New Keyword Match Type in AI Max & Updates to Audience Setup in Meta Ads  – SEM News – #2 July 2025

In the latest Advantage+ shopping campaign setup flow, a key change has been introduced in how audience targeting is configured. When switching from the default Advantage+ audience to manual setup (by selecting “Further limit the reach of your ads”), you’ll now see a new checkbox labeled Use as a suggestion automatically enabled for certain targeting options.

This applies in particular to:

• Age
• Gender
• Custom audiences (e.g. remarketing)

What does this mean for you?

Leaving this checkbox enabled tells Meta to treat your selected targeting criteria as suggestions, not strict boundaries. For example, if you choose an age range of 25–65+, but leave Use as a suggestion selected, your ads may still be shown to people outside of that age group. This could impact your campaign’s effectiveness, especially if you rely on precise demographic targeting.

Meta is rolling out a new feature designed to make creative management easier — Related media. With this setting enabled, the system automatically suggests and adds existing images or videos from your ad account that are thematically relevant to your current ad. These are typically creatives you’ve used in previous campaigns that align with your objective or promoted product.

What does this mean for you?

If you’re creating an ad using an image of Product X, Meta might suggest adding other assets that feature the same product — but in different formats or contexts (e.g. Reels, Stories, or static feed placements).

The Add related media toggle is enabled by default in the ad setup. You can review the suggested creatives, edit them, or turn the feature off before publishing.

In Ads Manager, performance results will include a separate breakdown under Creative > Related media, allowing you to compare results between original and related assets.

This feature can help speed up ad creation and diversify your creatives with minimal effort. Meta claims campaigns using related media saw up to 12.9% more conversions in internal tests. Still, it’s wise to review each suggestion to ensure it fits your strategy and messaging.

Google has introduced a new keyword match type called AI Max for Search campaigns using the AI-powered bidding and targeting model. This match type uses a blend of broad match logic, ad creative content, and landing page signals to automatically match with a wider range of search queries and expand your campaign’s reach.

What does this mean for you?

The key new feature is the ability to analyze performance specifically for AI Max match types. In a campaign using AI Max:

1. Go to the Keywords tab
2. Segment results by Search term match type
3. Compare performance metrics (ROAS, CPC, CPA, Revenue, etc.) across match types

This provides better transparency into how AI Max performs compared to other match types. While AI Max may boost reach, early insights show it can increase costs, particularly after switching a campaign to a conversion-based bidding strategy.

As always, it’s best to test and compare results before rolling it out more broadly.