Meta Ads Flexible Format: How to Satisfy Andromeda's Creative Hunger With Just 2 Ads

Gustavo Grossi ·

TL;DR

Meta’s Flexible Format lets you load up to 10 images or videos, 5 primary text options, and 5 headlines into a single ad, giving Andromeda over 250 creative combinations per ad unit. By running just 2 Flexible Format ads (one with static images, one with videos), you satisfy all three of Andromeda’s creative diversification requirements: different formats, distinct visuals, and varied text. Two ads. Over 500 combinations. Zero creative fatigue headaches.

In This Post You’ll Learn

Why Meta’s Andromeda Engine Is Hungry for Creative Diversity

Meta’s ad delivery system got a brain transplant in late 2024.

The upgrade is called Andromeda. It is a retrieval engine built on NVIDIA Grace Hopper Superchips that evaluates ad candidates in real time. The old system could only consider a limited pool of ads per auction. Andromeda considers dramatically more.

Here is what that means for you as an advertiser.

Andromeda rewards creative diversity. It wants to match the right creative to the right person at the right moment. If every ad in your account looks the same, says the same thing, and uses the same format, Andromeda has nothing to work with.

The algorithm is specifically looking for three types of diversity:

  • Different formats (single image, video, carousel)
  • Distinctly different visuals (not the same photo with a different background color)
  • Different text and messaging angles

Feed Andromeda variety and it will find more pockets of your audience. Feed it the same thing five times and it will treat your five ads like one.

The old playbook was to create 5 to 10 separate ads with slight variations. A different headline here, a new image there. That worked fine when Meta’s delivery system was simpler and evaluated fewer candidates per auction.

In the Andromeda era, you need genuine creative diversity. Different formats. Different visual styles. Different copy angles. The retrieval engine is scanning your entire ad account looking for creative that can be matched to specific user profiles. More diversity means more matches. More matches means more delivery at lower costs.

You could achieve this by producing 15 or 20 individual ads. That takes time, budget, and a creative team. Or you could use one feature that does it all with far less work.

That feature is Flexible Format.

The takeaway: Andromeda evaluates more ads per auction than ever before and prioritizes accounts that provide genuinely diverse creative. Sameness gets penalized. Variety gets rewarded.

What Flexible Format Actually Does

Flexible Format is a Meta ad format option that lets the delivery system automatically optimize which format your audience sees.

[SCREENSHOT 1: The format selection dropdown in Meta Ads Manager showing “Flexible” as an option alongside Single Image, Video, and Carousel]

Here is what you get when you select it:

Up to 10 images or videos in a single ad. You upload your assets and Meta’s system decides which ones to show and in what format. Some advertisers can create up to 3 groups of 10 assets each (30 total visuals per ad).

Automatic carousel generation. Meta takes your individual images and videos and automatically creates carousel versions. So even if you only upload single images, you are getting carousel placements for free. That is a third format you did not have to build.

Up to 5 primary text options. Write five different versions of your ad copy and Meta will test them against different audience segments.

Up to 5 headline options. Same thing for headlines. Five variations, automatically tested.

[SCREENSHOT 2: The Flexible Format asset upload interface showing slots for multiple images/videos]

Flexible Format vs. Dynamic Creative

If you used Dynamic Creative before, here is what changed. Dynamic Creative was Meta’s earlier version of this idea. It let you upload multiple assets and text variations.

Flexible Format replaces Dynamic Creative with a more streamlined setup and tighter integration with Andromeda’s delivery system.

The key differences:

  • Flexible Format supports the groups feature (up to 3 groups of 10 assets)
  • Flexible Format auto-generates carousel combinations from your assets
  • Flexible Format is designed to work with Andromeda’s retrieval engine, meaning it feeds diversity signals directly into the system that decides which ads win auctions

The takeaway: Flexible Format gives you three format types (single image/video, carousel, and mixed), up to 10 visuals, and 10 text variations in ONE ad unit. That is more creative diversity than most advertisers achieve with 10 separate ads.

The 2-Ad Flexible Format Strategy That Satisfies Andromeda

Here is the core tactic. This is the strategy that lets you satisfy ALL of Andromeda’s creative diversification requirements with the bare minimum number of ads.

You create 2 ads. Both use Flexible Format. One is entirely static images. One is entirely videos.

[SCREENSHOT 3: An ad set view in Ads Manager showing two ads, one labeled for static images and one for videos]

Here is why this works.

Pillar 1: Format Diversity (Covered)

Ad 1 (static images) will serve as single image placements and auto-generated carousels.

Ad 2 (videos) will serve as single video placements and auto-generated video carousels.

That gives you four format variations across two ads: single image, image carousel, single video, video carousel.

Pillar 2: Visual Diversity (Covered)

You load 10 distinctly different static images into Ad 1 and 10 distinctly different videos into Ad 2.

The key word is DISTINCTLY. Do not upload 10 versions of the same product shot with different filters. Upload 10 images that look completely different from each other. Different compositions. Different subjects. Different color palettes.

[SCREENSHOT 4: Example of 10 diverse static image assets loaded into a single Flexible Format ad]

Pillar 3: Text Diversity (Covered)

Each ad gets 5 primary text variations and 5 headline variations.

Across 2 ads, you have 10 different primary text angles and 10 different headlines in play.

The Math

Let’s run the numbers on what 2 Flexible Format ads actually produce.

Ad 1 (Static Images): 10 images x 5 primary text options x 5 headline options = 250 unique creative combinations

Plus auto-generated carousels from those 10 images. Meta mixes and matches which images appear in the carousel and in what order.

Ad 2 (Videos): 10 videos x 5 primary text options x 5 headline options = 250 unique creative combinations

Plus auto-generated video carousels.

Total: 500+ unique creative combinations from just 2 ads.

That is creative diversification at scale. No bloated ad account. No budget split across 20 ad units. No creative fatigue spreadsheet.

Just two ads doing the work of an entire creative team.

[SCREENSHOT 5: A simple visual breakdown showing 2 ads producing 500+ combinations]

The takeaway: Two Flexible Format ads (one static, one video) cover all three Andromeda diversification pillars and produce over 500 unique creative combinations. This is the highest creative diversity per ad unit you can achieve on Meta.

How to Set Up Your Flexible Format Ads Step by Step

Here is exactly how to build both ads in Meta Ads Manager.

Step 1: Create Your Campaign

Set up your campaign with your chosen objective (conversions, traffic, leads). At the ad set level, keep your targeting broad. Andromeda works best with broad audiences because it has more room to match diverse creative to diverse people.

[SCREENSHOT 6: Campaign creation screen with objective selection]

Step 2: Select Flexible Format

At the ad level, look for the format selection area. Choose Flexible from the dropdown menu.

This unlocks the multi-asset upload interface.

Step 3: Build Ad 1 (Static Images)

Upload 10 static images. Make each one genuinely different.

Here is a framework for choosing your 10 images:

  1. Product hero shot (clean, white background)
  2. Lifestyle image (product in use)
  3. User-generated content style photo
  4. Before/after comparison
  5. Infographic or data visualization
  6. Testimonial card with customer quote
  7. Bold text overlay on solid color background
  8. Behind-the-scenes or process shot
  9. Flat lay or product collection
  10. Meme or trending visual style

This gives you 10 images that look nothing like each other. Andromeda loves this.

Step 4: Write 5 Primary Text Variations

Do NOT write 5 versions of the same message with slightly different wording. Each text variation should use a completely different angle.

Use this 5-angle framework:

  1. Pain point lead: Open with the problem your audience feels
  2. Benefit lead: Open with the outcome or result they want
  3. Social proof lead: Open with a customer quote, stat, or testimonial
  4. Curiosity lead: Open with an unexpected fact or question
  5. Direct offer lead: Open with the offer, discount, or CTA immediately

We will cover this in detail in the next section.

Step 5: Write 5 Headline Variations

Same principle as primary text. Each headline should feel like it belongs to a different ad entirely.

Mix these angles:

  1. Benefit-focused (“Get [Result] in [Timeframe]”)
  2. Social proof (“Join 10,000+ [Audience Type]”)
  3. Curiosity-driven (“The [Thing] Most [Audience] Miss”)
  4. Direct CTA (“Shop Now. Save 20%.”)
  5. Problem-aware (“Tired of [Pain Point]?”)

Step 6: Build Ad 2 (Videos)

Create a second ad in the same ad set. Select Flexible Format again. This time, upload 10 videos instead of images.

[SCREENSHOT 7: The Flexible Format interface with video assets loaded]

For video diversity, think about different video styles:

  1. Talking head / founder message
  2. Product demo or unboxing
  3. Customer testimonial clip
  4. Screen recording or tutorial
  5. Stop motion or animated
  6. UGC-style vertical video
  7. Before/after transformation
  8. Text-on-screen with music (no voiceover)
  9. Behind-the-scenes footage
  10. Quick-cut montage

Add your 5 primary text variations and 5 headline variations. You can reuse the same text from Ad 1 or write 5 new variations for even more diversity.

Step 7: Publish and Let Andromeda Work

Hit publish. Then resist the urge to touch anything for at least 3 to 5 days.

Andromeda’s retrieval engine needs time to test combinations and find the winning matches. Pausing or editing too early disrupts the learning phase and forces the system to restart.

The takeaway: Setting up 2 Flexible Format ads takes about 30 minutes. Loading 10 visuals, writing 5 text variations, and writing 5 headlines per ad. That 30-minute investment produces 500+ creative combinations that Andromeda optimizes around the clock.

How to Write 5 Text Variations That Actually Diversify

This is where most advertisers get lazy. They write one piece of copy, change a few words, and call it “5 variations.”

Andromeda sees through that. If your 5 text options all say the same thing with slightly different phrasing, the algorithm treats them as functionally identical. You get zero diversity credit.

Each text variation needs to lead with a fundamentally different angle.

Here is a real example for a fictional meal prep delivery service:

Variation 1 (Pain Point): “You spend 6 hours every Sunday prepping meals. Then by Wednesday, you are already ordering takeout. Sound familiar? Our pre-prepped meals arrive fresh every Monday. 15 minutes to heat. Done.”

Variation 2 (Benefit): “Fresh, chef-prepped meals delivered to your door every Monday. Pick your plan. Pick your meals. Eat better all week with zero cooking.”

Variation 3 (Social Proof): “Sarah lost 12 pounds in her first month. She did not change her workout. She just stopped eating garbage lunches. Over 50,000 customers have made the same switch.”

Variation 4 (Curiosity): “Most people think eating healthy requires a meal prep Sunday. It does not. There is a faster way and 50,000 people already use it.”

Variation 5 (Direct Offer): “First week: $4.99 per meal. No commitment. No contract. Try 5 meals and decide for yourself.”

[SCREENSHOT 8: A side-by-side view of 5 primary text fields filled in with different angles in the Flexible Format editor]

Read those five back-to-back. Each one would attract a different type of person. That is exactly what Andromeda needs to do its job.

Your headlines should follow the same logic. Five different hooks, not five synonyms.

The takeaway: Genuine text diversification means each variation leads with a different psychological angle. Pain, benefit, proof, curiosity, offer. If your 5 options could be swapped interchangeably without changing the feel, they are not diverse enough.

Why This Strategy Outperforms Running 10 Separate Ads

You could achieve creative diversity the old way. Create 10 or 15 individual ads, each with one image, one text, one headline.

It would work. But the 2-ad Flexible Format strategy works better for three specific reasons.

Reason 1: Budget concentration. When you run 15 separate ads, your daily budget gets split across all of them. Some ads get $2 per day. That is not enough data for Meta to learn anything meaningful. With 2 Flexible Format ads, your budget concentrates on 2 ad units and Meta distributes the combinations intelligently within each one.

Reason 2: Faster exit from the learning phase. Meta’s learning phase requires roughly 50 optimization events per ad set per week. With budget concentrated on fewer ads, you hit that threshold faster. Faster learning = faster optimization = lower costs sooner.

Reason 3: Less management overhead. Managing 15 ads means monitoring 15 sets of metrics, pausing underperformers, refreshing creatives individually. With 2 Flexible Format ads, you monitor 2 ad units. Meta handles the internal optimization. You spend your time making better creative, not managing an ad account that looks like a spreadsheet.

[SCREENSHOT 9: Side-by-side comparison showing a cluttered 15-ad account vs. a clean 2-ad Flexible Format account]

The 2-ad approach also scales cleanly. When you want to test new creative, swap out a few images or add a new text variation. You do not need to create, name, and track a brand new ad every time you have a new idea.

According to Meta’s own guidance on creative diversification, the focus should be on distinct themes, messages, and visuals. Flexible Format is the single feature that lets you deliver all three in the least number of ad units.

The takeaway: Fewer ads with more internal diversity beats more ads with less diversity. Concentrate your budget, exit the learning phase faster, and let Andromeda do the sorting.

Go Build Your Two Ads

Two Flexible Format ads. Ten images in one, ten videos in the other. Five text angles and five headlines in each.

Over 500 unique creative combinations. All three Andromeda diversification pillars covered. Format diversity, visual diversity, text diversity. Done.

Most advertisers are still creating 10 to 15 individual ads, splitting their budget thin, and wondering why performance is flat. You now know the shortcut. 30 minutes of setup. Two ads. More creative diversity than accounts with 20 ad units.

Andromeda is waiting. Go feed it.

Try this setup this week and see what your cost per result looks like after 7 days. Bookmark this post and come back with your numbers.

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