Question

Recently I was helping a client setting up her first ad. It’s a new ad account about 3 weeks old.
I’ve not come across this before and wondered if anyone else has and can advise.

When you choose campaign objective and hit continue, normally the campaign set up box appears to choose manual or recommend settings. However with this clients account it doesn’t come up and skips straight to the campaign building page and has advantage+ on automatically.

We’ve hunted through setting etc but can’t see a way to turn it off. Any advice I haven’t had this win any other account before!

Answer 1

What you're experiencing is part of Meta’s newer ad account interface rollout, especially for brand-new accounts.
 

Facebook is increasingly defaulting to Advantage+ setups (automation-first) for beginners, sometimes without offering the usual manual/advanced setup options right away.

Here’s what’s going on and what you can do:

Why It’s Happening:

• For new ad accounts (especially those under 30 days old), Meta often streamlines the setup to push users into Advantage+ structures.

• It assumes you're new to ads and hides advanced options by default.

• In some cases, it removes the toggle entirely—you won't see the usual "Switch to manual setup" step unless Meta “unlocks” it later.

What You Can Try:

1. Switch to Expert Mode (if available):
   Look in the lower-left of the campaign creation flow for a “Switch to advanced setup” or “Use original campaign creation” link. Not all accounts have it, but worth checking.

2. Use Ads Manager via Business Manager:
   Instead of creating from the boosted-post interface or simplified view, go through full Ads Manager inside Business Manager. It sometimes exposes more manual controls.

3. Use a different browser or incognito window:
   Occasionally Meta’s simplified setup is cached per session or user preference.

4. Create a draft campaign via duplication:
   If you’ve previously made an ad in another account, try duplicating it into the new account via Business Manager. That can force the account into manual mode.

5. Wait it out or spend a little:
   Some users report that after running a few ads or spending a small amount, manual mode becomes available. Meta essentially “trusts” the account more.

Tip:

This is Meta's automation-first approach for new accounts. You didn’t miss a setting—it’s just Facebook trying to simplify the experience (a bit too aggressively). Use Ads Manager, try duplication, or spend a bit to unlock the manual workflow.