Don’t Let Meta Destroy Your Brand

Meta is pushing advertising further and further toward automation.

Advantage+ campaigns, creative enhancements, automated placements, AI-generated variations, and built-in experimentation are now a core part of how Meta wants brands to run ads. In many ad accounts, these features are enabled by default.

For performance-only campaigns, that can be useful.
For brands that care about identity, tone, and consistency, it needs to be actively controlled.

When automation and experimentation are left on, Meta can test creative variations, prioritise certain assets, remix placements across feeds, stories and reels, and optimise delivery based purely on performance signals. In some cases, Meta will also allocate a portion of your budget — often around 5% — to automatically test changes it believes may improve results.

That budget isn’t testing brand logic.
It’s testing outcomes.

Clicks, conversions and engagement win. Brand intent isn’t part of the decision-making.

AI optimisation is designed to maximise efficiency, not protect how a brand shows up. It doesn’t understand why a layout matters, why a caption is written a certain way, or why certain creative should never be altered. It responds to data, not design thinking.

Left unchecked, this can quietly dilute brand systems. Visual hierarchy breaks down. Messaging shifts. Creative intent gets overridden in favour of what performs fastest, not what represents the brand best.

This doesn’t mean automation is bad. It means default automation is risky.

If you’re running paid campaigns, you should know exactly what Meta is allowed to test, change, and optimise — and what it isn’t.

How to Review and Turn Off Meta’s Automation and Test Budget Settings

Open Meta Ads Manager.

Click Settings or go directly into your Ad Account Settings.

Review Advantage+ Creative and Creative Enhancements. These allow Meta to automatically generate variations, adjust formats, and prioritise assets. Turn off any options you don’t explicitly want applied.

Check Placements at the Ad Set level. Advantage+ Placements give Meta control to remix creative across formats. Switch to Manual Placements if you need tighter control.

In Campaign or Account Settings, look for options related to Experiments, Optimisation Testing, or Performance Experiments. Some accounts allow Meta to automatically test changes using a small percentage of your budget, often 5%. If enabled, Meta can run tests without you setting them up manually. Disable this if you don’t want automated experimentation.

Review any settings that mention learning, improvements, recommendations, or automatic tests. If a toggle is on and you didn’t intentionally enable it, assume Meta is testing something.

Save your changes and review these settings across all active campaigns. They are not always consistent between campaign types.

Use Automation With Intent

Meta’s automation tools are powerful when used deliberately — for testing, scaling, and performance-driven campaigns.

They’re dangerous when they’re left on by default.

Brands don’t lose control because AI exists.
They lose control because they don’t check the settings.

If you’re investing in paid media and you haven’t reviewed what Meta is allowed to test, optimise, or override, the platform is already making decisions on your behalf.

Performance matters.
Brand integrity matters too.

If you want help setting up Meta campaigns that perform without handing over brand control — including proper use of experiments and test budgets — that’s exactly what we do at Not Bad.