Meta Advantage+ is Meta's set of AI tools that optimise your ad campaigns in real time and match your ads to the people most likely to act. For sales, app promotion and leads campaigns, Ads Manager now starts you in the Advantage+ setup, and it stays on unless you narrow your budget, audience or placements too far, at which point that section shows Advantage+ off.
That on and off switch is what most advertisers don't realise. You don't turn Advantage+ on with one button. It's the default, and specific choices you make while building the campaign quietly switch it off.
Everything below comes from Meta's Business Help Center, read in October 2026.
Which campaigns get Advantage+
Meta says that if you choose the sales, app promotion or leads objective, you'll see the Advantage+ setup, which applies AI across your campaign. For most campaigns you now start in what Meta calls the recommended setup, and you may see a campaign score of 100 with Advantage+ on for some options.
Two exceptions are worth knowing. Meta says campaigns in special ad categories, such as social issues, elections or politics, and pharmaceutical campaigns may not get every Advantage+ feature, or may see a different experience.
What keeps Advantage+ on and what turns it off
| Area | Advantage+ on | Advantage+ off |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | Campaign budget as your budget strategy, with one or several ad sets; optional spending limits are fine | Several ad sets without campaign budget |
| Audience | Using your audience settings as suggestions, where available | Using Further limit the reach of your ads with the Use as a suggestion box unchecked |
| Placements | Leaving placements open | Excluding placements in any ad set, or opting out of Mobile or Desktop devices |
The two audience changes you can make safely
Here's the useful bit buried in Meta's help page. You can raise the minimum age up to 25, or exclude a custom audience, without turning Advantage+ off. So if you don't want to reach teenagers or you want to leave out existing customers, you can do both and keep the AI optimisation.
Account-level controls don't affect Advantage+ either. Meta says these are for constraints across your whole ad account, for example if you can't show ads to people under a certain age or can't ship to some countries. Set those once at account level rather than narrowing every campaign.
What Advantage+ off really means
Meta's wording is direct: if you see Advantage+ off, you're no longer creating a campaign with Advantage+ on and won't benefit from all the AI optimisations. It doesn't mean the campaign breaks. Meta says manual features are all still available, and a campaign showing Advantage+ off can still benefit if you choose the broadest settings you can and use other Advantage+ features.
So treat the label as a prompt to ask yourself one question: is this restriction a real business rule, or a habit from how ads used to be built?
Advantage+ sales campaigns
For online sales, Meta calls Advantage+ sales campaigns the most efficient way to drive results with the sales objective, and says the most advanced AI optimisations switch on when the campaign uses Advantage+ audience, placement and budget together. Meta's best practices for them are:
- Connect your first-party marketing data to Meta's ad delivery, for example through the Conversions API.
- Give the system a wide variety of creative assets, so it can find the most relevant ad for each person.
- Use Meta's value tools to guide the automation towards the results your business cares about.
- Build audience segments so your reports break results down by new, engaged and existing customers.
If your tracking isn't in place yet, fix that first: my guide on setting up conversion tracking for Meta ads covers the pixel and the Conversions API step by step.
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A word on Opportunity Score
When you're eligible, Meta may suggest Advantage+ through Opportunity Score, its tool for prioritising campaign recommendations in near real time. Meta's own note is worth repeating: a score, even a high one, doesn't reflect your actual or future performance and doesn't guarantee results. Use it as a checklist, not a forecast.
How to build a campaign with Advantage+ on
- In Ads Manager, create a campaign with the sales, app promotion or leads objective.
- Stay in the recommended setup rather than switching to manual.
- Choose campaign budget as your budget strategy. Add spending limits if you need them.
- Treat your audience choices as suggestions. If you must, raise the minimum age (up to 25) or exclude a custom audience.
- Leave placements and devices open.
- Check each section for the Advantage+ on label before you publish.
If you're working out how much to put behind it, start with how much Instagram ads cost, then give a new Advantage+ campaign a few days and some data before you judge it, rather than editing it every morning.
My verdict
For most small businesses running sales or leads ads, Advantage+ is worth leaving on, because the settings that switch it off are usually the old habits of over-targeting. Keep a campaign budget, use audiences as suggestions, leave placements open, and use the two safe exceptions, a higher minimum age and an excluded custom audience, when you need them. Turn it off only for a real business rule, and put those rules in account controls instead.
Placements matter here too, and my guide to the Meta Audience Network explains where your ads can show up.
Frequently asked questions
What is Meta Advantage+?
Meta describes Advantage+ as a suite of products that uses AI to optimise campaigns in real time and match ads to the people most likely to take action.
How do I turn on Advantage+ in Ads Manager?
For sales, app promotion and leads campaigns, Meta starts you in the Advantage+ setup. It stays on if you keep campaign budget, use audience suggestions and leave placements open.
What turns Advantage+ off?
Meta says Advantage+ off shows if you use several ad sets without campaign budget, limit your audience with the suggestion box unchecked, exclude placements, or opt out of Mobile or Desktop devices.
Can I exclude an audience and keep Advantage+ on?
Yes. Meta says you can raise the minimum age up to 25 or exclude a custom audience without turning Advantage+ off.
Do account controls affect Advantage+?
No. Meta says account-level controls don't affect a campaign's Advantage+ state, so they're the right place for rules such as age limits or countries you can't ship to.
