Meta Plans to Fully Automate Ad Creation by 2026

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We strive to deliver the latest growth marketing news and trends in the DTC space straight to your inbox every Wednesday.

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Topics we'll cover today:
💠 Meta Plans to Fully Automate Ad Creation by 2026
💠 This Was Unexpected
💠 How Strategic Partnerships Can Accelerate Brand Growth

Meta Plans to Fully Automate Ad Creation by 2026

It looks like Meta is planning to fully automate ad campaigns.

Mark Zuckerberg said during the company’s annual shareholder meeting last week:

"In the not-too-distant future, we want to get to a world where any business will be able to just tell us what objective they’re trying to achieve, like selling something or getting a new customer, how much they’re willing to pay for each result, and connect their bank account and then we just do the rest for them."

Sounds like a nightmare for media buyers and creative teams, right?

Well… welcome to the future. According to a recent piece in The Wall Street Journal, Meta is building toward a world where you’ll just drop your website URL, set a budget...

...and Meta will do the rest.
→ Copy
→ Creative
→ Targeting
→ Optimization 

All handled by AI. 😳

Is this really “news”?

Not really.

Meta’s been talking about this for a while.

If you’ve been reading between the lines, you already saw it coming:

→ 2023: They released tools like text variation and AI-generated backgrounds for creatives
→ October 2023: They showed that Advantage+ campaigns outperform human-built campaigns
→ March 2024: They explained how AI systems work together across Meta’s ecosystem to deliver better results
→ June 2025: Zuck dropped the mic in a Stratechery interview:

The real update?

They’ve set a date: 2026.

That’s the year Meta wants this fully automated system live.

Will this be the death of human-built ads? Not exactly. But Meta clearly sees a future where their AI outperforms you.

Which makes sense when you think about it.

If you had access to billions of data points, why wouldn’t you automate the creative process? Why let human guesswork limit what works?

Should you be worried?

👉 If your job is just building ads based on “vibes” - maybe
👉 If your strength is writing a solid brief and hoping it converts - probably

But if you know how to guide the AI, interpret the outputs, and connect the dots between brand, customer, and business goals...

Then you’re not out of a job - you’re just getting a new title.

--
Follow me on LinkedIn for more growth marketing content in the e-commerce space.

This Was Unexpected

Earlier this week, I received an email that surprised me.

It said what you see in the image below: 

"Soon, Shop customers will be redirected to your own website for checkout."

 We've been discussing the rise of social commerce for a while now:
→ TikTok Shop
→ YouTube Shopping 

But it looks like Meta is going the opposite direction.

Meta claims "this will give you more control of the checkout experience and reduce the time it takes to set up and maintain your shop.".

While I agree with this, I was under the impression that we were moving towards an era in which customers would buy wherever they are, without leaving their experience (ie. navigating Meta, TikTok, YouTube, why not Nextflix, etc.). 

It looks like they have other plans.

Why?

I guess we'll find out soon.

--
Follow me on LinkedIn for more growth marketing content in the e-commerce space.

How Strategic Partnerships Can Accelerate Brand Growth

Everything in this story is bizarre and random.

(And yet... it led to something big.)

As Joelle Weinand said.

Pursuing your goals.
Having the right strategy.
Doing “all the right things.” 

Yes, that’s important.

But I also believe in the luck factor.

Not in the “you get lucky and succeed” kind of way.
But in the “you get a shot, and you’re ready for it” kind of way.

You don’t control the opportunity.
But you control what you do when it comes. 

This story is exactly that.

Will you miss it?

Check out this episode of The DTC Insider podcast, in which Brian Roisentul sat down with Joelle Weinand, co-founder of Nutcase. 👇

We discussed:
👉 Turning a simple craving into a product that resonated with consumers
👉 How a clean-label chocolate milk gained traction quickly
👉 The highs and lows of using influencer marketing for rapid awareness
👉 Navigating the unique challenges of both retail and DTC in the beverage space
👉 How equity crowdfunding transforms fans into invested brand advocates
👉 Why building a strong community is essential for retail success
👉 Creative marketing approaches that help differentiate in a saturated market
👉 Embracing the unpredictable path of entrepreneurship
👉 Plans to grow the product portfolio and expand in retail

Tune in:
📺 YouTube
🎧 Spotify
🎙️ Apple
🌐 Website

More episodes our listeners love:

💎 How BRĒZ is Disrupting the Beverage Industry with Aaron Nosbisch
💎 Bootstrapping a $100M E-Commerce Empire with Bear Handlon
💎 The Secret Sauce Behind BattlBox's Success with John Roman
💎 IQBAR’s Journey to 10,000 Locations And $50 Million with Will Nitze
💎 Supplement Brand Bootstrapped $10,000 and Built It Into Sales of $30 Million in Three Years with Ronak Shah

Also Happening in the DTC Space

📰 Google begins rolling out Performance Max channel performance reporting
📰 Amazon Pulls Ads From Google Shopping, Again
📰 Becoming an AI-First Company: From Chaos to Clarity

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