Mark Zuckerberg just declared the death of his metaverse obsession. During Meta's Q4 2025 earnings call Wednesday, the CEO unveiled a radical new vision where AI-generated content replaces traditional social feeds entirely. It's a stunning strategic pivot for a company that burned billions building virtual worlds, now betting everything on algorithms that create personalized content on the fly. The shift signals Meta's most significant platform evolution since the move from text to video.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg spent years evangelizing the metaverse as the future of human connection. That future just got scrapped. During Wednesday's Q4 2025 earnings call, Zuckerberg painted an entirely different vision where AI doesn't just recommend content but generates it wholesale, tailored to each user's preferences in real-time.
"We started with text, and then moved to photos when we got phones with cameras, and then moved to video when mobile networks got fast enough," Zuckerberg told investors, according to The Verge's coverage of the call. "Soon, we'll see an explosion of new media formats that are more immersive and interactive, and only possible because of advances in AI."
The statement marks a dramatic departure from Meta's previous strategy. Instead of building virtual reality worlds where users hang out as avatars, Zuckerberg now envisions AI that "understands" users, serves up content they'll love, and generates "great personalized content" on demand. It's less Ready Player One, more algorithmic content machine on steroids.
Meta isn't just talking about this future - they're already building it. The company launched a "Vibes" feed in its Meta AI app late last year, letting users scroll through AI-generated short videos. According to Zuckerberg's comments on the call, that's just the beginning. He hinted at new formats where users could type a prompt to create an entire world or game, then instantly share it with friends.
But the most revealing part? Zuckerberg's vision for interactive video. "There's definitely a version of the future where any video that you see, you can tap on and jump into it and experience it in a more meaningful way," he said. It's a concept that blurs the line between passive consumption and active creation, all powered by generative AI models.
