TikTok doubles down on AI ads with Smart+
TikTok’s Smart+ ad tool is gaining new features as the platform moves toward search integration and less advertiser control
While TikTok’s fate in the U.S. remains a political football, the platform’s ad tech is anything but stagnant.
The entertainment giant is rolling out significant updates to Smart+, its AI-powered campaign tool, just eight months after launch.
This article explores TikTok’s latest Smart+ upgrades—from goal-based bidding and advanced targeting to mandatory search ad bundling—and what they signal for marketers navigating automation, scale, and loss of control.
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Atikah Amalia
What's new in TikTok Smart+
TikTok has started rolling out major updates to Smart+, the AI-campaign tool introduced late last year. A Cannes Lions attendee confirmed the roadmap includes more advertiser control before Smart+ automation kicks in. The latest addition? A goal-based bidding option called Smart+ target ROAS (tROAS), launched June 23.
According to Olivia Picard, Director of Paid Social at Dept, the tool “offers additional input from the advertiser and more control over bidding, with the intention of driving greater performance and scalability.”
Targeting features are also being retooled. TikTok is introducing:
- Demographic updates
- Device-level targeting
- Advanced behavioral targeting
Another beta feature, the audience suggestion tool, is in limited release via account reps. It allows brands to provide audience criteria like age and gender, which Smart+ uses to prioritize campaign delivery.
The platform is also testing offline event tracking to help brands link Smart+ campaign activity to in-store or offline conversions—a clear move to strengthen attribution across channels.
Patrecia Meliana
Smart+ follows Meta and Google's AI lead
TikTok’s Smart+ strategy mirrors what’s happening at Meta and Google. Advertisers can choose between:
- Hands-off automation, where Smart+ manages everything after goals are set, or
- Modular control, where brands pick which elements—like bidding or targeting—to automate.
Chris Matheson, Media Director at Markacy, noted: “Meta’s Advantage+, Google’s Performance Max, TikTok’s Smart+ — all these platforms are moving towards this AI-based approach, with very minimal upfront audience tailoring.”
Creative, not just inputs, now plays a starring role. Matheson added that understanding how algorithms steer campaign outcomes post-launch is “something that should be monitored and corrected primarily through the use of creative.”
What marketers should know
TikTok’s Smart+ evolution offers new capabilities, but also signals a major philosophical shift in how ads get served. Here’s what marketers should watch:
1. Expect less control, more automation
Smart+ will soon bundle search inventory by default, removing the option to opt out—similar to how Google Performance Max treats placements. While it boosts TikTok’s ad inventory usage, it restricts advertiser control.
2. Back-end analysis will be key
As automation takes over the front-end setup, marketers will need to double down on back-end insights—monitoring how AI tools perform, where they optimize, and how creative is influencing outcomes.
3. Creative becomes the control lever
With audience controls shrinking, your creative becomes the primary way to “steer” campaigns. Think modular assets, strong hooks, and platform-native styles that maximize algorithmic engagement.
4. Platform risk still looms
Even as TikTok deepens its ad capabilities, its U.S. future remains uncertain. The next deadline is September 17, when the latest 90-day ban extension expires. Brands should balance TikTok scale with backup platforms like Reels or Shorts.
TikTok’s latest Smart+ updates aim to simplify campaign execution—but at the cost of granular control.
Marketers who embrace this shift must do so with eyes wide open: creative strategy, data analysis, and cross-platform planning are no longer optional. They’re survival tactics.
