Meta Advantage Plus and Incrementality: Findings From 640 Tests

Olivia Kory walks through an 18 month review of 640 incrementality tests run by House to compare Meta’s Advantage Plus campaigns with manual setups. She explains the shift from hands on targeting to AI led buying, why incrementality matters more than platform reported conversions, and how Geolift holdouts estimate true lift without user level data. The results show strong overall impact from Meta, but mixed performance from Advantage Plus versus manual, along with signs that mid funnel optimization can change outcomes. She ends with practical cautions on interpreting automation results and the need to test by brand.

Takeaways

• Incrementality testing helps separate real lift from conversions that would have happened anyway.

• Meta tends to deliver measurable lift quickly, though attribution settings change what you see.

• Advantage Plus performs inconsistently against manual campaigns and can skew toward low funnel intent.

• Mid funnel signal engineering may broaden reach and improve omnichannel effects, but needs validation.

00:00 Overview of the research question on AI buying and outcomes. 03:10 How Meta buying moved from manual controls to automated setups.

06:05 Why incrementality matters more than reported conversions.

09:00 Geolift holdout method and cross-channel measurement.

12:10 What the wider Meta test set shows about lift and timing.

16:05 Advantage Plus versus manual results and efficiency gaps.

19:20 Possible reasons for the Advantage Plus pattern and open questions.

21:10 Signal engineering and mid-funnel optimization approach.

24:20 Final cautions and how to apply testing to your own brand.

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