LINE for Business confirmed on September 18, 2026, that it had already shut down the legacy connection system for its Chat Ads API two days earlier, on September 16 at 00:00 Thailand time. Any business or agency still creating, editing or managing Chat Ads campaigns through that API lost access before the notice went out.
What changed
Chat Ads are the paid banners that run at the very top of a LINE user’s Chat List — one of the most-viewed screens in the app. LINE’s notice says the shutdown covers three things at once, all from September 16, 00:00 (UTC+7): no new API configurations, the existing connection system suspended, and API access cut across every channel. LINE gives the reason as a “policy change to the presentation format of Chat Ads,” but names no successor API or migration path yet. Its only advice is to “plan your systems in advance” — guidance that arrived after the cutoff had already passed.
Why it matters for Thai sellers and support teams
If your Chat Ads ran through a martech tool or an agency’s own integration, any automated bid, budget or creative update tied to that API silently stopped on September 16. A live campaign doesn’t pause — it just stops receiving changes, which can mean stale creative or an untouched budget running unmonitored since the cutoff. This only touches the paid Chat Ads product; your Messaging API, OA broadcasts and chat inbox are unaffected.
What to do now
- Ask your agency or ad tool whether Chat Ads campaigns have already moved to manual control in LINE Ads Manager.
- Check every currently running Chat Ads campaign for changes nobody made since September 16 — expired promos or exhausted budgets are the biggest risk.
- Watch LINE Ads Manager and LINE for Business for the replacement format LINE has not yet named.
- Don’t confuse this with your Messaging API or OA setup — customer chat and support workflows are unaffected.
Anyone who also runs LINE VOOM ad placements should treat both changes as one signal: LINE is reshuffling how ads show up around chat, and API-dependent campaigns need closer watching this month.
