# Create a new preview Source: https://www.ppcadeditor.com/knowledge-base/studio/create-a-preview/ Last verified: 2026-11-02 To create a preview, open a dashboard and click New Preview. It walks you through three steps: where you advertise, the format, and how you want to start. For a faster start, use Quick build next to it, a menu where you pick a channel, a format, and a start in three clicks. ## How do I make a new ad preview, step by step? 1. Open a dashboard and click New Preview. 2. Under Where do you want to advertise?, pick a channel card. The cards are grouped: - Search & AI Answers: Google Ads, ChatGPT Ads, and Microsoft Ads. - Social feeds: Facebook / Instagram, LinkedIn, X Ads, and Reddit Ads. - Video & display: YouTube and Programmatic. - Multi-Channel sits apart at the bottom, because it builds previews for several channels at once. A card marked Coming soon is shown but cannot be picked. Click Continue with, which names the channel you picked. 3. Under Pick a format, choose one, for example Responsive Search Ad, then click Next, which names the format you picked. YouTube, Multi-Channel, Programmatic, ChatGPT Ads, X Ads, Reddit Ads, and Microsoft Ads have one format, so they skip this step. 4. Under Name your preview, the name is filled in from your choices, such as Google Ads followed by Draft, and marked auto. Type over it if you like, up to 100 characters. 5. Under How do you want to start?, pick one. Which cards you see depends on the channel. - Draft with AI, marked Recommended. It drafts headlines, descriptions, and sample visuals for image ads from your site or a few notes. - Start from scratch, marked Fastest. A blank ad, pre-filled with a realistic example. - Import from Google Ads. Pull a live campaign straight from your Google Ads account. - Import from file. Drop CSVs, zips, briefs, or images, and each file is fitted into the format. - Import from Meta Ads, on Facebook / Instagram only. Download live campaigns into the Meta preview. 6. Click the button at the bottom right. It reads Continue to AI draft, Create preview, Connect & import, or Import files, depending on your pick. While it works you see Creating your preview, opening the editor, and the editor opens with the new preview. Back returns to the step before. Cancel or the close button closes New Preview. If you changed something, it asks before it discards your choices, with Discard Changes. Clicked New Preview twice? You still get one preview. After you click the last step, the New Preview button reads Creating preview… and stays busy until your new preview opens, so a second click does not make two previews. If you start another New Preview during that short pause, the format you picked second is the one that opens, and only one preview is created. If a new preview opened in a different format than you expected, check whether you picked a second format before the first one opened. ## Which start options does each channel have? - Google Ads: Draft with AI, Start from scratch, Import from Google Ads, and Import from file. On Demand Gen the two imports are greyed out. - Facebook / Instagram: Draft with AI, Start from scratch, and Import from Meta Ads. Import from file is shown greyed out. - Microsoft Ads: Draft with AI and Start from scratch. - LinkedIn and YouTube: Draft with AI and Start from scratch. Import from Google Ads and Import from file are shown greyed out. - Multi-Channel and Programmatic: Start from scratch. Draft with AI and the imports are shown greyed out. - ChatGPT Ads, X Ads, and Reddit Ads: Start from scratch only. If Draft with AI is missing everywhere, AI copy is turned off for you or your workspace. ## How do I create a Meta (Facebook or Instagram) ad? 1. On a dashboard, click New Preview. 2. Pick Facebook / Instagram and click Continue with Facebook / Instagram. 3. Pick a format. Single Image / Video is the classic feed ad, marked Recommended. Carousel has swipeable cards with one link each. Story / Reels is full-screen vertical. 4. Click Next, then name the preview. 5. Pick Draft with AI, Start from scratch, or Import from Meta Ads, then click Continue to AI draft, Create preview, or Connect & import. See Import from Meta Ads for the download steps. On the current Free plan, Single Image / Video, Carousel, and Story / Reels are all open. On an earlier Free plan, Carousel and Story / Reels show Studio. You can also start a Meta ad from Quick build, under Facebook / IG. ## Why can't I pick TikTok, Google Shopping, or Amazon Ads? TikTok is not in the app, and neither are Google Shopping or Amazon Ads. New Preview lists them as Coming soon cards that cannot be picked, and we cannot give a date. Every channel you can build is a card you can click. ## Which formats can I create on the Free tier? On the current Free plan, every channel and format is open, including Multi-Channel, Programmatic, ChatGPT Ads, X Ads, Reddit Ads, and Microsoft Ads, so you will not see a Studio badge. What Free limits is how many previews you have. The current Free plan includes 3 previews in total. Duplicating a preview counts as a new one. Some older Free accounts are on an earlier Free plan, which includes Responsive Search Ad, Responsive Display Ad, Meta Single Image / Video, and YouTube. On those accounts other formats and channels show a Studio badge. Clicking one opens a window that says it is available with Studio and that Free includes RSA, RDA, Meta Single, and YouTube. Duplicating a preview in a Studio format on those accounts asks you to upgrade too. ## My free previews are full. What happens at the Free preview limit? When your Free previews are full, clicking New Preview or Quick build opens a window that says Your free previews are full, with a count such as 3 of 3 free previews used and a list of your current previews. From there you can upgrade to Studio, click Delete an old preview instead, or click Not now. Delete an old preview instead takes you to the dashboard with a reminder that trashing a preview frees a slot. A trashed preview's share link stops working. Studio is $149/mo and has no preview limit. ## Can I use Draft with AI on a Multi-Channel preview? No. Draft with AI is not available for Multi-Channel. When you pick Multi-Channel, the Draft with AI card is greyed out, Start from scratch is selected, and the button reads Create preview. That opens Select Ad Formats, where you choose formats across Google, Meta, and LinkedIn. Next, Enter Ad Content lets you fill in copy grouped by channel, or skip it and fill it in the editor later. Then Name Your Previews sets a base name, and each preview gets its format added to the name. Each format becomes its own preview, and on Free each one counts toward your preview limit. Once the previews exist, open one and use Suggest copy beside its headlines and descriptions. See Multi-channel previews. ## Why is Draft with AI or an import greyed out? - Draft with AI is greyed out on Multi-Channel and Programmatic. Those start from scratch. - Import from Google Ads and Import from file work on Google Ads formats only. On Demand Gen they are greyed out too. - ChatGPT Ads, X Ads, and Reddit Ads show Start from scratch only. Microsoft Ads has no import cards. - If Draft with AI is missing, AI copy is turned off for you or your workspace. ## Why does my new ChatGPT, X or Reddit ad already have text in it? That is example copy, so the ad does not open as an empty card. When you pick Start from scratch for a ChatGPT, X or Reddit ad in New Preview, the editor opens with a short example written from the dashboard's name. A ChatGPT ad gets a title and a description. An X or Reddit ad gets the post text. Each line already fits the field's limit. Type over it, or delete it, the same as any other line. This happens on every plan. The web address is left empty for you to fill in, and no picture is added. Start from scratch on other formats is unchanged. Programmatic still opens empty. ## What happens when I pick Programmatic? Programmatic starts from scratch. Draft with AI is greyed out, the button reads Create preview, and the programmatic editor opens empty. On the current Free plan Programmatic is open. On an earlier Free plan it shows Studio. See Programmatic ads for the rest. ## Can I start a new preview from inside the editor? Yes. Click + New next to the preview name at the top of the editor, or press N when you are not typing in a field. The preview switcher menu also has New preview. Each opens the same New Preview steps for that dashboard. ## How do I duplicate a preview? On the dashboard's Previews list, click the Duplicate icon on the preview's row, or open the row's menu and click Duplicate. The copy lands in the same dashboard, named after the original with (Copy) at the end, and Preview duplicated successfully appears. On Free, the copy counts toward your preview limit. If your role can only view and comment, Duplicate is not offered. ## Why can't I see New Preview? If your role in the workspace can only view and comment, New Preview and Quick build do not show. If you reach New Preview another way, a message says Your role cannot create a new preview. Ask an editor or owner to create one, then open it from the dashboard. ## What does Start from scratch put in the ad? A blank ad, pre-filled with a realistic example, so the preview looks real straight away. Replace the example copy with your own. On a search ad, Preview settings can show placeholder extensions until your client's assets arrive. See Show or hide extensions in the preview. ## Does importing change my Google Ads or Meta account? No. Import from Google Ads downloads a campaign into a preview. The Free plan can import from one linked Google Ads account, and Studio can link as many as you need. It does not send edits back to Google Ads. Import from Meta Ads reads your Meta ad account the same way and does not change anything in Meta. See Download a Google Ads account into a preview and Import from Meta Ads.