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Launch a Meta Ad with AI (Manual Builder)
Quick Reference Keywords: Create Facebook ad · Instagram ad · Meta ads · AI ad copy · Lead generation ad · Facebook lead form · Ad targeting · AI marketing
💡 Try the AI Strategist instead. This is the original step-by-step (manual) builder, and it's still fully supported. For most users we now recommend the AI Strategist - Siren - a guided chat experience where our AI ad strategist researches your successful ads offering similar products and services, writes your copy, and designs your media for you. Click Create Ad with Siren on the AI Marketing page, or see Build a Meta Ad with the AI Strategist. Prefer a traditional form-based flow? This guide is for you.
Overview
The manual ad creation flow is designed to be self-explanatory - just click through and follow the prompts to launch! This guide provides a walkthrough with screenshots explaining what is going on at each step. Brayv.ai generates ad copy, creates images, and optimizes your ad automatically.
Estimated time to complete: 2-5 minutes
Prerequisites: Connect Facebook
Before creating ads, you must connect your Facebook account.
1. Go to Settings > Integrations > Meta > Click "Continue with Facebook"
2. Select the appropriate ad account (should be your business ad account, not personal). Select a pixel if you have one, or create one with the "Create Pixel" button.
Part 1: Starting a New Ad
3. Click AI Marketing (sparkles icon, main left-hand menu)
4. You'll see your connected Facebook page, Instagram account (if linked), ad account, currency, and pixel. Below that, recent campaigns on the left and drafts on the right.
At any point in the process, you can exit and your ad will automatically save as a draft.
5. Click "Manual creation with AI assistance" (this opens the step-by-step builder shown below). To use the guided agentic chat experience instead, click Create Ad with Siren - see Build a Meta Ad with the AI Strategist.
Part 2: Ad Details and AI Copy
6. Select your ad category. Most ads fall under "Not a Special Category." Below that, review your business name and context (pulls from account settings).
7. Fill in "What Are You Advertising" and "Target Audience."
"What Are You Advertising" should be a specific offer like "new water heater installations for 20% off" or "summer sale on pools: save thousands" - not just your business name.
Target audience should describe your ideal customer, like "homeowners in Northeast Houston."
8. Select the tone of voice and whether to use emojis. These settings apply to the ad copy (text the AI generates to accompany your media).
9. Enter a next step - what should leads do after submitting their info? (Book a consultation, get a quote, schedule an installation, etc.)
10. Click "Generate Copy with AI"
11. Review and edit the primary text and headlines the AI generated. You can go back a step and regenerate if you'd like.
12. Click Next
Part 3: Media
13. Add media (images or videos). You can generate with AI or select from your media library. When selecting from the library, you can also upload new media.
14. If generating with AI, select one of the options
15. If using Graphics Generation mode, review the image prompts and edit as needed, then click "Generate Images"
16. Generation may take 10-30 seconds per image
17. Optionally add your logo to the generated images
18. Or click "Skip - Use Images As-Is"
19. You can add more media (up to 10 images + videos per ad). We recommend a combination of images and videos. When ready, click Next.
Part 4: Targeting and Budget
20. Add the location(s) to target. You can add cities, zip codes, or state-specific addresses. Some locations support radius targeting (Facebook limitation). You can add multiple locations.
21. Review the estimated audience size. If you get a warning about a small audience, consider expanding your radius.
22. Name your campaign and set a daily budget. Facebook respects this budget on average - some days may go slightly over or under.
Part 5: Lead Capture Method
23. Under "What do you hope to achieve?" select your lead capture method:
- Collect Leads with Facebook Form - Recommended for most businesses. Leads fill out a form directly on Facebook.
- Generate Leads on Website - Good if you have a landing page with a brayv form (or 3rd party form with webhook) and your Facebook pixel installed.
- Drive Traffic to Website - Specialized use case for maximizing clicks. Not recommended for most lead generation scenarios.
24. For Facebook Lead Forms: you must first accept Facebook's Lead Generation Terms of Service (follow the highlighted link)
25. Choose a Facebook call to action for your ad button. "Learn More" is a good generic option. These are preset options from Facebook.
26. If you selected "Generate Leads on Website":
27. Enter the destination URL where leads should go. If you don't have a page designed for this, use Facebook Lead Forms instead.
28. Click Next
Part 6: Review and Launch
29. Review your ad, all settings, and see a preview of how it will look.
30. Click "Launch Ad" and wait for confirmation! We automatically split test up to 160 combinations of text, headlines, and media, and keep Meta in the loop (if you have a pixel selected in your integration settings) on lead quality so targeting improves over time.
After Launching: Connect Your Leads
Important: After launching, make sure your leads flow into brayv.ai properly:
If using Facebook Lead Forms: Go to Settings > Lead Sources and ensure the lead form is mapped into brayv.ai. Set it up to route leads into an AI journey.
If sending leads to a website: Ensure the landing page has a form (brayv or 3rd party) displayed prominently, and that form is configured in Lead Sources to route leads into an AI journey.
Key Tips
Be Specific with Your Offer: "New water heater installations for 20% off" works much better than just "plumbing services." Specific offers drive higher engagement and allow AI to better understand who is likely to engage with your ad and actually turn into a customer which helps improve your targeting over time.
Use Multiple Media: Ads with a mix of images and videos perform best. Aim for 3-5 pieces of media minimum. AI-generated graphics work well alongside authentic videos from your team or customers talking about your work. Videos should be short - 15-30 seconds max.
Start with Facebook Lead Forms: Unless you have a dedicated landing page with a properly linked form, Facebook Lead Forms are the easiest way to capture leads and get them into brayv.ai.
Drafts Save Automatically: You can exit the ad creation flow at any time and come back to it later from the drafts section.
Do I need a Facebook Pixel? We recommend selecting a pixel in your brayv.ai integration settings, even if it isn't installed on your website. Here's why: brayv.ai automatically sends lead quality data back to Meta behind the scenes, teaching its algorithm who your best customers are. Over time, this means Meta gets smarter about who it shows your ads to, which improves your results and lowers your cost per lead. All of this happens automatically - no website setup required on your end. If you do have a pixel on your website, just make sure it's the same one selected in brayv.ai.
Related Features
- Build a Meta Ad with the AI Strategist - The guided AI chat builder (recommended)
- Facebook Lead Forms - Connect Facebook lead forms to brayv.ai
- Form Lead Sources - Set up web forms for lead capture
- Customer Journeys - Route ad leads into automated AI journeys
Summary
Creating a Meta ad in brayv.ai:
- Connect Facebook in Settings > Integrations
- Set up your ad - category, offer, target audience, tone
- Generate copy with AI - review and edit headlines and text
- Add media - AI-generated images, library uploads, or videos
- Configure targeting - location, audience size, budget
- Choose lead capture - Facebook Lead Form (recommended) or website
- Review and launch - Brayv auto-optimizes with 160+ split test combinations
Don't forget: Connect your lead source in Settings > Lead Sources after launching so leads flow into an AI journey automatically!