The algorithm doesn’t need us anymore
Generative AI is reshaping the social media feed — cutting out creators, brands and even users — as platforms chase cheaper content and tighter control of attention.
Everyone knows the old adage: if you’re not paying for the product, you are the product. But something more fundamental is happening now.
For the first time, platforms may no longer need the product either — not the brands, not the creators, not even the advertisers. Thanks to generative AI, they can fill the feed with content they control, content they don’t have to pay for, and content that exists for one purpose: to keep us scrolling and shopping.
That’s the deeper shift behind the flood of hyper-personalised TikToks, and AI-enhanced product hawking now dominating social media. The platforms are no longer just marketplaces for attention. They’re becoming vertically integrated factories for its extraction.
Traditional advertising used to be relatively straightforward: creative, product-centric messaging, a modest narrative and a clear call to action. It meant buying 30 seconds of airtime during the evening broadcast or a full-page advert in the Sunday paper. Impactful enough to be memorable and brief enough to hold your attention. Ideally, it even sold something.
