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How GMV Max Creative Exploration tests your videos, what each status and label means, and how to use Creative Boost 2.0 to scale winning creatives.
TikTok Shop
In GMV Max, your videos are the main lever you still control, yet most sellers cannot tell which videos the system is actually testing. Videos sit in vague statuses, budgets go to the same few clips, and nobody knows whether to make more content or better content. Creative Exploration, upgraded in June 2026, answers that question. This guide explains how it works, what each status means, and what to do next.
What is Creative Exploration in GMV Max?
Creative Exploration is the part of GMV Max that gives new and updated videos a fair test before deciding how much traffic they deserve. It runs inside both Product GMV Max and LIVE GMV Max. Instead of sending all spend to proven videos, it reserves room to learn which new videos can perform.
The June 2026 upgrade, rolling out from June 18, 2026, changed four things: how learning is shared, how statuses are shown, what reporting you get, and how Creative Boost works. Other 2026 changes are listed in our GMV Max updates changelog.
1. Exploration learning is shared across campaigns
A video's test results now carry over to every campaign that promotes the same product. Before the upgrade, exploration data stayed inside each campaign, so a new campaign for the same product restarted testing from zero.
That old setup caused repeated cold starts, higher testing costs and slower scaling. With learning shared at product level, a video that already proved itself in one campaign gets a head start in the next. In practice, avoid duplicating campaigns just to "reset" a product; it no longer resets testing and only splits budget.
2. Three statuses and three quality labels
Every video now shows one of three statuses, and explored videos get a quality label. This replaces the older video-level statuses that were hard to interpret.
The statuses are Ineligible (the video cannot enter exploration), Exploring (it is collecting performance signals), and Explored (testing is complete). Once a video is Explored, it receives one of three labels: Outstanding, Performing or Underperforming.
Status or label | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
Ineligible | Cannot enter exploration | Check the reason shown; fix authorization or replace the video |
Exploring | Still collecting signals | Do not judge yet; boost it only if it is stuck without impressions |
Explored · Outstanding | Strong results with room to scale | Keep it running, boost it, and brief creators for variations |
Explored · Performing | Acceptable results | Keep it running; test a new hook on the same angle |
Explored · Underperforming | Unlikely to drive efficient results | Replace it or rework the first three seconds |
3. New exploration metrics and benchmarks (Product GMV Max)
Product GMV Max now tells you whether you have enough videos, compared with similar advertisers. This answers one of the most common seller questions: how many creatives does GMV Max need?
The Creative Exploration dashboard adds:
SPU-level exploration metrics, so you see testing progress per product, not just per campaign
Benchmarks against similar advertisers and products
Diagnostic recommendations on creative volume, creative supply health and gaps to fill
Use these benchmarks to plan production. If a hero product sits below benchmark, add videos before raising its budget; our GMV Max scaling framework explains why creative supply should grow ahead of spend.
4. Creative Boost 2.0: more control over testing
Creative Boost 2.0 turns boosting from a one-video-at-a-time task into a managed test. Creative Boost adds extra budget to selected videos so they get exposure faster. Version 2.0 adds four upgrades:
Shared budget: one daily budget across several boosted videos, instead of setting each one separately
Advanced reporting: spend, orders, ROI, exploration status changes and before-and-after comparisons, per video and per batch
Scheduled boosts: set boosts in advance for launches, mega sale days and livestream promotions
Higher limits: larger advertisers can boost more videos at the same time
One rule has not changed: Creative Boost budgets are not covered by ROI protection. Keep boost budgets capped and treat them as test spend. What each GMV Max feature covers is summarized in our GMV Max features guide.
A weekly Creative Exploration routine
Check statuses: count videos Exploring and Explored per hero product; fix any Ineligible ones.
Act on labels: boost Outstanding videos, keep Performing ones, replace Underperforming ones.
Compare with benchmarks: if a product is below its creative supply benchmark, add videos this week.
Refill the pipeline: authorize new affiliate videos and add Spark Ads posts to your Creative Library.
If ROI drops even with healthy creative supply, look for other causes in our GMV Max troubleshooting guide.
FAQ
Does Creative Exploration apply to LIVE GMV Max?
Yes. The June 2026 upgrade applies to both Product GMV Max and LIVE GMV Max; the benchmark metrics are for Product GMV Max only.
Should I duplicate a campaign to restart testing?
No. Exploration learning is now shared across campaigns for the same product, so duplicating does not reset it and only splits budget.
Is Creative Boost spend covered by ROI protection?
No. Boost budgets are excluded from ROI protection.
How many videos does GMV Max need?
There is no minimum to launch. For scale, use the Product GMV Max creative supply benchmarks for your products.
Turn creative testing into a system
Creative Exploration shows you which videos work; your job is to keep feeding it and act on its labels every week. New to GMV Max? Start with our GMV Max overview.
Ecomdy is an official TikTok agency helping Vietnamese sellers run GMV Max on TikTok Shop US. Contact our team for a free review of your creative supply and exploration results.
