The news: Meta and Midjourney formed a partnership to bring more image-generation tools to Facebook and Instagram.

Meta is licensing Midjourney’s “aesthetic technology” for users and brands, Meta chief AI officer Alexandr Wang posted on Threads. He implied that the agreement may go past licensing and involve collaboration with Meta’s research teams to integrate Midjourney into future models and products.

Zooming out: Meta’s frenetic push to lead in AI includes launching Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL), undergoing a recent AI restructuring, and investing heavily in talent, though that hiring spree has reportedly slowed down.

As part of its MSL restructuring, Meta is now open to using third-party AI models, per DigiTimes, marking a shift from its previous reliance on in-house tech. It may have been time to take outside help: Llama 4 Behemoth was recently canceled after underwhelming early testing.

Why it matters: By integrating Midjourney’s tools, Meta gains access to an advanced and visually distinct generative AI (genAI) engine without building it from scratch.

This shift could keep users inside Meta’s ecosystem and reduce reliance on outside tools like Canva, Runway, or DALL-E. It may also lower ad production costs and democratize content creation at scale.

Nearly half (49%) of marketers use AI daily for image and video generation, per Canva. Meta wants that activity and associated ad spend to stay on its platforms.

Yes, but: More genAI content on Facebook and Instagram could pose challenges for Meta and complicate the user experience.

• Content confusion. Users may struggle to discern between authentic and synthetic content, making the apps feel disjointed and disorienting.
• Lost social appeal. A feed that’s full of synthetic visuals could disrupt a sense of human connection, which is the core of Facebook’s and Instagram’s value proposition. Features that promote socialization—like Picks and the new Instagram Friends tab—could keep engagement up.
• Moderation concerns. Risks of AI-generated misinformation could be aggravated by Meta’s prior decisions to scale back content moderation. More backstops and stronger AI tagging and disclosure systems may be necessary.

Our take: Meta is pivoting away from prioritizing AI research dominance to deploying more practical, user-facing tools that can drive engagement.

Brands should experiment with Midjourney to streamline content creation for Meta campaigns. However, they should also monitor outputs carefully for quality and copyright issues, especially considering Midjourney has faced allegations of IP misuse. Fast creation is only an advantage if it doesn’t trigger legal or reputational backlash.