Meta recently rolled out a refreshed Ads Manager interface, leaning heavily into automation, especially with Advantage+ campaigns baked into the default setup. While manual campaign controls are less visible now, you can still access them if you know where to look.
Try this,
1. Kick off a new campaign
- Head into Meta Ads Manager
- Click the green “Create” button to spin up a new campaign
- Choose a campaign objective that fits your goal (e.g. Sales, Traffic, etc.)
2. Unlock manual targeting options
- At the Ad Set level, scroll to the Audience section
- Look for a “Switch setup” or “Use original audience” option
- → This toggles you out of the Advantage+ default and into full manual control
3. Edit your placements manually
- Navigate to the Placements section within the ad set
- Select “Manual Placements”
- From here, you can turn off placements like Audience Network, Messenger, or Stories—whatever doesn’t align with your strategy
Here is a Pro Tip:
These manual options won’t always be front and center. Meta’s UI is now built to favor automation, so you’ll need to dig a little deeper to customize your setup. But once you switch out of the Advantage+ flow, you’re back in full control—from targeting to budget distribution.
