TL;DR: Meta location fees went live in July, if your budgets and finance team aren't updated yet, that's the first thing to fix before the invoice arrives. Beyond that, the real June update: Meta is auto-labeling AI-generated creative across all ads now, including content from third-party tools. TikTok opened its search inventory to paid placements for the first time. And Pinterest upgraded Performance+ to pick assets per impression rather than per ad. Here's what each one actually means for your campaigns.
Meta
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Location fees are live – Check your setup before the invoice arrives
We covered this last month, and now it's actually happening. Since July 1, Meta passes Digital Services Tax costs directly to advertisers for impressions delivered in Austria and Turkey (5%), France, Italy, and Spain (3%), and the UK (2%). The fee is based on where your audience is, not where your business is, and it won't show up in Ads Manager, it shows up on your invoice as a separate line item.
If you're running campaigns in any of those markets, three things to check: budget models reflect the added cost per market, ROAS targets are adjusted, and the Finance team knows why the invoice total won't match Ads Manager spend. VAT is calculated on top of the combined total, so the actual cost is slightly higher than the headline percentages.
Meta is auto-labeling AI-generated creative including content from third-party tools
Meta's "About this ad" feature rolled out June 1 with expanded scope. It now auto-detects generative AI use and applies an "AI info" label visible to users, and it covers third-party tools, not just Meta's own. The system decides automatically, which means it can get it wrong, and it will flag things you weren't expecting.
The line to know: AI-assisted work (cropping, color grading, brightness adjustments) doesn't trigger the label. AI-generated content (a scene, a model, a product render built by AI) does. Anyone on your team using generative tools in the creative process needs to know this before the next campaign goes live.
On the roadmap
Live Video Ads and virtual card payments are coming to Instagram
Meta is expanding Live Video Ads to Instagram with in-stream virtual card support for purchases, working with platforms like Sprii and TalkShopLive. Not urgent for most lifestyle brands right now, but worth tracking if live commerce is part of your H2 plans.
TikTok
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TikTok search is now a paid placement – Search Hubs and Branded Buzz are live
This is the most meaningful structural change TikTok has made to its ad product in a while. Search Hubs are brand-owned pages that appear at the guaranteed top of TikTok search results – the first time TikTok has made search inventory available as a direct placement. Branded Buzz pairs with it: a coordinated creator format that can activate up to 300 creators simultaneously around a campaign window, with Keyword Amplifier linking that creator content back to search results through clickable comments and recommendations.
Early numbers show 36x higher engagement for Search Hubs versus standard in-feed ads, and 58% more search page views when both are bundled. These aren't self-serve, they're rep-sold and require real budget. For brands with a meaningful TikTok presence and a launch coming up, it's worth a call with your TikTok representative. For everyone else, the takeaway is still useful: 57% of TikTok users search on the platform, and 23% do it within 30 seconds of opening the app. Paid search placement won't help if your organic content isn't already discoverable.
TikTok Shop is live in the Netherlands since June 15th
We flagged this was coming last month. It launched June 15 in the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, and Austria. For lifestyle brands with a Dutch audience, the setup window is now, before the platform gets crowded. Products listed, creator partnerships confirmed, logistics in order. Read our TikTok Shop guide for the step-by-step: https://goodkarma.agency/blog/why-getting-ready-for-tiktok-shop-now-is-your-competitive-advantage
On the roadmap
GMV Max now factors in profit, not just revenue
TikTok updated GMV Max to include affiliate costs, coupons, and platform fees in its optimization logic, not just gross revenue. If you're running TikTok Shop through GMV Max, check your settings. What the system considers a good result has changed, and your benchmarks should reflect that. Global rollout timing isn't confirmed yet.
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Performance+ Creative has a new AI model
Pinterest upgraded its Performance+ Creative AI on June 17 to optimize at the asset level rather than the ad level. It used to pick between full creative variants. Now it evaluates individual assets and builds the best combination per impression. In testing, that produced a 7.5% increase in click volume. It's live globally.
The benefit is real, but only if the model has enough variety to pick from. Running three or four similar creatives limits what it can do. Push in more — different hooks, backgrounds, product angles, formats — and let it find the combinations that convert.
On the roadmap
H2 Pinterest planning: if you haven't started, you're already behind
Pinterest intent runs three to six months ahead of purchase. Back to School, fall fashion, and gifting searches are active on the platform right now. Campaigns for Q3 and Q4 seasonal moments need to be live by mid-July. By August, a lot of those decisions are already shaped.
Pinterest Business Assistant is in early access
Pinterest's AI tool for Ads Manager shows trend signals visually, surfaces which Pins are leading a trend, and sends proactive notifications about performance shifts. US closed beta only, no global timeline confirmed. If you're US-based, worth requesting access.
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