If Ads Manager tells you dynamic creative is no longer available, Meta has moved the job from the ad set to the ad: you now load several images and videos into one ad and let Meta choose which to show. The ad-level option was first called the flexible ad format, and in 2026 Meta's documentation points to its successor, multi-media ads. Nothing you built is lost; the setup simply happens one level down, and what you get back in reporting is thinner.
What actually changed, and when?
Three formats do roughly the same job: give Meta a pool of assets and let delivery pick. They differ in where you switch them on and how much control you keep.
| Dynamic creative | Flexible ad format | Multi-media ads | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it is set | Ad set | Ad | Ad |
| Assets | Images or videos, plus text, headline and CTA variations | Up to 10 images or videos per ad, up to 30 across three creative groups | Up to 10 images and videos combined per ad |
| Per-asset control | None, Meta assembles combinations | None, Meta picks the format per placement | Text, destination, placements and crop per asset |
| Objectives | All, until Meta began restricting it | Sales and App Promotion in Meta's developer docs | Documented in Meta's Marketing API |
| Status in late 2026 | Gone for Sales and App Promotion in most accounts; still showing for other objectives in some | Reported missing from the format picker in many accounts since spring 2026 | The format Meta's flexible pages now point to |
The sequence, as far as it can be pinned down:
- June 2024. Meta began warning advertisers that dynamic creative was going away for Sales and App Promotion campaigns and pointed them to the flexible ad format. Jon Loomer documented the switch at the time and noted that other objectives kept dynamic creative.
- 2024 to 2025. Flexible became the default way to give one ad several assets. It is switched on in Ad setup under Format, and Meta's developer documentation still lists it for Sales and App Promotion only.
- 2026. Advertisers report the flexible option disappearing from the format picker, with Meta's help page directing people to multi-media ads instead. Meta's developer documentation for multi-media ads (updated May 2026) allows up to 10 images and videos in a single ad with per-asset text, cropping, placements and destinations.
Meta has not, as far as we can find, published a single dated sunset notice for any of these. Rollouts are staged, so two accounts can show different options on the same day. If a colleague still sees dynamic creative and you do not, neither of you is doing anything wrong.
Why do some campaigns still offer dynamic creative?
Because the restriction started with Sales and App Promotion and has spread unevenly. Traffic, Leads, Engagement and Awareness campaigns kept the ad set toggle for longer, and in some accounts they still have it. If you see "dynamic creative will soon be unavailable" rather than "no longer available", that campaign still works; the message is notice that it will not for much longer.
Two practical consequences:
- Do not rebuild a working campaign just because of the warning. A dynamic creative ad set that is delivering keeps delivering. Build new campaigns in the ad-level format so you are not caught out mid-flight.
- Old ads do not convert. There is no switch that turns an existing dynamic creative or flexible ad into a multi-media ad. You duplicate the assets into a new ad.
What should you do for each objective?
Sales and App Promotion. Use the ad-level format your account offers: multi-media ads if they appear, flexible if that is still in the picker. Put assets into one ad only when they make the same argument. Ten clips selling ten different reasons is ten ads, because Meta will find the one it likes and you will never learn why.
Traffic, Leads, Engagement and Awareness. If the dynamic creative toggle is still there, it still works. Use it for allocation, not learning, the same split we describe in dynamic creative vs manual variations: manual ads to find the winning argument, the pooled format to squeeze it.
Any objective, when you need an answer. Separate ads in an ad set, one variable changed. That has not changed, and it is the only setup where the result means something.
How to turn it off. On campaigns that still have it, dynamic creative is the toggle at the ad set level, under the ad set's creative settings. For flexible or multi-media ads, open the ad and remove assets until one remains, or build single-asset ads. Separately, check the Advantage+ creative enhancements at the ad level, which are a different set of switches (text tweaks, music, image expansion) and are often what people actually want to turn off.
How do you read results without the element breakdown?
Dynamic creative had a breakdown by element: image, video, text, headline, CTA. The ad-level formats report less cleanly, and practitioners have reported the per-asset breakdowns as unreliable. Plan for that rather than hoping for a fix.
- Treat the pooled ad as one ad. Read its CPA and hook rate against other ads, not its assets against each other.
- Use asset-level numbers as inventory. They tell you which assets still get delivery and which have gone quiet. They do not tell you which asset is better, because Meta chose who saw what.
- Refresh on the fatigue clock, not the CPA clock. Our 2026 fatigue benchmark puts Meta ads at about two to three weeks before they wear out, and decline on Meta prospecting starting around a weekly frequency of 2.5. A pooled ad with ten assets fatigues asset by asset, so swap the quiet ones out every couple of weeks instead of waiting for the whole ad to slide.
How many assets should go into one ad?
Fewer than the limit. Ten is the ceiling, not a target, and every asset needs enough delivery to be judged. The arithmetic for a pooled setup is in the asset count section of our DCO post: divide weekly budget by the cost of a readable sample (impressions needed times CPM over 1,000) and stop there. At a EUR 12 CPM and a 5,000 impression read, EUR 700 a week supports about a dozen readable assets across the whole campaign, not a dozen per ad.
Shape matters as well. Flexible and multi-media ads crop or pad assets to fit each placement, and Meta's own guidance warns that cropping alone does not stop an asset from being delivered to a placement. Supply 9:16 and 4:5 versions of each video rather than one file Meta has to reframe; our Meta video ad specs list the safe zones per placement.
Where Genyad fits
Genyad is our product, so weigh this accordingly. It turns footage you already own into finished video variations, each with its own script, shot selection, voiceover and captions, exported as 9:16 and 4:5. That is what fills a multi-media ad with assets that are actually different, rather than one video cut five ways. Our Meta ad creative generator workflow shows the setup.
What it does not do: it does not publish to Meta, so you upload the files into the ad yourself, and it does not assemble modular hook, body and CTA slots at delivery time. The first 5 variations are free; after that Starter is €29 for 15 credits and Growth €99 for 65, one credit per variation.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Ads Manager say dynamic creative is no longer available?
Meta has been moving multi-asset delivery from the ad set to the ad since June 2024, starting with Sales and App Promotion campaigns. Instead of the ad set toggle, you add several images and videos to one ad using the flexible format or, in 2026, multi-media ads. The rollout is staged, so the message appears in some accounts and objectives before others.
What is the difference between dynamic creative and flexible ads?
Dynamic creative is switched on at the ad set level and assembles combinations of images, videos, text and CTAs. The flexible format is switched on at the ad level and lets one ad hold up to 10 images or videos, with Meta choosing the format per placement. The flexible format's reporting is thinner, with less reliable per-asset breakdowns.
Are flexible ads being replaced too?
Advertisers have reported the flexible option missing from Ad setup since spring 2026, and Meta's flexible format help page now points to multi-media ads. Multi-media ads hold up to 10 images and videos in one ad and add per-asset control of text, crop, placement and destination. Meta has not published a dated retirement notice, so check what your own account shows.
Should I rebuild my dynamic creative campaigns now?
No, not if they are delivering. A running dynamic creative ad set keeps working; the change affects what you can create, not what is live. Build new campaigns in the ad-level format, and move a campaign over when you would have refreshed its creative anyway.