Quick roundup of what actually changed in the ads world this week, and what each one means if you run a small business budget on Google or Meta. No fluff, and nothing you can ignore for long.
1. Meta is removing placement exclusions
This is the big one. Meta has confirmed that excluding placements, platforms, devices and operating systems will no longer be available in Ads Manager. Advantage+ placements become the default, and Meta’s system decides where your ad shows: Facebook Feed, Reels, Stories, Audience Network, Messenger, and so on.
Why it matters: a lot of small-business accounts we audit have Audience Network and Messenger switched off on purpose, because those placements were producing cheap clicks and expensive leads. That lever is going away. What you keep is the ability to influence placements through creative (a 9:16 vertical video will naturally win more Reels and Stories inventory) and through your conversion goal. If your account is still optimizing for link clicks or landing-page views, this is the moment to move to a real conversion event with a cost-per-result goal, because that is now the main way to protect lead quality.
2. Meta AI can now audit your campaigns (with a catch)
Alongside that, Meta launched Meta AI for small businesses: it reads your campaigns and diagnoses budget and creative problems. Ads Manager also gained a “creative diversity” rating (Low, Medium, High) for each ad set, and an estimated-spend projection that shows what you would spend per day at a given cost-per-result goal.
Our take: the diagnostics are worth reading, the recommendations are worth questioning. Meta’s suggestions almost always lean toward more budget and broader targeting, because that is what Meta is optimizing for. Use the creative-diversity score as a nudge to test more than one hook and one format per ad set. Do not treat “increase budget” as advice; treat it as a sales pitch until your tracked cost per lead says otherwise.
3. Google will pre-fill Performance Max asset groups
On September 2 Google added a new feature to Performance Max: asset groups can be pre-filled with AI-generated headlines, descriptions, images and videos, either with a one-click review during setup or automatically when you launch a campaign from Asset Studio. The stated goal is to get campaigns to “Excellent” Ad Strength faster.
Why it matters: Ad Strength is a diagnostic, not a performance metric. Pre-filled assets will get you to Excellent quickly, but generic AI copy tends to describe every plumber, optician and appliance repair shop the same way. Review every pre-filled asset before it goes live, delete anything that could describe your competitor, and make sure your real differentiators (same-day service, flat pricing, 5.0 rating, your city) are in the headlines. Also watch for auto-generated images that don’t look like your business; they show up in your Display and Discover placements whether you like them or not.
4. Google Ads adds permanent passkey verification
Google Ads administrators can now require phishing-resistant sign-in (passkeys or hardware security keys) on an account. This one is quietly important for small businesses: most account hijackings we see start with a stolen password and a new “admin” user added at 3 a.m. If you have ever received a suspicious “your ad was disapproved, click here” email, turn this on. It takes five minutes and removes the most common way accounts get drained.
5. Lookalike segments expand to video campaigns
Google is rolling lookalike audience segments out to video (YouTube) campaigns. If you have a customer list or a decent set of converters in Google Ads, you can now use a lookalike of those people as a targeting signal in YouTube campaigns, not just Demand Gen. Google’s own guidance this week claims better YouTube creative can more than double ROI, which is a polite way of saying that most YouTube ads from small businesses are bad. If you are going to test video, a 15-second vertical clip of a real person explaining one real result will outperform a stock montage every time.
6. Amazon is being sued over how it charges advertisers
The FTC and 22 states sued Amazon on August 31, alleging that an undisclosed “soft reserve price” meant advertisers were charged their full bid 79% of the time, rather than the second-price auction they believed they were in. Most of our clients don’t advertise on Amazon, but the lesson travels: on every platform, know what auction you are actually in, and judge the platform on tracked cost per lead or cost per sale, not on what the bidding model is supposed to do.
What changes for a small-business advertiser, in one table
| Change | Platform | Effect on a small budget | Do this |
|---|---|---|---|
| Placement exclusions removed | Meta | Audience Network and Messenger can no longer be switched off, so lead quality can slip | Optimize for a real conversion event with a cost-per-result goal |
| Meta AI campaign audits | Meta | Free diagnostics, but recommendations lean toward more spend | Act on creative-diversity flags, ignore budget nudges |
| Pre-filled Performance Max assets | Fast route to Excellent Ad Strength with generic copy | Review and replace every pre-filled asset before launch | |
| Passkey verification | Blocks the most common account-hijack route | Turn it on in Admin, five minutes | |
| Lookalikes in video campaigns | YouTube targeting gets usable for small lists | Test only with a real customer list and vertical creative |
Frequently asked questions
Will removing Meta placement exclusions raise my cost per lead?
It can, if your campaign optimizes for clicks or landing-page views, because Advantage+ placements will chase the cheapest inventory on Audience Network. It usually does not if you optimize for a real conversion event with a cost-per-result goal, since Meta then buys placements that produce that event. Check your optimization event before the change reaches your account.
Should I let Google pre-fill my Performance Max asset groups?
Use it as a starting draft, never as the final ad. Pre-filled assets get you to Excellent Ad Strength quickly, but the generated copy describes every business in your category the same way. Replace headlines with your real differentiators, such as same-day service, flat pricing, your rating and your city, and delete any auto-generated image that does not look like your business.
What is passkey verification in Google Ads and do I need it?
Passkey verification requires phishing-resistant sign-in, a passkey or hardware security key, for users on the account. Most Google Ads account hijackings start with a stolen password followed by a new admin user added overnight. If you have ever received a fake “your ad was disapproved” email, turn it on in the Admin section; it takes about five minutes.
Is Ad Strength a ranking factor in Google Ads?
No. Ad Strength is a diagnostic that measures asset quantity and variety, not performance. Campaigns with Good Ad Strength routinely outperform Excellent ones when the copy is specific to the business. Use it as a checklist for coverage, and judge campaigns on tracked cost per lead or cost per sale instead.
What to do this week
If you only have twenty minutes: open Meta Ads Manager and check what your campaigns are optimizing for. If it is anything other than a lead, purchase or qualified conversion, fix that before placement exclusions disappear on your account. Then open Google Ads, go to Admin, and turn on passkey verification. Then get back to running your business.
If you would rather have us check both accounts for you, the free 48-hour audit covers wasted spend, tracking gaps and exactly these kinds of platform changes. Yours to keep either way.
Sources: Meta Ads updates changelog, Search Engine Roundtable on PMax pre-fill, Daily Search Forum Recap, Sept 2, Search Engine Land on YouTube creative, PPC Land on the Amazon FTC suit.