@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ type Campaign = {
   destinationUrl: string;
   dailyBudgetCents: number;
   bidCredits: number;
+  /** The controller sets the bid (default). Off: the number below is kept. */
+  autobid: boolean;
   status: string;
 };
 
@@ -33,6 +35,7 @@ export function EditCampaignForm({
   const [url, setUrl] = useState(campaign.destinationUrl);
   const [budget, setBudget] = useState(campaign.dailyBudgetCents / 100);
   const [bid, setBid] = useState((campaign.bidCredits * 5) / 100); // credits → $
+  const [autobid, setAutobid] = useState(campaign.autobid);
   const [creatives, setCreatives] = useState(initial);
   const [active, setActive] = useState<AdFormatId>(initial[0]?.format ?? "banner_300x250");
   // Which polarity the previews show and the colour pickers edit. Publishers
@@ -99,6 +102,8 @@ export function EditCampaignForm({
         name,
         destinationUrl: url,
         dailyBudgetCents: Math.round(budget * 100),
+        autobid,
+        // Only meaningful when autobid is off; the action ignores it otherwise.
         bidCredits: Math.max(1, Math.round((bid * 100) / 5)),
       });
       if (!s.ok) return setError(s.error);
@@ -140,17 +145,39 @@ export function EditCampaignForm({
               onChange={(e) => setBudget(Math.max(0, Number(e.target.value)))}
             />
           </label>
-          <label className="block">
-            <span className="text-xs uppercase tracking-wider text-[var(--color-muted)]">Max bid / click ($)</span>
-            <input
-              className="input mt-1"
-              type="number"
-              min={0.05}
-              step={0.05}
-              value={bid}
-              onChange={(e) => setBid(Math.max(0.05, Number(e.target.value)))}
-            />
-          </label>
+          <div className="block">
+            <span className="text-xs uppercase tracking-wider text-[var(--color-muted)]">Bid / click</span>
+            <label className="mt-2 flex items-start gap-2 text-sm">
+              <input
+                type="checkbox"
+                className="mt-1"
+                checked={autobid}
+                onChange={(e) => setAutobid(e.target.checked)}
+              />
+              <span>
+                <span className="font-medium">Autobid</span>
+                <span className="block text-xs text-[var(--color-muted)]">
+                  {autobid
+                    ? `Currently ${campaign.bidCredits} credits ($${((campaign.bidCredits * 5) / 100).toFixed(2)}). Set every hour from your daily budget and delivery: raised when behind pace, lowered when ahead.`
+                    : "Off. The bid below is kept until you turn autobid back on."}
+                </span>
+              </span>
+            </label>
+            {!autobid && (
+              <div className="mt-2 flex items-center gap-2">
+                <span className="text-[var(--color-muted)]">$</span>
+                <input
+                  className="input"
+                  type="number"
+                  min={0.05}
+                  step={0.05}
+                  value={bid}
+                  onChange={(e) => setBid(Math.max(0.05, Number(e.target.value)))}
+                />
+                <span className="text-sm text-[var(--color-muted)]">/click</span>
+              </div>
+            )}
+          </div>
         </div>
       </div>
 
 
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ export default async function EditCampaignPage({
 
   const { data: campaign } = await supabase
     .from("ad_campaigns")
-    .select("id, name, destination_url, daily_budget_cents, bid_credits, status, ref_slug")
+    .select("id, name, destination_url, daily_budget_cents, bid_credits, autobid, status, ref_slug")
     .eq("id", id)
     .eq("owner_id", user.id)
     .maybeSingle();
@@ -84,6 +84,7 @@ export default async function EditCampaignPage({
           destinationUrl: campaign.destination_url,
           dailyBudgetCents: campaign.daily_budget_cents,
           bidCredits: campaign.bid_credits ?? 4,
+          autobid: campaign.autobid !== false,
           status: campaign.status,
         }}
         creatives={creatives}
 
@@ -5,10 +5,14 @@ import { formatSpec, type AdCreative, type AdFormatId } from "@/lib/ads/formats"
 import { AdPreview } from "@/components/ads/ad-preview";
 import { CampaignActions, RegenerateButton } from "@/components/ads/campaign-actions";
 import { CampaignTrend } from "@/components/ads/campaign-trend";
+import { BidHistory } from "@/components/ads/bid-history";
 import { getCampaignDailySeries } from "@/lib/ads/series";
+import { getBidHistory } from "@/lib/ads/bids";
+import { paperSpendTodayCents } from "@/lib/ads/autobid";
+import { serviceClient } from "@/lib/supabase/service";
 import { campaignDisplayStatus, spendTodayCents, utcToday } from "@/lib/ads/status";
 import { promoStateForCampaign } from "@/lib/ads/promos";
-import { TRENDING_CPC_CENTS } from "@/lib/ads/pricing";
+import { CREDIT_CENTS, DEFAULT_BID_CREDITS, TRENDING_CPC_CENTS } from "@/lib/ads/pricing";
 
 export const metadata = { title: "Campaign" };
 
@@ -86,6 +90,38 @@ export default async function CampaignDetailPage({
   // not been applied here yet). Both read as "no promo".
   const promo = await promoStateForCampaign(supabase, id);
 
+  // The bid, who sets it, and its paper ledger: their own read too, for the
+  // same reason — the columns ride behind a hand-applied migration and a
+  // missing one must not 404 the campaign. The history comes through the
+  // service client because the tracker rollup it joins is not readable by a
+  // session, and ownership was already settled by the select above.
+  type BidRow = {
+    autobid?: boolean | null;
+    paper_spend_today_cents?: number | null;
+    paper_spend_date?: string | null;
+    paper_total_cents?: number | null;
+  };
+  let bidRow: BidRow | null = null;
+  try {
+    const { data } = await supabase
+      .from("ad_campaigns")
+      .select("autobid, paper_spend_today_cents, paper_spend_date, paper_total_cents")
+      .eq("id", id)
+      .maybeSingle();
+    bidRow = (data as BidRow | null) ?? null;
+  } catch {
+    bidRow = null;
+  }
+  const autobid = bidRow?.autobid !== false;
+  const bidCredits = campaign.bid_credits ?? DEFAULT_BID_CREDITS;
+  const history = await getBidHistory(serviceClient(), {
+    campaignId: id,
+    refSlug: campaign.ref_slug,
+    ownerId: user.id,
+    currentBid: bidCredits,
+    days: 30,
+  });
+
   const impressions = (stats?.impressions as number) ?? 0;
   const clicks = (stats?.clicks as number) ?? 0;
   const freeImpressions = (stats?.free_impressions as number) ?? 0;
@@ -200,10 +236,35 @@ export default async function CampaignDetailPage({
         </div>
       )}
 
+      {/* The bid and its paper ledger. Paper is what the free-tier clicks would
+          have cost at the bid — real numbers, no money moved — so the auction
+          and the pacing can be read and judged before anybody is billed. */}
+      <div className="mt-3 grid grid-cols-2 gap-3 sm:grid-cols-3">
+        <Stat
+          label={autobid ? "Bid (autobid)" : "Bid (set by hand)"}
+          value={`${bidCredits} cr`}
+          note={`$${((bidCredits * CREDIT_CENTS) / 100).toFixed(2)} per click`}
+        />
+        <Stat
+          label="Paper spend today"
+          value={dollars(bidRow ? paperSpendTodayCents({ daily_budget_cents: campaign.daily_budget_cents, ...bidRow }, today) : 0)}
+          note="what free-tier clicks would have cost"
+        />
+        <Stat
+          label="Paper spend total"
+          value={dollars(Number(bidRow?.paper_total_cents ?? 0))}
+          note="no credits were moved"
+        />
+      </div>
+
       <div className="mt-4">
         <CampaignTrend data={daily} />
       </div>
 
+      <div className="mt-4">
+        <BidHistory data={history.days} events={history.events} autobid={autobid} failed={history.failed} />
+      </div>
+
       {creatives.length > 0 && (
         <div className="mt-6">
           <h2 className="mb-3 font-semibold">Creatives</h2>
@@ -223,11 +284,12 @@ export default async function CampaignDetailPage({
   );
 }
 
-function Stat({ label, value }: { label: string; value: string }) {
+function Stat({ label, value, note }: { label: string; value: string; note?: string }) {
   return (
     <div className="card p-4">
       <div className="text-xs uppercase tracking-wider text-[var(--color-muted)]">{label}</div>
       <div className="mt-1 text-2xl font-bold">{value}</div>
+      {note && <div className="mt-0.5 text-xs text-[var(--color-muted)]">{note}</div>}
     </div>
   );
 }
@@ -17,7 +17,8 @@ export function NewAdForm() {
   const router = useRouter();
   const [url, setUrl] = useState("");
   const [budget, setBudget] = useState(5); // dollars/day
-  const [bid, setBid] = useState(0.2); // dollars/click (max bid)
+  // No bid field: the bid is automatic (see lib/ads/autobid.ts). The budget is
+  // the one number an advertiser sets; the edit page can switch to a typed bid.
   const [name, setName] = useState("");
   // Trending targeting, and with it the 90 days. Off by default: it changes
   // where the ads run, and that is the advertiser's decision to make.
@@ -110,8 +111,7 @@ export function NewAdForm() {
         name,
         url,
         dailyBudgetCents: Math.round(budget * 100),
-        // $ per click → credits (5¢/credit). Higher bids win more auctions.
-        bidCredits: Math.max(1, Math.round((bid * 100) / 5)),
+        // No bid: autobid (the default) sets it from the budget within the hour.
         brand,
         creatives,
         trendingTopics: trending,
@@ -165,21 +165,15 @@ export function NewAdForm() {
               <span className="text-sm text-[var(--color-muted)]">/day</span>
             </div>
           </div>
-          <div className="w-40">
+          <div className="w-56">
             <label className="text-xs uppercase tracking-wider text-[var(--color-muted)]">
-              Max bid / click
+              Bid / click
             </label>
-            <div className="mt-1 flex items-center gap-2">
-              <span className="text-[var(--color-muted)]">$</span>
-              <input
-                className="input"
-                type="number"
-                min={0.05}
-                step={0.05}
-                value={bid}
-                onChange={(e) => setBid(Math.max(0.05, Number(e.target.value)))}
-              />
-              <span className="text-sm text-[var(--color-muted)]">/click</span>
+            <div className="mt-1 text-sm">
+              <span className="font-medium">Autobid</span>
+              <span className="block text-xs text-[var(--color-muted)]">
+                Set for you from the budget, hourly. Change it later on the campaign.
+              </span>
             </div>
           </div>
           <button type="submit" className="btn btn-primary" disabled={generating}>
 
@@ -256,6 +256,9 @@ export default async function AdsPage({
                     label="Today"
                     value={`${dollars(spendTodayCents(c, today))} / ${dollars(c.daily_budget_cents)}`}
                   />
+                  {/* The bid autobid is making for it right now; the campaign
+                      page has the history and the reasons. */}
+                  <MiniStat label="Bid" value={`${c.bid_credits ?? 4} cr`} />
                 </div>
                 {!display.serving && (
                   <p className="mt-2 text-sm text-[var(--color-muted)]">{display.hint}</p>
 
@@ -112,8 +112,8 @@ export default async function AdsMarketingPage() {
 
         <div className="mt-6 grid gap-4 sm:grid-cols-2">
           <Card
-            title="You are not bidding against a wall"
-            body="Placement is a bid-weighted lottery, not winner-takes-all. A higher bid wins more often, but it never corners the inventory — every live campaign keeps serving, so a modest budget still gets delivery instead of silence."
+            title="You set a budget. The bid sets itself."
+            body="Placement is a bid-weighted lottery, not winner-takes-all, and the bid is automatic: a pacing controller raises it when a campaign is behind its daily budget and lowers it when ahead, capped by what the budget can cover. Every live campaign keeps serving, so a modest budget still gets delivery instead of silence, and the campaign page shows every bid it made beside the clicks it got."
           />
           <Card
             title="Clicks, counted conservatively"
 
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import type { SiteBrand } from "@/lib/ads/brand";
 import { MIN_PAYOUT_CENTS, DEFAULT_BID_CREDITS } from "@/lib/ads/pricing";
 import { cleanTopics } from "@/lib/ads/trending";
 import { grantTrendingPromo } from "@/lib/ads/promos";
+import { recordManualBid } from "@/lib/ads/bids";
 import { createCryptoPayout } from "@/lib/coinpay";
 
 const ASSET_BUCKET = "ad-assets";
@@ -148,6 +149,8 @@ export async function saveCampaign(input: {
   url: string;
   dailyBudgetCents: number;
   bidCredits?: number;
+  /** Off means "keep the bid I typed". Defaults to on: the controller bids. */
+  autobid?: boolean;
   brand?: SiteBrand | null;
   creatives: Partial<AdCreative>[];
   summary?: Partial<AdSummary> | null;
@@ -189,6 +192,9 @@ export async function saveCampaign(input: {
     brand: input.brand ?? {},
   };
   if (org.id) payload.organization_id = org.id;
+  // Autobid is the column default; only an explicit "keep my bid" is written,
+  // and it is dropped with the other optional columns on a schema-lag retry.
+  if (input.autobid === false) payload.autobid = false;
   // Trending targeting, and the subjects it targets on. The subjects come from
   // the page's own words rather than anything typed here: a campaign claiming
   // topics its landing page never mentions is how contextual targeting gets
@@ -230,10 +236,11 @@ export async function saveCampaign(input: {
   // of the schema. Retry without them rather than refusing to create the
   // campaign: prose is an enhancement, a campaign that cannot be saved is the
   // whole product failing. Same trade the impression short_code makes.
-  if (campaign.error && /summary_|trending_topics|topics|schema cache|column/i.test(campaign.error.message ?? "")) {
+  if (campaign.error && /summary_|trending_topics|topics|autobid|schema cache|column/i.test(campaign.error.message ?? "")) {
     for (const key of Object.keys(summaryFields)) delete payload[key];
     delete payload.trending_topics;
     delete payload.topics;
+    delete payload.autobid;
     campaign = await supabase
       .from("ad_campaigns")
       .insert(payload)
@@ -285,6 +292,8 @@ export async function updateCampaign(input: {
   name?: string;
   dailyBudgetCents?: number;
   bidCredits?: number;
+  /** Hand the bid back to the controller (true) or keep the typed one (false). */
+  autobid?: boolean;
   destinationUrl?: string;
 }): Promise<{ ok: true } | { ok: false; error: string }> {
   const supabase = await createClient();
@@ -300,9 +309,13 @@ export async function updateCampaign(input: {
   if (Number.isFinite(input.dailyBudgetCents)) {
     patch.daily_budget_cents = Math.max(0, Math.round(input.dailyBudgetCents!));
   }
-  if (Number.isFinite(input.bidCredits)) {
+  // A bid typed while autobid is on would be overwritten within the hour, so
+  // it is only taken when the form is handing the bid to the person.
+  const manualBid = input.autobid !== true && Number.isFinite(input.bidCredits);
+  if (manualBid) {
     patch.bid_credits = Math.min(200, Math.max(1, Math.round(input.bidCredits!)));
   }
+  if (typeof input.autobid === "boolean") patch.autobid = input.autobid;
   if (typeof input.destinationUrl === "string" && input.destinationUrl.trim()) {
     const check = isAllowedTargetUrl(input.destinationUrl);
     if (!check.ok) return { ok: false, error: check.reason };
@@ -311,12 +324,40 @@ export async function updateCampaign(input: {
   }
   if (Object.keys(patch).length === 0) return { ok: true };
 
-  const { error } = await supabase
+  // The bid before the edit, so the history can say what it moved from.
+  let prevBid: number | null = null;
+  if (manualBid) {
+    const { data: before } = await supabase
+      .from("ad_campaigns")
+      .select("bid_credits")
+      .eq("id", input.id)
+      .eq("owner_id", user.id)
+      .maybeSingle();
+    prevBid = (before?.bid_credits as number | null | undefined) ?? null;
+  }
+
+  let { error } = await supabase
     .from("ad_campaigns")
     .update(patch)
     .eq("id", input.id)
     .eq("owner_id", user.id);
+  // `autobid` rides behind a hand-applied migration; an edit to the name or
+  // the budget must still land if this deploy is ahead of the schema.
+  if (error && patch.autobid !== undefined && /autobid|schema cache|column/i.test(error.message ?? "")) {
+    delete patch.autobid;
+    if (Object.keys(patch).length === 0) return { ok: false, error: "Autobid is not available on this deployment yet." };
+    ({ error } = await supabase.from("ad_campaigns").update(patch).eq("id", input.id).eq("owner_id", user.id));
+  }
   if (error) return { ok: false, error: error.message };
+  if (manualBid && prevBid !== patch.bid_credits) {
+    await recordManualBid(serviceClient(), {
+      campaignId: input.id,
+      ownerId: user.id,
+      prevBidCredits: prevBid,
+      bidCredits: patch.bid_credits as number,
+      reason: "set in the dashboard",
+    });
+  }
   revalidatePath("/dashboard/ads");
   revalidatePath(`/dashboard/ads/${input.id}`);
   return { ok: true };