> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.citrusad.com/retail-media-interface/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.citrusad.com/retail-media-interface/campaign-management/using-autobidding.md).
# Using autobidding
Autobidding adjusts your bids automatically to match the **strategy you choose**, while keeping spend on track against your **daily budget**. You set a daily spend limit and a maximum bid (max CPC or max CPM, depending on the campaign), and the system handles bid changes for you — it will **never bid above your maximum**.
All strategies pace your daily spend. What changes between strategies is the **campaign goal** they optimise for.
{% hint style="info" %}
## Activated per retailer
Autobidding strategies are rolling out per retailer and vary by campaign type. Availability depends on your campaign type, charge model, and retailer configuration.
{% endhint %}
***
### Which strategy should I use?
Start with the campaign's **primary KPI** — revenue, ROAS, clicks, or impressions — and pick the matching strategy.
| Strategy | Campaign types | Best when you want to… |
| ---------------------------- | ----------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| **Max conversion value** | Product ads | Grow **attributed sales revenue** within budget |
| **Target-ROAS auto-bidding** | Product ads | Grow revenue while keeping **ROAS near a set target** |
| **Max clicks** | Product ads and banners | Drive **click volume** within budget |
| **Max impressions** | Banners | Drive **visibility and impressions** within budget |
***
### Before you start
1. **Choose your strategy** — In the strategy stage, select the objective that matches your campaign goal, then enable autobidding.
2. **Set a daily spend limit** — Required. This is how the system keeps spend on track.
3. **Set your max bid** — Max CPC or max CPM, depending on the campaign. The system never bids above this.
{% hint style="info" %}
**Set your max bid higher than your usual manual bid.** Give the system room to bid up when it's behind on spend and down when it's ahead. If max bid sits at your typical manual level, there's little room to adjust. Spend is still paced, and the system won't routinely bid at the ceiling.
{% endhint %}
### Keep in mind
* **Autobidding does not guarantee full spend.** If there isn't enough demand, competition, eligible inventory, or budget headroom, a campaign can still underspend.
* **Max bid still matters.** A low max bid can limit delivery even when autobidding is enabled.
* **Allow a learning period.** New campaigns take time to settle — see Learning period below.
***
### Where autobidding is available
{% hint style="warning" %}
## Activated per retailer
Rollout varies by retailer and campaign type. Contact your retailer if you do not see this capability.
{% endhint %}
* **Product ads** — Max conversion value, Max clicks, and Target-ROAS auto-bidding.
* **Banner & Banner X** — Max impressions.
***
### Max conversion value (product ads)
**Use when**
* Your main goal is **sales revenue** from attributed conversions.
* You want to grow attributed sales revenue within budget, rather than maximise click volume.
* You want to pace spend across the day.
**Avoid when**
* Your goal is awareness, click, or impression volume — use Max clicks or Max impressions.
**What to expect**
* Spend is spread across the day against your daily budget.
* Bids favour auctions more likely to drive conversion sales revenue.
* This is **not the same** as Target-ROAS auto-bidding — it does **not** protect a specific ROAS target.
* The full daily budget may not always be spent if there isn't enough traffic.
**Best fit / be cautious**
* Better fit when the campaign has regular clicks and attributed sales coming through.
* Be cautious when traffic is very low, conversion data is sparse or delayed, or the campaign has little sales history.
***
### Target-ROAS auto-bidding (product ads)
**Use when**
* You want to maximise conversion sales revenue while keeping ROAS near a specified target.
* Your campaign ROAS is already satisfactory and typically above the target.
* Your campaign is underspending while ROAS is high, and you want to increase spend and revenue within budget.
**Avoid when**
* You want to maximise revenue and/or pace spend across the day — use Max conversion value.
* Your campaign has low initial ROAS — optimise the campaign first.
* Your target ROAS is above typical campaign ROAS — this may slow bidding and cause underspend.
**What to expect**
* Target-ROAS auto-bidding does **not maximise ROAS**. It aims to maximise conversion sales revenue while keeping ROAS near the target.
* Spend is paced to your daily budget, but bidding may pull back when the target is hard to meet.
* The campaign may underspend if the target ROAS is too ambitious for the current campaign.
* It's rarely suited to *lift* a campaign's ROAS above its typical value — raising ROAS usually needs campaign optimisation beyond bidding.
* New campaigns need time to build conversion data before ROAS-based optimisation fully kicks in.
**Best fit / be cautious**
* Better fit when the campaign already has enough clicks and sales to support a ROAS target, and baseline ROAS is close to or above the target.
* Be cautious when baseline ROAS is well below target, traffic is low, conversions are sparse, or there's little room to grow sales.
***
### Max clicks (product ads)
**Use when**
* Your primary KPI is **clicks**, not sales revenue or ROAS.
* You're running an awareness or consideration campaign where getting people to the product or landing page matters most.
* You want to pace spend across the day.
**Avoid when**
* Sales revenue is the main goal and/or ROAS matters — use Max conversion value or Target-ROAS auto-bidding.
* Visibility is the main goal — don't activate autobidding and run with a high CPC.
**What to expect**
* Spend is spread across the day against your daily budget.
* The system prioritises winning **clicks** within your max bid.
* It does not favour high-value conversions over low-value ones.
* The full daily budget may not always be spent, for example if traffic is low.
***
### Max impressions (banners)
**Use when**
* Your primary KPI is **impressions** or **visibility** on a banner campaign.
* You're comfortable optimising for visibility rather than clicks or sales.
* You want to pace spend across the day.
**Avoid when**
* Clicks, conversions, or sales revenue are the main goal — use Max clicks or a product-ad revenue strategy.
**What to expect**
* Spend is spread across the day against your daily budget.
* The system prioritises winning **impression opportunities** within your max bid.
* It can help with visibility, but is not designed to optimise for clicks or sales quality.
* The full daily budget may not always be spent, for example if traffic is insufficient.
* Bid adjustments are managed at campaign level — different keywords can still affect the effective ceiling per auction.
**Keep in mind**
* Available for supported banner campaign setups.
* Confirm the campaign uses a supported **CPI or CPM** charging model.
***
### Learning period (new campaigns)
Revenue-based strategies — **Max conversion value** and **Target-ROAS auto-bidding** — need enough attributed sales history before they can optimise fully.
While the campaign is still learning:
* Spend is still paced to your daily budget.
* Bids behave more like even budget pacing until there's enough conversion data.
* Expect the first **days to weeks** before results stabilise. How long depends on traffic, competition, and how quickly sales come through.
Practical guidance:
* Don't judge a new autobidding campaign on day-one ROAS or revenue alone.
* If traffic is very low, revenue-based strategies may stay in a learning-like state for longer — consider whether Max clicks is a better fit, or wait until volume picks up.
* Existing campaigns with sales history generally adapt faster than brand-new ones.
***
### Things that affect performance (outside autobidding)
Autobidding can't compensate for:
* Products out of stock
* Wallet or account budget limits being reached
* Campaign rejections or pauses
* Seasonal demand drops or low auction volume
When performance shifts, check these before changing strategy or targets.
***
### FAQs
**Which strategy should I choose?**
Match the campaign's primary KPI: sales revenue (Max conversion value), an efficiency target (Target-ROAS auto-bidding), click volume (Max clicks), or visibility (Max impressions).
**Do I need an end date for the campaign?**
No. If your campaign has no end date you can still use autobidding. As you will have a daily limit set, your spend will still be paced.
**Will autobidding spend my whole budget?**
Not necessarily. Spend is paced to your daily budget and never exceeds your max bid, but full delivery isn't guaranteed — especially while the campaign is learning or when demand, inventory, or max bid limit delivery.
**What's the difference between Max conversion value and Target-ROAS auto-bidding?**
Max conversion value grows attributed sales revenue within budget. Target-ROAS auto-bidding grows revenue while keeping ROAS near a target you set — it constrains bidding to that target rather than maximising revenue outright.
**How long is the learning period?**
Typically the first days to weeks for revenue-based strategies, depending on traffic, competition, and how quickly sales come through. Existing campaigns with history adapt faster.
**What about daily caps and wallet spends?**
The campaign stops serving when any budget limit is reached. Limits include campaign daily limits, wallet budgets, and wallet daily limits.
***
### Glossary
* **Target ROAS / ROAS target** — The ROAS level you ask Target-ROAS auto-bidding to stay near. It's a constraint for bidding, not a promise that campaign ROAS will increase.
* **Campaign ROAS** — The campaign's actual return on ad spend over a period: attributed sales revenue divided by ad spend.
* **Attributed sales revenue (conversion sales revenue)** — Sales revenue credited to the campaign through attribution; the revenue signal used by conversion-value bidding.
* **Daily spend limit / daily budget** — The amount the campaign is allowed to spend per day. Autobidding paces against this limit.
* **Max bid** — The highest bid the system is allowed to place (max CPC, CPM, or CPI depending on campaign setup).
* **Pacing spend** — Spreading spend across the day rather than spending too quickly or too slowly.
* **Underspend** — When the campaign spends less than the available daily budget, due to low demand, low max bid, limited inventory, or a strict ROAS target.
* **Learning period** — The early period where the campaign is still building enough performance history for revenue-based strategies to settle.
---
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