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Meta’s new business terms are due on 20 November: what SMEs using Facebook and Instagram AI should check

AI 5 min read

If your business runs a Facebook Page, an Instagram shop or Meta ads, a change to the rules you work under is due on 20 November 2026.

Meta has published an updated version of its Commercial Terms, the terms that apply when anyone uses Facebook, Instagram and Meta’s business tools for a business purpose. Meta’s preview page says the update will come into effect on 20 November 2026. It was first due on 30 October. On 23 October, Meta told Reuters it was moving the date to 20 November to allow more time to explain to its partners what is changing and what is not.

The date may move again. On 28 October, Meta’s vice president of communications, Andy Stone, said on X that Meta would not make policy changes without a full consultation with industry groups and leaders. He said that consultation could run beyond 20 November, in which case Meta would delay the update, and that until then the existing terms remain in place. As of 4 November, the preview page still shows 20 November, so check it again before then.

You don’t sign anything. Under the terms, carrying on using Meta’s products for business after notice of an update counts as agreeing to it. If you don’t agree, the terms say you may stop using Meta’s products for business.

Who it applies to

Meta’s preview page says the Commercial Terms apply when you use its products for a business or commercial purpose. Its examples include running ads or marketing messages, selling or listing products, creating or using a product catalog, managing a Page, and using business tools such as Ads Manager or Meta Business Suite.

So this isn’t only about big advertisers. A small shop that just manages a Page is covered too.

What’s new: an “AI Features” section

The biggest change is a new section about Meta’s AI features. In plain words, it says:

  • Meta may use AI features. Meta may use or offer AI features that help optimise, enhance or create your content, for example in your ads.
  • The AI can get things wrong. Meta says these features may make mistakes and may not always give accurate, complete or suitable results.
  • The risk is yours. The business is solely responsible for the risks of using these AI features and for the content they produce, including deciding whether that content is suitable for business or commercial purposes.
  • Don’t remove AI watermarks. Businesses must not alter or remove watermarks or content-authenticating metadata that the AI added.

A Meta spokesperson told Adweek that the update folds Meta’s existing generative AI ad terms into its main terms, and that advertisers can turn off individual Advantage+ features in Ads Manager at any time. The spokesperson didn’t say whether a business is responsible for a feature it never switched on.

The website crawling clause

The terms also let Meta use automated software, such as crawlers, to access and collect content from websites associated with your business’s products or services, and to keep pulling updates from them, to provide, develop and improve its advertising and business products. The robots.txt point is not in the terms themselves: a Meta spokesperson said content owners will still be able to use robots.txt to signal their preferences. If you want to understand robots.txt, read our earlier guide, Can you stop AI from training on your website?

Why this matters for a Malaysian SME

Many Malaysian SMEs sell through Facebook and Instagram, and many let Meta’s tools help write or design their ads. Under the new terms, if an AI-made headline promises the wrong price or an AI-edited image misrepresents a product, it is the business, not Meta, that carries the risk.

This also fits the direction in Malaysia. When the Digital Minister spoke about the coming AI Governance Bill in Parliament on 29 October, he said parties that use AI, not only those that build it, should carry responsibility that fits their role, their level of control and the level of risk. (See our post, Malaysia’s AI Governance Bill is coming in early 2027.)

What you can do before 20 November

1. Read the preview terms, and check the date. They are short enough to skim, and the top of the page shows when they take effect. The link is in the sources below.

2. Check which AI features are on in your ads. Look at your live ads in Ads Manager and see which Advantage+ creative enhancements are switched on. Meta’s Business Help Center says some enhancements are turned on by default and you can turn them off at any time. Turn off any you haven’t reviewed.

3. Look at what the AI changed. Before an ad runs, check AI-written text and AI-edited images for wrong prices, wrong product details or promises you can’t keep.

4. Check again after edits. When you swap creative or copy an ad, review the AI settings again.

5. Don’t crop out AI labels. If Meta’s AI made or edited an image, leave any AI watermark or content-authenticating metadata in place.

6. Apply the same rule everywhere you use AI. Whether AI writes your ads or replies to your customers, the business answers for what it says. Make sure any AI that speaks for you uses only information you approved.

Where ThinkChat fits

ThinkChat is a multi-channel AI Chat Agent, not a chatbot. WhatsApp is the main channel in Malaysia, connected through Meta’s official WhatsApp Business Platform API or a QR scan, and ThinkChat also works on other channels like Instagram, Facebook Messenger and website chat. It answers from the information you approve, and hands the chat to a person when a customer needs one.

Soft next step

Want an AI Chat Agent to answer your customers 24/7? Talk to Lyia on WhatsApp: +60 11-5515 9317.

This article is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

Checked 4 November 2026.

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