FAQ on paid social: AI tools, platform costs, and brand safety in 2026 – eMarketer

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Paid social media advertising is entering a pivotal phase as platforms integrate generative AI into ad creation, targeting, and optimization. Meta, TikTok, and emerging players like Reddit are competing on automation while navigating shifting brand safety standards. For marketers, 2026 demands understanding which AI tools deliver results, where CPM efficiency lies, and how platform changes affect campaign performance. This FAQ addresses the tactical and strategic questions digital media buyers and marketing leaders face.
Paid social is a digital marketing strategy where businesses pay to display promotional content to users on social platforms based on targeting parameters including demographics, interests, behaviors, and intent signals. Unlike organic social, which relies on algorithmic distribution of unpaid content, paid social guarantees reach in exchange for media spend.
All major platforms offer paid advertising: Meta (Facebook, Instagram, Threads, WhatsApp), TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn, X, and Reddit. Ad formats range from in-feed images and videos to Stories, Reels, and carousel units. Pricing models include cost per thousand impressions (CPM), cost per click (CPC), and cost per acquisition (CPA). The channel represents a significant share of digital ad budgets, with platforms increasingly automating targeting and creative optimization through AI.
Paid social ads are effective when they borrow the credibility of organic content. 70% of Gen Z consumers say user-generated content (UGC), from everyday users rather than paid partners, is very helpful to their buying journey, per a dcdx report. 60% of all consumers consider UGC the most genuine form of advertising, according to the report.
AI-generated creative faces headwinds:
AI can support ad creation, but human-generated content drives credibility for paid social campaigns.
Major platforms have released AI creative suites that automate video production, targeting, and optimization.
TikTok Symphony includes:
Meta Advantage+ offers:
Reddit Community Intelligence uses AI to analyze platform discussions and power conversation summary add-ons that highlight relevant user posts beneath ads.
The connection between AI search and paid social is especially clear with Reddit. The platform occupies a distinct position in paid social, as community-driven surfaces prominently in AI search results. This creates a potential visibility loop for advertisers.
AI search connection:
Ad performance:
This suggests Reddit ads may serve dual purposes: direct response performance and indirect brand visibility through AI search citation.
As of Q4 2025, Instagram has the highest CPM ($10.48), followed by TikTok ($9.86), Facebook ($9.06), Pinterest ($8.09), and Snapchat ($4.89), according to an EMARKETER forecast. While Snapchat CPMs grew in 2023 and 2024, the platform hasn’t kept pace with larger counterparts.
The rise in CPMs across the board is partly due to AI-powered ad offerings, which come at a higher price tag but often bring better results.
Brand safety standards are loosening across major platforms, shifting responsibility to advertisers.Meta replaced fact-checking with Community Notes, a crowdsourced system that relies on user reporting, following X’s model. The platform has faced legal pressure to instill tighter enforcement of its ad policies.
The rise of AI-generated deceptive content, as well as the presence of ads alongside unmoderated user content, means brand safety is top of mind. Marketers should build internal safeguards through contextual targeting exclusions, creator vetting, and AI-monitoring tools rather than relying on platform-led moderation.
Budget allocation should balance platform efficiency, AI tool adoption, and emerging channel opportunity.
Platform prioritization:
Tactical recommendations:
Start with platforms where you have existing performance benchmarks, then expand testing to emerging channels with clear measurement frameworks.
We prepared this article with the assistance of generative AI tools and stand behind its accuracy, quality, and originality.
EMARKETER forecast data was current at publication and may have changed. EMARKETER clients have access to up-to-date forecast data. To explore EMARKETER solutions, click here.
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