📰 Meta Ads, TikTok Ads and Amazon Ads news

Amazon's ad revenue growth slowed to 11% in the third quarter due to the Prime Day timing shift, though it expects high-teens growth to return in Q4.

At the unBoxed 2026 event, Amazon Ads unveiled a major restructuring that merges its DSP and console into Amazon Ads Agent, alongside Full-Funnel Campaigns, DVA+ and conversational shopping ads.

Meta updated its Commercial Terms and Self-Serve Ad Terms, folding in Product Catalogue and Generative AI Ad Creative terms, and continuing to advertise after October 30 counts as accepting the changes.

TikTok confirmed on October 18 that it restored Bleecker Street's ad account after mistakenly blocking promotion of the 'Musk' documentary, allowing policy-compliant ads to resume.

Starting October 14, advertisers began receiving a notice in Ads Manager saying the previously optional product browsing feature will switch to on by default for live ads starting October 28. Advertisers must opt out manually before that date if they don't want it.

TikTok unveiled Buy Direct, Shopping Assistant, Agentic Leads, Smart+ for search ads, and the expansion of its TikTok Ad Network (formerly Pangle) to US advertisers, reaching nearly 400,000 apps.

On October 15, Meta announced three new ad formats for Facebook and Instagram: Ads Super Burst with 3-to-24-hour reach windows, First Impression Ads reserving the first daily feed slot, and Reels Trending Ads.

LinkedIn and Amazon Ads announced that advertisers can now buy LinkedIn's CTV ads through Amazon DSP for US targeting, activating LinkedIn professional audience data such as job title, industry and seniority for streaming TV campaigns.

Meta announced it will automatically turn on in-ad product browsing for already-running campaigns starting October 28, 2026, unless advertisers opt out.

Meta unveiled four brand advertising updates: Ads Super Burst (3-24 hour booking windows with category exclusivity), First Impression Ads (first Facebook Feed slot in US testing), expanded Reels Trending Ads and a new Aggregated View Time metric.

Starting October 28, Meta will automatically enable product browsing on existing ads unless advertisers manually opt out via Ads Manager.

At its unBoxed 2026 event, Amazon introduced Amazon Ads Agent, merging the ad console and DSP into a single agentic AI-powered platform, along with Full-Funnel Campaigns and DVA+ for display, video and audio.

Meta notified advertisers that starting October 28, active ads on Facebook and Instagram will show in-app product details and suggestions before redirecting to the website, unless manually opted out. The company claims this feature drives 3% more conversions on average.

Amazon's AI campaign intelligence dashboard, which recommends targeting, bid and budget actions, is reaching all US sponsored ads advertisers during October 2026.

Since October 8, Meta has blocked ByteDance ads and third-party campaigns directing traffic to TikTok in the US, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam amid an escalating feud between the platforms.

Since October 8, Meta has stopped accepting ads from ByteDance and from any advertiser driving traffic to TikTok in seven countries, including the US and Canada, just three days after TikTok opened its global ad network to US buyers.

TikTok split its Partner Program into Agency Partner and Premier Agency Partner tiers so agencies can better showcase their areas of expertise on the platform.

Meta dropped the requirement that Threads and Instagram usernames match in order to run Threads ads, allowing businesses without an Instagram profile to advertise natively on Threads.

Meta is removing the ability for advertisers to exclude ads from Facebook search results and in-stream Reels placements, giving its AI ad system more flexibility on where to display ads.

TikTok announced AI-driven automation tools including Smart+ campaigns for search ads, Smart+ Creative Selection, a conversational lead system called Agentic Leads, and updates to GMV Max.

Starting October 6, Meta is testing a conversational AI assistant that can create campaigns, generate imagery and text, update targeting and change budgets from chat prompts. Meta claims advertisers adopting the assistant's recommendations see 5% more conversions at the same cost.

Meta's new Commercial and Self-Serve Ad Terms, announced October 8, shift legal liability for AI-generated ad content to advertisers and grant Meta rights to run tests affecting campaign delivery.

TikTok introduced Buy Direct, a one-click checkout feature right in the For You feed, alongside a Shopping Assistant that answers sizing and shipping questions before purchase.

Meta began implementing a complete restriction on ads and paid marketing messages placed on its platforms by ByteDance, with the ban taking effect in the US, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam.

TikTok opened its Ad Network to US advertisers inside Ads Manager, extending campaigns off-platform to nearly 400,000 apps, plus adding one-click Buy Direct checkout in the feed.

Meta has banned ads from ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, on its platforms in the United States and several other countries amid escalating rivalry.

At Advertising Week New York, TikTok announced Buy Direct in-app checkout, a Shopping Assistant, Agentic Leads, Smart+ for search ads, and the expansion of its TikTok Ad Network to US advertisers.

Meta made its tool that turns static images into video generally available in Advantage+ Creative, while also widening access to Ads Creative Studio and opening Customer Lifecycle Strategy to all advertisers.

At Advertising Week New York, Meta made static-to-video generation generally available in Advantage+ creative and opened Customer Lifecycle Strategy to all advertisers, while testing an AI assistant that edits campaigns.

Meta announced that from October 27 to November 3, new political ads without prior impressions cannot run, recommending advertisers complete authorization by October 13.

Amazon Ads announced Amazon Marketing Stream v2, replacing hourly JSON data delivery with Apache Parquet files updated every 15 minutes, alongside Ads Data Manager to unify first-party data within AMC.

At Advertising Week New York, TikTok opened the TikTok Ad Network (TTAN), its nearly 400,000 third-party app network formerly known as Pangle, to US advertisers, alongside launching Buy Direct, an AI shopping assistant and Agentic Leads.

Meta will implement a restriction period for ads about social issues, elections or politics in the US ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, consistent with its approach in prior election cycles.

TikTok updated GMV Max to include affiliate commissions, coupons and referral fees in TikTok Shop optimization, aiming to reflect a truer return on investment for sellers.

The feature that generates video from static images is now generally available to all advertisers in Advantage+ Creative, while other AI tools remain in testing.

Meta announced an agentic business assistant in Ads Manager that can create campaigns, adjust targeting and budgets via chat, alongside generative video in Advantage+ and in-conversation checkout.

At Advertising Week New York, TikTok introduced a suite of AI tools including in-feed checkout, a conversational shopping assistant and a lead agent for direct messages, available through selective eligibility tests.

At Advertising Week New York, TikTok introduced in-app checkout Buy Direct, an AI Shopping Assistant, the Agentic Leads agent, Smart+ for search, and opened its TikTok Ad Network (nearly 400,000 apps) to US advertisers.

At Advertising Week NY, TikTok announced opening the TikTok Ad Network to US advertisers, covering nearly 400,000 third-party apps, alongside a new 'Buy Direct' checkout feature and an AI shopping assistant.

At its annual unBoxed conference, Amazon Ads unified Sponsored Ads and Amazon DSP into a single system with three campaign types, including a new Display, Video & Audio (DVA) format that can be AI-optimized automatically.

At New York Advertising Week, TikTok unveiled the expansion of its global mobile ad network (TikTok Ad Network) to US-based advertisers, reaching almost 400,000 third-party publisher apps, along with a new conversational AI Shopping Assistant.

At Advertising Week New York, TikTok unveiled Buy Direct for one-click checkout, an AI-powered Shopping Assistant, and opened TikTok Ad Network (TTAN) to US advertisers for the first time, extending reach to nearly 400,000 third-party apps.

At Advertising Week New York 2026, TikTok revealed new AI tools including the 'Buy Direct' checkout, a lead-generation agent, and access to TikTok Ads Network (TTAN) for US advertisers, with no confirmed launch dates yet.

TikTok announced Buy Direct (one-click checkout from the feed), Shopping Assistant, Agentic Leads and the opening of TikTok Ad Network to US advertisers, alongside an MCP connector and Smart+/GMV Max updates.

TikTok is giving advertisers expanded capacity to use artificial intelligence to generate video ads with the help of ByteDance's latest AI model, Dreamina Seedance 2.5.

Amazon Ads added pre-built brand penetration indices to Geographic Insights and Activation (GIA), letting advertisers in nine countries visualize where their brand over- or under-indexes versus its category and activate geographic optimization without building an AMC model.

Google is testing making the sponsored products search results block or grid look more like the organic products/shopping grid.

TikTok updated its gambling and games advertising policies in Brazil to prohibit all forms of online gambling ads, including online casinos and sports betting, as well as related information services.

Amazon renamed its unified ad platform Ads Agent, combining Sponsored Ads and Amazon DSP into one place manageable via natural language, while introducing new Full-Funnel Campaigns and DVA+ combining display, video and audio.

On August 31, the FTC and attorneys general from 22 states sued Amazon, alleging that for more than seven years it used an 'invented bidder' to inflate prices paid by over a million brands and sellers across Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display.

Meta has started notifying advertisers it will remove placement, platform, device, and operating system exclusions from the ad set level, replacing them with value rules that currently cover only about seven eligible placements.

At unBoxed 2026, Amazon announced Amazon Ads Agent, a unified platform with agentic AI combining the former Ads Console and Amazon DSP, along with new Full-Funnel Campaigns and DVA+.

Amazon announced Sponsored Services to connect shoppers with local service providers (with Yelp as the anchor partner) and generative AI creative tools built directly into the Amazon Ads Agent conversational experience.

Meta now lets brands amplify a creator's live Instagram broadcast as a paid advertisement, extending a feature that already exists on Facebook to Instagram for the first time.

Full-Funnel Campaigns combines sponsored ads, display, video and streaming TV into a single AI-managed campaign, and is now available to all US advertisers selling on Amazon.

The FTC and 22 state attorneys general are suing Amazon, alleging it secretly overcharged advertisers in its search ad auctions for more than seven years, rising from 30-40% of auctions in 2021 to about 80% by 2024.

Amazon and OpenAI launched a managed-service pilot placing Amazon DSP ads inside ChatGPT responses, with product feed ads auto-generated from Amazon catalogs, US-only at launch.

Amazon Ads introduced a new tier of tools on its Ads MCP Server allowing third-party AI agents to access specialized capabilities; the first, the AMC SQL Generator, translates natural-language requests into validated Amazon Marketing Cloud SQL queries and is now in closed beta in the US.

Amazon Ads unveiled its new "Amazon Ads Agent" platform at unBoxed 2026, replacing the former Ads Console and Amazon DSP with three campaign types: Sponsored Ads, Display, Video and Audio+ (DVA+), and Full-Funnel Campaigns, all powered by AI with a natural-language chat experience.

For the first time, advertisers can see the overall health status of their campaigns directly in TikTok Ads Manager, labeled Good, Fair, or Poor, with clear guidance to improve and qualify for available coupons and incentives.

TikTok evolved its Agency Badging Program with a new two-tier model to highlight best-in-class agency performance.

TikTok updated its advertising policy for alcohol-related establishments to require approval and certification from local regulating authorities, and explicitly prohibited certain surgeries, including weight loss and aesthetic genital surgeries, in ads.

Meta and YouTube confirmed they will accept advertising for director Alex Gibney's upcoming Elon Musk documentary, following earlier reports that several social platforms had rejected the ads.

TikTok introduced a new Agentic Hub that automates reporting, audience management, and budget optimization via AI, alongside a Pulse Mentions feature, though rollout timing to all markets remains unclear.

Starting August 10, Amazon Sponsored Products campaigns began serving inside Amazon Influencer Program creator content with no advertiser action required, sparking controversy over the lack of clear notice about the expansion.

Meta introduced its official Ads CLI, a tool that enables system user token setup and campaign management commands, compatible with AI assistants like Claude Code or Codex.

Amazon Ads launched location-based interactive video ads and 'Next Up' ads that appear between episodes on Prime Video, expanding its streaming advertising offering in Australia.

Meta launched a new Creative Diversity rating inside Ads Manager that scores the creative variety of advertisers' campaigns.

At its 2026 Upfront, Amazon Ads highlighted its authenticated audience graph covering 90% of U.S. households and being named the only leader in omnichannel advertising by Forrester, alongside growth in Prime Video viewership.

Bing is testing a "Top Pick" label on its sponsored result product carousels, highlighting a potential new way for products to stand out in search results. The "Top Pick" label is prominently displayed in the product carousel, potentially drawing more eyes to specific listings. This update was shared.

TikTok unveiled expanded measurement and ad integrity solutions along with new advertiser controls, aiming to build a more transparent, measurable, and trusted advertising ecosystem.

Starting September 29, Meta made live video ads generally available on Instagram, allowing brands to sponsor creator livestreams as partnership ads.

Amazon Ads announced that its Amazon Ads MCP Server is now available in open beta, aiming to reduce advertising workflow complexity through AI agent integration.

Meta released its own first-party MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for ads, enabling AI agents to connect directly to ad account management.

Meta introduced Meta One on September 15, a four-tier paid subscription that gates previously free features like Competitive Insights and Custom Audience Insights, available across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Meta AI.

Amazon Ads officially announced that its flagship unBoxed 2026 conference will take place from September 28–30 at the Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco, expected to bring new ad formats, AI capabilities, and measurement tools. The event will gather advertisers, agencies, and developers to learn about upcoming platform innovations.

TikTok continues strengthening requirements for brands and agencies to operate from a verified, official presence on the platform, expanding formal agency recognition based on managed spend.

Amazon Ads confirmed its flagship unBoxed 2026 event will take place September 28-30 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, where it will unveil new AI-powered advertising products.

Amazon Ads announced a partnership with OpenAI to enable conversational advertising within ChatGPT, with select U.S. advertisers currently testing the format as part of a pilot.

Meta's Marketing API v24.0 sunsets on October 6, 2026, and on October 27 the v26.0 field removals extend to all remaining API versions, affecting developers and integration tools.

Amazon Ads announced that Prime Video advertising will be introduced in Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Turkey during 2026, expanding its streaming ad inventory in Europe.

Starting August 1, a specific group of Amazon advertisers contacted directly lost the ability to use a credit card as their primary ad payment method, with costs now deducted from seller/vendor account balance or via Pay by Invoice. Amazon clarified the change is narrow and does not affect most advertisers, who were already paying via account balance deduction.

Meta announced new AI-powered tools to boost purchases from livestreams working with platforms like CommentSold and Firework, and rolled out 'Post-view ads,' a new ad format for Instagram Reels.

The FTC and 22 state attorneys general filed suit against Amazon alleging it secretly inflated prices in its advertising auctions after 2019 rule changes, potentially costing advertisers more than $20 billion.

TikTok Ads introduced Mini Series, an in-app episodic storytelling feature for brands and marketers, paired with Growth Max to amplify automated ad performance.

TikTok published its ad policy change log updated through September 2026, with accumulated modifications across categories like financial services, alcohol, prediction markets, and adult content.

Amazon Ads invited advertisers to its annual flagship conference, where it will share how AI and new advertising solutions aim to make it easier for brands of every size to drive results.

TikTok introduced Growth Max: Mini Games, a new way to promote games directly within the app, letting users engage without ever leaving TikTok.

Meta now allows advertisers to build custom audiences specifically for excluding groups such as existing customers or opted-out users, helping avoid wasted budget on unwanted audiences.

TikTok announced an update to its Financial Services ad policy allowing Contracts for Difference (CFD) ads in Canada and the United States, subject to strict compliance and prior approval from a TikTok sales representative.

TikTok announced that SMB advertisers can now choose full, partial, or manual automation control over audience, budget, placements, and catalog within Smart+, with new visual labels in the interface.

Meta is removing placement checkboxes from ad sets, replacing them with a value rule that can cut bids by 90% but cannot fully switch off a placement, impacting existing brand-safety exclusions.

Meta introduced Muse Image, its first image generation model from Meta Superintelligence Labs, rolling out into Advantage+ creative, alongside text-on-media translation in five languages and AI voiceover in eleven.