Instagram Explore ads now run in one placement: Instagram Explore home, where your ad appears as a square tile in the Explore grid with your logo and an Ad label. Meta removed the separate Instagram Explore placement from Ads Manager in January 2026, and Reels ads now show in the space it used to fill.
Every spec and rule on this page comes from Meta's own Ads Guide and Business Help Center, read as of October 2026.
If you set up Explore ads before 2026, this matters. Meta's help page says any ad set that was targeting the old Instagram Explore placement will now deliver to the other placements in that ad set instead. Your budget simply moves, so it's worth opening older campaigns and checking the placement breakdown to see where they're spending now.
What changed in January 2026
| Before January 2026 | From January 2026 |
|---|---|
| Two Explore placements: Instagram Explore (the feed after tapping a tile) and Instagram Explore home (the grid) | One Explore placement: Instagram Explore home |
| Tapping a tile opened an Explore feed with ads in it | Tapping a tile opens an immersive Reels viewer |
| Explore feed ads were chosen with the Instagram Explore placement | Ads targeting Instagram Reels now show there, because Meta treats it as the same experience |
| Ad sets could target Instagram Explore | Those ad sets deliver to their other selected placements |
So the practical answer to how do I run ads in Explore is now two-part: choose Instagram Explore home for the grid, and choose Instagram Reels if you also want to reach people after they tap a tile.
How Explore home ads look
Meta describes Explore as a discovery surface where Instagram shows content from across the platform based on each person's interests. People open it with the magnifying glass icon. Your Explore home ad appears as a 1x1 tile in that grid, with your account logo and an Ad label. When someone taps it, they see the ad full size and can keep scrolling through a mix of organic posts and ads.
Formats and sizes for Explore home
- Image and video: supported. Meta's aspect ratio table recommends 4:5 for images and 9:16 for videos in Explore home.
- Carousel: supported, but only in a 1:1 ratio.
- Collection: supported for the Awareness objective.
- Video for some objectives: for Engagement, App promotion and Sales, video in Explore home only supports 9:16.
Meta also says you can reuse your Feed ad creative in Explore and use the same people-based targeting, which makes it an easy placement to add to a campaign that's already running in Instagram Feed.
How to choose Explore home in Ads Manager
- Open Meta Ads Manager and create or edit a campaign.
- At the ad set level, find the Placements section. Advantage+ placements is selected by default, which lets Meta choose where your ad runs.
- To pick placements yourself, click Edit and choose Manual placements.
- Under Placements, tick Instagram Explore home. Tick Instagram Reels too if you want the space people reach after tapping a tile.
- If you see Allow limited spend to excluded placements, decide whether to leave it switched on. If it's on, Meta can still spend a small share of budget on placements you unticked.
- Finish the ad, preview the Explore home tile and publish.
Meta notes that adding more placements doesn't increase the cost of your ad, and it recommends Advantage+ placements so the system can spread budget where it works. I'd only go manual if you have a clear reason, such as testing Explore home against Feed.
Running video in Explore home? Check specs for Instagram video ads.
Where Explore home sits next to other discovery placements
Explore home isn't the only place Instagram shows ads to people who are browsing rather than following. Meta's placement list gives you two close cousins worth knowing:
| Placement | Where the ad shows | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| Instagram Explore home | A tile in the Explore grid | Getting seen by people browsing interests |
| Instagram Reels | The Reels tab, and now the viewer people reach from an Explore tile | Full-screen video for the same browsing moment |
| Instagram search results | In results after someone types a keyword in the Instagram search bar | Reaching people who've just searched for something |
Meta notes that Instagram search results only appears for some objectives if you select placements yourself at the ad set level, so it's easy to miss. If people search Instagram for what you sell, it's worth ticking alongside Explore home in the same ad set.
Explore is one of several placements, so see all the Instagram ad formats and placements for the rest.
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Is Explore worth it for a small business?
Meta's pitch for Explore is that people there are looking for new things linked to their interests. In my view that suits products people choose with their eyes, and it's a weaker fit if your offer needs explaining, because a square tile in a busy grid has very little room for words.
If you're choosing interests to reach Explore browsers, the Instagram ads interests list shows where to find them. And if you'd rather start small by promoting a post that's already doing well, boosting a post on Instagram is the quicker route, though it gives you less control over placements.
My verdict
Don't build a campaign for Explore alone. Add Explore home to a Feed campaign, make sure the first frame works as a small square tile, and add Reels so you're also in the viewer people land in after a tap. Then check the placement breakdown after a week and keep whichever one brings the clicks.
I keep every related walkthrough in the Instagram Help: 81 Guides to Followers, Hashtags, Money, Accounts and Fixes.
Frequently asked questions
Can you still run ads on Instagram Explore?
Yes, in Instagram Explore home, the Explore grid. Meta removed the separate Instagram Explore feed placement from Ads Manager in January 2026.
What happened to ad sets targeting Instagram Explore?
Meta says they now deliver to the other placements selected in the ad set, and ads targeting Instagram Reels show where the Explore feed used to be.
What do Explore home ads look like?
They appear as 1x1 tiles in the Explore grid with your account logo and an Ad label. Tapping one shows the ad full size.
What size should an Explore home ad be?
Meta recommends 4:5 for images and 9:16 for videos in Explore home, and carousels there must be 1:1.
Do I need new creative for Explore ads?
No. Meta says you can reuse your Feed ad creative in Explore and use the same people-based targeting.
