Meta targeting described in words: how to use it without losing your budget

On 6 October 2026, Meta announced a new way to choose your audience in Ads Manager: you describe your ideal customer in plain words, and Ads Manager suggests matching audiences within seconds, from which you keep only the ones that look right. Meta said the feature comes to Detailed Targeting by the end of 2026. It isn't live for everyone yet, so check your own account for when it appears. Below I show you how to use it once it reaches you, without losing control of your budget. 1. What actually changes Until now, in Detailed Targeting you searched for interests and behaviours one by one, in long lists. With the new feature you write something like: "women and men furnishing their first home, with a mid-range budget, interested in natural decor and scented candles". Ads Manager turns the description into Detailed Targeting audiences, and you choose what to keep. What doesn't change: it's still Detailed Targeting interests and behaviours that end up in the ad set. The feature helps you find them faster; it doesn't invent a new audience and doesn't guarantee better results. And how much those interests matter depends, as before, on your audience settings. 2. Suggestion or limit: the difference that decides your budget Before testing any audience described in words, check how the audience is set up in the ad set: With Advantage+ audience on , the interests you add are only suggestions . Meta starts from them but can deliver ads to other people if the algorithm thinks they'll buy. Budget isn't limited to the audience you described. With original audience options , the interests become limits . For some objectives, Meta can still expand the audience with Advantage detailed targeting, so check the setting in every ad set. Worth remembering: interest exclusions are no longer available in Detailed Targeting. If you don't want to pay for certain people, exclude them with custom audiences, such as your list of existing customers. 3. How to write a good description The…