Smart+ Lead Generation Campaigns on TikTok: Complete Guide & Best Practices

Generating high-quality leads at an efficient cost is a top priority for performance-driven advertisers. TikTok’s Smart+ Lead Generation Campaigns are designed exactly for that, using AI-powered automation to help businesses reach the right users and drive more conversions without complex manual management.

This guide breaks down what Smart+ Lead Generation Campaigns are, how they work, their key settings, and the latest best practices to help you maximize results.

1. What are TikTok Smart+ Lead Generation campaigns?

   

Smart+ Lead Generation Campaigns leverage TikTok’s AI to automate campaign setup, delivery, and optimization based on your lead-generation goals. The system identifies the right audience and delivers your ads to users most likely to convert, helping you drive performance with less manual effort.

Whether your goal is form submissions, website conversions, or direct message inquiries, Smart+ is designed to streamline the entire process.

2. Key features of Smart+ Lead Generation campaigns

AI-Optimized campaign creation

TikTok helps create and manage your ads automatically, aligning campaign delivery with your business objectives to maximize efficiency and conversions.

Simplified campaign setup

Smart+ offers a simple, unified interface that reduces manual tasks. Advertisers spend less time configuring campaigns and more time focusing on strategy and lead quality.

Available Smart+ Lead Generation settings

Objective: Lead Generation

Lead Destination Options: You can choose where users submit their information:

• Website

• TikTok Instant Form

• TikTok Direct Messages

• Third-party instant messaging apps

Targeting Options: Smart+ allows you to adjust:

• Location (living in or regularly in the selected area)

• Minimum age: 18 or 25

• Language

• Audience exclusion (e.g., exclude existing customers)

• Audience suggestion (allowlist-only)

Placements

• TikTok (including automatic placements)

• Lemon8 (Website destination only)

Note: Manual placement selection is not supported; Smart+ uses automatic optimization.

Campaign Goals: Goals vary depending on your lead destination:

• Website: Conversion

• Instant Form: Form submission

• TikTok DMs / Messaging apps: Conversations

• Messaging apps: Click

Bidding Strategies: Maximum Delivery or Cost Cap

Dayparting: Run ads only during specific days or hours, ideal for brands with operational schedules such as call centers.

3. When should you use Smart+ Lead Generation campaigns?

Smart+ Lead Generation is ideal for advertisers who want:

• More leads at lower cost

• AI-driven optimization

• Automated campaign management

• Fast setup with minimal manual adjustments

• Scalable performance across broader audiences

If your priority is performance, efficiency, and lead volume, Smart+ is the right choice.

4. Best practices for Smart+ Lead Generation campaigns

To unlock the full potential of Smart+ Lead Generation campaigns, follow these proven optimization best practices.

Optimize campaign performance

Let the Learning Phase run (First 7 Days)

• Avoid changing: bid, targeting, creative, editing too early resets the learning phase and harms performance.

• Set an appropriate daily Budget: At least 10× your average daily CPA This ensures the algorithm gathers enough data to optimize effectively.

• Use cost cap for more stable CPAs: Set a target CPA based on performance data from the previous 7 days.

• Use dayparting wisely: If your business operates only during certain hours (ex: call centers), schedule ads using Dayparting to avoid downtime and system resets.

Improve targeting efficiency

• Start with broad targeting: Broad targeting helps Smart+ AI explore and identify the strongest converting segments.

If lead quality drops:

• Add age restrictions

• Exclude existing customers

• Narrow by language or behavior

Use advanced targeting features

• Minimum age: 18 or 25

• Audience exclusion for remarketing control

• Audience suggestion (if enabled for your account)

Optimize your lead destination

If using Website Lead Generation, make sure your landing page:

• Loads in under 3 seconds

• Is mobile-friendly

• Has clear CTAs and simple form fields

Slow pages drastically reduce conversion rates.

Consider TikTok Instant Forms:

• Faster loading

• Higher completion rates

• Better user experience

A/B test both Instant Forms and website forms to find the best performer.

Reduce campaign fatigue

Analyze data trends - Don’t react too quickly

• Avoid adjustments during the first 7 days

• After learning, evaluate CPA trends over a 3-day window

Adjust budgets carefully

• Do not increase your budget by more than 50% per day

• Do not make sudden jumps disrupt delivery and increase CPA instability.

Rotate creatives regularly

• Add 2–5 new creatives without deleting old ones

• Avoid uploading more than 10 creatives at once: too many new creatives can dilute budget distribution.

  You can explore more ways to refresh your creatives and improve the performance of your Smart+ Lead Generation campaigns.

Discover TikTok Lead Generation best practices to improve lead quality, reduce CPA, and build high-converting campaigns that drive real business results.

TikTok’s Smart+ Lead Generation Campaigns offer a powerful, AI-driven solution for businesses looking to scale lead acquisition while minimizing manual effort. With simplified setup, automated optimization, and flexible destination options, Smart+ allows advertisers to focus on what truly matters - driving high-quality leads at an efficient cost.

By following the strategies and best practices outlined above, you can build stronger, more stable campaigns and unlock better performance throughout 2026.