Direct answer: Keep the advertiser account, billing and campaign history under merchant control while an expert manages approved campaigns.
The ownership decision
The merchant should normally own the advertiser account and retain control of its billing, campaign history and access. Codified Commerce can be invited with a role appropriate to the approved work. This arrangement makes the operating relationship clear if the merchant changes agencies, pauses a campaign or brings work in-house. Check available roles and account eligibility in the merchant’s current advertising account before requesting access.
Separate the three permissions
Account ownership answers who controls the asset. Campaign approval answers who authorizes the objective, offer, budget and launch. Operational access answers who may edit ad groups, creatives and measurement settings. Record these permissions; an account role does not itself authorize unlimited spend or unapproved product claims.
A practical handoff
Record the merchant account owner, billing owner, authorized operator, approver and backup contact. Confirm the destination domain and whether tracking access is available. Save the campaign brief, baseline and agreed reporting cadence in a place the merchant can inspect. At handoff, remove unneeded access and retain a copy of results and learning.
A worked example
A Shopify merchant with a seasonal product might own the account and payment method while inviting Codified Commerce to manage a pre-approved six-week test. If the operator leaves, the campaign data, billing and destination domain remain with the merchant. Before launch, the owner confirms that advertising is available for the account and country, reviews the campaign brief and records the spending cap. At the end, the operator shares results, open questions and the next proposed decision; no account role silently extends the engagement.
Pre-launch or review checklist
- Owner
- billing contact
- manager role
- campaign approver
- spend limit
- emergency pause contact
- handoff date.
Where this fits
For ChatGPT Advertising, Machine Experience checks Shopify product facts and buying readiness, Moving Target observes customer and campaign response, and Next Product Move directs the next improvement. These are the three units of CAT AI. Explore the advertising approach; verify country and account eligibility before promising campaign activation.
