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Creative diversity

  • Also called Creative similarity
  • Updated November 4, 2026

Creative diversity is a Meta metric that labels an ad set High, Medium or Low according to how alike its images and video thumbnails look. Meta says it helps you decide whether the ad set needs more varied creative. The metric is marked as estimated and in development, and Meta doesn't publish the thresholds behind the three labels.

How does Meta calculate creative diversity?

By comparing pictures. Meta's metric entry says:

Creative diversity is calculated by comparing the images and video thumbnails in your ad set to each other to determine similarity. This is converted into a score and given a label of High, Medium, or Low by applying thresholds.

The one-line definition above it reads "Diversity label for ad creative diversity score given an adset or account ID", so the label can apply to an account as well as an ad set.

The calculation as written covers images and thumbnails. Headlines, primary text, audio and every video frame after the thumbnail aren't mentioned. On that wording, two videos with different scripts and the same opening still shot could count as similar, and two very different pictures selling the same idea could count as diverse.

What is it used for?

The entry gives one use: "to determine if more varied images and videos need to be added to an ad set to help prevent creative fatigue and improve performance." It reads as a prompt to add ads. Creative fatigue is a separate status, based on cost per result against your past ads.

The entry doesn't say what a Low label does to delivery, and it doesn't say where in Ads Manager the label appears.

What do "estimated" and "in development" mean here?

They are two labels Meta puts on metrics, and both appear on this entry. Meta's page on those labels calls in-development metrics "measurements we're still testing". It says they suit "Directional guidance" and warns against "Historical comparison of advertising performance". A move from Medium to High over three months may reflect a change in the metric as much as a change in your ads.

Is it the same as Meta's advice on diversified ads?

They overlap, and the advice asks for more. Meta's Creative Advantage page defines diversification as "a wide range of ad creatives with different themes, messages, and visuals to cater to diverse audience segments." Only one of those three, visuals, matches what the metric compares. Its three steps page recommends "at least 20 diversified ads" in Advantage+ shopping, a figure covered in how many ads Meta recommends.

What it means for your ads

Treat a Low label as a question about your visuals. Are these the same photo with new text, the same template in new colors, or several videos that open on one frame? If so, the next ad should look different in the first second. The free creative diversity check groups the look-alikes in a batch before you launch it.

A High label says less than it seems to. It covers visuals, while Meta's definition of diversification also asks for different themes and messages, so check those by hand.

When you do add something new, Meta's fatigue recommendations ask for "a new image or video that is materially different from the original creative", and say that keeping the original active "may maximize results." Each new ad restarts learning for the ad set, since adding one is a significant edit. To compare two concepts rather than just add them, set up a creative test.

Sources

Metrics marked in development can change, so check Meta's entry before relying on the label.

Terrads makes ads that differ in concept and layout from one brief, so an ad set can start with visuals that don't look alike.