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TL;DR: Meta is pulling placement exclusions from ad sets, and its value rules can bid a placement down 90% but can't block it. If an AI agent is connected to your Meta ad account, check its permissions today, because all seven write actions ship switched on. Threads ads no longer need an Instagram account, and Instagram Live ads launched on September 29. Pinterest added a campaign optimization score to Ads Manager and started a Visual Search Ads beta. TikTok shipped nothing new for ads in September that we could verify.
Meta
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Placement exclusions are leaving your ad sets
Around August 19 and 20, Meta started showing a notice in Ads Manager: ad set level exclusions for placements, platforms, devices and operating systems are going away. Meta hasn't given a hard date, and the removal is reaching accounts one at a time. Open a live ad set today to see whether you still have the checkboxes.
The replacement is value rules. You can bid a placement up by as much as 1,000% or down by as much as 90%, but a lower bid still buys impressions there. Only seven placements can be adjusted this way right now.
The only true block left sits at account level: Advertising Settings, then Account Controls, then Placement Controls. It applies to every campaign in the account, Advantage+ included. Set that block for anything that has to stay off, like Audience Network for a premium brand, then build value rules for placements you just want to pay less for.
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Check what your AI tools are allowed to do in your ad account
Last month we said there was nothing to do yet about Meta's ads MCP server. That changed. Meta added a permissions panel on August 11 under Business Settings, then Integrations, then Ads MCP Server, and all seven write actions came switched on by default. Those include editing budgets and creating campaigns, ad sets and ads. Since September 15, agents can also create Partnership Ads and manage creator permissions through the same connection.
Open the panel and switch off every write action you didn't approve on purpose. An agent that only pulls reports doesn't need any of them.
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On the roadmap
Threads ads no longer need an Instagram account
From September, your Threads username no longer has to match an Instagram account to run Threads ads. Businesses without Instagram can advertise straight from a native Threads profile. Meta is rolling this out gradually, so it may not be in your account yet (global timeline not yet confirmed).
Threads runs inside the Ads Manager you already use, with no new pixel. It supports single image, video, carousel and Advantage+ catalog ads, and adding it as a placement doesn't change your existing Instagram campaigns. Give Threads its own budget line and its own creative in Q4 so you can read its results separately from Instagram.
Instagram Live ads launched on September 29
On September 15, Meta merged Creator Marketplace and the Partnership Ads Hub into one Creator Marketing Hub. It adds one-click ad creation and content permissions that expire on a date you set. Live video ads, which used to be Facebook only, came to Instagram on September 29, and brands can run a creator's livestream as a Partnership Ad.
If a creator collab or product drop is planned for BFCM, treat the livestream as a paid placement from the start. Get the creator permissions and budget sorted well before launch week.
Keep an eye on it
California will require a label on AI performers in ads
Governor Newsom signed SB 1050 on September 16. Any ad that prominently features an AI-generated performer will need a clear disclosure, with wording close to "this performance features a synthetic performer". It's expected to take effect January 1, 2027. If you sell into California and use AI avatars or AI voiceover, build the label into your ad templates before the new year.
TikTok
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Register for TikTok Shop's BFCM campaigns in early October
If you sell through TikTok Shop in the US, treat early October as your last safe date to register for the BFCM sale campaigns. Review takes 5 to 14 business days. These rules have been in place for a while, but the registration window closes now.
GMV Max is required for campaign sellers. If you haven't built one, TikTok creates a GMV Max campaign for you 7 days before the campaign starts, funded from your account. Build it yourself before then so you set the products, budget and creative. Smart Promotion is also a prerequisite for campaigns, and it charges 4.5% of store GMV during campaign periods, so add that to your BFCM margin plan now.
Keep an eye on it
Creator affiliate posts can now run as Spark Ads through ShopMy
On September 30, ShopMy launched Spotlights, which turns creators' best-performing affiliate posts into paid ads. On TikTok they run as Spark Ads through TikTok's Content Suite API, and on Meta as Partnership Ads. Brands pay based on performance instead of a flat fee. TikTok covered the integration on its business blog the same day.
If you already work with creators on ShopMy, this moves posts that drive affiliate sales into paid campaigns without new production costs. It's available to ShopMy brand partners now.
TopView self-serve booking is still the open item from TikTok's July product preview, due in select markets during Q3. Check Ads Manager to see if you can book TopView yourself for a Q4 launch (global timeline not yet confirmed).
Do this now
Check every live campaign against Pinterest's new optimization score
On September 21, Pinterest added a campaign optimization score to Ads Manager. It rates campaign setup, creative mix and signal strength, and gives specific recommendations for each. Pinterest says higher scores correlate with better performance, and it recommends at least three ad formats per ad group.
Run through the score on every live campaign before Q4 budgets go up. If signal strength drags it down, fix your Pinterest Tag and Conversions API setup before you touch creative.
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On the roadmap
Visual Search Ads are heading into beta
At Pinterest Presents on September 17, Pinterest launched Visual Search Ads. They place your products in search results and Pin close-ups when someone searches with an image. The beta reaches eligible advertisers across all Pinterest ad markets "in the coming weeks" (no fixed date yet). If your catalog is built on visually distinctive products, ask your Pinterest rep about eligibility now.
Performance+ got two additions at the same event. Priority Products lets you push specific products harder inside an automated campaign during a launch or sale. Self-serve A/B testing now covers creative, targeting and Performance+ itself, so you can run a proper test without waiting on a rep. Set up Priority Products for your BFCM hero products before the sale starts.
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