TikTok is expanding the capabilities of its AI-powered advertising tool, Smart+, aiming to provide marketers with greater control over bidding, targeting, and creative elements. The company outlined plans to enhance the platform’s functionality during the Cannes Lions festival.
Introduced eight months ago, Smart+ recently added a goal-based bidding feature, Smart+ target ROAS (tROAS), designed to improve performance and scalability by incorporating more inputs from advertisers. Updates to targeting include refined demographics, device-level targeting, and advanced behavioral and interest-based audience options.
A beta audience suggestion tool is also in development, offering automatic identification and prioritization of target audiences based on advertiser-submitted criteria such as age, gender, and custom segments. Additionally, TikTok is preparing to launch offline event tracking for Smart+ web and catalog campaigns, allowing marketers to better assess TikTok’s influence on offline sales.
These enhancements align TikTok’s Smart+ with similar AI-driven campaign tools from competitors like Meta’s Advantage+ and Google’s Performance Max, offering advertisers either an automated solution or a more customizable approach to campaign management. Experts emphasize the importance of ongoing analysis and creative optimization to effectively leverage the platform’s AI algorithms.
Furthermore, TikTok plans to integrate search inventory fully into Smart+ campaigns, removing the current opt-out option to streamline campaign management, similar to Google’s process. While this move supports wider adoption of search ads on TikTok, it also limits advertisers’ direct control over placement choices.
This expansion of Smart+ arrives amid ongoing uncertainty regarding TikTok’s status in the U.S., with a current ban extension deadline set for September 17. Despite regulatory challenges, TikTok continues to deepen its presence and influence within the U.S. advertising market.