Meta's Andromeda Algorithm: The Biggest Facebook Advertising Change Since iOS 14.5

Updated January 2026: It's been six months since Meta's Andromeda algorithm update hit New Zealand advertisers. What started as chaos in July 2025 has now become the new normal - and the gap between businesses that adapted and those that didn't has never been wider.

If you're still struggling with Facebook ad performance, or if you adapted early and want to refine your approach, this updated guide covers everything we've learned managing campaigns through this transition.

Quick Context: What Happened in 2025

Meta announced the Andromeda algorithm update on April 22nd, 2025. By July, it had rolled out globally and caught almost every advertiser off guard. CPMs skyrocketed. Cost per result went through the roof. Strategies that worked for years suddenly stopped delivering.

Andromeda replaced Meta's entire creative recommendation system - the algorithm that decides which ads get shown to which people. It was designed to handle the flood of AI-generated content (Meta reported 10,000x more ad creatives once generative AI tools became popular) by rewarding genuine creative diversity over volume.

Six Months Later: What We've Learned

After managing dozens of campaigns through this transition, here's what we now know works - and what definitely doesn't.

The Winners: What Separated Successful Campaigns

1. Creative diversity over creative volume

Businesses that created 15-20 genuinely different ads (different messages, different angles, different customer motivations) consistently outperformed those churning out 50+ variations of the same message.

2. Customer motivation mapping

The best-performing accounts built their creative strategy around understanding _why_ different customers buy - then created dedicated ads for each motivation.

3. Patience with the learning phase

Andromeda needs time to match your diverse creatives with the right audience segments. Accounts that let campaigns run 14+ days before making changes saw 40-60% better performance than those constantly tweaking.

4. Embracing uneven distribution

Under Andromeda, you won't see one "winner" creative anymore. Budget distributes more evenly across ads. This feels wrong but actually indicates the algorithm is working correctly.

The Losers: Mistakes That Kept Hurting Performance

1. Panic rebuilds

Businesses that completely rebuilt their ad accounts in July/August 2025 often made things worse. Most accounts just needed creative strategy changes, not structural overhauls.

2. AI-generated creative spam

Ironically, Andromeda was built specifically to penalise the flood of generic AI-generated ads. Businesses relying heavily on AI creative tools without human strategy oversight saw the worst performance drops.

3. Ignoring the data

Andromeda provides clearer signals about which messages resonate with which audiences. Businesses that ignored these insights and kept pushing their "preferred" messaging struggled.

Current Best Practices (January 2026)

Creative Strategy Framework

Minimum viable diversity: 15 unique ads per campaign, each addressing a different customer motivation or situation.

Message categories to cover:

• Problem-aware ("Struggling with X?")
• Solution-aware ("There's a better way to Y")
• Product-aware ("Why our Z is different")
• Social proof ("Join 500+ NZ businesses who...")
• Urgency/scarcity ("Limited availability...")
• Value proposition ("Get X without Y")
• Objection handling ("Worried about Z? Here's why...")

Creative formats to mix:

• Static images with different visual styles
• Short-form video (under 15 seconds)
• Carousel ads telling a story
• User-generated content style
• Before/after demonstrations

Campaign Structure That Works

Advantage+ campaigns have become more effective under Andromeda than manual campaigns for most objectives. The algorithm's ability to match diverse creatives with micro-audiences works better when given more control.

Broad targeting now outperforms narrow targeting for most businesses. Andromeda's audience matching is sophisticated enough that restricting it often hurts performance.

Longer learning phases are essential. We now recommend 14-21 days before making significant changes, compared to the 7-day windows that worked pre-Andromeda.

Budget Considerations

Minimum effective spend has increased. Campaigns under $50/day often don't generate enough data for Andromeda to optimise effectively. We're seeing the sweet spot for small NZ businesses at $75-150/day.

Creative investment matters more than media spend increases. A $100/day campaign with excellent creative diversity will outperform a $200/day campaign with generic ads.

Industry-Specific Updates

E-commerce (Updated)

Catalog ads and Advantage+ Shopping campaigns have improved significantly since July 2025. Meta's continued refinements favour e-commerce advertisers who:

• Use high-quality product photography
• Have complete product feed data
• Implement the Conversions API properly
• Create lifestyle content alongside product shots

Current benchmarks (NZ e-commerce, Jan 2026):

• Average ROAS: 3.2x (up from 2.1x in Aug 2025)
• Average CPM: $18-25 (down from $30-40 in Aug 2025)
• Average CPC: $0.80-1.20

Service Businesses (Updated)

Lead generation campaigns have stabilised after a rough Q3 2025. What's working now:

• Lead forms with qualifying questions (higher quality, lower volume)
• Instant Forms with conditional logic
• Website conversion campaigns with thank-you page tracking
• Retargeting sequences for nurturing

Current benchmarks (NZ service businesses, Jan 2026):

• Average cost per lead: $15-35 (down from $40-60 in Aug 2025)
• Lead quality scores: Improved 25-40% with proper creative diversity

B2B (Updated)

B2B campaigns took longest to recover, but January 2026 performance is now exceeding pre-Andromeda levels for accounts that adapted properly:

• Decision-maker specific messaging is essential
• Longer sales cycles mean retargeting is more important than ever
• LinkedIn integration for B2B audiences has improved

What's Coming Next

Based on Meta's public statements and our observations:

More AI creative tools - Meta is investing heavily in AI tools that work _with_ Andromeda rather than against it. Expect better automated creative variations that maintain genuine diversity.

Tighter integration with shops - Commerce features will become more central to the advertising experience.

Continued broad targeting push - Manual audience targeting options will likely continue to be deprecated in favour of algorithm-driven matching.

The Bottom Line for 2026

Andromeda isn't going anywhere. The businesses that adapted in late 2025 are now seeing better results than they had before the update. The businesses that didn't adapt are still struggling - and the gap is widening.

If your Facebook ads still aren't performing:

• Audit your creative diversity (do you have 15+ genuinely different messages?)
• Check your campaign structure (are you fighting the algorithm or working with it?)
• Review your patience levels (are you giving campaigns enough time to learn?)

Need help adapting your Facebook advertising strategy to Andromeda? Get in touch for a campaign audit. We've helped dozens of NZ businesses navigate this transition successfully.