Ads being turned back on after an update

Hi Edward,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Advertising Learn Q&A Platform! My name is Shaynne, and I will be assisting you with this query.

I totally understand your frustration—this kind of unexpected billing can be upsetting, especially when you already paused your campaigns. Let’s take a closer look at what might have caused this and explore the steps we can take to resolve it.

Why your campaigns may have reactivated
There are two common reasons campaigns can resume without your direct action:

Scheduled Imports from Google Ads

If you previously used the Google Import feature in Microsoft Advertising, it may have been set to run on a recurring schedule. This means:

• Even if you paused your Microsoft campaigns manually, a scheduled import could overwrite those settings and re-enable them.
• The import can be set to Auto, Now, Once, Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and it may include campaign status updates from Google Ads.

You can check and manage this by going to:
Import > Import schedule & history Review the logs and settings to see if a recurring import is active.

How to fix it

If you'd like to stop automatic updates from changing your campaign status:

• Navigate to Import > Import schedule & history.
• Choose to Edit the scheduled import
• Under “Updates to existing items”, uncheck the option for “campaign status”
• Save your changes.

Alternatively, you can pause or delete the scheduled import altogether to
prevent any further automatic syncing.

Automated Rules

Microsoft Advertising allows users to set up automated rules that can:

• Enable or pause campaigns based on specific conditions
• Adjust bids or budgets
• Send notifications when certain thresholds are met

If an automated rule was created (even unintentionally), it could have reactivated your campaign without you realizing it.

You can review and manage these rules by navigating to:

Tools > Bulk actions > Automated rules. From there, you can pause, edit, or delete any active rules.

I hope this information has been helpful in answering your questions. To provide you with additional support, I’ve also sent you a private message—please feel free to respond if there’s anything else I can assist with on my end.

Our support teams are happy to discuss your account in more detail via phone, chat or email to provide review assistance. You can find the best way to reach us on our support page.

Kind regards, 
Shaynne | Microsoft Advertising Support Specialist | 800-518-5689