## Overview

The **Ads Manager** integrates the platform with the **Meta Marketing API**, focused on
**Messaging conversations** campaigns: the ad takes the customer straight into a conversation on
**WhatsApp**, **Messenger** and/or **Instagram**, depending on the destinations you pick. In
WhatsApp conversations, the conversation becomes a **lead attributed to the ad**, the sale goes
back to Meta as a **conversion**, and performance shows up in native metrics.

It completes the two existing ads modules:

- **Ad leads (CTWA)** — capture and attribution of everyone arriving through an ad;
- **Conversion tracking** — sending conversion events back to Meta (CAPI).

With the Ads Manager, the ad account (`act_<id>`) is **connected to a WhatsApp inbox** and the
platform keeps a **read-only mirror** of your campaigns, ad sets, ads and creatives, synced
periodically.

## Prerequisites

- The **Ads Manager** module enabled on the account (it ships **disabled by default** and is
  turned on by the installation operator).
- A **Meta ad account** (`act_<id>`) with management permission.
- A **Facebook Page** and a **WhatsApp Cloud number** linked to the ad account.
- An **access token** carrying the Meta ads scopes (`ads_management`, `ads_read`,
  `business_management`, `pages_show_list`, `whatsapp_business_management`).
- An **administrator** profile on the account.

## Step by step

1. Enable the module on the account (operator) and confirm the target WhatsApp inbox is active.
2. **Connect the ad account** (automatic flow): pick the WhatsApp Cloud inbox and the platform
   **reuses the inbox's own token** to auto-list the reachable ad accounts — you just pick one (you
   never type the `act_<id>`). If that token has no ads scope, paste a Business Manager **system
   user** token and the list loads the same way. Each ad account connects to **one** inbox (1:1
   relationship).
3. The connection starts as **pending** and flips to **connected** once the token is validated
   with Meta.
4. From then on the platform **periodically syncs** the mirror of campaigns, ad sets, ads and
   creatives for the account (default interval of 60 minutes, adjustable per connection), and you
   can force an update with the connection's **Refresh** action.
5. Follow the leads and conversions generated by your ads in the **Ad leads** and **Conversion
   tracking** modules — the ad attribution shows up on the conversation itself.

## Settings & options

- **Token type**: `system user` (recommended — never expires) or `user` (automatically renewed
  before expiry by a maintenance job).
- **Sync interval**: minutes between reads of the ads structure (default 60).
- **Connection status**: `pending`, `connected`, `error` or `revoked` — the last error is stored
  on the connection for diagnosis.
- **Masked token**: for security the token is never displayed after saving; the UI shows only the
  last 4 characters.

## Use cases

- **Single conversation-ads hub**: follow messaging-conversation campaigns (WhatsApp, Messenger
  and Instagram) and the conversations they generate in the same place your team answers.
- **End-to-end attribution**: know which ad started each conversation/lead and send the
  conversion back to Meta to optimize delivery.
- **Cost per conversation**: measure ad performance by what matters — conversations and sales,
  not clicks.

## Tips, limits & best practices

- Prefer a Business Manager **system user token**: it never expires and survives user password
  changes.
- An inbox accepts **one** connected ad account (and vice versa within the account).
- The Ads Manager covers the full loop inside the inbox: **account connection**, the **mirror** of
  campaigns/ad sets/ads, **creating** and **activating/pausing** messaging-conversation campaigns,
  **budget adjustment**, **audiences**, the **72h free-window** tracking and the **metric
  dashboards** (spend, conversations, ROAS).
- The CTWA free **72h** entry-point window counts from the ad click — prioritize replying inside
  it.

## Troubleshooting

- **Connection in `error`**: the token was rejected by Meta (expired, password changed,
  permission removed). Generate a new token and reconnect; the reason is stored in the last-error
  field.
- **Connection `revoked`**: access was revoked in Business Manager — reconnect with a valid
  token.
- **Empty mirror**: confirm the connection is `connected` and wait for the next sync cycle (or
  use **Refresh**).
- **Permission denied while connecting**: check the token carries all the ads scopes listed in
  the prerequisites.

## Official Meta docs

- [System users — generate Marketing API access tokens](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/marketing-api/system-users)
- [Marketing API authorization and scopes (`ads_management`, `ads_read`)](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/marketing-api/overview/authorization)

## See also

- [Create a messaging-conversation or lead-form campaign in the Ads Manager](/hc/ajuda/articles/growth-marketing-ads-manager-create-campaign-en)
- [The 72h window and metric dashboards in the Ads Manager](/hc/ajuda/articles/growth-marketing-ads-manager-window-insights-en)
- [Automation and Flow Builder with ad actions](/hc/ajuda/articles/growth-marketing-ads-manager-automation-en)
- [Ad leads (CTWA): capture and attribution of ad-sourced leads](/hc/ajuda/articles/growth-marketing-ads-ctwa-leadgen-en)
- [Conversion tracking: conversion events back to Meta (CAPI)](/hc/ajuda/articles/growth-marketing-ads-conversion-tracking-en)
- [WhatsApp Cloud inbox: connecting the official number](/hc/ajuda/articles/inboxes-channels-whatsapp-cloud-embedded-signup-en)