> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.datalyr.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Turn ads on within spend limits > The one step that starts spend: the live ads switch per ad account, the three spend limits and their defaults, how new spend is counted, and each platform's overspend rule. Agents start spend in one way only: turning a campaign, ad set or ad on, or raising a budget. This page covers the owner's controls for that step. ## When a turn-on applies directly `activate_ad_objects` and a raise through `set_ad_budget` apply on your yes only when all of these are true: | Condition | Where it's set | | - | - | | The person saying yes is the workspace owner, connected over MCP | Workspace roles | | The connection has the **Publish live** level | The consent page | | Live ads are on for this ad account | **Settings → Ad publishing → Live ads** | | The new spend is inside all three spend limits | **Settings → Ad publishing → Live ads** | If any is false, the yes becomes an approval link only the owner can approve. API keys always get the approval link. Two conditions block the request outright: agents switched off for the platform under **Platforms**, and an ad account stopped after rejected ads. Turn them back on first. ## Switch live ads on for an ad account Live ads let an agent start real spend in this ad account from a yes in chat, up to your limits. 1. Open **Settings → Ad publishing**. 2. Under **Live ads**, find the row for the ad account, for example `Meta · Example Store (act_123)`. 3. Turn on its switch. Only the owner can change this switch. Every ad account starts with it off. While a platform is off under **Platforms**, agents turn nothing on there, even with live ads on. ## Set spend limits The limits are in the workspace's reporting currency, per day. Only the owner can change them. Agents can't. | Limit | Label in Settings | Default | | - | - | - | | Any one campaign or ad set an agent turns on or raises | **Per campaign or ad set, per day** | 1,000 | | New daily spend agents start in any rolling 24 hours | **New spend agents start in 24 hours** | 5,000 | | Daily budgets of everything agents turned on that is still running | **Everything agents turned on, per day** | 20,000 | Clear a field to remove that limit. The field then reads `No limit`. A request above a limit goes to the owner on the approval page. The owner's approval is how you allow it. DATALYR checks the limits again at the moment of the change, so two previews can't both slip under one limit. ## How new spend is counted | Change | New spend | | - | - | | Turning on a campaign or ad set that wasn't spending | Its daily budget. With a campaign budget, the campaign's. | | Turning on an ad inside an ad set that is already spending | None | | Raising the budget of something that is spending | The increase | | A lifetime budget | Its daily share: the budget divided by the days left, at least one day | | Pausing, or lowering a budget | None | DATALYR converts the ad account's currency to your reporting currency. If there is no exchange rate, the request counts as over a limit and goes to the owner. ## What the preview shows A turn-on or raise adds these lines to the summary: ```text theme={null} New spend: up to $150.00/day. Meta may spend up to 1.75× a daily budget on a single day, and at most 7× it in a week. Agents started $200.00/day of new spend in the last 24 hours; everything they turned on runs at $650.00/day. Over a limit: "Spring sale" would run at $1,500.00/day, above the $1,000.00/day per campaign or ad set limit. Saying yes sends an approval link to the workspace owner (it's above the workspace's spend limits). ``` ## Each platform's overspend rule A daily budget is an average, not a cap. Each platform can spend over it on one day. | Platform | Rule the preview states | | - | - | | Meta | Up to 1.75× a daily budget on a single day, and at most 7× it in a week | | TikTok | Slightly more than a daily budget on a single day: up to 125% of a campaign's daily budget, and at most 7× it in a week | | Google Ads | Up to 2× a daily budget on a single day, and at most 30.4× it in a month | ## The went-live email Every time an agent turns something on or raises a budget, the owners and admins get the email **An agent turned ads on in Meta** (or TikTok, or Google Ads). It lists each object turned on, each new budget, and the new spend. It links to **Settings → Ad publishing**. This email can't be turned off. ## Verify 1. Ask the agent to turn on a paused ad set with a small budget. 2. Confirm the preview shows a `New spend:` line and no `Over a limit:` line. 3. Say yes. 4. Confirm the went-live email arrives. 5. Confirm the ad set is active in Ads Manager. ## When it does not work | Symptom | Cause | Fix | | - | - | - | | The yes always sends an approval link | You aren't the owner, the level isn't Publish live, or live ads are off for the account. | The preview's last line names the reason. | | `Agents are switched off for Meta in Settings → Ad publishing` | The platform switch is off. | An owner or admin turns it on under **Platforms**. | | `limit_reached` after the yes | Another turn-on used up the room since the preview. | Preview again. The yes then goes to the owner. | | `Couldn't read the budget above …` | The platform didn't return the parent's budget. | Try again in a minute. | ## Next * [Stop agent ads and alerts](/agent-ads/stop-and-alerts): pause everything agents turned on. * [Change ads after launch](/agent-ads/change-ads): budgets, pausing and new content. * [Access levels and approvals](/agent-ads/access-and-approvals): who approves above a limit. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.