Have you been recently experiencing a dip in the performance of your Meta Ads even when you haven’t made any changes to your targeting, budget and creatives? It may be worth reviewing a newer feature in your Meta Ads Manager called \u201cRelated Media\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Relative Media is a creative tool from Meta designed to help advertisers display their media in various ways to better connect with different audiences. However, depending on your campaign goals and creative strategy, it could also result in older or less-relevant visuals<\/strong> being displayed alongside your current ad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to many advertisers, this new Meta feature has altered their ad creatives<\/a>, sometimes in a negative way. This post will touch on what Related Media is, what it does, and how to disable it if needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Meta Ads Manager<\/strong>, the Related Media<\/strong> setting is an option that allows Meta to suggest and automatically include images or videos you\u2019ve used in past ads when you create a new ad. When enabled, this will allow Meta to include a wider selection of your media assets, such as older images or videos that the system finds related, to your ad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Related Media setting can be helpful for advertisers looking to automatically test creative variations and are meant to be relevant to your current ad’s goals and creative. More importantly, this feature is turned on by default. If you want better control over your ad assets, you should look for it and turn it off. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With Meta introducing more advanced automation in its ad system, \u201cRelated Media\u201d is now more tightly integrated with AI-powered creative features like Advantage+ and flexible ad formats. As of 2026, you now have:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Related Media is now a part of Meta\u2019s broader push toward automated creative optimisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This gives you full control over which media appears with each ad. This ensures your campaigns only use assets you\u2019ve intentionally approved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also preview and review suggestions before publishing your ad. Meta now allows you to review and adjust automatically suggested media before your ad goes live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before publishing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n When ads show different creatives than expected, albeit with a tiny difference, it can alter the message, tone, or visual consistency<\/strong> your audience experiences. This can hurt ad conversions. Disabling or enabling Related Media shouldn\u2019t be guesswork, you can actually measure its impact. Here\u2019s how you can analyse performance and decide for yourself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This will show you which creatives were auto-added, how they performed vs your original ad, and metrics like CTR, conversions, and cost per result. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If auto-added media performs worse, it\u2019s a strong signal to disable Related Media. However, if it improves performance, you may want to keep it enabled for scaling campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are other ways to confirm if Related Media may be causing a sudden performance dip in your Meta ads:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Go to Ads Manager > Ad Level > Edit > Media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If Related Media is on, Meta may have already started using your creative assets. Now, check if the media you didn\u2019t select is appearing in your active ads and Thumbnail previews. Also inspect creative history to see if it shows new variations you didn\u2019t approve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Inspection factors like CTR decline, CPC increase, Conversion rate drop, Lead cost rise. If your dip begins exactly when the feature started using other creatives, that\u2019s strong evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tip: You can see when an ad was edited (including enabling\/disabling features) via Ad > Edit History.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You’ll start seeing irrelevant comments and lower engagement quality if Meta selects an off-brand or outdated creative. These signals often correlate with lower ad relevance and degraded performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If performance recovers after disabling it, congratulations. You’ve confirmed that Relative Media was the primary reason behind your disappointing Meta Ads performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you see new creative variations along with learning phase reset and a sudden performance drop, there\u2019s a high chance Related Media was the cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that you’ve fixed your ad’s performance issue, the next crucial step is how fast you respond to leads<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leads interact with different ads all the time. The real difference comes from how quickly and personally you engage with each new inquiry. Businesses that reach out to leads fast immediately increase their chances of converting them since almost all prospects are more likely to respond to fast outreach compared to late ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This where Privyr<\/strong><\/a> can help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a Meta-integrated CRM and lead engagement system<\/strong><\/a>, Privyr connects directly to your Facebook and Instagram Lead Ads, automatically sending new leads to your phone. You can follow-up instantly using WhatsApp or your preferred way of contacting leads, such as iMessage, SMS, Email, or Call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Privyr, you can:<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat is \u201cRelated Media\u201d and what does it do<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
However, if you\u2019re running tightly controlled campaigns, especially for lead generation or direct response, you’d certainly want to review which assets are being included<\/strong> to ensure consistency with your brand and message. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
How to review, turn off, or remove Related Media from Facebook Ads<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Why this step matters<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
By reviewing the Related Media section, advertisers can make sure their ads always represent their latest branding, offers, and communication style.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow to tell if related media is behind the performance drop in your Meta Ads<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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1. Check if unexpected creatives have started appearing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Compare performance before and after the date Related Media was enabled<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Review comments, engagement, or quality feedback<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Turn off Related Media for 3\u20135 days<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Quick Rule of Thumb<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How to keep lead quality high with <\/strong>real-time engagement<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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