Ask Is automated bidding in Google Ads actually reliable or does it waste budget early on?

[Newman]

Automated bidding is when Google uses its system to automatically set how much you pay for each click, based on data it collects over time. The problem is that this system needs time to learn, and during that learning phase, it can spend money on clicks that do not convert well. Some campaigns lose quite a bit of budget in those early weeks. Once the system has enough data, it can work really well. But if your budget is small, the learning phase can hurt. Have you seen automated bidding perform well or poorly in your own experience?