What this is for

An ad account is the advertising account that pays the platform and owns the ads. Connecting a social publishing account is not the same as choosing an ad account. Use this guide before creating your first paid ad, or when an existing account needs reconnecting.

Before you start

Use a workspace where paid ads are available. If you do not see Paid ads, it is not enabled for your workspace yet.
Have access to the advertising account on the platform you want to connect. Only accounts available to that login can be selected.
Allow popups for the app. Most platforms open their sign-in flow in a separate window.
For Meta, have a Facebook Page you manage and include it in Facebook's permission selection. A personal Facebook login alone does not meet the Page requirement.
Decide who on the team should be able to use the account. Sharing does not transfer spending approval to the team.

Connect the account

Open Connections and find Paid ads. Choose the platform tile you want. You can also reach Connections with Connect an ad account from Analytics → Paid ads.
In Connect ad account, choose Sign in to the displayed platform. Complete the permissions in the popup. The dialog shows Sign in, Choose accounts and Done, with a waiting message while sign-in is unfinished.
If a second sign-in step appears, use the additional Sign in to button marked as step 2 and complete that window too. Do not treat completion of the first window as completion of the connection.
Wait for Choose ad accounts. Select one or more usable accounts, then choose Use selected. An unavailable account cannot be selected. Selecting none leaves you unable to continue.
Look for Your ad accounts are connected. The dialog lists the connected accounts and explains that tracking setup starts automatically. Choose Manage ads to continue in paid-ad analytics, or Close.

After sign-in, the popup normally closes and the original dialog continues. If the return opens as a full page, it returns to Connections so account selection can continue there. A window closing is not, by itself, proof that accounts were connected: look for the account-selection or connected state.

Connecting ChatGPT through OpenAI

When the OpenAI connection is offered, a new connection uses API key instead of the usual sign-in button. Enter the key, then choose Connect ad account. The field accepts 10–500 characters; this is an input limit, not proof that a key is valid or that an advertising account is eligible. The screen states that the key is sent securely to the provider and is not saved here.

The onboarding ad-account tiles do not include this key-based connection. Use Connections when it is available to your workspace. Do not paste the key into ad text, a support conversation or a knowledge-base search.

Configure the connected account

Open Analytics → Paid ads → Settings. Each account shows its name, platform, who connected it and its connection status. Account settings are editable by the connected account's owner when their workspace permissions allow changes.

Account on or off

Use Account on / Account off to allow or prevent new ads from that account.

Important: Turning an account off does not pause ads already running. To stop delivery, use Pause on the paid campaign. Disconnecting has different consequences, described below.

Monthly cap

Choose Edit monthly cap on the account.
Enter the cap in the account's currency. Use a valid non-negative amount; leave it empty for No cap.
Choose Save and check the displayed cap and Spent this month.

The account cap is not a separate budget for each ad. The reporting delay means it is not a guaranteed hard charge ceiling. The spending confirmation explains that reported monthly spend reaching 105% of the cap pauses ads, and final reported spend can be higher. See spending controls and pause reasons.

Pixel and conversion setup

Tracking setup starts automatically after connection. Under Settings, read the account's current message: Setting up the pixel…, Pixel linked, Pixel created, a prompt to choose a pixel, or Pixel setup didn’t finish.

When Pixel setup is available, open it and select an existing pixel or create one if that platform offers creation. For Reddit, create the pixel in Reddit Ads Manager first, then return and choose it. Do not keep trying to create a Reddit pixel inside LeadKnight. Some platforms do not support pixels through this flow and show that explicitly.

Open the account's result-sharing control, shown as Result sharing is on or Result sharing is off.
Read Share results with the platform and the authorization statement.
Choose All my contacts (recommended) or Only contacts from ads and pages.
Decide whether to also enable Also use them to personalize ads (audiences and retargeting).
Choose Turn on, or Not now if you are not ready to authorize sharing.

The screen describes sharing New lead, Qualified, Meeting held, Won and Not relevant results for ad measurement. Lost status is not sent. Google needs a verified secondary conversion action; Not relevant reports wait until it is verified. TikTok may ask you to create an offline event set in TikTok Events Manager before retrying.

If sharing is blocked because there is no conversion destination, open Pixel setup and resolve that first. Having a connected account is not equivalent to having working conversion sharing. Website conversion optimization and Meta quality-lead options can require this setup.

Who may use the account

Open People & approvals. An account owner can manage Who may use this account and pending spend approvals. Shared members can see spend and results, prepare ads and request spending approval. Only the account owner approves launches, resumes and budget raises.

Account ownership is not the same as being an administrator of the workspace. If the screen says only the account owner may manage access, ask the person named as having connected the account to make the change.

Privacy policy

In Settings, workspace owners and admins can set Custom privacy policy link (optional). Use a full https:// address. Leave it empty to use the default privacy-policy page when available, and use View default policy to review it. Save the change and look for Saved.

A lead form needs an effective privacy policy. A default policy may require your confirmation before publishing. The form's Privacy link text is the wording people click, not the policy URL.

Reconnect or disconnect

Needs reconnecting: in Settings, choose Reconnect, finish the sign-in and selection flow, then check that the account shows Connected.
Disconnect: read Disconnect ad account? before confirming. It pauses ads created in LeadKnight on every ad account in that connection and cancels pending spend approvals. This is a connection-wide action, not just removal of one tile or one draft.

If something goes wrong

Symptom	Likely cause shown by the app	What to do
Sign-in never opens	Popup blocked	Allow popups and start sign-in again.
No account choices appear	No ad accounts are available to this login	Verify the login and account access in the platform, then reconnect.
Meta asks for a Page	No managed Page was included	Create a Page if needed, or select the Page in Facebook's permissions and try again.
The login is already connected by someone else	The connection belongs to another team member	Use the existing account through its owner and sharing settings rather than trying to claim the same login.
An account cannot be selected	The account is unusable	Read the reason next to it and resolve that condition in the platform.
A platform is missing or reported unavailable	It is not available for this workspace	Use an available platform; connection does not unlock an unavailable platform.
Connection fails with an add-on or payment message	The provider account lacks the required add-on or payment setup	Resolve the stated provider-account requirement before reconnecting.
Sync needs attention appears	Account detail synchronization needs attention	Check the account's status and any error in paid-ad settings; do not assume missing details mean the account is ready to spend.
Result sharing cannot be enabled	Missing or unverified conversion setup	Resolve Pixel setup or the platform-specific conversion instruction, then retry.
Settings are read-only	You are not the connected account's owner, lack workspace permissions, or are in a read-only context	Have the account owner make the change.