- Meta has hired Clara Shih, Salesforce’s CEO of AI, to lead a new organization building AI tools for businesses that use Meta’s apps.
- The new Business AI group aims to make cutting-edge AI accessible to every business, with a focus on using Meta's Llama large-language models to improve its suite of apps.
- Meta's new group will offer AI products to the millions of businesses advertising and creating content on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, potentially including tools to create AI-generated ads.
- Clara Shih previously led Salesforce’s AI efforts, which faced challenges, and she is also the author of a book about Facebook, now Meta, called “The Facebook Era”.