A Custom Budget Group is the container for your ads when you want more creative control than the AI Budget Group gives you.
How the AI actually manages it:
A Custom Budget Group still runs with AI in all the best places; it optimizes your audience targeting, budget allocation, and timing, and it'll cycle spend toward whichever ad in the group is getting the best returns.
What it won't do is create new ads or turn ads on/off for you the way an AI Budget Group does.
Why choose Custom over AI Budget Group:
It's more hands-on, but it gives you access to more ad types (video, custom carousels, posts) and full creative control — which makes it the better fit if you run a niche store or have a specific campaign goal the AI Budget Group's automatic product carousels can't fully capture.
💡Pro Tip:
Running both budget group types (AI Magic group and Custom group) side by side is a smart move, not an either/or decision.
Let the AI Budget Group handle automated product carousels while you test specific creative or audience strategies in a Custom Budget Group — then compare results to see which mix actually drives the best return for your store.