About Meta Advantage+ catalog ads, explained
Meta’s help article “About Meta Advantage+ catalog ads” only loads with JavaScript. Here it is in plain words, with the requirements and pixel events, from Meta’s help center as read on October 9, 2026.
On this page · 8 sections
- What are Advantage+ catalog ads?
- What can you use Advantage+ catalog ads for?
- What do you need before running Advantage+ catalog ads?
- How do you create a catalog in Commerce Manager?
- Which pixel events and parameters does Meta require?
- How do you check that your events match your catalog?
- Which creative options do catalog ads have?
- How does Adwize work with catalog ads?
Meta Advantage+ catalog ads automatically show each person the most relevant products or services from your catalog, based on their interests, intent and actions online. They look like ordinary single image, carousel or collection ads, but the products in them change per person, using events data from your Meta Pixel or app SDK and Meta’s own signals. You can run them with the sales, app promotion, engagement, leads and traffic objectives. Meta lists four uses: retargeting shoppers who viewed products without buying, finding new customers, cross-selling or upselling, and catalog creative options such as dynamic overlays. Before your first one, you need a catalog in Commerce Manager inside a business portfolio, a Meta Pixel with the ViewContent, AddToCart and Purchase events carrying content IDs, or the Meta SDK in your app, and a connection between that pixel or SDK and the catalog. Then you create the ad in Ads Manager.
TL;DR
- Advantage+ catalog ads show each person the products from your catalog most relevant to them.
- They run as single image, carousel or collection ads with sales, app, engagement, leads or traffic objectives.
- You need a catalog in Commerce Manager, a pixel or SDK, and a connection between them.
- The pixel needs ViewContent, AddToCart and Purchase, each with content_ids or contents.
- Adwize prepares the campaign around your catalog and shows it to you before anything runs.
What are Advantage+ catalog ads?
They are ads that pick products from your catalog for each viewer. Meta matches the most relevant products or services to each person based on their interests, intent and actions online. You build one ad, and the products inside it change from one person to the next.
On screen, they look like any single image, carousel or collection ad. The difference is behind the scenes: Meta uses events data from your Meta Pixel or app SDK, plus its own on-platform signals, to decide which products to display.
Meta is also changing how sales campaigns with a catalog are created. In the new experience, you select your catalog only once, during campaign setup, and still choose the creative for each ad.
What can you use Advantage+ catalog ads for?
Meta names four uses. Retarget shoppers who looked at products on your website or app but did not buy. Find new customers who never bought from you but showed interest in your kind of products. Cross-sell related items or upsell higher-margin ones. And use creative options built for catalogs.
They work with five objectives: sales, app promotion, engagement, leads and traffic. Most shops start with sales, but a catalog of homes or cars can just as well feed a leads campaign.
Example. A shoe store has 300 products. A visitor looks at trail runners and leaves. Over the next days, the same catalog ad shows that person the trail runners they viewed, while a stranger who likes hiking sees other models from the range. For retargeting basics, read our guide to Facebook retargeting ads.
What do you need before running Advantage+ catalog ads?
Meta lists four requirements. A catalog in Commerce Manager with the products you want to advertise, inside a business portfolio. A Meta Pixel on your website with the required events and parameters. The Meta SDK in your app if you have one. And a connection between that pixel or SDK and your catalog.
The pixel measures how people view and interact with products on your website; the SDK does the same in your app. The connection is what lets your ads show each person the products that match their interests.
You can also create product sets inside your catalog to narrow which products appear in an ad. Once all four steps are done, you create the ad itself in Ads Manager.
- Create a catalog in Commerce Manager
- Install the Meta Pixel with required events
- Add the Meta SDK if you have an app
- Connect the pixel or SDK to the catalog
- Create the ad in Ads Manager
How do you create a catalog in Commerce Manager?
Go to Commerce Manager and click Add products, or add a new catalog from the Assets page. Keep Online products selected, pick a business portfolio you fully control, turn on Give people access if you want, and name the catalog. Then connect a pixel or SDK, or skip that step for now.
Next, add your products. Meta offers two ways: connect a data feed, meaning a spreadsheet or XML file uploaded once or on a schedule, hourly, daily or weekly, or add products manually with a form. If your products already live on a partner platform, turn on Connect a partner platform instead.
Two notes from Meta. Where possible, use only one catalog, which Meta says helps ad performance. And for travel, cars, real estate, media or services, the catalog type you choose cannot be changed later.
Which pixel events and parameters does Meta require?
Three standard events: ViewContent when someone views a product, AddToCart when someone adds one to the cart, and Purchase when someone buys. Each must carry a parameter that names the product, so Meta can match it to your catalog: either content_ids or contents.
content_ids holds one ID or a list of IDs from your catalog, either a product id or an item_group_id. Meta stresses the letter s at the end. contents is an array of objects, each with the product id and the quantity added to cart or bought.
These events cover products, media, apps, publications, services and activities. Hotels, flights, destinations, cars and real estate catalogs need different events. For server-side events alongside the pixel, see our Conversions API page.
| Item | Type | What it records or holds |
|---|---|---|
| ViewContent | Standard event | Someone viewed a product |
| AddToCart | Standard event | Someone added a product to the cart |
| Purchase | Standard event | Someone bought a product |
| content_ids | Parameter (or contents) | One or more product or product group IDs |
| contents | Parameter (or content_ids) | Objects with product id and quantity |
- ViewContent
- = a product was viewed
- AddToCart
- = a product went into the cart
- Purchase
- = a product was bought
- Each one carries
- = content_ids or contents
How do you check that your events match your catalog?
Once the events and parameters are on your site, connect your pixel to your catalog. Meta then lets you view your catalog match rate, which shows whether the product IDs sent by your pixel are being matched to products in your catalog. That is the check that tells you the setup actually works.
A low match rate usually points to IDs that differ between your website and your catalog. If the pixel sends one code and the catalog uses another, Meta cannot connect the visit to the product.
Example. A store’s catalog uses SKU codes, but its site sends internal database numbers in content_ids. Views are recorded, yet few match. Sending the same SKU codes in the pixel fixes it.
Which creative options do catalog ads have?
Meta can automatically show people either product images or videos, depending on what each person is likely to engage with. On top of that, catalog ads get their own Advantage+ creative enhancements, which Meta lists as dynamic overlays, image touch-ups, standard labels and image background generation.
Dynamic overlays put catalog information such as a price or a discount in a label on the image. Standard labels highlight facts such as a product on sale. Image touch-ups fit product photos to feed and Reels formats.
Because the photos come straight from your catalog, their quality is the ad’s quality. Clean images at the right sizes matter more here than in a hand-built ad. Our Meta ads specs page lists the sizes by placement.
How does Adwize work with catalog ads?
Adwize prepares your Meta campaign from one sentence and shows you every setting in plain words before anything goes live, so you see which objective, audience and budget your catalog campaign will use. You approve, edit or refuse. Nothing launches without your yes. See the Launch page.
Adwize does not build your catalog or install your pixel. Those steps happen in Commerce Manager and Events Manager, in your own business portfolio, as described above.
Once the campaign runs, Adwize reads the results each day and sends you plain reports: what sold, what it cost, and what it suggests changing, with each change waiting for your approval. See the Report page.
Frequently asked questions
Can I run Advantage+ catalog ads without a website pixel?
Meta’s requirements call for a Meta Pixel on your website with the required events, or the Meta SDK in your app with the required app events, connected to your catalog. One of the two is needed.
Which objectives work with Advantage+ catalog ads?
Meta lists sales, app promotion, engagement, leads and traffic. The ads can take the single image, carousel or collection format.
Should I use several catalogs?
Meta recommends using only one catalog where possible, to help improve ad performance. Use product sets inside it to narrow which products appear in a given ad.
Why is my catalog match rate low?
Usually because the IDs your pixel sends in content_ids or contents do not match the IDs in your catalog. Meta lets you view the match rate after you connect your pixel to the catalog.
Does Adwize set up my catalog or pixel?
No. You create the catalog in Commerce Manager and the pixel in Events Manager. Adwize prepares the campaign, shows it to you in plain words and waits for your approval before anything runs.
Sources
- Meta Business Help Center, About Meta Advantage+ catalog adsAccessed 10/09/2026
- Meta Business Help Center, Advantage+ catalog ad requirementsAccessed 10/09/2026
- Meta Business Help Center, Create a catalog in Commerce ManagerAccessed 10/09/2026
- Meta Business Help Center, Required Meta Pixel events and parameters for Advantage+ catalog adsAccessed 10/09/2026
