A new product is ready, but the work does not end with its page. Someone still has to connect advertising accounts, approve campaigns and check whether customers can actually buy. Campaign Autopilot can assist with marketing execution, but merchants still need to decide what it may do and how spending will be monitored.

The amounts below are teaching examples, not results from a live campaign or a recommended budget.

Check eligibility and connect a channel

Open Growth → Autopilot and check whether the store and staff account are eligible. Shopify lists requirements including an eligible plan, products, shipping setup and Marketing permission. Individual channels have additional location, payment and account requirements. Shopify requirements

Start with a channel for which the business already has the necessary accounts and permissions. Under Channels, select Connect and complete the platform's setup. Meta, Microsoft Advertising and Snapchat have different requirements; check the current prompts before committing spend. Autopilot-managed Meta campaigns are separate from existing manual campaigns. Setup, Meta details

A budget target is not a hard cap

Suppose a merchant sets an Autopilot monthly target of $1,000 and separately plans $600 for manually managed ads. Both belong in the business's budget. Shopify describes the Autopilot budget as a target; cross-channel delays can lead to spending above it. A reserve is prudent but does not turn the target into a strict cap. If an absolute limit is required, confirm suitable controls before allowing execution. Budget settings

Under Budget → Edit, enter the target. Under Guardrails → Edit, review the target return, locations and languages. Keep a separate internal record of other campaigns, actual spend and the person responsible for checking. Autopilot itself is free, but approved marketing activities can incur charges from their respective providers.

Official Shopify Campaign Autopilot budget example; not a customer result.

Official Shopify illustration, not an implemented client store. Source.

Start with approval

Under Growth → Autopilot → Permissions → Edit, choose the approval settings appropriate to the team. Staff Marketing permission and Autopilot's execution permission are separate decisions. In approval mode, open Pending actions and check the channel, audience, budget and landing page before selecting Approve; use Dismiss for a proposal that is unsuitable. Approval for an ad can allow it to be created and launched. Managing strategies

For a first launch, record the market, products, offer, planned spend, approver and next review time. This is an internal checklist, not a Shopify form. Some elements of a suggestion can be edited or regenerated, but editing options vary by activity.

Test the customer journey before approval

Open the destination on a phone. Check that the product, selected variant, price and offer match the ad. Add the selected variant to cart, then check the discount and delivery for a relevant address. A promotion mentioned in copy is not evidence that it has been configured in Shopify.

Product data also matters: for example, a channel may reject products with missing prices, images or accessible pages. Resolve the stated rejection and check sync again. Snapchat product requirements

From a custom storefront design and development perspective, the campaign page should draw on reliable product and price data, connect variant selection to the cart, and give the operations team a clear place to update or retire an offer. Use existing theme capabilities where they suffice; build custom functionality when the actual requirements call for it.

Review results and know how to stop

In Growth → Autopilot → Activity, inspect actions and open the relevant campaign. Compare the same date range, currency and metric definitions with the ad platform's reporting, then reconcile Shopify orders, refunds and fulfilment. Attributed sales are not the same as profit, and figures from separate platforms should not simply be added together.

Changing budget, guardrails or permissions affects future suggestions rather than altering campaigns already running. To stop one campaign, open its details and select Stop. To pause the managed channels, use More actions → Pause all channels; Shopify says this pauses managed ads and cancels scheduled email automations. Separately inspect any manually managed campaigns. Update or remove expired storefront promotions afterward. Managing and stopping, pause settings

Availability and channel rules depend on the store and the advertising account. Check the current Shopify guidance and the actual settings before making changes.