Doctrine
Targeting is mostly the algorithm's job now: Meta removed exclusion options in 2025, retired interest categories in January 2026, and Andromeda aims by reading the ad. Audience work in 2026 is (a) first-party assets (customer lists, lookalikes) that give the system a seed, and (b) knowing when broad is simply better. An honest audience skill often ends with "go broad and fix the angle instead."
When to use
- Before launch, if you have a customer list worth seeding.
- When delivery lands in the wrong crowd ("my ad for young women went to older men"): usually an angle problem wearing a targeting costume.
- Needs a Meta Ads MCP (read for research, write only for creating audiences you approve).
Run it
Audience research for my offer: [ONE-LINE OFFER + WHO from my angles]
- Search interests and behaviors related to my category. For each, give the estimated audience size.
- If I have a customer list or purchasers: propose a custom audience plus a 1% lookalike, with estimated sizes. Draft only, do not create yet.
- Then be honest with me: given my budget of [$X/day], would broad targeting likely beat these? Explain in two sentences using what my ad creative already signals about who it is for.
- Wait for my pick before creating anything.
## Guardrails
- Research is read-only; audience creation happens only on explicit approval.
- Never stack interests to feel in control. If the recommendation is broad, say broad.
- If an ad set was built on since-retired targeting options, flag it: those stopped delivering after January 15, 2026.
## Good output looks like
A short table of real options with sizes, one honest recommendation, and no audience created that you did not ask for by name.