“I’m excited to announce that I’ve joined Meta to lead a new Business AI group,” Shih stated. “Our goal for this new product division is to democratize access to advanced AI technologies for all businesses, enabling them to thrive and shape their futures in the AI landscape.”
Adam Evans, another executive from Salesforce’s AI team, will succeed Shih in overseeing the company’s AI initiatives, as reported by TechCrunch. Evans currently holds the position of executive vice president and general manager of AI at Salesforce, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Meta's approach to AI is distinctive, as the company claims to adopt an open-source model, although this interpretation may vary. Unlike companies such as OpenAI or Google, which monetize their AI chatbots through subscriptions, Meta is focusing on enhancing its existing suite of applications through its Llama large language models. The development of AI tools for businesses appears to be a key component of this strategy.
The newly formed group at Meta will provide AI solutions utilizing Llama for the millions of businesses that advertise and create content on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp. While the specific tools that Meta will offer remain uncertain, it is plausible that they will include capabilities for generating AI-driven advertisements. Recently, Meta has increased the presence of AI-generated content across its social media platforms, including a Facebook carousel featuring AI-generated images and AI chatbots mimicking content creators on Instagram.
This marks a significant change for Meta's platforms, which have traditionally relied solely on human-generated content. By equipping businesses with cost-effective tools to produce more advertisements, Meta could potentially tap into a lucrative revenue stream. It remains uncertain whether these AI tools will be sold or provided for free to encourage increased ad spending, which is the company's primary revenue source.
John Hegeman, Meta’s VP and Head of Monetization, stated in an email to TechCrunch, “We believe these latest advancements in AI represent a significant opportunity for businesses to drive more efficiencies and significantly improve the experiences they offer their customers. This new product group under Clara’s leadership will help us bring that vision to life.”
Shih, who previously directed Salesforce’s AI initiatives, faced challenges as those efforts did not yield significant success. In May, Salesforce experienced its largest stock drop since 2008, primarily due to investor concerns that the company had fallen behind in the AI sector. At that time, Salesforce projected it would encounter its slowest growth in the upcoming quarter. Since then, the company has intensified its focus on AI, launching an AI agent developer platform named Agentforce. CEO Marc Benioff has also publicly criticized Microsoft’s enterprise AI strategies.
Now, Shih appears poised to embark on a new venture at Meta, a company she previously authored a book about in 2009 titled “The Facebook Era.”