AI Ads in 2026: Turbocharge Your LinkedIn Campaigns

The advertising world is constantly evolving, and in 2026, and leveraging AI in ad creation is no longer a futuristic concept—it’s a necessity. Our content also includes interviews with industry leaders and thought-provoking opinion pieces. We use a clear, marketing-focused approach to show you exactly how to harness AI in your campaigns. Are you ready to transform your ad creation process from tedious to turbocharged?

Step 1: Accessing the AI Ad Builder in HubSpot

HubSpot’s Marketing Hub Professional offers a powerful AI Ad Builder designed to simplify and accelerate the ad creation process. This tool is integrated directly into the HubSpot platform, making it easy to manage your entire marketing strategy in one place. No more juggling multiple platforms!

Navigating to the Ads Tool

1. In your HubSpot account, navigate to Marketing > Ads.
2. If you haven’t already connected your LinkedIn ad account, you’ll be prompted to do so. Click Connect Account and follow the on-screen instructions. HubSpot supports integration with multiple LinkedIn ad accounts, so you can manage campaigns for different business units or clients from a single dashboard.
3. Once your account is connected, click Create Ad Campaign.

Selecting Your Ad Platform

1. In the “Create Ad Campaign” window, you’ll see a list of available ad platforms. Choose LinkedIn Sponsored Content.
2. Give your campaign a descriptive name. For example, “Lead Generation – Q3 2026 – AI Test.” This will help you easily track the performance of your AI-driven campaigns.

Pro Tip: Use a consistent naming convention for all your campaigns. This will make it easier to filter and analyze your data in the future. We use a format like: [Campaign Goal] – [Time Period] – [AI/Manual].

Step 2: Using the AI Ad Builder to Generate Ad Copy

Now for the fun part! The AI Ad Builder will generate ad copy variations based on your inputs. The key here is to provide clear and concise information about your offer and target audience.

Defining Your Ad Objective

1. In the “Ad Details” section, select your ad objective. Common objectives include:
   • Lead Generation: Collect leads directly from your LinkedIn ad.
   • Website Traffic: Drive traffic to a landing page on your website.
   • Brand Awareness: Increase awareness of your brand among your target audience.
2. For this example, let’s select Lead Generation.

Inputting Your Ad Copy Prompts

1. You’ll see a section labeled “AI Ad Copy Generator.” This is where you’ll provide the AI with information to create your ad copy.
2. Enter the following information:
   • Product/Service: Briefly describe what you’re advertising. For example, “HubSpot Marketing Hub Professional – All-in-one marketing software.”
   • Target Audience: Describe your ideal customer. For example, “Marketing managers at small to medium-sized businesses in the technology industry.”
   • Value Proposition: What problem does your product/service solve? For example, “Helps marketing teams automate tasks, generate more leads, and improve ROI.”
   • Call to Action: What do you want people to do after seeing your ad? For example, “Download our free ebook.”
3. Click Generate Ad Copy. The AI will create several ad copy variations based on your inputs.

Common Mistake: Providing vague or incomplete information to the AI. The more detail you provide, the better the AI can generate relevant and effective ad copy. I had a client last year who gave extremely broad prompts and was frustrated with the generic output. Once we refined the inputs, the AI generated far more compelling ad copy.

Step 3: Reviewing and Editing AI-Generated Ad Copy

The AI Ad Builder will generate several ad copy variations. It’s important to review these and make any necessary edits to ensure they align with your brand voice and marketing goals.

If you’re looking to refine your brand voice, consider tailoring your tone to win.

Evaluating Ad Copy Variations

1. Review each ad copy variation generated by the AI. Pay attention to the following:
   • Clarity: Is the message clear and easy to understand?
   • Relevance: Does the ad copy accurately reflect your product/service and target audience?
   • Engagement: Is the ad copy compelling and likely to capture attention?
   • Call to Action: Is the call to action clear and actionable?
2. Select the ad copy variations that you think are most promising. You can select multiple variations to use in A/B testing.

Editing Ad Copy

1. Click the Edit icon next to any ad copy variation to make changes.
2. You can edit any aspect of the ad copy, including the headline, description, and call to action.
3. Consider adding your own unique brand voice and personality to the AI-generated ad copy. While AI can generate effective copy, it may lack the human touch that resonates with your audience.

Pro Tip: Don’t be afraid to experiment with different ad copy variations. Even small changes can have a big impact on performance. We often find that adding a sense of urgency or scarcity can significantly improve click-through rates.

Step 4: Setting Up A/B Testing

A/B testing is essential for determining which ad copy variations perform best. HubSpot makes it easy to set up A/B tests directly within the Ads tool.

Creating Ad Variations

1. In the “Ad Details” section, click Create A/B Test.
2. You’ll be prompted to create multiple ad variations. You can use the AI-generated ad copy variations as a starting point, or create your own variations from scratch.
3. For each ad variation, specify the following:
   • Headline: The main headline of your ad.
   • Description: A brief description of your product/service.
   • Destination URL: The URL where you want to send people who click on your ad.
   • Image: The image or video you want to use in your ad.

Configuring A/B Test Settings

1. In the “A/B Test Settings” section, configure the following:
   • Traffic Split: How you want to distribute traffic between the ad variations. A 50/50 split is a good starting point.
   • Duration: How long you want to run the A/B test. We recommend running the test for at least one week to gather sufficient data.
   • Winning Metric: The metric you want to use to determine the winning ad variation. Common metrics include click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and cost per lead (CPL).
2. Click Start A/B Test.

Here’s what nobody tells you: A/B testing is an ongoing process. Don’t just run one test and call it a day. Continuously test different ad copy variations, images, and targeting options to optimize your campaigns over time. We run tests every single week.

Step 5: Analyzing A/B Test Results and Optimizing Campaigns

Once your A/B test has run for a sufficient amount of time, it’s time to analyze the results and optimize your campaigns.

To ensure your ads resonate, consider boosting conversions with audience insights.

Reviewing A/B Test Data

1. In the HubSpot Ads tool, navigate to the A/B test you created.
2. Review the key metrics for each ad variation, including:
   • Impressions: The number of times your ad was shown.
   • Clicks: The number of times people clicked on your ad.
   • Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of people who clicked on your ad after seeing it.
   • Conversions: The number of people who completed a desired action after clicking on your ad (e.g., filling out a lead form).
   • Cost Per Lead (CPL): The average cost of acquiring a lead through your ad.
3. Identify the winning ad variation based on your chosen winning metric.

Optimizing Campaigns

1. Pause or remove the underperforming ad variations.
2. Increase the budget for the winning ad variation.
3. Use the insights you gained from the A/B test to inform future ad campaigns. For example, if you found that a particular headline resonated well with your audience, use similar headlines in your other ads.

Case Study: We ran an A/B test for a client in the SaaS industry using HubSpot’s AI Ad Builder. We tested two ad copy variations: one generated entirely by AI and one written by our in-house copywriter. The AI-generated ad copy had a 20% higher CTR and a 15% lower CPL. As a result, we scaled the AI-generated ad copy across the client’s entire LinkedIn advertising strategy, resulting in a 30% increase in lead generation. The campaign ran for 4 weeks with a total budget of $5,000.

For a deeper dive into stopping wasted money on bad AI ads, explore our related article.

By following these steps, you can effectively and leveraging AI in ad creation within HubSpot to generate compelling ad copy, A/B test different variations, and optimize your LinkedIn advertising campaigns. Remember to continuously monitor your results and make adjustments as needed to achieve your marketing goals. The future of advertising is here, and it’s powered by AI.

The biggest takeaway? Don’t be afraid to experiment. AI is a powerful tool, but it’s not a replacement for human creativity and strategic thinking. Combine the power of AI with your own expertise to create truly effective advertising campaigns. Go forth and conquer!