Every year, Facebook hosts its F8 Developer Conference, where the company shows off its latest features, highlights development plans for the coming year, and connects with the thousands of businesses that interact with the platform every day. Koddi sent two representatives to San Jose, California last week in order to learn first-hand how to best leverage the platform and drive value for our clients.

Predictably, the Cambridge Analytica issue colored a decent portion of this year’s conversation at F8. CEO Mark Zuckerberg addressed Facebook’s responsibilities regarding users’ privacy, highlighting developments like Clear History, a new feature which will allow users to delete their Facebook browsing history, similar to the “clear cookies” options on web browsers. He also promised to tackle the platform’s widely criticized problems of reliable, thorough content review by continuing to improve their AI service and hiring 20,000 new employees in this sector by the end of the year.

Despite the focus on privacy and building trust in the platform at this year’s show, there were still many exciting new innovations that Koddi plans to leverage in order to maximize the effectiveness of travel ads. Here are the top three things we’re most stoked about:

Messenger

Messenger has grown in functionality and is going to be streamlined for business use. Augmented reality will be featured strongly in the app during the coming months. One demo on the show floor let the user try on virtual makeup using Sephora’s ad space within Messenger. Another demo placed a 3D model of a car directly on the desk using AR tech. How could this technology come into play within the hospitality space? Imagine using Facebook’s AR tech to project a stunning hotel model immediately in front of an interested booker. Or perhaps designing an interactive ad that lets travelers tour a hotel room’s amenities right within Messenger. These are just a few of the ways we can envision using Messenger to create inspired, innovative Facebook campaigns.

Depth Photos

One of the more impressive pieces of tech was only on display on the show floor. Still very much in beta, when it does release, this technology will create great opportunities to catch eyes. Photos taken in Portrait Mode from an iPhone 10 use both rear-facing cameras to create a stereoscopic image. Facebook has developed a way to combine depth data captured by this image with the gyroscopic position of any smartphone viewing the image. As the user scrolls through their news feed or tilts their phone, an ever-so-slightly different version of the image is rendered. The result is a truly eye-popping 3D experience. No glasses or special screens are needed. The demo was only available for standard posts, but when ads are able to use this feature, people will stop and look.

AI

Facebook dedicated several sessions and the second keynote to express their interest in applications of artificial intelligence. As Facebook’s reach grows, it becomes difficult to moderate all of its content: spam, fake news, or otherwise. Automatic moderation is an excellent place for AI to step in, not only because of its ability to affect the entire platform, but also due to its impressively rapid speed. For example, according to CTO Mike Schroepfer, Facebook was able to proactively remove 99% of Al Qaeda and ISIS accounts in Q1 of this year, as well as millions of fake accounts every day. Similarly, AI allows Facebook to deal with important issues, such as bullying, hate speech, and nuanced language before it’s even seen by the average user.

For all of the interesting new features and improvements announced, Facebook made it clear that they would be iterating and improving on every single one. We’re excited to see what they will create in the time until the next F8.