Can I change the start plan before I turn on Autopilot?
Updated 30 October 2026
Partly. Before you start, you can change the budget and what Bavian should keep in mind, and the plan is drawn again from that. Which campaigns the plan starts is Bavian's call, and nothing changes in your Google Ads account until you click Turn on Autopilot.
What you can change
- The total daily budget, with adjust budget (set budget if none is set yet) in the Start Autopilot box on the Insights page. The total daily budget is the cap for what your campaign budgets add up to, and Bavian never raises it on its own.
- On a new account with no places set yet, the places your ads show, with Set locations in the same box.
- What Bavian should keep in mind: click Adjust plan and budget and write it, for example "Keep the Display campaigns paused". A note is a preference Bavian takes into account, not a lock. Rules for your ad text go in Memory: see Will Bavian's ads make claims my website doesn't make?
The table under How your campaigns will start is redrawn when you save a new budget or note, so its numbers are the ones that apply when you start.
What you decide after the start
- Pause a campaign on the Campaigns page, or in Google Ads. Your choice stands.
- Fix one campaign's budget with Set this budget yourself on the Budget page.
- Change the places your ads show on the Locations page.
Good to know
- On an account with campaigns, Bavian takes over every campaign it can manage; there's no way to leave one out. See Can I start Autopilot on a few selected campaigns first?
- The written analysis is a snapshot from the day it was made. See Why do the analysis and the start plan show different budgets?
- Without a subscription, only the owner can turn on Autopilot, because the owner pays. See How do I activate Autopilot?