Marketing messages inside Meta Ads Manager

Restructuring the IA — and building on top

MM features were buried in their own isolated sub-section inside Ads Manager — completely separate from where ad creative lived. Research showed that advertisers think about ads and MM as part of the same creative workflow, not as separate tasks. The structure didn't match their mental model, and that mismatch was hurting adoption.

Ad creative setup — MM buried at the bottom

Clicking "Edit marketing message" opened a separate modal

Multi-text options — bringing ads-level optimization to MM

Even after the IA restructure, only 1.4% of MM texts were customized by advertisers. Meanwhile, multi-text on standard ads was already proving its value — delivering a +16.33% CTR lift. MM had the same potential, but advertisers weren't leveraging it.

23%

of ads adopted
multi-text options

1.4%

of MM texts
were customized

Advertisers were already doing the work on the ads side — we just weren't leveraging it for MM. We extended their existing multi-text options to automatically apply to MM, without asking them to do extra work. The key challenge: surface this without overwhelming them visually.

The leadership direction was clear: make it immediately obvious to advertisers that their ads copy is being used for MM by default — and give them a way to customize if needed. The design challenge was surfacing this without adding friction to an already complex workflow.

Option A — Progressive disclosure

Displays options only when needed. By default, ads copy is used for MM. If advertisers want to customize their marketing message, they can select "Provide your own text" to enter their own.

+Keeps the UI simple and focused

+Reduces visual noise and cognitive load

−MM customization may be missed unless advertisers expand

Option B — Full visibility

Displays all options at once for immediate comparison. Makes MM customization more visible and easier to discover.

+Greater visibility and prominence for MM

+Advertisers can compare options at a glance

+Fewer clicks to explore

−UI may feel visually dense or cluttered

−Higher cognitive load when multiple elements compete

We measured MM customization rate — how many advertisers chose to write their own MM text. We ran a 10% rollout followed by a 50% rollout to validate at scale.

To further support customization adoption, we redesigned the Gen AI experience for MM.

Before

Single replacement

Gen AI generated one suggestion at a time — advertisers had to replace their text entirely to use it.

After

Multi-select

Up to 5 MM-specific variants presented at once — advertisers pick which ones to include, adding multiple options in one step.

Together, these changes — the radio button design and the Gen AI redesign — formed the final experience.

Multi-text drove significantly higher CTR for marketing messages

The more text options an advertiser adds, the more variants the system tests — and the better it gets at identifying which message resonates most with each consumer. The best-performing variant is then delivered to the majority of the audience, compounding the impact over time.

Unification — questioning the structure, not just the features

As the ads team began exploring changes to the creative setup, I partnered with them early to ensure MM wasn't designed around — the two surfaces share the same space, and decisions on one directly impact the other. That collaboration opened up a bigger strategic question: rather than maintaining two separate inputs, what if we unified them?

This is what that unified experience could look like.

Turning marketing messages into conversations

Conversations drive MM performance — but they're not happening

Marketing messages are one-directional today. 60% of consumers read them — but only ~1% end up in a real conversation.

Of our MM advertisers, 61% manage replies directly — without any third-party tool. Of those, 89% have no conversation tool at all. For them, Chat Builder wouldn't be an upgrade. It would be their first ever reply management solution. Consumers were already replying to their MMs — and getting no response.

The automation setup was in the wrong place entirely

Auto Reply and Quick Replies were collapsed into Creative — a pre-publish flow with no connection to post-publish conversations. Two different moments in the advertiser journey were sharing the same card.

Chat Builder — a new home for conversations

Auto Reply and Quick Replies moved out of Creative into their own dedicated card — Chat Builder — a new Conversations section at the same level as Creative in the L1 flow.

For the design pattern, we didn't start from scratch. Click to WhatsApp (CTWA) already had a Chat Builder — and most MM advertisers are also CTWA users. We built on the same pattern to give advertisers one consistent surface for conversation setup, no matter which product they're using.

Chat Builder — where it lives in the L1 flow

Template Management

Choose from previously saved configurations to apply a full automation setup in one click. Every time you publish, Chat Builder auto-saves your setup as a template — so returning advertisers start with their preferred configuration already filled in.

Automation Preview

See what's configured before you publish — both automations shown inline so advertisers can review at a glance.

Quick Replies

Quick reply buttons delivered with the MM — when a consumer taps one, that response is sent instantly.

Auto Reply

Triggered automatically when a consumer sends any message. Pre-filled by default so advertisers can publish immediately without any setup.

Improving the setup experience

Before

No live preview. Advertisers published without seeing the consumer experience.

After

Interactive live preview

Right panel updates in real time as advertisers configure.

Consumer POV

Preview shows exactly what the consumer will see and receive.

Improved grouping

Replaced nested fields with flat layout — button and response relationship is clearer.

Placeholder association

Updated placeholder text to better match the quick reply configuration component.

Automating the conversation gap at scale

Strategy exploration · Not launched

The platform powering Walmart's third-party sellers

There was no homepage — sellers had nowhere to start

Without a dedicated landing page, sellers went straight to the items page. Unrelated notifications appeared on this page to alert sellers, with no sense of priority or context. There was no homepage that could help sellers understand their business, complete tasks, or grow their store.

Every major competitor was ahead

I audited Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and Shopify to understand what sellers experience elsewhere. All four had dedicated homepages with task guidance and growth features. Walmart had none of these — and was the only platform without a dismissible notification system or a promotions discovery surface.

Platform	Guided tasks	Contextual metrics	Growth tips	Lifecycle-aware
	✓	✓	—	✓
	✓	—	✓	—
	✓	✓	✓	✓
	✓	✓	✓	✓
	—	—	—	—

Defining what belongs on the homepage

I ran a content workshop with the product team to determine the essential requirements across three core areas: key business metrics, tasks, and growth. From there, we mapped each piece of content to the seller's lifecycle stage — whether they're onboarding for the first time or already an active seller — so the homepage surfaces the right information at the right moment.

Three pillars. One homepage.

A clear mission emerged from the research: the homepage should help sellers run their business, complete their tasks, and grow their store — in that order of urgency.

Mapping needs by lifecycle stage

A week-one seller and a three-year veteran need completely different things. I mapped the full journey to design an experience that adapts to where sellers are.

Exploring the layout

I explored several directions before converging on the final approach — testing how to balance metrics density with task clarity.

Initial homepage with three core sections

After several iterations, we developed the initial version of the homepage — a single layout organizing everything sellers need into three focused sections: To-dos, KPIs, and Promotions.

Testing comprehension — new design vs. original onboarding

We tested this first-round design using the PURE (Practical Usability Rating by Experts) method with 5 evaluators. To set a baseline, we first tested the original onboarding flow, then integrated that onboarding into the new homepage to see how the To-do section improved seller comprehension.

Original onboarding flow

The original onboarding prioritized the "Add Items" banner over the actual setup steps — sellers were pushed toward listing products before completing essential account setup, causing confusion and drop-off.

New onboarding flow

By integrating onboarding into the To-do section, sellers could clearly see what setup steps remained — in the right order, with the right priority — without being distracted by promotions.

New design outperformed across every task

5 Evaluators

• 2 Designers
• 2 Products
• 1 Researcher

User Mindset

• Prospective Walmart Marketplace seller
• Already sells on Amazon and eBay

A homepage that knows who you are

The redesigned homepage brings together three focused sections in one scannable layout — adapting to each seller's stage and surfacing the right information at the right time.

A framework for what shows up and when

In collaboration with the Content Designer, we developed a framework to determine what content belongs on the homepage and where — including where seller alerts should be routed, how each module is prioritized, and when content appears or retires based on the seller's lifecycle stage.

Banner lifecycle

Promotional banners were a major pain point — they'd pile up, go stale, and drown out more important tasks. I designed a lifecycle system that controls how banners appear, surface, and expire.

What sellers said

"I LOVE the homepage you've created."

"Love the new homepage, I can even see new orders everyday!"

"It's really easy to work with."

"This is new and interesting. It's a good landing page."

"If we can have a checklist of the actions needed to keep the site at top shape, that will help."

Measurable impact across the board