Advantage Audience vs Original Audience: Full Guide 2025

In 2025, advertising on Facebook and Instagram isn’t just about writing a good ad — it’s also about choosing the right audience strategy. One of the biggest changes this year has been the way advertisers are helped by Meta to reach potential customers, through two options: Advantage+ Audience and Original Audience. What might seem like a small choice can actually make a big difference in how campaign performance is affected, how much is spent, and what kind of results are achieved.

Whether Meta Ads are new to you or multiple campaigns have been managed by you over the years, it’s key to understand how these two audience types work.

 One gives you more control, the other uses automation and data to do the work for you. Knowing when and how to use each can save you money, boost conversions, and help you get better outcomes from your ads.

In this guide, we’ll break it all down in a simple, clear way. You’ll learn how Advantage+ and Original Audience targeting really work, how to switch between them, and what kind of results you can expect. We’ll also walk through step-by-step setup instructions, share platform-specific tips for Facebook and Instagram, and even show you real test results from both methods so you can see which one performs better in practice.

What Is Advantage+ Audience?

Advantage+ Audience is Meta’s smart, AI-powered targeting system. Instead of building your audience manually, Meta uses machine learning, real-time user behavior, and past data to automatically find people who are most likely to take action—whether that’s clicking, signing up, or buying. Instead of setting every detail yourself, Meta looks at what people are doing online right now, what they’re interested in, how they interact with ads, and even what they’ve bought in the past.

This feature is designed to make things simpler for advertisers. You don’t have to spend hours creating narrow audience segments or constantly tweaking your settings. Advantage+ takes care of that, using real-time data to show your ad to the people who are most likely to take action. It’s especially helpful if you want to scale your campaigns or if you’re not sure exactly who your ideal audience is yet.

Key Benefits of Advantage+ Audience:

• Smart expansion: Meta goes beyond your selected settings to find more people who are likely to take action.

• Saves time: You don’t have to spend hours researching and narrowing down demographics or interests.

• Improves performance: Many advertisers see better ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) with less effort.

• Works well with other tools: Especially powerful when used alongside Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns and Advantage+ Placements.

However, the downside is that it removes some control. You won’t be able to limit your audience as strictly, which may be a problem if you’re targeting a very specific market.

What Is Original Audience?

Original Audience targeting gives you full manual control. You can choose exact demographics like age, gender, location, language, as well as specific interests, behaviors, and even custom or lookalike audiences. This method is great for advertisers who know their ideal customer in detail or need to follow strict targeting rules.

For example, if you’re advertising a product that’s only legal in certain areas or for a certain age group, you can set those rules clearly using Original Audience.

Key Benefits of Original Audience:

• Full control: Every targeting option is in your hands.

• Perfect for testing: Run A/B tests by changing just one audience element.

• Essential for niche marketing: If you’re promoting something very specific, this method works best.

• Required for legal or compliance needs: You can avoid showing ads to people who shouldn’t see them.

It takes more time and effort, but you get better control over who sees your ads and why.

Advantage Audience vs Original Audience: Key Differences

Here’s a detailed comparison to help you understand the core differences between Advantage+ Audience and Original Audience:

In summary, Advantage+ is better for performance and speed, while Original is better for control and accuracy.

Should You Use Advantage+ Audience?

Yes, but only when the goal matches what Advantage+ Audience is best at. You should use Advantage+ Audience when you want Meta to do most of the targeting work for you and when performance (like conversions or leads) is your main goal. This works well if:

• You’re scaling up a campaign and need to reach more people.

• You have a large amount of pixel data for your website.

• You’re running ecommerce, lead gen, or brand awareness ads.

• You don’t have the time or team to do deep audience research.

• You’re testing different ad creatives, funnels, or strategies.

Because Meta uses live performance data to adjust in real-time, this option can often outperform manual targeting in general campaigns.

Still, it’s important to monitor your CTR (Click-Through Rate), cost per result, and ROAS to make sure the automation is actually helping your business goals.

How to Turn On Advantage+ Audience (Step-by-Step)

Turning on Advantage+ Audience is quick and simple. Here’s how to do it in your Facebook Ads Manager:

1. Open Ads Manager and click to create or edit your campaign.

2. Go to the Ad Set level, and scroll down to the Audience section.

3. Start by entering basic details like age, location, or gender (optional).

4. Find the switch labeled “Advantage+ Audience.”

5. Toggle it ON. This lets Meta expand your targeting automatically.

6. Double-check all your settings and click Publish to save your campaign.

Note: Advantage+ is often turned on by default in new campaigns, especially for conversion-based goals. Always review the toggle before launching.

How to Turn Off Advantage+ Audience (Step-by-Step)

If you want full control over your audience and don’t want Meta to auto-optimize or expand it, follow these steps to turn Advantage+ Audience OFF:

1. Go to Ads Manager and open the campaign or ad set you want to edit.

2. Scroll to the Audience section.

3. Find the Advantage+ Audience toggle.

4. Switch the toggle OFF. This unlocks all manual targeting options.

5. Now, you can adjust details like:
   • Age and gender

   • Locations (cities, countries, or radius)

   • Languages

   • Interests and behaviors

   • Custom or lookalike audiences

6. Review your setup and click Publish to save the changes.

❗ If the toggle is grayed out, you might be using an Advantage+ Shopping Campaign where this option is locked. Try creating a manual campaign instead.

How to Switch to Original Audience Options

Want to switch back to Original Audience targeting from Advantage+? Here’s how:

1. Open your campaign in Ads Manager.

2. Navigate to the Ad Set level and go to the Audience section.

3. Turn the Advantage+ Audience toggle OFF.

4. Now manually enter the audience you want:
   • Set locations, languages, and demographics.

   • Choose interests, job titles, or behaviors.

   • Add any saved, custom, or lookalike audiences.

5. Save the ad set and monitor results after publishing.

Pro tip: Run a split test by duplicating your campaign—use Advantage+ in one and Original Audience in the other. Compare results like CTR, cost per result, and conversions.

Advantage+ Audience Facebook & Instagram Explained

Meta applies Advantage+ Audience features across both Facebook and Instagram. However, user behavior and content format preferences differ:

On Facebook:

• Top placements: News Feed, Stories, Marketplace, Reels
• Best for: Informational content, longer captions, older demographics

On Instagram:

• Top placements: Reels, Explore, Stories
• Best for: Visual-first content, younger audiences, trending products

Ensure your creatives are optimized for both platforms and placements—test videos, vertical formats, and CTA variations.

Advantage Detailed Targeting vs Advantage+ Audience

Many advertisers confuse Advantage Detailed Targeting with Advantage+ Audience, but they serve different purposes:

Even when you input specific demographics or interests, Meta may override them under Advantage+ if it believes broader delivery improves performance.

Real-World Test: Which Performed Better?

In a recent internal test across five ecommerce campaigns over a 30-day period, the following results were recorded when comparing Advantage+ Audience vs Original Audience:

These numbers show that Advantage+ Audience can deliver higher efficiency and better results in general campaigns—especially when paired with optimized creatives and enough pixel data. However, Original Audience still outperforms in hyper-targeted or localized campaigns.

Conclusion

The decision between Advantage Audience vs Original Audience depends on your advertising goals, resources, and how much control you want. If you’re running large-scale campaigns and want to rely on Meta’s automation, Advantage+ is a strong choice. But if you require full control, compliance, or exact segmentation, Original Audience remains essential.

For best results in 2025:

• Test both strategies side-by-side.

• Track metrics like CTR, ROAS, and conversion cost.

• Adjust based on what fits your audience, offer, and brand.

FAQs

Can I use both Advantage+ and Original Audience in the same campaign?
No. You can’t mix both in one ad set, but you can run separate ad sets or campaigns to compare.

Why can’t I turn off Advantage+ Audience in my campaign?
If you’re using an Advantage+ Shopping Campaign or a specific objective, the setting might be locked. Choose a manual campaign type.

Is Advantage+ Audience better for ecommerce?
Yes. Most ecommerce brands with pixel data see improved ROAS due to AI targeting and automation.

Is Advantage+ Audience turned on by default?
Yes, especially in new campaigns or conversion-based objectives. Always check the Audience section.

Can I still use custom audiences with Advantage+?
Yes, but Meta may still expand the audience beyond your custom list if performance data supports it.