| Yes. Many times, and at scale. While not strictly accurate, it's easiest to think about it as a simple machine learning system. The system can't be interrogated, so you don't really know what correlations are being made. The actual way it works is in layers. There's a human layer, using logic to create segments or other targeting methods. There's the ad network's automated optimisation options. FB really took this to the next level. There's retargeting. Bidding, and the economics of advertising plays a big role in giving the system intelligence. 3rd party ad management software. Each piece/layer typically ads additional data to the set. The human/advertiser generally does this this by uploading or tagging their own customers. FB, for example, will allow you to create a "similar" list, where it finds user similar to those you designate. Similarity is somewhat ambiguous. FB/Adwords is where the heavy lifting happens, most commonly via bid optimisation. The only intention is "goals per $." Price, and volume. As I said, the sausage factor is complex and no one sees the whole thing. In practical terms, a massive NN optimizing for sales/signups/etc itself is a decent analogy... and increasingly not an analogy. |