Facebook is planning a major redesign to help it compete with TikTok. Changes include more recommendations in Facebook’s feed and bringing Messenger back into the app.
For a long time, Mark Zuckerberg and other Meta executives have stated that competing with TikTok is their top priority. Now we have further information on how they aim to accomplish this by fully overhauling the Facebook app.
According to a document from a Facebook official released by The Verge, the social network is working on a massive revamp of Facebook’s main feed that will prominently focus recommended content from sites, creators, and individuals you don’t already follow.
The memo, from Tom Alison who heads up the Facebook app at Meta, states that the goal is to shift Facebook into a “Discovery Engine,” which would heavily rely on recommendations, similar to TikTok’s “For You” feed. Recommendations would mainly come from “unconnected” content, including Reels, and users would see fewer posts from friends and family in their feeds. The plan would also bring Messenger’s inbox back into the Facebook app in an effort to encourage users to share more content from said “Discovery Engine.”
It’s unclear how long Meta will take to make these modifications, some of which are similar to those being implemented at Instagram. However, this isn’t the first time Meta execs have hinted at major changes in Facebook’s app, nor is it the first time we’ve heard of a planned shift from social network to “Discovery Engine.”
In April, Zuckerberg stated that the firm was undergoing a “major shift” that will alter the dynamics of feeds by putting AI-driven recommendations ahead of users’ social graphs.
Nonetheless, Alison’s memo emphasizes how critical the new priorities are for the company, which is frantically attempting to catch up to TikTok.
However, the corporation may face difficulties as a result of the change to more suggestions.
The company’s current recommendation algorithms have been accused of propagating disinformation and exploiting divisiveness.
While Alison told The Verge that there would be stronger controls for recommended content, the firm has had trouble enforcing its own policies in the past. In his memo, Alison also mentions that the corporation is adjusting its perspective on its responsibility to reduce “negative experiences.”
“‘Reducing negative experiences’ has been removed as a product priority since it’s more aptly tied to the product culture we are trying to build throughout our approach of being ‘Trustworthy,’ ‘People-Centric,’ and ‘Unified,’” Alison wrote. “Our focus is doing this holistically across all of our products as a permanent part of our culture as opposed to a short-term priority.”
