By default, an automated rule re-evaluates and re-triggers every time its conditions are met - which is usually what you want, but not always. If you need a rule to act on each item only one time, the setup depends on what kind of action the rule performs.
1. For Budget/Bid/Duplicate actions
If your rule is designed to Increase, Decrease, or Set a budget/bid, duplicate items, you can use the built-in frequency limit - no workaround needed:
In the Tasks section of your rule, find the Action frequency setting.
Select Once in a lifetime.
This ensures the action is only performed one time for each campaign or ad set that meets your conditions — even if it continues to match them on future rule runs.
2. For Pause or Start actions
Pause and Start actions don't have a built-in "once in a lifetime" toggle. To get the same effect, use a simple tagging workaround:
Add a Rename task. Alongside your Pause/Start task, add a second task to the same rule that appends a tag to the entity's name - for example, using the
add_to_nameaction to add#paused.
Filter the scope. In the Entities section of the rule, add a name filter so the rule skips anything already tagged:
Name does not contain→#paused.
Result: The first time the rule runs on a given entity, it performs the action and renames it. On every future run, that entity is excluded by the filter - so the rule never triggers on it again.
If you're struggling with the setup, do not hesitate to reach out to us in the chat, or via the email support@bir.ch - we're here to help!