Meta Poised to Overtake Google as Top Ad Destination

Meta Platforms is on track to surpass Google Search as the largest destination for advertising dollars this year, according to Bernstein. The firm's analyst Mark Shmulik notes that Meta has seen a significant impact from AI-driven ad growth.

In the second quarter, Meta captured nearly half of every incremental digital ad dollar, with the firm arguing that AI is strengthening rather than disrupting the largest platforms.

Unlike search, where users explicitly signal intent, Meta must predict what content and ads users will engage with, making AI improvements especially valuable.

While Meta stands to benefit from AI-driven growth, e-commerce names are outperforming ad platforms due to similar AI tailwinds at lower costs.