How to set up X Lead Gen Ads
X Lead Gen Ads let people send you their contact details in a native form without leaving X. This guide walks through the account, the lead form, the campaign, and getting leads to your sales team.
Lead Gen Ads are promoted posts with a call-to-action button that opens a lead form inside X. One tap opens the form, and after someone’s first submission X can pre-fill later forms for them. Nobody has to load your website, which removes the slowest step in most lead funnels.
X introduced the format in August 2026 and has since rolled it out to advertisers globally. It adds three pieces to X Ads Manager: a Leads objective, lead forms, and a Leads Center where submissions collect for download or delivery to your CRM.
Because the product is new, labels in Ads Manager may change as X updates it. Where X’s documentation doesn’t confirm a label, this guide describes where to go instead.
Set up your X Ads account
Log in to x.com with the business account you want ads to come from, then go to ads.x.com. Ads run as promoted posts from that handle, so use the brand account, not a personal one. Choose your country and time zone, then add billing. X notes that the country, time zone, and currency can’t be changed after the account is created.
TipUpdate the profile photo, header, and bio before launch. People who see an ad often check the profile first.
Pick one offer and the fields you need
A lead form is only as good as the reason to fill it in. Pick one offer per campaign. X names booking demos and appointments, growing email lists and waitlists, quote requests, sweepstakes, and filling webinars or events among the goals the format supports.
Then choose the fewest fields your sales team needs. Available fields include name, email, phone, company name, job title, work email, work phone, address, and X handle.
Watch outEvery extra field costs submissions. Ask only for what you'll use in the first follow-up.
Have your privacy policy ready
X requires every lead form to include your company name and a link to your privacy policy, and the link must use https. The policy should explain what you collect and how you use it, in plain language. X’s form documentation also includes a short statement of what the leads will be used for. Write it honestly and specifically.
Build the lead form in the Leads Center
Open the Leads Center in X Ads Manager. This is where you create, customize, and preview lead forms, and where submissions arrive once the campaign runs.
A form has an optional introduction with a headline and description, the fields you chose, your privacy policy, and an optional thank-you screen. The thank-you screen can include a button to a page on your site, such as a booking calendar or the guide someone asked for.
TipPreview the form on your phone. That's where most people will see it.
Create a campaign with the Leads objective
Start a new campaign in Ads Manager and choose the Leads objective. On X, dates and budgets are set at the ad group level: each ad group needs a daily budget and a start date, and you can add an end date and a spend cap.
X has no minimum spend, and prices are set by auction. What you pay per lead depends on your audience, your bid, your creative, and how many other advertisers want the same people.
Choose your audience
Lead Gen Ads use the same targeting as other X campaigns. Start with location, language, and age, then add the signals that matter on X: keywords, lookalikes of accounts your buyers follow, interests, and custom audiences from your customer lists. Keep the first ad group focused enough to tell what’s working.
Watch outSome categories, including health and financial services, have extra rules on X. Check X's ad policies before you build.
Create the ad and attach the form
Lead Gen Ads support image, video, and carousel ads, plus Timeline Takeover. Write the post so it says what the offer is and who it’s for, then set your lead form as the destination. The ad shows a call-to-action button, and one tap opens the form. Match the ad’s promise to the form’s headline so nobody wonders what they signed up for.
Route leads to sales, then launch
Submissions collect in the Leads Center, where you can download them or connect a CRM. X’s launch announcement lists HubSpot, Salesforce, and Zapier connections. Set this up before launch so no lead waits in a file nobody opens.
After launch, check the Leads Center and your CRM daily for the first week. Confirm leads arrive, someone follows up the same day, and you can mark which leads become customers.
TipX's developer documentation limits lead exports to account administrators, so give the person who handles leads the right access.
Before you move on
- Your ads account runs from the brand handle and billing is set up
- The form links to an https privacy policy
- The form asks only for fields you'll use
- The ad's offer matches the form's headline and thank-you screen
- Leads reach your CRM or a named person who follows up
Official resources
- X Business: Lead Gen Ads launch
- X Ads API: Lead generation
- X Help Center: Ads account creation
- X Help Center: Campaign dates and budget
- X Help Center: X Ads pricing
Ad platforms update their tools often. This guide was last reviewed against the official documentation above in November 2026. If your screen looks different, the official help pages have the latest steps.
At a glance
- Level
- Beginner
- Time
- About 45 minutes
- What you need
- An X account for your business, in good standing
- Access to X Ads Manager at ads.x.com, with billing set up
- A privacy policy page on your website, on https
- One clear offer: a demo, quote, consultation, guide, or event
- A place for leads to go, such as your CRM
Rather have it done for you?
Active Digital Marketing builds and manages X ad accounts for businesses doing $25,000+ a month in revenue.
Apply to work with usOr get an ad account auditWhere DIY setups go wrong
The most common problems with self-built X Ads setups, and what they cost.
Asking for too much, or too little
Long forms lose people, but a form with only a name and email can fill the pipeline with people who never answer. Choose fields based on what your sales process needs to qualify a lead.
Leaving leads in the Leads Center
Leads that sit for days go cold. If nobody owns the download or the CRM connection, the campaign can look healthy while sales never sees the leads.
Judging X on cost per lead alone
Native, pre-filled forms make submitting fast, which can lower cost per lead and lead quality at the same time. The number that matters is cost per qualified lead, or per customer.
Vague ads that attract the wrong people
If the post doesn't say who the offer is for and what happens next, curious scrollers fill in the form. Specific copy filters people before the tap.
Skipping the policy check
Health, financial services, and other restricted categories carry extra rules on X. Ads and forms that break them get rejected or limited.
What this guide doesn't cover
A working lead form is not a profitable lead program. Results come from the offer, the targeting, how fast sales follows up, and whether you can see which leads actually close.
Active Digital Marketing runs X campaigns and Lead Gen Ads alongside Meta for B2B and considered-purchase brands, and judges every channel on cost per qualified lead.
- Offer and form design tested for lead quality, not volume
- Keyword and follower lookalike strategy for your market
- CRM routing, speed to lead, and qualification rules
- Tying closed deals back to campaigns
- Creative testing on a steady cadence
- Budgets set against what a customer is worth
Common questions
What are X Lead Gen Ads?
Promoted posts on X with a button that opens a native lead form. People submit their details without leaving X, and the leads collect in the Leads Center in X Ads Manager.
How much do X Lead Gen Ads cost?
There's no set price. X sells ads by auction with no minimum spend, so cost per lead depends on your audience, bid, creative, and competition. You control spend with daily budgets and spend caps.
Are X lead forms pre-filled?
After someone submits a Lead Gen form the first time, X can pre-fill later forms for them. That makes submitting faster, which is why fast follow-up matters.
Can X leads go into HubSpot or Salesforce?
Yes. X's launch announcement lists HubSpot, Salesforce, and Zapier connections from the Leads Center. You can also download leads directly.
Is this the same as Twitter's old lead generation cards?
The idea is similar, but Twitter retired its earlier lead cards years ago. X's version is a new format in the current Ads Manager, with its own Leads objective and Leads Center.
Keep learning
How to Create an X Ads Account
How to create an X Ads account: pick the right handle, set country and time zone, add billing, give your team access, and avoid settings you can't change.
Read the guideHow to Create an X Ads Campaign
How to create an X ads campaign: choose an objective, set budgets and bids, target the right audience, pick placements and posts, then launch.
Read the guideHow to Install the X Pixel
How to install the X Pixel: create it in Events Manager, add base and event code, test with X Pixel Helper, and plan for the Conversion API.
Read the guideRather have it built right the first time?
If your business does $25,000+ a month in revenue, apply and Mitch will review your accounts personally. Earlier than that? An ad account audit gives you a senior-level fix list you can work through yourself.