February 11, 2016 - 14:57 AMT
Facebook adds automated captioning tool for video ads

Facebook is rolling out a tool that automatically captions video ads, Engadget reports.

Whether or not they appear is up to the advertiser, but the hope is that users will stop to read what a promo is saying instead of skipping to the next post.

However, one can at least take consolation in knowing that these captions won't arrive in earnest for a while. The tool is reaching marketers over the course of the weeks ahead, and only in U.S. English for now. As it stands, captions might have an upside: they could reduce the temptation for advertisers to use more distracting custom text in a desperate bid to catch your eye.