Import from Meta Ads: download live Meta campaigns into a preview
Import from Meta Ads pulls your live Facebook and Instagram ads in. It downloads the ads from your live Meta campaigns into a Meta preview, so you can show a client what is running without rebuilding it. It reads your Meta ad account. It does not change, pause or publish anything in Meta. Import from Meta Ads is not open to every workspace yet. If it is not on for yours, sign-in stops with Meta ads is not enabled for this account.
Pull your Facebook and Instagram ads in, step by step
- On a client dashboard, click New Preview.
- Under Where do you want to advertise?, pick Facebook / Instagram and click Continue with Facebook / Instagram.
- Pick the format, single image or video, carousel, or story or reel, and click the Next button.
- Under How do you want to start?, pick Import from Meta Ads, Download live campaigns into this Meta preview. Click Connect & import.
- The Import from Meta Ads window opens. The first time, click Sign in with Meta and sign in with the Facebook login that can see your ad account. You come back to the same dashboard.
- Under Ad account, pick the account from Choose an account.
- Tick the campaigns to download. A campaign list that says No campaigns in this account has nothing to bring in.
- Click Download. A progress bar shows how far the download is. When it finishes, the preview opens.
In Quick build, Import from Meta Ads, Download live campaigns, opens the same window.
What comes in
- Each ad set becomes an ad group named after the ad set, with its ads inside.
- Ads keep the text options set in Ads Manager, such as the primary text and headline.
- Images come in at full size, not as small thumbnails.
- Single image or video ads, carousels and stories or reels each get their own preview, because a preview holds one format. When a download finds more than one kind, the previews are put in a group named after the download, and the format tabs show how many ads each one has.
- Carousel ads come in with their cards.
Why does it say Meta ads is not enabled for this account?
Import from Meta Ads is turned on workspace by workspace. When it is not on for yours, the card still shows in New Preview, but clicking Sign in with Meta or Download says Meta ads is not enabled for this account. Build the Meta preview from scratch instead, or contact support to ask about it.
Other messages
- Could not list Meta ad accounts or Could not list Meta campaigns. The Meta sign-in could not read that account. Close the window and try again, or sign in with a login that has access to the ad account.
- Could not download this Meta campaign. The download stopped. Open Import from Meta Ads again and pick the campaign again.
Which plan
Import from Meta Ads works on the Free tier and on Studio, where it is on for the workspace. A download makes previews, so the Free tier's preview and format limits apply to it.
What it does not do
Meta previews stay previews. A downloaded preview cannot be sent back to Meta, and Meta ads do not download as files Meta imports.