If you’ve spent any time inside Meta Ads Manager lately, you probably feel like the floor is moving. Meta isn't just "updating" things anymore; they are basically gutting the old way of doing things and replacing it with a massive, AI-driven engine. This past October was the tipping point.
The biggest news hitting the wire is that Meta has started using your direct conversations with Meta AI to target ads.
Honestly, it’s a bit of a "wait, what?" moment for privacy, but for advertisers, it's a massive shift in how intent is captured. If someone asks Meta AI about the best trail running shoes for wide feet, Meta now sees that as a high-intent signal. Starting in October 2025, notifications began rolling out to users about this, with the policy officially kicking in on December 16. If you’re in the EU, UK, or South Korea, you’re safe for now because of those strict regulatory walls, but for everyone else, the "chat-to-ad" pipeline is officially open.
The Andromeda Shift and Why Your Manual Targeting Is Dying
Under the hood, Meta rolled out something called Andromeda. It sounds like a sci-fi movie, but it's actually the new infrastructure that handles how ads are matched to people.
Before, the system was a bit like a librarian looking through a card catalog. Andromeda is more like a supercomputer that knows exactly what you’re thinking before you finish the sentence. Meta claims this new engine has improved ad relevance scores by about 8% and helped some advertisers see a 22% jump in Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).
But here’s the catch.
To make Andromeda work, Meta is aggressively phasing out "Detailed Targeting." You might have noticed that some of your favorite niche interest categories just... disappeared. They are leaning into Advantage+ as the mandatory default. In fact, by October 20, 2025, they made "Dynamic Media" the default for all Advantage+ Catalog ads. You can’t even turn it off in some setups. The message is clear: Meta wants you to stop trying to be a precision sniper with your targeting and start being a "creative director."
Why Lead Gen Just Got a Whole Lot Harder (and Better)
The October 2025 Meta Lead Ads update is another one that caught people off guard. They’ve updated the terms to be way more transparent, which sounds like boring legal jargon, but it has teeth.
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Advertisers are now strictly forbidden from "reusing" data. If you collect a lead for a "free roof inspection," you can’t just dump that email into a general newsletter for kitchen remodeling without explicit, fresh consent. Meta is basically putting the legal "data controller" weight entirely on the advertiser's shoulders.
They also added a new "Check Settings" button and health alerts in Ads Manager. It’s kinda like a "spell-check" for your campaigns. If your lead form doesn't have a clear, up-to-date privacy notice, Meta might just pause your ads without warning. It’s not because they want to be mean; they’re trying to prevent those massive "click-farms" and accidental autofills that have plagued lead quality for years.
The "Pay or Consent" Model is Spreading
If you’re running ads in the UK, you’ve likely seen the new "Pay or Consent" model. Meta is now offering users a choice: pay roughly £2.99 a month to see no ads, or agree to be tracked for personalized ads. This is a massive experiment in user value.
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Does this mean your audience size is going to shrink? Maybe a little. But the people who remain are "consented," meaning the data Meta has on them is "cleaner."
What You Should Actually Do Now
Stop fighting the automation. Seriously.
The days of hacking the algorithm with "10 different ad sets with 20 different interests" are over. It’s actually hurting your performance now because it fragments the data Andromeda needs to learn.
Instead, focus on Creative Portfolios.
Meta now prefers it when you upload 3–5 different "intent-mapped" bundles. One video for people who care about price, one image for people who care about quality, and one carousel for people who need to see the "how-to." Let the AI decide who sees what.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Audit your interests: Go into your ad sets right now. If you see a little orange triangle next to your targeting, that interest is being deprecated. Swap it for an "Advantage+ Audience" setup before the system does it for you and messes up your bidding.
- Implement Landing Page View optimization: Meta just made this more effective. If you’re seeing a high "bounce rate" from your ads, switch from "Link Clicks" to "Landing Page Views." It forces Meta to find people who actually wait for the page to load, rather than "fat-finger" clickers.
- Clean up your CAPI: Make sure your Conversions API is firing correctly. With AI taking over the "targeting," the only thing you control is the "signal" you feed it. If your pixel data is messy, your ads will be too.
- Blacklist "Restricted Words": Use the new tool to block words like "miracle" or "guaranteed" from your AI-generated copy. It keeps your brand voice from sounding like a late-night infomercial.
The reality of these October changes is that Meta is becoming a "black box." You put money and creative in, and sales come out. You have less control over the who, but way more power over the what. If you can master the creative side, you’ll win. If you keep trying to toggle individual interests like it's 2018, you're going to get left behind.