In the processes of chemical and galvanic metallization of dielectric materials, in particular in the production of printed circuit boards, the dielectric surface must be activated for further deposition of the metal coating. For this purpose, noble metal compounds and colloidal solutions are mainly used, characterized by limited stability during storage due to the coagulation process. To activate dielectric materials, it is advisable to use true solutions based on monovalent copper compounds. To carry out continuous metallization of the dielectric, it is necessary to obtain a sufficiently large number of catalytically active centers on the surface. This can be achieved in two ways: to create a high concentration of monovalent copper in the activation solution or to increase the thickness of the activating layer. The purpose of this work is to investigate the possibility of improving the characteristics of the activating solution by introducing organic solvents and surfactants into its composition. The effect of the introduction of surfactants into the composition of the activating solution has been studied. It is established that the introduction of surfactants into the composition of the activating solution leads to an increase in the concentration of copper on the surface of the dielectric. It is expected that the introduction of surfactants will reduce the amount of surface tension at the interface and increase the adhesion of the metal coating to the dielectric. The nonionic surfactant of the OP-10 brand as part of the activator provides a high concentration of catalytically active centers and makes it possible to obtain the highest (of the studied surfactants) adhesion of the metal coating to the dielectric. In order to better distribute the activating solution on the dielectric surface and in the holes, as well as to increase the sorption of monovalent copper by an adhesive layer, the effect of organic solvents on the activating composition was studied. Dimethylformamide and dimethyl sulfoxide were studied as such solvents. During the swelling process, the solvent penetrates into the thickness of the adhesive layer. In all likelihood, the mechanism of this penetration is diffusive. Due to this, the activator containing an organic solvent has the ability to be fixed on the surface not only due to the micro-roughness created during etching, but is also able to penetrate deep into the swollen layer due to diffusion. By the swelling time equal to 5 minutes, for 10, 20 and 50% solutions, the thickness of the swollen layer, respectively, is 1.00; 1.14; 1.55 microns. It is shown that the presence of organic solvents in the activator increases the adhesion of the metal coating by an average of 1.3 times.