Meta tests an Ads Manager assistant that changes budgets and targeting itself

Meta is testing an assistant inside Ads Manager that can build creative, change audience targeting and move budgets, the company announced at Advertising Week New York on 6 October. Advertisers must approve each change before it goes live. Meta also widened its video tools and opened checkout tests in Messenger and Meta AI.

Meta’s assistant will remember past tests and run weekly reports

The assistant is part of Meta’s Business AI in Ads Manager. Advertisers talk to it in plain language. According to Best Media Info, it now keeps context from earlier work, such as last quarter’s tests, seasonal patterns and goals.

Meta is also testing two extras. Advertisers can import brand guidelines and tone of voice written in other AI tools. And the assistant can run scheduled tasks, such as weekly summaries, performance reviews and budget alerts.

Advantage+ now turns still images into video for all eligible advertisers

Video generation from static images in Advantage+ creative is now generally available, Social Media Today reports. Ads Creative Studio, until now limited to selected partners, is opening to more advertisers. It can draft video concepts, edit the opening hook, cut clips, change audio and add captions. Catalogue advertisers can make product videos straight from listings, in beta.

Meta said more than 60% of the time people spend on Facebook and Instagram goes to video.

Meta tests checkout inside Messenger with Shopify

Shoppers will be able to buy inside a chat with a business agent on Messenger, starting with Shopify merchants. Meta is also testing checkout inside Meta AI with Adyen, PayPal, Shopify and Stripe. Customer Lifecycle Strategy, which helps exclude existing buyers from acquisition campaigns, is now open to all advertisers. Describing an audience in plain words will reach Detailed Targeting by the end of 2026.

For large agencies, Meta expanded its Ads MCP server, which lets outside AI tools draft campaigns that land in Ads Manager. TikTok made a similar move this week when it connected its ad tools to Claude and Perplexity.

The winners are smaller advertisers without a creative team, who get video from one product photo. The pressure falls on agencies paid for routine campaign management and reporting, the jobs Meta’s scheduled tasks now target. In Germany, media agencies have already forecast the rise of AI advertising.