Is Interest Targeting Dead in 2025? What Meta Actually Says About It

If you’ve been running Meta ads for the past few years, you’ve probably heard a version of:

“Interests are dead. Just go Broad.”

It’s a clean, simple slogan, but it’s not accurate.

In 2025, interest targeting still works, still matters, and depending on the account, can dramatically outperform Broad.
The real story is that Meta changed how interests fit into the delivery system, not whether they work.

Here’s the clear, un-biased breakdown.

1. What Meta Officially Says About Interests

Meta’s most recent guidance (shared widely during 2024–2025 agency briefings) is:

• Broad is the default for most advertisers
• Interests and lookalikes should be used as “structured alternatives”
• The system benefits from audience diversity
• Interests help unlock unique pockets during scaling

In Meta’s own words, interests are part of a “portfolio approach” - not a relic of the past.

So no, they’re not dead.
They’re contextual.

2. Why Interests Looked Dead for a While (2021–2023)

There were three reasons interests performed poorly for many advertisers a few years ago:

1. Meta consolidated targeting signals

Many legacy interest categories were merged, shrunk, or deprioritized.

2. Broad got dramatically smarter

Massive improvements to machine learning made Broad a safer choice for mid-spend advertisers.

3. SKAN and privacy changes muddied interest performance

Attribution made interest-level insights harder to interpret.

These factors created the illusion that interests didn’t work anymore.
But with Andromeda’s rollout, interest targeting found its footing again.

3. Why Interests Work Better Again in 2025

Under the Andromeda delivery system:

✔ Meta uses interests to jump-start exploration

Interests give the algorithm a “starting zone,” which can help new accounts or new creatives.

✔ Interests reduce volatility in scaling phases

Broad delivery can swing heavily during scale-up.
Interests give you something to “anchor” to.

✔ Interests reach pockets Broad sometimes misses

This is especially true for niche products, communities, or lifestyle-based buying patterns.

✔ They help diversify your audience portfolio

A major theme of 2025 Meta strategy.

The short version:
Interests are now a stability tool and a diversification tool, not a precision tool.

4. When Interests Outperform Broad

There are consistent patterns where interests win:

1. When your creative speaks to a very specific market

Hobby, niche, or lifestyle-driven products often overperform on aligned interests.

2. When your account is new or under 20–30 conversions/day

Interests help the system find early buyers faster.

3. When Broad falls into expensive pockets

During scaling, Broad sometimes shifts into CPM-heavy zones.
Interests can pull you out.

4. When you’re testing new creative concepts

More constrained targeting means less noise in early signals.

5. When Broad Outperforms Interests

Broad is better when:

• you have high creative volume
• your product appeals to a wide market
• your ad account has strong history
• your daily budget is healthy
• Meta has seen many purchases

Broad thrives when the system already understands your buyer.

6. The 2025 Audience Framework That Actually Works

Here’s the modern structure advertisers use:

1. Broad (default anchor)

• Lowest friction
• Most scalable
• Best for top-performing creatives
• Performs well when Meta knows your buyer

2. Interests (structured diversification)

• Good for stability
• Good for scaling buffers
• Catch pockets Broad may skip
• Great for niche messaging

3. Lookalikes (performance stabilizer)

• Mid-range control
• Helpful when Broad fluctuates
• Particularly strong with high-quality conversion events

7. How Many Interests Should You Run?

The best-performing structure in 2025:

• 3–5 interest groups
• Each group = 1–2 interests max
• Grouped by theme, not randomness

Avoid “interest soups” (10–20 stacked interests).
They perform neither like Broad nor like real targeting.

8. Why Most Insights About ‘Interests Are Dead’ Still Miss the Point

When people declare interests “dead,” they’re usually looking at:

• too small budgets
• too noisy attribution
• too many interests stacked
• one bad interest test
• creatives mismatched to the audience

In reality, interests aren’t weak - the testing structure is.

Meta simply changed the game.
Interests are no longer precision targeting.
They’re portfolio diversification.

Conclusion: No, Interests Aren’t Dead - They're Evolving

In 2025, interest targeting still matters, but in a modern role:

• Broad = primary engine
• Interests = stabilizer + diversification
• Lookalikes = precision backbone
• Portfolio = the winning strategy

The advertisers who win today don’t ask “Is interest targeting dead?”
They ask:

“Where does interest targeting fit in my portfolio?”

And that’s the real answer Meta would give you too.