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When something goes wrong with HireOtto, the problem usually falls into one of three categories: the MCP server isn’t connecting, Google OAuth hasn’t been completed or has expired, or HireOtto is connecting to the wrong Google Ads account. The sections below walk through each category with specific symptoms and the steps to resolve them.
Symptom: Your AI assistant reports that it can’t find the MCP server, or shows an error like “Could not connect to MCP server” or “MCP server not found.”Check the endpoint URLThe URL must be exactly:
https://mcp.hireotto.com/sse
Common mistakes include a trailing slash (https://mcp.hireotto.com/sse/), a missing s in https, or a typo in the hostname. Open your config file and verify the URL character by character.Check the transport typeHireOtto uses SSE (server-sent events) transport, not stdio. Make sure your config specifies "transport": "sse", not "transport": "stdio". A stdio transport tells your AI tool to launch a local process, which will fail because there is no local HireOtto process to start.Correct configuration:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google-ads": {
      "url": "https://mcp.hireotto.com/sse",
      "transport": "sse"
    }
  }
}
Check for JSON syntax errorsIf your config file has a syntax error — a missing comma, an extra brace, or an unmatched quote — your AI tool may silently ignore the entire file. Paste your config into a JSON validator or check it with your editor’s JSON linting to confirm it is valid.Restart your AI toolMCP server configurations are read at startup. If you edited the config file while the AI tool was running, the change won’t take effect until you fully quit and relaunch the application. A reload or refresh is not sufficient — close the process and open it again.
For Claude Desktop, use Quit Claude from the menu bar rather than just closing the window, then relaunch. The application continues running in the background if you only close the window.
Symptom: You ask your assistant to manage campaigns and it responds as if it doesn’t know what HireOtto is, or it says it can’t access Google Ads.Verify HireOtto appears in connected serversCheck that the HireOtto MCP server shows up in your AI tool’s list of connected servers:
  • Claude Desktop — open Settings and look for HireOtto under MCP Servers.
  • Cursor — open the Command Palette and search for “MCP servers” to see the connected list.
  • Windsurf — open Settings, navigate to MCP Servers, and confirm HireOtto is listed as connected.
If HireOtto doesn’t appear, the config file isn’t being picked up. Re-check the file path and JSON syntax, then restart the tool.Confirm you’ve completed Google Ads authorizationIf HireOtto is listed as connected but your assistant can’t access campaigns, the OAuth flow may not have been completed. Send any HireOtto request — such as “List my campaigns” — and check whether your assistant responds with an authorization link. If it does, follow the link and complete the Google sign-in. See Authentication for step-by-step instructions.Be explicit in your requestSome AI assistants won’t automatically route a request to an MCP tool unless prompted. If your assistant seems unaware of HireOtto, try being explicit:
Use the google-ads MCP tool to list my campaigns
This tells the assistant to call HireOtto directly rather than trying to answer from its training data.
Symptom: Your assistant returns an error like “Authorization required,” “Not authenticated,” or provides an authorization URL you haven’t clicked yet.HireOtto requires you to complete a one-time OAuth flow before it can access your Google Ads account. When you see this error, it means the flow hasn’t been completed — or a previous token was revoked.Complete the authorization flow
  1. Your AI assistant should display an authorization URL in its response. If it doesn’t, send any HireOtto request (such as “List my campaigns”) to trigger the prompt.
  2. Click the authorization URL. It opens Google’s OAuth consent screen in your browser.
  3. Sign in with the Google account that has access to your Google Ads account.
  4. Review the permissions and click Allow.
  5. After granting access, return to your AI assistant and retry your request.
For full details, see Authentication.
HireOtto never sees your Google password. The authorization flow is handled entirely by Google’s own consent screen.
Symptom: Your assistant returns “Insufficient permissions,” “Access denied,” or “You don’t have permission to perform this action.”This error means either the Google account you authorized doesn’t have Google Ads access, or your role in the Google Ads account doesn’t allow the operation you’re trying to perform.Verify the authorized account has Google Ads accessSign in to ads.google.com with the same Google account you used during the HireOtto OAuth flow. If you can’t see any campaigns, the account doesn’t have access to the Google Ads account you’re trying to manage. Revoke HireOtto’s current token, then re-authorize with the correct Google account. See Revoke access for instructions.Check your user role for write operationsGoogle Ads enforces role-based permissions:
RoleCan readCan write (create, update, pause)
Read-onlyYesNo
StandardYesYes
AdminYesYes
If you’re a Read-only user, you can retrieve reports and list campaigns, but you cannot create campaigns, modify budgets, add keywords, or pause ads. Contact the account owner to upgrade your role to Standard or Admin if you need write access.
Attempting to make write changes with a Read-only account will fail and return an access denied error. No changes are applied to your account when this error occurs.
Symptom: HireOtto worked previously but now your assistant prompts you to authorize again, or returns a “Token expired” or “Invalid credentials” error.OAuth refresh tokens can be invalidated by several events: changing your Google account password, revoking HireOtto’s access, or extended inactivity. When this happens, HireOtto can no longer obtain a valid access token and returns an authentication error.Re-authorize your Google Ads accountAsk your assistant to start the re-authorization flow:
Re-authorize my Google Ads account
Your assistant will respond with a new authorization URL. Click it, sign in with your Google account, and grant access again. HireOtto will store the new token and resume normal operation.If re-authorization prompts keep appearing frequently, check that you haven’t set up any automated scripts or security policies that periodically revoke third-party app access on your Google account.
Symptom: HireOtto returns an empty list or “No campaigns found,” but you can see campaigns in the Google Ads UI.Verify you authorized the correct Google Ads accountHireOtto accesses whichever account was linked during the OAuth flow. If you manage multiple Google accounts, you may have authorized a different account than the one that holds your campaigns. Sign in to ads.google.com with the account you authorized and confirm your campaigns are visible there.If you authorized the wrong account, revoke HireOtto’s token and re-authorize with the correct account. See Authentication for steps.Check if your campaigns are in a Manager (MCC) accountIf your campaigns live inside a Google Ads Manager account (MCC), HireOtto needs to know which sub-account to target. Specify the customer ID explicitly in your request:
List campaigns for Google Ads account 123-456-7890
The customer ID appears at the top of the Google Ads UI when you’re viewing a sub-account. It’s formatted as XXX-XXX-XXXX.
Multi-account (MCC) support is available. If you manage many sub-accounts, contact HireOtto support for guidance on managing access across accounts.
Symptom: You ask HireOtto to create a new campaign and it returns an error or the campaign doesn’t appear in Google Ads.Ensure your Google Ads account is in good standingGoogle Ads blocks new campaign creation if your account has billing issues, policy violations, or is suspended. Check your account status at ads.google.com:
  • Confirm a valid payment method is on file and billing is active.
  • Check for any policy violation notifications or account warnings.
  • Verify your account is not suspended.
If your account has billing issues, resolve them in the Google Ads UI before retrying with HireOtto.Verify you have Standard or Admin accessCampaign creation is a write operation and requires Standard or Admin user access. Read-only users cannot create campaigns. If your role is Read-only, ask the account owner to upgrade your access.
If a campaign creation request partially completes before failing — for example, the campaign is created but ad groups are not — you may see an incomplete campaign in your Google Ads account. Review your campaigns in the Google Ads UI and remove or complete any partially created campaigns before retrying.