Instacart automation rules overview

This article explains the automation rule types supported by Xnurta for Instacart, the general workflow, and the key limitations to keep in mind.

1. Supported Rule Types

Xnurta currently supports the following three automation rule types for Instacart:

1.1 Bid Dayparting

Bid Dayparting automatically adjusts bids by day of week and hour of day based on the schedule you configure.

• Supported ad type: Sponsored Product

• Rule association level: Campaign

• Effective object: Targeting

• Execution frequency: Starts at the top of every hour

1.2 Budget Dayparting

Budget Dayparting automatically adjusts budgets by day of week and hour of day based on the schedule you configure.

• Supported ad type: Sponsored Product

• Rule association level: Campaign

• Effective object: Campaign

• Execution frequency: Starts at the top of every hour

Notes:

• Budget Dayparting only applies to Sponsored Product campaigns with a daily budget.

1.3 Performance-Based Bid Adjustment

Performance-Based Bid Adjustment automatically raises, lowers, or sets bids according to object performance within the selected reporting window.

• Supported ad type: Sponsored Product

• Rule association level: Campaign

• Effective object: Ad group or keyword/targeting

• Execution frequency: Runs according to the daily, weekly, or monthly schedule you set

2. General Workflow

2.1 Create a Rule

Go to the Automation Rules page, click Create Rule, and then select the advertiser and rule type.

When creating a rule, please note:

• The rule template name cannot be empty. Use a clear name that is easy to identify later.

• Instacart rules always use USD, so no currency selector is shown.

• All Instacart rules run in PST.

2.2 Configure the Rule

Complete the configuration based on the rule type:

• Bid Dayparting: set bid multipliers by time slot

• Budget Dayparting: set budget allocation by time slot

• Performance-Based Bid Adjustment: set data window, conditions, actions, and execution schedule

After saving, the system returns you to the rule list page.

2.3 Link Campaigns

After saving a rule, you need to link campaigns so the rule has eligible objects to run on.

When linking campaigns, please note:

• Within the same automation rule type, the same campaign can only be linked once.

• The Instacart campaign selector includes an Attribution Model filter with Linear and Last Touch.

• The Instacart campaign selector does not provide a Return on Ad Spend range filter.

• Rules only execute on campaigns that are actively serving.

• If a campaign is already linked to another rule of the same type, it cannot be linked again.

Statuses that can be shown but cannot be linked:

• Draft

• Ended

• Deleted

Statuses that can be linked but will not execute immediately:

• Paused

• Scheduled

• Inactive

• Out of budget

2.4 Enable or Pause Rule Application

After a campaign is linked to a rule, it is enabled by default. You can later manage it from the Apply Rule page:

• Enable or disable the rule for a single campaign

• Enable or disable the rule in bulk

Notes:

• Apply Rule controls whether a linked campaign executes the automation rule. It does not change the campaign's delivery status.

• A rule only executes when the campaign is in an eligible serving state.

2.5 Rule Capacity Limit

Each rule type has its own limit for the number of campaigns that can be linked.

Here, rule limit means:

• Within the same store

• Within the same rule type

• The total number of campaigns that can be linked across one or more rules of that type

Once the limit is reached, you cannot link more campaigns to that rule type for the store, and you also cannot enable that rule for additional campaigns.

In practical terms:

• Bid Dayparting has its own limit

• Budget Dayparting has its own limit

• Performance-Based Bid Adjustment has its own limit

• The three rule types are counted separately

When the limit is reached, the page will show that the remaining number of campaigns available for linking or enabling under the current rule type is insufficient.

3. How Automation Rules Execute

When rules are running, please keep the following in mind:

1. Bid Dayparting and Budget Dayparting run hourly, typically starting at the top of the hour.

2. Performance-Based Bid Adjustment runs at the specific time you configure and supports daily, weekly, and monthly schedules.

3. Any edits you make take effect from the next execution window. Past time slots are not recalculated retroactively.

4. Platform limits always override your rule settings. If the computed value exceeds platform limits, the system applies the platform maximum or minimum instead.

4. Instacart-Specific Rules and Limitations

4.1 Bid Auto-Optimization

If a campaign has Instacart bid auto-optimization enabled:

• Bid Dayparting will be skipped

• Performance-Based Bid Adjustment may also be affected when it attempts to modify bids

4.2 System-Added Terms

Terms automatically added by the Instacart system are skipped for bid changes and do not participate in Bid Dayparting or Performance-Based Bid Adjustment.

4.3 Attribution Model

Performance-Based Bid Adjustment supports both Linear and Last Touch attribution models. Because Return on Ad Spend, attributed sales, and new-to-brand metrics differ by attribution model, keep the attribution setting consistent when you filter campaigns and configure rule conditions.

4.4 Overwrites from Other Platforms

After an automation rule is enabled, any budget or bid changes made directly in the Instacart console or in a third-party platform may later be overwritten by Xnurta automation. It is recommended to maintain automation-related bids and budgets in Xnurta only.

5. Compatibility Between Rules

• A campaign can have different rule types applied at the same time.

• When Performance-Based Bid Adjustment and Bid Dayparting are both enabled on the same campaign, Performance-Based Bid Adjustment takes priority, and Bid Dayparting is skipped for that execution window.

• Within the same rule type, a campaign cannot be linked to multiple rules.

6. Recommendations

• If you want stronger bid control during fixed time windows, start with Bid Dayparting.

• If you want to control budget pacing across fixed time windows, start with Budget Dayparting.

• If you want bids to optimize continuously based on historical performance, use Performance-Based Bid Adjustment and align attribution settings first.

• Before rolling out at scale, start with a small set of campaigns and validate the results using execution logs.