Advantage+ or manual campaigns on Meta: what 640 incrementality tests say
Advantage+ isn’t automatically better. Across 640 incrementality tests run by Haus over 18 months, Advantage+ campaigns beat manual ones in only 42% of cases, and 58% of brands got better incremental returns from manual. But Advantage+ often wins in the short term. Here’s how to read these results.
Key takeaways
- Advantage+ beats manual in 42% of 640 Haus tests; 58% of brands get better incremental ROI from manual.
- Advantage+ is +9% at the test midpoint, but −12% by the end, and drives 17% less lift after the campaign.
- Advantage+ over-reports its own results by about 12 points versus its real impact.
- Advantage+ still makes sense to launch fast, with little management time and a strong creative library.
- The right answer: test both with incrementality measurement, not Meta’s reported ROAS.
What Advantage+ is
Advantage+ bundles Meta’s automations: targeting, placements, budget and sometimes creative are handed to the algorithm. Advantage+ sales campaigns (formerly “Advantage+ Shopping”) are the flagship format. With the Andromeda engine, Meta is pushing advertisers hard toward these automated campaigns.
The Haus study: 640 tests, 18 months
Haus, an incrementality measurement specialist, analysed 640 experiments across very different brands, from DTC mid-market to enterprise, with average Meta spend just over $1 million a month. Incrementality measures what ads actually added in sales, compared with a group that didn’t see them.
Advantage+ vs manual (Haus, 640 tests)
How to interpret these results
Advantage+ sprints, manual goes the distance. Automation quickly finds the easiest buyers, some of whom would have bought anyway. Over time, better-controlled manual campaigns reach more new customers.
Reported ROAS flatters Advantage+ more. Haus measures about 12 points of over-reporting versus real impact. If you compare both campaign types in Ads Manager, you mechanically favour Advantage+.
When to choose which
Advantage+ or manual?
Our method
Run both in parallel with the same creatives, and exclude existing customers from the Advantage+ campaign to limit cannibalisation. Judge on cost per new customer (from your CRM or store), not Ads Manager ROAS. And whatever the campaign type, creative quality makes the difference: the best often come from your organic posts that work.
Frequently asked questions
Is Advantage+ better than manual campaigns?
Not systematically: in Haus’s 640-test study, Advantage+ wins only 42% of the time, and 58% of brands get better incremental returns from manual.
Why does Advantage+ look better in Ads Manager?
Because it over-reports its results by about 12 points according to Haus: some attributed sales would have happened without the ads.
When should you use Advantage+?
To launch fast, for short promotions or large catalogues, and when you have little time to manage campaigns.
Does Perroly manage Advantage+ campaigns?
Not yet: Meta ads management is in the works at Perroly.