But here's the frustrating reality: even with these optimized setups, many ads struggle to get moving and fail to even pass the cold-start phase. This isn't just a streak of bad luck. It's because the rules of the game have changed: Meta has fundamentally rewritten the rules of ad delivery, quietly shifting its focus from manual campaign adjustments to the actual content of your ad.
01 From Matching to Mind Reading
For a long time, Meta's algorithm acted like a matchmaker. It paired users with contents based on tags (e.g., "likes SLG games"). This was the era of the "Dual-Tower Model."
With the introduction of HSNN (Hierarchical Sequential Neural Network), the algorithm has evolved into a mind reader. It no longer just looks at who the user is, it understands the emotional trigger of the creative itself in the first few seconds.
Your creative is not just an asset; it is now the targeting.
Source：《Hierarchical Structured Neural Network: Efficient Retrieval Scaling for Large Scale Recommendation》
02 The Fate of Minor Adjustment
Under this new logic, surface-level adjustments, like changing a background color or a character, no longer move the needle. Meta now looks past visual tweaks to prioritize narrative structure and emotional arcs.
This means your ad's potential is largely determined before it even goes live. Furthermore, "clickbait" has become a liability; if content leads to a poor user experience, it can negatively impact the distribution weight of your entire account.
03 How to Win: Replicate Strategy, Not Assets
To win this era, you must stop simply producing creatives and start decoding the strategic formula.
Using AppGrowing's AI Analysis, we easily analyzed the global hit like Gossip Harbor. It's success isn't just luck, it follows a specific formula: extreme environment + vulnerable group + interactive repair.
Source：AppGrowing
Source：AppGrowing
04. Conclusion
When algorithms determine who gets seen, the real competition has long shifted from the volume of creatives to the ability to truly understand content.
In an era where creative is targeting, only by applying AI at the strategic thinking layer—rather than merely at the execution layer—can brands stay ahead of the next algorithmic upgrade and unlock a truly sustainable path to growth.
