Create your first TikTok Smart+ campaign with AI
Build a Smart+ campaign from a chat, check it before anything runs, and turn it on when you are ready.
This walkthrough builds a first TikTok campaign from one conversation: check that the ad account is ready, pick the TikTok account the ad runs under, upload a video, build a Smart+ campaign for website purchases, preview it, and turn it on. It assumes your TikTok ad account is connected through Adplane. Nothing in steps 1 to 5 can spend money; step 6 is where you decide.
Step 1: check the account is ready
You have one TikTok ad account, Fernwood Outdoor, in US dollars. It is ready to build on:
| Check | Result |
|---|---|
| Account status | Approved and active |
| TikTok account | fernwoodoutdoor |
| Custom identity | Fernwood Outdoor |
| Pixel | Fernwood store pixel |
| Apps | None (needed only for app promotion) |
| Lead ad terms | Not accepted (needed only for lead ads) |
| Delivery | No issues reported |
The pixel means the campaign can optimize for purchases on your site.
Each line is ok, a warning, or something you must fix first. When something blocks, the answer says the account is not ready and names it: an ad account still in TikTok's review, for example, or no identity to run ads under. Fix it in TikTok Ads Manager and ask again. A missing pixel is a warning, not a blocker, but without one the campaign can only optimize for clicks or landing page views. You should see a ready account before you go on.
Step 2: the TikTok account your ads run under
Use fernwoodoutdoor. It is a TikTok account linked to your ad account, so the ad runs as a Spark Ad under its name and profile picture, and it can post new videos from the ad account.
Fernwood Outdoor is a custom identity, a name and picture with no TikTok account behind it. TikTok no longer runs new ads with one on placements that include TikTok, so it cannot carry this ad.
Every TikTok ad runs under an identity, and Adplane builds them as Spark Ads, which need a real TikTok account: one linked to the ad account, one authorized through your Business Center, or a creator's post they authorized for you with a code. Identities are set up in TikTok Ads Manager, not in the chat. If the list is empty or shows only custom identities, link a TikTok account first. You should see at least one TikTok account you are happy to post as.
Step 3: upload the video
Added to your TikTok creative library: ridgeline-pitch.mp4, vertical 9:16, 24 seconds. TikTok is still processing it, which usually takes 30 seconds to five minutes. A video in the library cannot show or spend by itself; it only becomes an ad in the next step.
TikTok downloads the video itself, so give a link it can open without signing in. MP4, MOV, MPEG and AVI all work, and vertical 9:16 fits TikTok best, though 16:9 and 1:1 also run. When the ad is built, the video is posted to fernwoodoutdoor as an ads-only post: it plays in the ad and does not appear on the account's profile. You should see the video listed with its shape and length.
Step 4: build the campaign, the ad group and the ad
Built in this order, each read back from TikTok:
| Object | Name | What TikTok stored |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign | Fall tents | Smart+, website conversions |
| Ad group | Fall tents US | 40 dollars a day, United States, English |
| Ad | Ridgeline pitch | Spark Ad as fernwoodoutdoor |
The campaign has no budget of its own. The ad group uses automatic targeting, optimizes for purchases on Fernwood store pixel, runs on TikTok placement, and starts now with no end date. The ad carries your text and links to example.com/tents.
For the ad, I also added the video's own cover frame to your library and TikTok's recommended call-to-action buttons.
Created disabledNothing here can spend until you turn it on.
Three objects, always in this order: the campaign sets the goal, the ad group holds the budget, targeting and the conversion event, and the ad joins the video, the identity and the link. With only a location and a language, TikTok finds the audience itself; adding ages, a gender or interests such as Outdoor Equipment switches the ad group to custom targeting. Placement is TikTok and cannot change later. Ask for a cost cap if you want a target cost per purchase; without one, TikTok bids for the most results within the budget. You should see all three objects with the values you asked for.
Step 5: preview and review
Here is the preview of Ridgeline pitch as TikTok will show it: (preview link). It works for 30 days and anyone with the link can open it, so you can send it to whoever signs off on ads.
Once it is on, Fall tents can spend up to 40 dollars a day, about 1,200 dollars a month, in the United States. TikTok chooses who sees it within English speakers there, and it optimizes for purchases on your pixel.
This is the moment to catch a wrong link, a typo in the text, or a budget that is higher than you meant. Any of it can be changed while the campaign is off: ask for a new name, a different budget, or a second ad in the same ad group. You should see the ad as a viewer will, and the monthly number you expect.
Step 6: turn it on with one yes
Turn on Fall tents? That switches on the campaign, its ad group and the Ridgeline pitch ad. From then on it can spend up to 40 dollars a day, about 1,200 dollars a month. Say yes and I will make the change.
Done, one switch at a time. Read back from TikTok: Fall tents is on, Fall tents US is on at 40 dollars a day, and Ridgeline pitch is on. TikTok lists the ad as under review, so it starts delivering once TikTok approves it.
"Looks good" is not a request to spend, so the assistant asks first and says what turning it on means in money. One yes covers the three switches, because a TikTok ad delivers only when its campaign, its ad group and the ad are all on. You should see all three on, and the ad's review status.
The first days
Its first two complete days. TikTok's numbers can take about 11 hours to settle, so yesterday is left out.
| Day | Spend (USD) | Impressions | Clicks | Purchases |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First day | 38.60 | 10,250 | 88 | 1 |
| Second day | 40.00 | 11,150 | 98 | 1 |
| Total | 78.60 | 21,400 | 186 | 2 |
It is spending its budget, and 0.87% of impressions led to a click. Two purchases at 39.30 each is too few to judge yet; give it about a week before you compare cost per purchase with your target.
In the first week, watch three things. Review: if the ad is still not delivering, ask why, and the assistant reads TikTok's own status, such as under review or rejected. Pacing: spend should sit near the daily budget. Cost per purchase: once a week of data is in, compare it with what a sale is worth to you. If it is not working, ask to pause the campaign; pausing is reversible and the campaign keeps everything you built. You should see complete days only, with spend close to the daily budget.
Why this is safe to run
Steps 1, 2 and 5 are reads and cannot change anything. Every create in step 4 is sent to TikTok with its off status, and no create tool takes a status at all, so a build that stops halfway leaves nothing running. tiktok_update_object is the one tool that can switch a campaign, ad group or ad on, or raise a budget, and it is used only when you ask for that change or say yes to it. Every change is read back from TikTok before it is reported as done. The full safety model is in the docs.
Run it on your account
Adplane connects to Claude in one click from the connector directory, or to ChatGPT from the plugin directory. Then connect TikTok Ads on your accounts page. The free trial is 14 days and does not require a card. Connect your account and run step 1.
Try it in your own chat
Sign in with Google, connect your ad accounts, and ask your first question.