Meta Platforms (META) launches "Dear Algo" on Threads; Pershing Square backs AI push

Meta lets users rewrite their Threads feed with “Dear Algo”

Meta Platforms unveils a new user-facing AI tool called “Dear Algo” that lets Threads users directly shape their personal recommendation algorithms. The feature lets anyone publish a public post beginning “Dear Algo” to explain what kinds of posts they want to see more or less of; Meta says the request adjusts that individual’s feed for three days and can be reposted so another user’s preferences temporarily apply to a different feed. The rollout is limited to the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand for initial testing.

The company says the idea is inspired by an organic trend of users publicly sharing “Dear Algo” requests, and Meta’s blog notes the short-term adjustments are designed to keep people connected to current conversations. Dear Algo follows other recent Meta AI additions, including Facebook features that animate profile photos and image edits via the Meta AI assistant, underscoring the company’s broad push to bake generative AI into social products. Threads, launched in July 2023 as a competitor to X, is a central testing ground: Meta reports the app has about 400 million monthly active users and plans to begin rolling out ads globally on the platform.

The new tool arrives amid a multi‑billion dollar infrastructure push. Meta is investing heavily in AI compute and data centers — planning roughly $115 billion to $135 billion in AI‑related capital expenditures this year, the company told investors — and executives say they will continue debuting and testing new AI products through 2026. Meta frames Dear Algo as a way to give users more control over algorithmic curation while also gathering signals that can help refine recommendation models across its services.

Pershing Square adds a high‑profile vote of confidence

Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square discloses a sizable stake in Meta, saying the position amounts to about 10% of its capital and arguing the market underappreciates Meta’s long‑term AI opportunity. The firm frames current concerns about AI spending as overlooking potential durable earnings from advertising, AR/VR and other product pathways.

Smart‑glasses partnership shows hardware momentum

EssilorLuxottica reports sales of over 7 million Meta‑powered smart glasses last year, more than tripling prior totals, and highlights new Ray‑Ban and Oakley devices with small displays, gesture controls and neural interfaces. The companies are scaling production and iterating features as wearable AI adoption grows.