Observed Signal · Oct 31, 2025 · Study / Benchmarking · Source: AdExchanger · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
Automation vs. Manual: Meta's Mixed Results Unveiled
Meta's Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns promises to automate budgeting, creative, targeting, and optimization, but a Haus study challenges the assumption that automation always wins. Haus analyzed 640 incrementality tests across 18 months, spanning clients from mid-market to enterprise, including The Home Depot. The average brand spent just over $1 million per month on Meta (about $14 million annually). Using geo-lift testing, the study measured whether Meta's automation moved sales directly and across channels such as Amazon. Results showed Advantage+ outperformed manual campaigns in 42% of tests, with 12% lower incremental ROAS at 18% lower daily spend. Meta's impact was substantial, delivering roughly a 20% lift to primary KPIs; removing Meta could reduce revenue by about 20% overnight. Manual campaigns beat automation 58% of the time. The study notes Andromeda updates may affect these dynamics and urges brands to test their own mix.
Large-scale, independent study showing nuanced results on automation vs manual campaigns; highly relevant to AdTech automation debates.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Haus analyzed 640 incrementality tests over 18 months to compare Advantage+ with manual campaigns.
- The average brand in the study spent just over $1 million per month on Meta (about $14 million annually).
- Advantage+ outperformed manual campaigns in 42% of tests, delivering 12% lower incremental ROAS at 18% lower daily spend.
- Meta's impact accounted for about 20% lift to a brand's primary KPI; removing Meta would reduce business-level revenue by about 20% overnight.
- Manual campaigns beat automation 58% of the time.
Connected Companies & Entities
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Meta Advantage+ Incrementality: 640 Tests Findings
Haus conducted an 18-month review of 640 incrementality tests to compare Meta’s Advantage+ campaigns with manual setups. Olivia Kory, Chief Strategy Officer of Haus, explains the shift from hands-on targeting to AI-led buying, and emphasizes that incrementality matters more than platform-reported conversions. The study employs Geolift holdouts to estimate true lift without user-level data and aggregates results across 640 tests. Overall, Meta demonstrates a strong lift, but Advantage+ shows mixed performance versus manual campaigns. Mid-funnel optimization signals may influence outcomes, suggesting that asset-level and funnel considerations impact results. The session closes with cautions on interpreting automation outcomes and advocates brand-level testing to validate findings before broad adoption.
Google launches unified agentic AI for Gemini
At a Google Cloud event on Thursday, Google announced it is bringing agentic AI to its Gemini assistant, launching a unified agent that can autonomously plan and execute tasks on behalf of users. Aimed initially at businesses, the agent can connect to internal systems and external tools, use custom skills, and even choose from third-party models like Anthropic's Claude. It will have its own Workspace account with an email address, and will write its own audit trail. Early testers include On, Shopify, and PayPal. Gemini has over 1 billion monthly active users, and nearly 90% of Fortune 100 companies use Gemini Enterprise.
AWNY, Jupiter Fest Spotlight Agentic Ads and Open Web
Advertising Week New York and the inaugural Jupiter Festival Miami highlighted the industry's shift toward agentic advertising and anxieties about the open web's future. Major announcements included TikTok's off-platform ad expansion and a new AI shopping agent, Meta's AI campaign assistant testing, and OpenAI's visual ads introduction. Paramount's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery closed, forming Skydance. Key themes were the threat of AI to publisher traffic, the rise of AI visibility tools, the early stage of agentic media buying, unsolved cross-platform measurement, and the booming sports and retail media sectors. Deals included PubX's acquisition of Compliant and a $5 million Series A, and OpenAI's reported $30 billion round talks with BlackRock and UAE investors.
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