In short. Activation controls a resource's configured lifecycle state, while review fields report whether the relevant OpenAI Ads approval check is pending, approved, or rejected.
Definition: In OpenAI Ads, activation status describes whether an account, campaign, ad group, or ad is configured to operate. Review status describes whether the relevant brand, account, or creative check has passed. The two fields can show different states at the same time.
Key facts
- OpenAI defines
statusas the configured state of a campaign, ad group, or ad, with examples includingactive,paused, andarchived, while review fields describe approval checks in the Ads troubleshooting documentation. - An ad can have
status: "active"andreview_status: "in_review"; it is enabled while its review remains pending. - An approved ad can still be blocked by a paused parent resource or another delivery condition.
- Account
status, brandreview.status,review.reason, andaccount_integrity_review.review.statusare separate account-level values in OpenAI's account management documentation.
What does each field answer?
Activation status answers whether the configured resource is enabled for its lifecycle. For campaigns, ad groups, and ads, OpenAI lists active, paused, and archived as configured states. Review status answers whether the relevant approval check is pending, passed, or rejected. The ad-level values are in_review, approved, and rejected, with a returned reason for a rejection.
These values apply within a hierarchy. OpenAI's troubleshooting guide checks the account, campaign, ad group, and ad separately. It asks whether the account is active and its applicable reviews are complete, whether the campaign is active and within its schedule, whether the ad group is active, and whether the ad is active and approved. A paused campaign can therefore prevent an active ad from serving.
How does account activation relate to review?
An ad account has its own configured status and separate review objects. The account documentation identifies review.status as the brand-review state, review.reason as the reason returned for a brand-review issue when available, and account_integrity_review.review.status as a separate account-review state when that object is returned. An omitted account-integrity object is not an explicit approval or rejection.
Account activation allows eligible campaigns to deliver again when other conditions are satisfied. It does not change every child resource to active, and it does not make an ad approved. A brand-name or public-brand change can pause delivery until the account passes review, so a later account activation check should read both the returned status and the account reviews.
How can you check the lifecycle state?
Retrieve the ad with serving details, then inspect its configured state, review result, and returned issues together:
curl -G "https://api.ads.openai.com/v1/ads/ad_123" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ${OPENAI_ADS_API_KEY}" \
--data-urlencode 'include[]=serving_issues'
OpenAI says the same include[]=serving_issues parameter is available on campaign and ad-group retrieval and list endpoints. After correcting an issue, retrieve the resource again. For a complete delivery check, inspect the account, campaign, ad group, and ad, including schedules, budgets, targeting, spend limits, creative accessibility, and landing-page accessibility.
Changing a configured status uses the resource's /activate, /pause, or /archive endpoint. That action changes lifecycle state, while editing ad creative creates a new submitted version and triggers another creative review. The troubleshooting documentation states that changing status does not approve a rejected creative or finish a pending review.
Related terms
FAQ
Can an active ad still be in review?
Yes. OpenAI documents the combination status: "active" and review_status: "in_review", which means the ad is enabled while its review is pending.
Does approving an ad make it serve?
Approval is one requirement in the hierarchy. A paused campaign, an account review, a spend limit, or another serving condition can still prevent delivery.
Does activating an account approve its ads?
No. Account activation permits eligible campaigns to deliver when other conditions are satisfied. Child resource status and review fields still need to be inspected.
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