What Meta's Andromeda Update Means for Businesses in 2026

Meta just changed the rules of creative performance.

The Meta Andromeda update is the biggest shift in creative delivery since the original Learning Phase.

If you have ever launched dozens of ads and wondered why Meta spent money on only a few, or why small creative tweaks did not behave like true tests, you now have the answer.

Meta does not see your ads the way you do.

It sees patterns, structures, familiar setups, matching backgrounds, repeated angles, similar faces, and repeated visuals. When it believes two creatives look alike, it groups them and treats them as one test.

The system behind this grouping is called Entity ID, and with Andromeda, Meta is giving advertisers new visibility into how it perceives creative sameness. This visibility comes through three new metrics, including the Creative Similarity Score.

This article explains:

• What the Andromeda update is
• How Entity ID works
• Why Creative Similarity now matters more than small creative tweaks
• How Meta’s new creative KPIs affect your ability to scale
• Why UGC diversity is more important than ever
• How to build a creative system that wins in 2026

By the end, you will know exactly how to structure your creative pipeline for stronger learning, better distribution, and more consistent results.

What Is Meta’s Andromeda Update?

The Andromeda update is Meta’s newest framework for ad delivery.

Instead of relying heavily on targeting and manual campaign structure, Meta now places greater weight on:

• Creative format recognition
• Visual similarity patterns
• Cross-creative performance mapping
• Entity ID groupings
• Creative fatigue signals
• Theme diversity

In simple terms — your creativity is now your targeting.

Meta decides:

• Who sees your ad
• How the algorithm learns
• Whether an ad gets budget
• What audience pockets it unlocks

Meta makes these decisions based on how visually unique each creative appears.

The Hidden Layer Behind Your Ads: Understanding Entity ID

Advertisers have always seen two creative identifiers:

• Ad ID
• Creative ID

There is a third identifier underneath that Meta uses internally:

Entity ID

This determines whether Meta sees two ads as separate tests or as the same creative with minor variations.

If two creatives share visual similarities, Meta groups them into one Entity ID. When that happens:

• They share performance history
• They share learning phase signals
• They compete for spend
• One poor performer drags the others down
• The system typically prioritizes only one

This is why a brand may launch 100 ads but see only 10 receive real delivery.

Meta does not treat them as 100 ads.

It treats them as 10 creative entities.

How Ads Get Grouped Into the Same Entity ID

Meta uses advanced computer vision to look past ad creative headline or hook changes, focusing instead on the raw visual DNA of your content. If the algorithm detects significant overlaps in composition or style, it consolidates your ads into a single “Entity ID.”

Meta groups ads together when they share:

1. Similar layouts or visual structures
2. The same creator in the same environment
3. Repeated brand photography styles
4. Matching lighting, framing, or camera angles
5. Similar color palettes or editing styles
6. Product shots captured in nearly identical setups

Even if the script changes, Meta may still see them as the same.

How Ads Earn a Unique Entity ID

Creatives receive new Entity IDs when they have meaningful visual differences, such as:

• New creator
• New location
• New background
• New lighting conditions
• New camera angle or composition
• Different format (static vs video vs carousel)
• Distinct narrative structure

This is the foundation of creative diversification in 2026.

Meta’s New Creative Metrics

To support Andromeda, Meta released three new KPIs that offer the first real insight into how the platform perceives creative uniqueness.

1. Creative Fatigue

This measures how often your audience has been exposed to a creative.
High fatigue typically means higher CPMs, lower engagement, and weaker conversions.

2. Creative Similarity Score

This is Meta’s proxy for Entity ID overlap.

A high similarity score means:

• Meta thinks your creatives look too alike
• They are effectively being treated as one test
• A weak performer will hurt the similar variants
• New learnings are limited
• Audience exploration is constrained

This is one of the most important metrics to watch.

3. Top Creative Themes

Meta automatically categorizes your creative library into themes such as:

• Testimonial
• Lifestyle
• Benefit driven
• Humor
• Problem solution
• Savings or offer focused

This helps identify whether you are testing enough different storytelling structures.

Creative Is Now the New Targeting

Under Andromeda, each unique Entity ID receives its own:

• Learning phase
• Delivery pattern
• Audience distribution
• Probability model
• Scaling path

This means a brand’s creative library is now its segmentation strategy.

For example: If you launch ads featuring two UGC creators, one a 25-year-old Caucasian woman and the other a 35-year-old Hispanic woman, Meta will naturally route those creatives to different audience pockets. This happens even if the campaign settings are identical.

Your goal is no longer to simply produce more ads.

Your goal is to produce more visually and structurally distinct ads.

Why UGC Diversity Wins Under Andromeda

UGC is one of the most effective ways to generate new Entity IDs consistently because each creator introduces a unique combination of:

• Face
• Voice
• Energy
• Environment
• Lighting
• Editing style
• Story structure
• Background composition

These differences matter to Meta’s system.

They help prevent creative similarity and expand your audience reach.

UGC also supports persona-driven creative, including:

• Demographic variation
• Region or accent variation
• Editing style variation
• Tone of delivery variation

Brands relying only on branded studio content will struggle.

Brands that build wide pipelines and effective partnerships to source UGC will scale efficiently.

How to Build a Creative Strategy That Works Under Entity ID and Similarity Rules

Step 1: Audit Your Creative Library

Look for repeated patterns:

• Same room or location
• Same angle
• Same subject
• Same editing
• Same format
• Same narrative structure

Similarity kills learning.

Step 2: Group Creatives by Themes

Use a theme-based approach:

• Problem solution
• Testimonial
• Before and after
• Lifestyle
• Feature comparison
• Offer focused
• Humor
• POV

You should have several themes live at all times.

Step 3: Build With Visual Variety in Mind

Your content should vary across:

• Creators
• Backgrounds
• Lighting
• Camera movement
• Composition
• Editing techniques
• Aesthetic and pace
• Narrative tone

This is how you force new Entity IDs.

Step 4: Use UGC as a Diversity Engine

Plan for:

• Multiple creators each month
• Multiple environments
• Multiple filming styles
• Multiple types of scripts
• Selfie style
• Demonstration style
• Third-person filming
• Day in the life style

More creators equals more audience paths.

More filming styles equals more unique Entity IDs.

Step 5: Refresh Based on Fatigue and Similarity

Track:

• Creative Fatigue
• Creative Similarity Score
• Theme performance
• Creator level results
• Editing style performance

Use Facebook ad reporting tools such as DataAlly to make this process much easier.

Why Meta Is Preparing for an AI-Driven Creative Future

All signs indicate Meta is preparing for:

• AI-generated creatives
• AI remixed videos
• Auto-generated variations
• Automated creative expansion
• Machine-driven theme diversity
• Algorithm-generated UGC
• Automated audience creative matching

Entity IDs and similarity scoring provide the infrastructure for this future.

Brands with rigid or overly strict brand guidelines will fall behind.

Brands with flexible content pipelines and strong UGC systems will thrive.

Creative Diversity Is Now the Most Important Lever in Meta Advertising

The Meta Andromeda update is a major shift in how ads are scored, delivered, and scaled.

With Entity IDs, Creative Similarity Scoring, and Creative Themes, Meta is signaling a clear message:

Show the algorithm something truly new, or your ads will not scale.

Your advantage now comes from:

• Diverse UGC
• Distinct visual compositions
• Multi-persona creative
• Theme variation
• Fatigue-aware creative refreshes
• Smart creative tracking with DataAlly

The brands that turn creative production into a repeatable system will dominate in 2026.

About the Author

Colby Flood Founder at Brighter Click

Colby is the founder of Brighter Click, a digital marketing agency specializing in paid media buying and UGC management.
 

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