Meta will provide AI tools for brands to create ads from scratch and target users on its social media platforms by the end of next year, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, putting an ETA on an important goal for CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Here’s what Zuck’s envisioning:

• Companies looking to interrupt your Instagram or Facebook scroll can currently use Meta’s AI tools to tweak existing ads. But soon, Meta will enable advertisers—likely those with smaller budgets—to have AI churn out their entire ad campaign simply by presenting it with an image of their product.
• Meta’s also planning real-time personalization based on geolocation so that users in an urban setting would see the product on city streets, while users looking at the same product in Middle-earth would see it in The Shire (these are theoretical examples).

Zuck sees AI-powered ads as Meta’s future: Advertising dollars accounted for 97% of Meta’s revenue in 2024, and that money is being reinvested in AI chips, data centers, and training for the AI models that are presumably learning about marketing as you read this.

Can Meta be trusted?

Ad execs who spoke to The Verge last month expressed skepticism about the performance results Zuck promised from Meta’s self-contained advertising ecosystem, with one bluntly stating: “No clients will trust what they spit out as they are basically checking their own homework.”

That’s not just sour grapes: A potential $7 billion class-action lawsuit accusing Meta of inflating its ad reach numbers by 400% was allowed to proceed by the Supreme Court this year.

Big picture: Despite AI’s seemingly inevitable encroachment on the ad world, some big brands remain hesitant about ceding more control to Meta and are concerned about the quality of images and videos the technology is capable of producing. Nonetheless, Zuck’s vision of the future sent the stocks of ad giants WPP, Omnicom, and Interpublic sliding yesterday.—DL

You might want to abstain from calling your boss an incompetent imbecile during the exit interview. That’s because more companies are adding former employees to their payrolls, a practice known as boomerang hiring, according to a recent ADP analysis.

In March, 35% of new hires were returning employees, compared to 31% a year prior, indicating that hitting up a former boss is an increasingly popular job-hunting tactic.

Why hire familiar faces?

ADP attributes the trend to a slower hiring market than the one during the Great Resignation of 2022, when job-hopping was a national sport. Today, employees seem to be more cautious about jumping ship.

• Meanwhile, employers have likely become more selective about who they bring on board, particularly in industries requiring highly skilled workers that are concentrated in specific geographies.
• The highest rate of repeat hires was observed in tech jobs, with returning employees accounting for 68% of new hires in March, compared to 34% a year prior.

Welcoming back workers who won’t need to be introduced to every cubicle occupant can also lower onboarding and training costs.

Big picture: Though unemployment remained relatively low at 4.2% in April, it’s been taking job seekers longer to get an offer on average. This Friday, the government will release updated job market data showing how hiring fared last month.—SK

You probably haven’t thought about Red Robin since the last time its “Yummm” slogan jolted you from a couch slumber. But the burger joint’s stock is enjoying a much-needed boost after the chain reported a rare swing to profitability last week.

Amid an overall downturn in consumer spending, Red Robin is one of a slew of casual chains trying to weave nostalgia into its broader comeback strategy (see: last year’s Red Robin x Juicy Couture tracksuit).

Another competitor, Chili’s, is channeling the good ol’ days especially well:

• A Saved by the Bell actress starred in a Chili’s ad campaign for margarita specials last month, and the chain opened an Office-themed location near Scranton, PA, in April.
• Viral TikToks of mozzarella stick cheese pulls helped the chain’s sales jump 31% last quarter and helped get “Chili’s back in culture again,” its parent company’s CEO said.

Children get older: Though Gen Z and millennials don’t dine at midprice spots as much as older generations, chains are desperately trying to capitalize on their yearning for youth…and their newfound spending power. A recent Rainforest Cafe pop-up at the Empire State Building reeled in thousands of diners looking to eat next to a giant plastic bird for the first time since childhood.

Many casual chains are still struggling. Hooters recently filed for bankruptcy, foot traffic is down at Outback Steakhouse, and despite its recent bright spot, Red Robin has lost more than $100 million in recent years.—ML