# Growth Engine troubleshooting

> What to check when the Growth Engine isn't doing anything, stopped, is working on the wrong things, or an email campaign won't send.

Last updated: October 16, 2026

Source: https://www.willo.ai/docs/troubleshooting/growth-engine

Most answers are on two pages: **Settings → Autonomy** (is it on, what may it spend, what may it work on) and **Business → Activity** (what it did).

## It isn't doing anything on its own

Work through these in order.

1. **The plan.** The Growth Engine comes with Starter and up. On Free, the **Growth Engine** card says it is available on paid plans, and Willo only works when you ask.
2. **It was never switched on.** A new business starts paused. Click **Resume growth** under **Settings → Autonomy**.
3. **Today's budget is spent.** The **Autonomous-spend budget** card shows **Autonomous runs paused**. It starts again once spending over the last 24 hours falls back under the budget, or straight away if you raise **Daily budget (credits)**.
4. **The plan's credits ran out.** Top up or wait for the plan's next period.
5. **Nobody has chatted for a week.** The engine pauses when no one in the organisation has used Willo's chat for a week. Send a message; it carries on within a few hours.
6. **A cancellation is scheduled, or the plan is paused.** The engine stops until the cancellation is undone or the plan resumes.
7. **Nothing is ready on the roadmap.** Look under **Business → Roadmap**, or tell Willo in chat what to work on.

Before deciding nothing happened, skim **Business → Activity** for tasks marked **By Growth Engine**.

## Another of my businesses gets autonomous work and this one doesn't

The switch and the budget are per business. Compare the **Growth Engine** card on both: almost always one is active and the other was never switched on.

## It's working on the wrong things

- Tell Willo in chat what matters now. It updates the roadmap and the goals the engine plans from.
- Untick kinds of work you don't want under **What the Growth Engine works on**.
- See [Steer the Growth Engine](https://www.willo.ai/docs/growth-engine/steer-the-growth-engine).

## It published something I didn't review

The engine publishes only in a collection where auto-publish is switched on. Turn auto-publish off for that collection and its new content stays a draft. Content the engine writes elsewhere is always a draft.

## It spends more than I want

Lower **Daily budget (credits)**. The engine stops for the day when it reaches it. Pausing it with **Pause growth** stops scheduled work entirely; chat keeps working.

## It didn't send the email it wrote

The Growth Engine never sends email. It can draft a campaign; sending happens in chat, after a test copy and your confirm. See [Send an email campaign](https://www.willo.ai/docs/growth-engine/send-an-email-campaign).

## A campaign won't send

| What Willo says | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| The list is empty, or hasn't synced. | Ask Willo how many people are on the list, and to sync it. |
| The provider's count is out of step with Willo's. | Ask Willo to sync the list, then send again. |
| Today's test copies are used up. | Each business can send 10 test copies a day. The count covers the last 24 hours. Wait, or reuse the last tested draft: ask Willo for it. |
| Nothing has been tested. | Every campaign sends you a test copy first. Ask for one. |

## No open or click rates

Willo doesn't track opens or clicks. It can tell you how many people each campaign went to, and when.

## Still stuck

Use the **?** menu in the dashboard, or email support@willo.ai with the business's name and what you expected the engine to do.