Creating and managing Meta ads with Campaign Autopilot

Autopilot ad tactics create campaigns that you own on Meta. Autopilot manages those campaigns separately from any other marketing that you run on Meta. Autopilot-managed campaigns use a separate product catalog. Autopilot doesn't modify your other Meta campaigns or product catalogs that you manage through Facebook & Instagram by Meta.

If you edit an Autopilot campaign directly in Meta, then Autopilot might overwrite your changes on the next update.

When you pause Campaign Autopilot, active ad campaigns are paused on Meta. Resume them in Meta Ads Manager if needed.

Budget and billing

You control how much Autopilot can spend by setting guardrails and spending limits. Ad spend is billed by Meta, not on your Shopify bill, so keep an active payment method in Meta Ads Manager.

Monitoring performance

Review tactic status, activity, and high-level outcomes in Growth > Autopilot. For impressions, clicks, conversions, and spend, use Meta Ads Manager reporting.

Your store must meet the following requirements to use Autopilot for Meta ads:

• Autopilot is set up with Meta Ads connected as a channel in Growth > Autopilot.
• You need to have a Meta Business Manager for Meta Ads.
• If your ads target countries in the European Union (EU), then you need to add advertiser and payer information to your Meta ad account in your Meta business settings. Meta doesn't run ads that target EU countries until this information is added.

Autopilot recommends Meta Advantage+ campaigns. Each recommendation is displayed as a tactic until you approve or dismiss it.

Advantage+ is Meta's automated campaign type for placements on Facebook and Instagram. Autopilot configures Advantage+ to reach potential customers who are likely to purchase from your store.

After you approve a tactic, Autopilot creates the live campaign on Meta. The campaign keeps running and optimizing as long as it stays active and within your guardrails. You can dismiss pending tactics or stop running tactics from Growth > Autopilot.

If you pause Campaign Autopilot, Autopilot-managed ad campaigns are paused on Meta until you resume them there.

Autopilot syncs your Shopify catalog to Meta so your ads can use current product data. Autopilot uses a separate Meta catalog for Autopilot campaigns. It doesn't replace catalogs that you manage in the Facebook & Instagram by Meta experience.

The sync behaves as described here:

• One-way sync: Autopilot sends Shopify products to Meta. Your Shopify product data stays canonical. Autopilot might overwrite direct edits on Meta.
• Active products only: Autopilot syncs active products and excludes draft, unlisted, and suspended products.
• Product requirements: A product needs a working image and a product link to serve in ads. Meta reports a product that's missing an image, has a broken image link, is missing a product link, or is out of stock as a catalog issue. Ads don't run for that product until you fix the issue.

When you set up Autopilot, you connect Meta Ads from Growth > Autopilot. Autopilot handles the technical setup. You need to finish payment and permission steps directly in Meta Ads.

When you connect Meta Ads, Autopilot links your store to your selected Meta Business Manager. The ad account that Autopilot uses depends on what's available in that Business Manager:

• If only one ad account is available, then Autopilot uses that account.
• If multiple ad accounts are available, then you select which ad account Autopilot uses.
• If no ad accounts are available, then Meta creates an ad account for your store as part of setup.

Autopilot syncs your products to a separate Meta catalog and sets up the Conversions API (CAPI) so Meta can track purchase events from your store.

In Meta Ads, you need to complete the following tasks:

• Add a payment method.
• Authorize Autopilot to manage ads in your Meta account.

Before Autopilot launches an ad campaign, you can review the campaign details and decide whether to approve or dismiss it.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Growth > Autopilot.

2. In the Pending actions section, click the ad campaign tactic that you want to review.

3. Review the campaign details, including the ad platform, campaign type, target audience, and proposed budget.

4. Approve or dismiss a campaign:

   • To approve the campaign, click Approve. Autopilot creates and launches the campaign on Meta.
   • To dismiss the campaign, click Dismiss. The tactic is removed from your pending actions.

If an Autopilot ad tactic or catalog sync doesn't behave as you expect, then start with these checks:

Ads not delivering after approval

• Confirm a valid payment method and any required identity or business verification steps are complete in Meta Ads.
• Confirm the tactic is approved and not stopped, and that guardrails aren't blocking spend or placements.
• If your ads target EU countries, then confirm that advertiser and payer information is set on your Meta ad account. When Meta flags that information, request a review from Meta.
• In Meta Ads Manager, review campaign status, policy flags, and audience or catalog errors that can delay delivery.

Product catalog sync errors

• Confirm the product is active in Shopify and not draft, unlisted, or suspended.
• Confirm the product has a working image. Meta rejects a product whose image link is missing, broken, or invalid, so its ads can't serve.
• Confirm the product has a product link. Meta rejects a product that has no product link, so its ads can't serve.
• Confirm the product is in stock. An out-of-stock product stays in your Meta catalog and isn't rejected, but its ads can't serve until you restock it.
• If your Meta catalog stays empty or partly filled after you connect Meta Ads, then confirm that your store has active products, and allow time for the first sync to finish.
• After you change products in Shopify, allow time for the sync to finish, and then check Meta catalog diagnostics for rejected items.
• If Autopilot manages the catalog path, don't rely only on hand-edited product fields in Meta, because Autopilot might overwrite those edits on sync.

Repeated prompts to reconnect Meta

If Autopilot keeps asking you to reconnect Meta, or if setup doesn't finish after you reconnect, then your Meta connection might include more than one Business Manager, Facebook Page, or ad account. Autopilot uses one of each, and it can't finish setup until you choose which ones to use.

• When Meta asks which assets to share, select a single Business Manager, Facebook Page, and ad account for Autopilot to use.
• When Autopilot asks you to choose between assets, make that selection in Growth > Autopilot rather than starting another reconnection.
• Confirm that the Facebook Page is claimed in the Business Manager that Autopilot uses. If you add or claim the Page, then reconnect Meta in Shopify to refresh the connection.