How to fix issues with Automations

This page helps you diagnose why an automation triggered (or didn’t), and how to verify behavior using logs and schedule settings.

Common issues

Ads Manager data doesn’t match the condition, but the automation took action

Automations work on live data, not Ads Manager’s data. Ads Manager can show the last day’s data as the latest data, especially for MMP data, while Automations use live data during optimization.

Automation was not triggered

If your automation didn’t trigger as expected:

Check action frequency settings.
→ See Set the schedule for an automation.
Go to the Logs tab and review history.
→ See How to read automation logs.
Enable Full Logs to see checks that were evaluated but did not meet conditions.
→ See Automations execution and behavior for how conditions are evaluated.
If the automation has been checked but the table shows “0” in all columns, it means there are currently no elements the actions are applied to.
→ If needed, review how rules are set up in Create an automation from scratch.

Check frequency vs action frequency (why timing can look different)

Check frequency is how often the system evaluates your conditions.
Action frequency is how often the system can execute the action once conditions are met.

→ For full setup details, see Set the schedule for an automation.

This prevents changes from happening too frequently, which can create instability.

Paused entities behavior

The only action Automations will take on paused elements is Activate.

If a rule applies across many entities, it will not adjust bids on paused campaigns or paused keywords.
Once a paused element is activated by automation, any subsequent rules that involve bid changes can then apply.

→ Learn how actions work in Add actions to an automation.

Use log statuses to diagnose outcomes

In Automation logs:

Successful entries show the exact change and old vs new values.
Warning entries show why the action was skipped.
Error entries show the operational/API error message or reason.

→ See How to read automation logs for detailed examples.

“No action” scenarios related to other tools

Automations respect higher-level optimization tools and will not interfere in these cases:

Smart Bidding: No bid or pause actions will be applied to keywords managed by an active Smart Bidding setup.
Budget Allocation: No daily budget or pause actions will be applied to campaigns managed by an active Budget Allocation setup.
CPP A/B Testing: No default Max CPT or pause actions will be applied to ad groups participating in a custom product page A/B test.

→ See Automations execution and behavior for how Automations interact with other tools.

Need more help?

If you have further questions on the process, contact your dedicated Customer Success Manager or contact the support team via live chat!