---
title: "Apple Search Ads on Autopilot – Selfdrive | Superapp"
description: Run Apple Search Ads with an AI agent. Selfdrive researches keywords, manages bids within your budget and reports campaign results every morning.
image: https://superapp.dev/superapp-logo.png
canonical_url: https://superapp.dev/selfdrive/apple-ads
md_url: https://superapp.dev/selfdrive/apple-ads.md
---
## What you’ll need

- An iOS app available on the App Store in the markets you want to advertise in.
- Your own Apple Ads account, with billing set up and permission to manage campaigns for the app.
- App Store Connect access for app analytics, plus an approved campaign budget and target markets.

## How the Apple Search Ads agent works

1. ### Connect your account

   Connect your app and your own Apple Ads account. Choose the markets you want to reach and the budget you approve.
2. ### Find intent

   The agent researches search terms relevant to your app and organizes keywords so you can see what brings people to your listing.
3. ### Run and review

   Selfdrive manages bids within your settings and reviews campaign performance as data becomes available.
4. ### Keep what works

   It pauses poor performers, explains the decision and proposes the next test in your daily report.

## What you approve

You approve the campaign direction, markets and budget. Decide how much you are willing to spend before delivery starts.

### What runs automatically

Within the approved campaign, the agent researches keywords, adjusts bids, reviews results and pauses poor performers.

## Your daily Apple Search Ads report

See what the agent worked on, what needs your approval, and what it plans to do next.

Example report

Delivery Your campaign is running in the markets you approved. Spend and installs are reported alongside your budget. Action taken A keyword with weak conversion was paused after review. Next move Test a more specific search term within the existing campaign settings.

## Controls and limits

**A budget you set.**The agent works within your approved campaign settings. Apple uses an average daily budget, so a single day can vary. Review the billing period as well as the daily figure.

**Pause when needed.**You can pause campaigns. Selfdrive also reviews underperforming keywords; its reports show what changed and why.

**No promised return.**A bid or an install is not a guarantee of revenue. Review acquisition cost alongside your app’s retention and revenue before scaling.

[Read Apple’s budget pacing rules](https://ads.apple.com/app-store/help/bids-and-budget/0016-manage-budgets)

## Usage and costs

Apple bills ad spend separately from Selfdrive’s Superapp credit usage. There is no single cost per install: auction conditions, competition and your app’s conversion rate affect the result.

[View Superapp plans](https://superapp.dev/pricing)

## Selfdrive and Agency

Selfdrive vs Agency vs doing it yourself| What matters | Selfdrive | Agency | Do it yourself |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Setup | Connect accounts and approve a campaign plan. | Brief an account team and agree a scope. | Research terms, structure campaigns and set bids yourself. |
| Ongoing work | Agent reviews bids, keywords and performance. | An account team manages the agreed campaigns. | You monitor reports and make each adjustment. |
| Visibility | Daily report with results, actions and next moves. | Reporting follows the service agreement. | You assemble reports from your accounts. |

## Common questions

What’s the difference between Apple Ads Basic and Advanced? Basic automates much of the setup and uses cost-per-install pricing. Advanced gives you keyword, audience and bid controls, with cost-per-tap pricing. Selfdrive is the next step when you want that control without personally managing every keyword and bid. How much do Apple Search Ads cost? There is no universal price. In Advanced, you set bids and pay for taps; the cost of acquiring an install depends on competition and conversion. Your Apple ad spend is separate from Selfdrive’s agent usage. Start with a budget you can evaluate against your app’s economics. How should Apple Search Ads campaigns be structured? Keep campaigns organized around the app, target market and search intent. Separate distinct keyword themes so performance is understandable, and keep discovery tests visible instead of mixing everything into one group. Selfdrive proposes a structure for your app and reports which parts are working. Do I need my own Apple Ads account? Yes. Connect an Apple Ads account that can advertise your app and has billing configured. You retain the account and choose the budget. What’s the minimum budget? There is no published universal Selfdrive minimum. Your budget needs to support useful testing in the markets and keyword auctions you choose. Check the amount offered during setup and start at a level you can afford to test. Can it spend above my budget? Selfdrive does not authorize an increase beyond the budget you set. Apple’s daily budget is an average: delivery can exceed it on an individual day, while Apple applies its monthly limit. Review Apple’s budget rules before treating a daily setting as a hard per-day cap. How does it choose keywords? It researches terms relevant to your app and reviews the performance data available from your connected accounts. It uses that evidence to test new terms, adjust bids and retire weak performers. How fast does it pause losing keywords? Keywords are reviewed as part of the agent’s recurring work when performance data is available. This is not an instant stop-loss guarantee: provider reporting can lag and a new keyword needs enough data to judge. You can pause a campaign yourself at any time.

## Start with your app.

[Connect your app](https://superapp.dev/selfdrive#connect)