Meta hasn’t gotten many headlines in 2025, but even in the shadows, it’s delivered a wave of ad platform updates, tools, and testing opportunities designed to help advertisers drive performance in an increasingly privacy-first, AI-driven world.
In this post, I’ll outline everything you need to know to stay ahead of the curve, including recommendations for what to test now to maximize results.
Threads Ads Go Global
Threads Ads officially rolled out to all global advertisers at the start of Q2 after limited testing.
Why It Matters:
- Threads ads are included automatically with no additional cost or asset creation required.
- The added inventory gives you expanded reach with minimal effort.
- We’ve found them useful for brands already using Advantage+ Placements.
How to Opt Out (If Needed):
If you want more control over placements:
- Go to the “Ad Group Editor” view
- Navigate to placements (when not using Advantage+)
- Deselect Threads manually
Opportunity Score Rolls Out Worldwide
This AI-powered score (0–100) indicates how well-optimized a campaign is, along with real-time suggestions. While it can be helpful, it’s tailored to beginner-level advertisers. It can be useful for uncovering overlooked optimization opportunities, but treat it like you would treat any AI output and cast a very critical eye before you take action on any recommendations.
New Creative Tools Now Live
I’ll provide Meta’s own literature on the releases it introduced at IAB NewFronts, but here’s a more concise breakdown:
What’s New:
- Reels trending ads
- AI-powered trend insights
- Creator Marketplace API
- Expanded video ad formats
Why It Matters:
- More access to high-performing creative patterns and testing opportunities
- Better audience alignment via creator-led and trend-driven content
- Enhanced video performance options (with a nod to the growing dominance of short-form)
Business Value Conversion Tools
Do you know how much an SQL is worth in your pipeline? How about an opportunity? Meta’s new functionality that allows you to optimize by business value is a very good reminder for you to crunch those numbers (and use them to find the right users in your lead gen campaigns).
What They Are:
- Value Optimization
- Incremental Attribution
- Value Rules
Why You Should Care:
These tools let you feed deeper data (like LTV, margins, cross-channel behavior) into Meta’s AI, leading to smarter optimization and real business-aligned performance.
Meta’s internal data is showing a 12% higher ROAS from value-optimized vs. volume-based campaigns; they also cite a 46% average increase in incremental conversions when using incremental attribution. We’re still processing early results from our clients, but so far they’re promising enough that I would encourage you to give these features a try.
Meta Doubles Down on Generative AI
Introduced at no less a creative showcase than Cannes, Meta dished up a LOT of AI functionality for advertisers to test in producing creative at scale.
What’s New:
- Brand-consistent Advantage+ tools
- Upgraded video generation
- Business AI features
- Virtual Try-Ons and creative sticker CTAs
Why It Matters:
- Virtual try-ons help brands stand out in crowded feeds
- Generative AI cuts creative production time and boosts performance
- AI-generated images = 11% higher CTR and 7.6% higher CVR in early tests (note: that’s Meta’s data, not ours)
It’s still – and always – worth noting that you need humans at the wheel to QA creative and to come up with any kind of new ideas and themes. AI is a great amplifier, and Meta has made it even better, but it won’t produce anything that breaks new ground.
Smarter Measurement: A Suite of Truth
Meta’s New Measurement Suite is worth exploring. Ever since iOS 14, Meta has led the pack in producing measurement solutions that work in a post-cookie world where clicks can’t be a reliable basis of measurement.
Take a look at Meta’s options, and keep in mind that our favorite approach for holistic measurement is to combine attribution models, marketing mix modeling (MMM), and randomized experiments like lift tests to get a full picture of what’s working and what’s not all that incremental.
Creative Trends: What’s Working Now
With credit to AppsFlyer for its excellent report on 2025 creative optimization, here are the major creative themes and takeaways from the year so far:
- Match creative volume to audience complexity: Advertisers increasing creative output by 18% YoY
- Essentials matter: Combining audio, emotional storytelling, humans on screen, and text overlays gets brands, on average:
- 16% lower CPA
- 29% higher CVR
- 11% greater reach
- Reels that resonate: Expressive audio + people on screen = 8% more conversions
- Creative diversification: Testing across formats leads to 32% better CPA and 9% more incremental reach
- AI wins again: AI-generated creatives consistently outperform in CTR and CVR (again, use humans to QA output and to ideate anything new, and use AI to scale)
Action Items for Advertisers
I know I just dumped a lot of info on you, so let me boil it down to some must-dos for growth and performance over the next few months:
- Leverage Threads ads (or disable the placement if needed based on brand safety needs)
- Check Opportunity Score weekly for low-lift optimization ideas
- Test AI-generated creative alongside traditional content
- Use value-based goals and attribution tools to align with real revenue, not just conversions
- Experiment with new video formats and creator-led campaigns
- Diversify your creative mix to improve resonance and scale reach
- Adopt hybrid measurement for smarter, more actionable insights
Need help prioritizing what to test next in your Meta campaigns? Let’s chat.
