Keep the campaigns you already run.
You already have a Shopify store. You already have campaigns live on Meta and Google. The last thing that workflow needs is a new tool that asks you to start over.
Import existing ad campaigns is the other path. Connect the store. Connect the ad accounts that are already spending. Pull the live campaigns into one Lazy Ads dashboard. Then manage all nine networks from that list — or from the agent you already use.
This post is the merchant version of that sentence. What comes over. What you still set. Why a Shopify-to-ads import is not the same product as handing the store to an agency box.
You do not rebuild what is already spending
Most ad software treats a new login as a blank campaign. New name. New budget. New creative. The live work stays in Ads Manager, and the new tool becomes a second source of truth you will ignore by Thursday.
Lazy Ads is built the other way. The objects that are already running — names, status, budgets, ads — can come in. Import does not pause them. Import does not rewrite the brief. It links what is live so you can see it, sync it, and operate it from one place.
You still need your own advertiser accounts. Lazy Ads does not mint a Meta Business or a Google Ads customer for you. The store connection does not replace those accounts. It puts the catalog in the same workspace as the campaigns that already point at it.
Five things you actually do
These are the merchant actions.
- Connect Shopify. Sign in the store you already sell from. The catalog stays on Shopify.
- Connect ad accounts. The Meta and Google accounts that are already spending. BYOA is enough to do this. Starter and above work too.
- Import live campaigns. Pull what is already running. You do not rebuild it from a blank form.
- Review in one dashboard. Names, status, budgets, and ads — one list instead of two Ads Managers.
- Optional: attach the agent you already use. Point Claude, Cursor, or Hermes at the hosted server. Official registry name:
ai.lazyads/mcp. Hosted athttps://mcp.lazyads.ai/mcp. Same campaigns. Same dashboard.
Free is not this list. Free is onboarding plus competitor ad browse. Free accounts have zero AI tokens. Import is a paid-plan step.
What comes over — and what you still set
Import copies the live objects. It does not pick your plan, your approval mode, or the next network.
Comes with the import
- Campaign names — the titles already live in the connected accounts.
- Status — live stays live. Paused stays paused. Import does not flip the switch.
- Budgets — the daily budgets already set on the network.
- Ads already running — the ads, ad sets, and creatives that are spending today.
You still set in Lazy Ads
- Approval mode. Approve means every create, edit, or pause waits for you. Hands-off means Lazy Ads AI — Starter and above — can act inside the rules you set. BYOA is the bridge for your agent; the knob still applies.
- Which extra networks to add. Meta and Google are usually the first two. The product surface is nine: Meta (Facebook + Instagram), Google, TikTok, LinkedIn, Reddit, Apple, Bing, ChatGPT, and Snapchat. Meta is one network.
- BYOA vs Starter+. BYOA is the 33-tool MCP bridge and no Lazy Ads AI. Starter is 45 tools with Lazy Ads AI. Import works on both. The plan decides who writes the next campaign, not whether the live ones can come over.
Shopify to ads is not an agency box
"Connect Shopify ad campaigns" is a search people type when the store is real and the ads are already on. Some tools answer that search by becoming the partner.
Marketer.com is the Shopify-agency box. One partner instead of a slow agency. Shopify plus Meta, Google, Snapchat, and ChatGPT Ads. Slack if you want the chat in their workspace. They run the operation; you keep a strategy seat. That is a real product. It is not this one.
Lazy Ads is the other shape. You keep the campaigns you already run. You keep the advertiser accounts. You keep the agent if you already have one. The store connects so the catalog is in the room. The import is so Meta and Google do not become a second spreadsheet.
We are not going to publish a comparison URL about it. The difference is the sentence: they take the account as a partner; we import what you already run and give you one dashboard — and, if you want it, a bridge for the agent you already pay for.
Nine networks is part of that sentence. A Shopify-first agency box that lights up Meta, Google, Snapchat, and ChatGPT Ads is four surfaces. Lazy Ads is Meta (Facebook + Instagram), Google, TikTok, LinkedIn, Reddit, Apple, Bing, ChatGPT, and Snapchat. You still need credentials on each one. You do not need a new partner to count them.
Nine networks after Meta and Google
Most Shopify stores that already advertise start on Meta and Google. That is fine. Import those first.
The dashboard is not a Meta-and-Google cage. After the import you can add TikTok, LinkedIn, Reddit, Apple, Bing, ChatGPT, and Snapchat — the rest of the nine. You add a network when you have the advertiser account, not because a homepage needed another logo.
Facebook and Instagram are placements under Meta, not two tiles. Do not look for X — it is not a tenth network.
A multi-platform dashboard is the system of record. Import is how a store with live work joins that record without a rebuild.
Dashboard or the agent you already use
Once the campaigns are in, you have two doors. They read the same objects.
The dashboard. Sync performance. Read spend. Pause or resume at campaign, ad set, or ad level. Move a daily budget. Duplicate a draft. Attach a creative you already have. Check whether the ad account can spend. That is the operator work, in one list.
Your agent. Bring your own agent is the $19 MCP bridge — $19/month billed annually, or $24 month-to-month. Thirty-three tools. No Lazy Ads AI on our side. Claude, Cursor, or Hermes writes the next move. Lazy Ads executes it and syncs the result back so you are not hopping nine native managers for a spend read.
The hosted endpoint is https://mcp.lazyads.ai/mcp. It is listed on the official MCP Registry as ai.lazyads/mcp. Generate an API key at Settings → API on a paid plan, then paste the block from lazyads.ai/mcp. If the client is Hermes, use the Hermes setup.
A first session after import should stay boring. List connections. List the campaigns Lazy Ads now knows. Sync. Pause one thing you already decided to pause. If those four calls work, the import and the bridge both work.
Plans, without a fake free import
Public cards only. No invented reviews. No customer counts.
- Free: onboarding and competitor ad browse. 0 AI tokens. Not a generated campaign. Not an import. Not an MCP key.
- BYOA: $19/month annual, $24 monthly. 33-tool MCP bridge. Import, create, edit, pause, monitor. One dashboard. Track up to five competitors. No Lazy Ads AI.
- Starter: $79/month annual, $99 monthly. 45 tools. Lazy Ads AI — campaign build, in-product chat, creatives against quota, competitor AI. Import is here too.
- Growth: $199/month annual, $249 monthly. Same 45 tools, higher caps, A/B testing, REST API.
- Scale: $399/month annual, $499 monthly. Same suite, largest quotas, unlimited ad spend on the card.
MCP is not Growth-gated. BYOA has the bridge. Starter and above add Lazy Ads AI. REST starts at Growth. Do not buy Growth just to import a Meta campaign you already run.
Subscribe when you want the write path. Complete onboarding and competitor ad browse first. Then pick the shape: your agent on BYOA, or Lazy Ads AI on Starter.
FAQ
Can I import existing ad campaigns from Meta and Google?
Yes. Connect those advertiser accounts, then import the campaigns that are already live. Names, status, budgets, and ads come over. Import does not pause what is running.
Do I start over when I connect Shopify ad campaigns?
No. Connecting the store does not wipe Ads Manager. The catalog stays on Shopify. The live campaigns stay on Meta and Google until you import them — and after you import them, they are still those campaigns, visible in one dashboard.
What does Shopify to ads mean here?
It means the store and the ad accounts share a workspace. Connect Shopify, connect the accounts that already spend, import what is live, then operate nine networks from one list. It does not mean a free AI rebuild of your catalog. Free has zero AI tokens.
Does the import cover all nine networks?
The product surface is nine networks: Meta (Facebook + Instagram), Google, TikTok, LinkedIn, Reddit, Apple, Bing, ChatGPT, and Snapchat. You import from the accounts you have connected. Most Shopify stores start with Meta and Google. The other seven are there when you add the credentials.
Is import on the free plan?
No. Free is onboarding and competitor ad browse. Import, the dashboard write path, and the MCP key are paid-plan features. BYOA is the first plan that matches "I already have campaigns and an agent." Starter is the first plan that matches "I want Lazy Ads to build the next one."
What is the difference between BYOA and Starter after I import?
Same imported campaigns. Different next step. BYOA ($19 annual / $24 monthly) is 33 tools and no Lazy Ads AI — your agent writes the strategy. Starter ($79 annual / $99 monthly) is 45 tools with Lazy Ads AI. Growth is $199 / $249. Scale is $399 / $499.
Will Hands-off start spending the moment I import?
No. Import does not change approval mode. You still choose Approve or Hands-off. Approve waits for you. Hands-off is Lazy Ads AI on Starter and above, inside the rules you set. BYOA does not include Lazy Ads AI.
Start with the campaigns that are already live
If you wanted a blank campaign and a new strategist, this is the wrong first click. If you wanted to import existing ad campaigns — keep the Shopify store, keep Meta and Google, manage nine networks from one dashboard or from ai.lazyads/mcp — start with the live ones.
Finish onboarding. Browse competitor ads. When you want the import and the key, subscribe to BYOA for the bridge or Starter for Lazy Ads AI. Connect the store. Connect the accounts. Import what is already running. Then look at one list.
Start free onboarding and browse competitor ads, or subscribe to BYOA or Starter when you are ready.