takeover

Understanding how SpendGuard handles ads that were paused outside of the system.

What is Takeover?

Takeover allows SpendGuard to manage ad entities that were paused manually or by another system. When takeover is enabled, SpendGuard will:

• Pause entities regardless of their current status (as it normally does)

• Resume entities that were paused outside of SpendGuard (in addition to entities it paused)

Normal Behavior (Without Takeover)

By default, SpendGuard:

• ✅ Pauses entities when rules are triggered (regardless of current status)

• ✅ Resumes entities it has paused when inventory recovers

• ❌ Does NOT resume entities that were paused outside of SpendGuard

Why this matters

If you manually pause an ad (or another system pauses it):

• SpendGuard will still pause it when rules trigger (if it's not already paused)

• SpendGuard will NOT resume it when inventory recovers

• The ad will remain paused until you manually resume it

With Takeover Enabled

When takeover is enabled for a guard:

• ✅ Pauses entities when rules are triggered (as normal)

• ✅ Resumes entities it has paused (as normal)

• ✅ Resumes entities that were paused outside of SpendGuard (new behavior)

When to use takeover

Enable takeover when any of the following apply:

• You have ads that were paused before setting up SpendGuard

• You want SpendGuard to manage all paused ads, not just ones it paused

• You're migrating from manual ad management to automated management

How to Enable Takeover

1

During Guard Creation

• When creating a guard, if there are paused entities that weren't paused by SpendGuard a takeover banner will appear.

• Toggle the "Take over paused [entities]" switch.

• The guard will manage those entities going forward.

2

During Guard Editing

• Edit an existing guard.

• If there are paused entities that weren't paused by SpendGuard a takeover banner will appear.

• Toggle the "Take over paused [entities]" switch to enable takeover.

Takeover is only available when automation mode is set to "Pause + Resume".

Takeover Badge

In the guard edit screen, entities that have been taken over show a "Takeover" badge next to their status.

Activity Feed

When takeover is used, the activity feed shows:

• A "Takeover" badge on actions that involved takeover

• The reason code shows as "takeover" in batch details

Best Practices

• Review Before Enabling - Make sure you want SpendGuard to manage all paused entities.

• Check Activity - Monitor takeover actions to ensure they're working as expected.

• Understand Impact - Takeover means SpendGuard will resume entities it didn't pause.

Related Topics

• Creating Guards - How to create guards with takeover

• Activity Feed - Viewing takeover actions