The sample ad: try the editor without using a Free preview
Does the sample ad use one of my Free previews? No. Show me a sample on the first-ad screen opens a filled-in sample ad for a sample coffee shop, marked as a sample, so you can look around before you add your own business. It does not use one of your Free previews, and it does not take a dashboard slot. The sample is never counted as your client either.
The sample is offered on the Free tier and during a trial. On a paid plan such as Studio, the first-ad screen does not offer Show me a sample. You build a real ad straight away, or click Skip for now to open your dashboard first.
How do I turn the sample into my own ad? What does Make this a real ad do?
Click Make this a real ad. It shows up whenever the sample refuses something, for example when you try to share it or add an ad or a campaign to it. It copies the sample preview into a new dashboard of your own, with its campaigns, ad groups, ads, copy and images, and opens the copy in the editor. While it works you see Making a real copy of your ad…, then Your real ad is ready. The sample itself stays as it was.
The copy is a real preview, so it counts toward your plan's limits like any other. If you are at your limit, the upgrade window opens instead. If the copy fails, you see Couldn't make a real copy and can try again.
How do I open the sample ad?
- On the first-ad screen, leave Business name and Website empty.
- Click Show me a sample, under the main build button. Hover it and it says Open a sample ad. It does not use a preview slot.
- The button says Opening sample… while the sample is built, then the sample opens.
If you have typed a name or a website, the same button reads Look around first and builds your own ad instead. If the website you typed is not a public address, Show me a sample asks you to clear the website or enter a public site such as yourbrand.com.
Can I share the sample ad?
No. A sample cannot be shared. Open Share on the sample and the window says Samples can't be shared. Build your own ad to share it., with a Make this a real ad button. Click Copy client link on the sample and you get the same message as a note, with Make this a real ad beside it, instead of Couldn't copy the link. No link is made for the sample. Click Make this a real ad, then share the copy it opens. See Share a preview with your client.
Does the sample count as my Free client?
No. The sample coffee shop, Juniper Coffee Co., stays in your dashboards list, labeled as a sample, so you can open it any time. It does not fill your Free client, it is never picked as your default workspace, and it cannot be made your active client. If you try, you see A sample workspace can't be the active client. Your first real dashboard is the one that counts.
Can I add my own ad to the sample dashboard?
No. Samples stay as samples. If you try to add an ad or a campaign to the sample, duplicate an ad in it, or put your own business into it, you see one note that says Build your own ad in a new dashboard. Samples stay as samples. Nothing is added and nothing went wrong, so there is no error to report. Click Make this a real ad on that note to copy the sample into your own dashboard, or build your ad from the first-ad screen or New Preview instead.
Why did I get several error messages when I added an ad to the sample? Before 26 October 2026, a refused add or duplicate on a sample dashboard could show the same refusal more than once. It now shows that one note.
If you copy the sample preview, or start a new preview in the sample dashboard, the copy goes into a new dashboard of its own, named after the preview, and that dashboard is a real one. It counts toward your dashboard limit like any other. If you are at your limit, the upgrade window opens instead.
As of 22 October 2026, the editor checks the format and your plan's limits before it opens that new dashboard. If you pick a format your plan cannot create, the upgrade window opens and no dashboard is made, so your Free client is not used up. If the new preview fails for any other reason, the dashboard it opened is removed again and the slot is yours.
Why didn't Build another ad open a sample?
When you come back to the first-ad screen from Build another ad or Start from my website, the button next to Build reads Back to dashboard. It takes you back to your dashboard and creates nothing, not even a sample. To make another ad there, type the name and click Build.
My Free previews are full. Can I still open the sample?
If all of your Free previews are in use, Show me a sample opens the upgrade window instead of a sample. Move a preview you no longer need to the trash to free its slot, or upgrade to Studio for unlimited previews. See PPC Ad Editor on the Studio plan.
Is this the same as the demo at /demo?
No. The demo at /demo needs no account and is not saved anywhere. The sample ad is built inside your own account, marked as a sample. See The demo editor.