Meta Ads Updates: Calendly Integration in Lead Ads, New Video Metrics, and Meta AI Recommendations

Meta continues to enhance its advertising platform by introducing new tools for automation, analytics, and campaign optimization. Some of these updates have already started rolling out to advertising accounts, while others are being released gradually.

We’ve rounded up the most important changes that advertisers should keep in mind when working with Meta Ads.

Calendly and HighLevel Integration in Lead Ads

One of the most valuable updates is related to Lead Ads.

Users can now schedule a meeting or consultation immediately after submitting a lead form, without leaving the Meta ecosystem. To make this possible, Meta has integrated popular scheduling platforms directly into lead forms, including:

• Calendly;
• HighLevel.

Meta has also announced that HubSpot integration is expected to become available soon.

Why This Matters

Previously, after submitting a lead form, a potential customer would only see a confirmation message. The sales team then had to contact the lead manually, often resulting in delays and lost opportunities.

Now users can instantly:

• choose a convenient date and time;
• book a consultation;
• move to the next stage of the customer journey without waiting for a follow-up call.

This feature is particularly useful for:

• agencies;
• B2B companies;
• educational businesses;
• healthcare providers;
• consulting firms;
• any business where the sales process begins with a meeting or consultation.

New Video Metric — 6-Second Video Plays

Meta continues to improve the way advertisers measure video performance.

A new metric is now available in Ads Manager:

6-second video plays

This metric measures:

• the number of video views lasting at least six seconds;
• or a complete view if the video is shorter than six seconds.

Alongside it, advertisers can also add another metric:

Cost per 6-second video play

which shows the cost of each qualified six-second view.

Why It Matters

Previously, marketers mainly relied on:

• ThruPlay;
• 3-second plays;
• average watch time.

However, a three-second view doesn’t always indicate genuine user engagement.

A six-second view provides a much stronger signal that a user is actually paying attention to your content.

This metric is especially valuable when evaluating:

• video creatives;
• Reels;
• reach campaigns;
• brand awareness campaigns.

Review Defaults — Check Advantage+ Before Publishing

Meta continues expanding the capabilities of Advantage+.

A new button called:

Review defaults

It allows advertisers to see exactly which Advantage+ enhancements will be automatically applied to a specific ad.

These may include:

• automatic image resizing;
• text enhancements;
• aspect ratio adjustments;
• creative optimizations;
• other AI-powered improvements.

Why You Should Use It

Many advertisers don’t realize that Meta automatically modifies certain elements of their ads.

Before publishing a campaign, it’s worth opening Review defaults to review all the automatic enhancements that will be applied.

This helps prevent situations where the final ad looks different from what was originally intended.

Meta AI Explains Budget Recommendations

Another notable update focuses on campaign budgets.

When editing a campaign budget, some advertisers now see a new option:

See full analysis

After clicking it, Meta AI provides a detailed explanation of why it recommends a specific budget.

For example, the system may indicate that your campaign is:

Budget-constrained

This means the campaign could potentially generate better results, but its performance is limited by the current budget.

Meta AI also explains:

• which signals were taken into account;
• why increasing the budget is recommended;
• how the change may impact campaign performance.

These insights can be particularly valuable for marketers who regularly scale advertising campaigns.

Advantage+ Becomes the Default Recommendation

Meta continues encouraging advertisers to use automated campaign settings.

For newly created campaigns with the following objectives:

• Traffic;
• Awareness;
• Engagement

Meta now automatically recommends using an Advantage+ campaign setup.

Ads Manager also displays the highest possible optimization score — Score 100.

This indicates that the campaign fully aligns with Meta’s recommended best practices.

At the same time, manual campaign settings remain available.

Advertisers can still manually control:

• audiences;
• placements;
• bidding;
• optimization settings.

However, doing so now requires intentionally opting out of Meta’s recommended Advantage+ configuration.

Summary

Meta continues investing heavily in automation and artificial intelligence. These new features help advertisers manage leads more efficiently, gain deeper insights into video performance, and better understand the platform’s optimization recommendations.

As always, these updates are being rolled out gradually. If you don’t yet see these features in your advertising account, there’s no need to worry—Meta traditionally releases new functionality in phases.

The Billing Media team continues to monitor every important Meta Ads update and share the latest changes that help businesses achieve better results with digital advertising.