Meta Introduces Your Algorithm: AI-Powered Controls for Facebook Feed and Reels

Meta Introduces Your Algorithm: Facebook Users Can Control Recommendations With AI

On October 13, 2026, Meta introduced Your Algorithm, a new way for Facebook users to influence the content recommended to them in Feed and Reels.

How Facebook Recommendations Worked Before

Facebook's algorithms generate personalized recommendations based on thousands of signals from user behavior.

These include video views, time spent engaging with posts, likes, comments, follows, and past interactions with specific topics.

For example, if a user regularly watches videos about cars, the system gradually begins recommending more automotive content.

Users could also influence recommendations through the Interested and Not Interested features, hide individual posts, or change feed settings.

However, these mechanisms were primarily based on behavioral signals and relatively simple actions.

If someone wanted to see more posts about a specific topic, they had to search for, watch, or interact with relevant content so the algorithm could gradually recognize their interest.

What Is Your Algorithm?

Your Algorithm is an interface that lets users interact directly with Facebook's recommendation algorithms.

Instead of relying exclusively on behavioral analysis, the system allows people to describe what kinds of posts they want to see.

For example, a user can indicate that they are interested in modernist architecture but do not want videos about apartment renovations.

Or they can ask for more content about travel to smaller European cities instead of standard tourist destinations.

Large language models analyze the meaning of the request, taking the user's context and intent into account.

According to Meta, new preferences can affect recommendations almost immediately, within the current session.

This differs from the traditional model, in which the system needs to collect enough behavioral signals before changing a user's interest profile.

What Changed on October 13, 2026?

Meta introduced three main changes.

Direct Control Over Interests

Facebook is introducing a dedicated Your Algorithm interface where users can add and edit the topics they want to see in Feed and Reels.

It can be accessed through the three-dot menu on posts.

As a result, users can not only react to content that has already been suggested but also actively guide future recommendations.

More Detailed Feedback

Meta is also updating the Interested and Not Interested features.

After selecting one of these options, the system may ask an additional question to clarify the reason for the response.

For example, a user might explain that they are interested in a post's topic but dislike its particular video format.

This type of feedback can potentially provide the algorithm with a more precise signal than a simple indication of interest.

Using LLMs in Recommendation Systems

The third change concerns the ranking technology itself.

Meta says large language models make it possible to interpret freely worded preferences alongside existing behavioral signals.

For example, the algorithm can distinguish an interest in professional photography from a desire to watch entertaining videos about smartphones, even though the two categories may overlap.

This makes recommendations more adaptable to a user's current needs.

How This Relates to Instagram and Threads

Your Algorithm is part of Meta's broader strategy to give users more control over personalized recommendations.

In December 2025, the company introduced a similar mechanism for Instagram Reels.

In June 2026, interest customization was expanded to other sections of Instagram.

Threads also introduced tools that let users communicate their content preferences directly to the algorithm.

The October launch brings this approach to Facebook Feed and Reels.

In other words, this is not an entirely new technology for Meta but an expansion of personalization capabilities across the company's major products.

What Will Change for Brands and Content Creators?

For companies growing organic Facebook pages, the new mechanisms introduce another factor that can influence content distribution.

Previously, the system determined a user's interests primarily through their actions.

Now direct text-based preferences may also affect which topics the algorithm recommends.

For example, if a user expresses an interest in home gardening, Facebook may recommend more posts from relevant brands and creators.

This could increase the value of thematically consistent content that clearly aligns with the interests of specific audiences.

However, Meta has not stated that Your Algorithm automatically increases the reach of niche pages or changes the rules of organic traffic distribution in favor of particular types of creators.

Such effects therefore need to be evaluated using actual post performance data.

Does Your Algorithm Affect Meta Ads?

The October announcement concerns recommendation systems in Facebook Feed and Reels.

Meta did not announce new advertising campaign settings, changes to Ads Manager, or direct use of text preferences from Your Algorithm for ad targeting.

This distinction is particularly important for performance marketers.

Organic recommendation algorithms and advertising auction mechanisms use different models and optimization objectives.

For example, a change in a user's interests in Your Algorithm should not be treated as a confirmed change to their advertising audience membership or the signals used by Advantage+.

At the same time, organic and advertising content can appear within the same interfaces.

Over the longer term, changes in user behavior could therefore potentially influence the broader content consumption environment.

However, as of October 2026, there is no confirmed evidence that Your Algorithm directly affects CPM, CPA, ROAS, or advertising auction performance.

Availability and Limitations

Meta announced a gradual rollout of Your Algorithm on October 13, 2026.

The company did not publish a universal launch schedule for individual countries, languages, or user categories.

Therefore, the absence of the new tool in a particular account does not necessarily indicate a technical problem.

There are also no independent studies yet showing how consistently users' text-based preferences influence recommendations over an extended period.

Meta states that changes happen in real time, but the actual effectiveness of personalization may depend on the content of a request and the available content.

For brands and advertising agencies, Your Algorithm is primarily relevant as a development in AI recommendations and organic content distribution, rather than as a standalone Meta Ads update.

Sources

1. Meta Newsroom: Your Algorithm, Your Words, October 13, 2026 — https://about.fb.com/news/2026/10/introducing-your-algorithm-facebook/

2. The Verge: Facebook will let you customize your feed algorithm using AI, October 13, 2026 — https://www.theverge.com/tech/1010344/meta-facebook-your-algorithm-ai

3. TechCrunch: Facebook is giving users more control over their algorithm, October 13, 2026 — https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/13/facebook-is-giving-users-more-control-over-their-algorithm/

4. Social Media Today: Facebook adds plain language algorithm controls, October 13, 2026 — https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-adds-plain-language-algorithm-controls/832910/

5. Meta: Improving Your Recommendations on Our Apps With AI, October 2025 — https://about.fb.com/news/2025/10/improving-your-recommendations-apps-ai-meta/