Quickstart
Connect a platform, ask your first question, set up an automation and approve its first proposal.
This guide takes a new workspace from empty to its first approved change. Steps 1 to 3 connect data and need someone who can install apps on your platforms. Step 4 onwards is for anyone with Read & Write access to the workspace. Allow about 30 minutes, plus time for the first sync.
Before you start#
- A Meerkats account. Sign up at
app.meerkats.ai; the Free plan needs no card and includes 500 credits a month. - Admin access to at least one ad platform (Meta, Google Ads, Amazon or Flipkart) and, ideally, to your store (Shopify) or marketplace seller account.
- For Flipkart, Blinkit, Zepto or Instamart: Chrome, so you can install the Meerkats extension.
1. Connect a sales source#
Start with the source of truth for revenue. The Integrations page marks it Required: Shopify for stores, Flipkart Ads for Flipkart sellers. Without it, revenue, orders and margin stay empty and ROAS can only be the platform’s own number.
- Open Integrations
In the sidebar, select Integrations. The page is titled Connect Your Data to unlock Insights and shows 0 of 10 connected on a new workspace.
- Connect Shopify
Select Connect on the Shopify card, enter your store address, and select Install on the permissions screen. You return with Shopify connected. (Shopify setup)
- Or sync Flipkart through the extension
Select Download extension at the top of the page, sign in to Flipkart Ads Manager in the same browser, then select Sync via extension on the Flipkart Ads card. (Flipkart setup)
2. Connect an ad platform#
- Choose the platform
On Integrations, select Connect on Meta-Ads, Google-Ads or Amazon.
- Sign in and approve
The platform opens in a new window. Sign in, approve the permissions, and pick the ad accounts to sync. Each connector page lists every permission and why Meerkats needs it: Meta Ads, Google Ads, Amazon Ads.
- Connect Slack for alerts (optional)
Select Connect on Slack, allow the Meerkats app, then type
/invite @Meerkatsin the channel where you want alerts. (Slack setup)
3. Run the first sync#
- Open the Bronze Layer
In the sidebar, select Data Hub › Bronze Layer and pick a platform at the top. The chip next to the tabs reads Never synced.
- Resync
Select Resync. The first sync imports history, so it can take a few minutes; Amazon can take up to an hour because it builds reports in the background. Sync History shows each run and its status.
- Check Cockpit
Select Cockpit. Tiles fill in as data lands. Select the info icon next to the title to open About these numbers: it lists each data source with when it last synced, and defines every metric on the page.
| If you see | It means |
|---|---|
| No data · connect a sales source | No store or marketplace is connected yet. Do step 1. |
| ad-reported · orders not synced | Ads are connected but the sales source hasn't synced. Wait for the first sync, or Resync. |
| COGS not synced from Shopify yet | Gross margin needs Cost per item on your Shopify variants. |
| Never synced (in Data Hub) | Select Resync on that platform. |
4. Ask your first question#
- Type in the chat box on Cockpit
It reads Ask anything about your store…. Try: “Which campaigns spent the most last week and what was their ROAS?”
- Pick a model if you want
The picker next to the box shows the model, gemini-3.1-flash-lite by default. You can switch to another Gemini model or Claude Sonnet 4.5. Every answer uses the same metric definitions whichever model you pick.
- Check the sources
Answers cite where each number came from. Ask “How is ROAS defined here?” and the agent quotes the definition from the metric catalog.
Chats are saved under Recent chats in the sidebar. Select + to start a new one.
5. Set up your first automation#
- Open Automation Agents
In the sidebar, select Automation Agents, then + New Agent. The page is titled New automation.
- Describe it in plain words
Type what you want, for example “Email me Flipkart campaigns with ROAS below 0.5 every morning” or “Alert me on Slack when total ad spend goes over $500 in a day”. The page shows example prompts you can click. Meerkats supports scheduled reports, alerts by email or Slack, conditional alerts, and conditional campaign changes.
- Create it
Select Create automation (or press ⌘/Ctrl + Enter). Meerkats shows the rule it understood: the metric, the threshold, the window, the schedule and the action. Confirm it.
- Choose how much it may do alone
A new automation that changes something, for example pausing a campaign, starts in require approval mode: it proposes, you approve. Leave it there for the first few weeks. Automations that only report or alert run on their own.
Start with recommendations
Let an automation propose changes for a while before you allow it to act alone. Agents run history shows every proposal and what happened after, so you can judge it on its record.6. Approve the first proposal#
- Open the Inbox
In the sidebar, select Inbox. Proposals wait under Agent runs — need approval, each with the evidence: the metric, the window, what changed and why.
- Approve or reject
Select a proposal and approve it, or reject it with a reason. Approve all low-risk approves every proposal marked low risk (for example adding a negative keyword) in one go.
- Check what happened
Select Automation Agents › Agents run history. The run shows the proposal, who approved it, the change made in the platform, and the value it replaced, so it can be undone.
7. Invite your team#
- Open Workspaces
Select your name at the bottom of the sidebar, then Workspaces. Select the share icon on the workspace.
- Add people
Enter email addresses, separated by commas. Choose Read Only - Can view but not edit for people who should see reports, or Read & Write - Can view and edit for people who approve and build. Select Share Workspace.
The Activity log on the same page records who did what from then on.