AI Is Changing Ads by Default: What Agencies Should Check in Client Ad Accounts

October 27, 2026

· By Tarek Smiri

AI Is Changing Ads by Default: What Agencies Should Check in Client Ad Accounts

Short answer

Three ad platforms are giving their AI more room to change ads unless someone switches it off. ChatGPT Ads turns on creative enhancements for new and existing campaigns on 30 October 2026 (OpenAI). Meta's updated Commercial Terms, effective 20 November 2026, make advertisers solely responsible for what its AI features produce (The Keyword). Google Performance Max now has sourced videos on by default for new campaigns, with image extraction following on 4 December (PPC Land). For an agency running client accounts, the answer is a settings audit, account by account, with each decision written down before those dates. Beyond these deadlines, a final section lists the AI settings to review in any ad account, every quarter.

What changes, platform by platform

ChatGPT Ads: creative enhancements on from 30 October

According to OpenAI’s help center, from Friday 30 October 2026 creative enhancements are enabled automatically for new and existing campaigns. They can rewrite headlines and descriptions, translate text, resize images and optimise destination URLs. Enhanced versions can run without a review or approval of each version, and there is no preview of every variation.

The control is clear: advertisers can opt out in Ads Manager under Manage settings, before 30 October or at any time. Existing account-level and campaign-level opt-outs are kept, and campaign settings take priority over the account setting.

Meta: a new AI clause in the Commercial Terms

The Keyword reports that Meta's updated Commercial Terms take effect on 20 November 2026, after the date was moved from 30 October. The new "AI Features" section states that "AI features may make mistakes and may not always produce accurate, complete, or suitable results", then that "you are solely responsible for and assume any and all risks associated with such AI features and any resulting Content." It also says businesses "must not alter or remove any watermark or content-authenticating metadata generated by AI in connection with Content."

The same article quotes Meta's own help page: "some enhancements may be turned on by default". A Meta spokesperson said advertisers can turn off individual Advantage+ features in Ads Manager at any time. The Keyword also reports that Meta is switching on product browsing for existing ads on 28 October unless advertisers opt out.

Google Performance Max: sourced videos and image extraction

Google’s help page states that sourced videos are enabled by default for all new Performance Max campaigns, and that the setting may have been activated automatically on some existing campaigns as part of a platform update. Key details:

Up to 10 crawled videos can be added to an asset group automatically.
Sources can include social media platforms, the campaign's landing page and the linked YouTube channel. Google uses them once they are approved under Manage sources.
The campaign needs a daily budget above 5 USD.
Sourced videos are uploaded to a dedicated Google-owned YouTube channel, branded with the advertiser's logo and business name.
The checkbox is at campaign level, in the Asset optimization drop-down of the asset group section.

PPC Land adds that Google will turn on image extraction by default for new Performance Max campaigns from 4 December, including in accounts where dynamic images were disabled at account level.

Why it matters for agencies

The common pattern is that the default has moved. Settings that used to require an opt-in now require an opt-out, sometimes on campaigns already live. In a white-label or agency setup, that creates three practical risks:

Brand and compliance: rewritten or translated copy may not match what the client approved, especially in regulated sectors or multilingual markets.
Tracking: optimised destination URLs can affect landing-page tests and attribution if nobody knows they changed.
Responsibility: on Meta, the terms place the risk of AI-generated content on the business, whatever the setting.

None of this means AI enhancements are bad. Some clients will benefit from them. The point is that the choice should be made by the client and the agency, not by a default.

The audit checklist for client ad accounts

1. List every account and its decision-maker

For each client: the platforms used (ChatGPT Ads, Meta, Google Ads), who owns the account, and who signs off on creative. If the client never chose a policy on AI-generated ad content, now is the time to ask.

2. ChatGPT Ads, before 30 October

Open Ads Manager > Manage settings and record the account-level creative enhancements setting.
Check each campaign: campaign settings take priority over the account.
Where enhancements stay on, decide who reviews the delivered variations, since there is no preview of each one.
Confirm destination URLs and tracking parameters still match the client's analytics setup.

3. Meta, before 20 November

Review each Advantage+ creative enhancement on active ads: each one is a separate setting.
Check whether product browsing was switched on for existing ads.
Brief the team on the watermark clause: do not crop or remove AI watermarks or authenticity metadata.
Share the AI Features clause with the client so their legal or brand team can review it.

4. Google Performance Max

In each campaign, open Asset optimization and check the Sourced videos box.
Under Manage sources, review which URLs are approved.
Check the Assets report for sourced videos already serving.
Plan the image extraction setting for new campaigns created after 4 December.

5. Write the decision down

For each account, record what is on, what is off, who decided, and when. A short line in the monthly report is enough. It protects the agency if a client later asks why an ad looked different.

A word on watermarks and the EU context

Meta's watermark clause sits alongside a wider European trend. Article 50 of the EU AI Act, which the AI Act Explorer lists as applying from 2 August 2026, asks providers of generative AI systems to mark outputs in a machine-readable format so they are detectable as artificially generated. This is context, not legal advice: the practical rule for production teams is simply not to strip AI markings from creative.

The AI settings to review in any ad account, every quarter

The dates above will pass, but platforms will keep changing defaults. A quarterly review of every client account, with the same list each time, keeps the decisions with the agency and the client.

Automatic creative enhancements. Meta says Advantage+ creative enhancements may adjust the media and text you upload, that some are turned on by default, and that some can only be turned off in Advanced preview, so check both the Ad creative section and Advanced preview (Meta). On ChatGPT Ads, check the account default and each campaign under Manage settings (OpenAI).
Generated text and assets. In Performance Max, text customization (formerly automatically created assets) may generate headlines, descriptions and additional assets, such as images sourced from landing pages (Google). Note which options are on and review what served.
Final URLs and URL expansion. Google states that Final URL expansion is on by default in Performance Max and can replace the final URL with another page from the same domain. URL exclusions keep pages such as careers or blog sections out, and the "Expanded Final URL assets" report shows what served (Google). On ChatGPT Ads, destination-URL optimisation is part of creative enhancements.
Automatic translation. OpenAI says creative enhancements may translate ad text into another language. For multilingual or regulated clients, decide whether translations need native review, or whether to keep the feature off.
Approval of AI-generated variations. Where variations run without per-version approval, as on ChatGPT Ads, agree who checks a sample of delivered ads, and how often.
Brand and legal sign-off. For prices, claims and sector rules, get the client's written position on AI-modified creative and revisit it when platform terms change.
Change history. Google Ads change history lists changes to the account, campaigns and ad groups over the past two years, and changes made by Google's automated systems may appear there too (Google). Meta's Activity history shows who changed what and when, including automated rules and Meta's ad review system (Meta).
Client decisions on record. One page per account: each setting, on or off, who decided, the date and the next review.

How Genesis Digital Factory fits in

We run Google Ads and ChatGPT Ads campaigns in white label for agencies, under your brand, with every creative going through a pre-approval step before it goes live. Each project is quoted at a fixed price, with unlimited revisions at each stage until it's approved, and no day rate. Since 2005, we have delivered more than 85,000 projects, 99% of them on time. See our Google Ads and ChatGPT Ads pages, or send us your accounts to review through the contact page.

FAQ

Can ChatGPT Ads creative enhancements be turned off?

Yes. OpenAI says advertisers can opt out in Ads Manager under Manage settings, before 30 October 2026 or at any time, at account or campaign level.

Does Meta's new clause apply to features we never turned on?

The Keyword notes that the new clause's wording does not depend on whether the advertiser switched a feature on, and that Meta did not say whether it covers features never enabled. Reviewing each Advantage+ enhancement is the safe approach.

Are Performance Max sourced videos on in existing campaigns?

Possibly. Google says they are on by default for new campaigns and may have been activated on some existing ones. The only way to know is to check each campaign's Asset optimization settings.