How to launch carousel ads

A carousel ad combines several of your creatives into one swipeable ad, with its own headline, description and link per card. In uplads you can build several independent carousels in the same launch and give each card matching Feed and Stories/Reels media - no separate upload needed.

If you are new to the wizard, start with Understanding the bulk launch wizard steps first.

Open the carousel editor

Carousels are built from creatives you have already added to the launch, so begin by selecting your creatives and choosing your Page, campaign and ad sets. Then:

1. Move to the Text step of the wizard.
2. Find the carousel control - it reads "Build carousel ads (optional)" until configured.
3. Click it to open the Carousel builder.

The carousel is optional. If you leave it empty, each selected creative launches as its own single-image or single-video ad instead.

Auto-map cards and placement versions

The builder matches numbered filenames automatically. Files that differ only by their placement marker become versions of the same card. For example:

• 4x5_Summer_Carousel_1.jpg + 9x16_Summer_Carousel_1.jpg = card 1
• 4x5_Summer_Carousel_2.jpg + 9x16_Summer_Carousel_2.jpg = card 2

Meta custom-placement carousels use one Feed/default version and one 9:16 Stories/Reels version per card. When both 1:1 and 4:5 are mapped, uplads selects 1:1 for Feed by default and marks 4:5 as unused. Click Use for Feed on either feed-compatible preview to switch the selected default. You can also remove a wrong match or add/replace a placement version manually.

Separate numbered series are created as separate carousel ads. Click Auto-map all at any time to rebuild the suggestions from the selected filenames.

Build one or several 2-10 card carousels

The left side lists every carousel ad in this launch. Select one to edit its cards on the right, or click + to add another carousel.

• Click an available creative set to add it as the next card.
• Select a card in the large Card order strip to edit it.
• Each carousel needs at least 2 cards and supports up to 10.
• A creative can belong to only one carousel in the same launch, preventing accidental duplicate uploads.
• For a longer sequence, select a valid middle card and click Split after card to create another carousel while keeping at least two cards on both sides.

If you need a creative that is not listed here, close the editor, add it to your selection in the media library, then reopen the editor - it reseeds from your current selection each time it opens.

Set per-card headline, description and link

Every card has its own copy fields, so you can tell a story across the carousel:

• Card headline - the bold text shown under that card.
• Card description - a shorter supporting line.
• Card link - where that specific card sends people. New cards display the destination URL from the Text step as an inherited value. Editing it creates a card-specific override; clearing the override returns the card to the shared destination URL after saving.

All three fields are optional. Cards with no copy still launch - they simply inherit the ad-level defaults. To generate copy ideas first, see How to generate ad copy with AI.

To reuse the selected card's value, click Apply to all cards beside the headline, description or website URL. The value is copied only to the cards in the currently selected carousel. Other carousels in the same launch keep their own copy and links.

Reorder and remove cards

Card order is the order people swipe through, so it matters.

• Reorder: drag cards directly in the numbered strip. You can also drop a card onto another carousel in the left sidebar. Earlier and Later remain available for keyboard-friendly adjustments.
• Reorder carousels: drag a carousel row in the left sidebar to change the launch order.
• Remove: select a card and click Remove card. Its creative set becomes available again.

If any non-empty carousel drops below 2 cards, saving stays disabled until you add another card or delete that carousel.

Preview and launch the carousel

When your cards and copy look right:

1. Click Save carousel(s). The control summarizes the number of carousels and cards.
2. Continue through the wizard. Each carousel becomes one ad per selected ad set.
3. On Review, select a carousel row and switch between Feed carousel and Stories & Reels. Feed shows the swipeable card row; Stories/Reels lets you step through the 9:16 card sequence.
4. Review names and status, then set status and schedule and launch.
5. Track the result on the launch progress screen.

To undo all carousel grouping, reopen the builder and click Clear all carousels - your creatives launch individually or as their normal multi-placement groups again.

That's it. Build it once in the Text step, and uplads pushes the full multi-card ad to every ad set you targeted.