How to Give and Request Access to Microsoft Ads in 2026 (updated screenshots)

Microsoft Ads might not get as much attention as Google, but it’s becoming an increasingly valuable channel, especially for B2B advertisers looking to reach a more desktop-heavy, professional audience and potentially lower their CPC.

But once you decide to run Microsoft Ads, there’s one problem most teams run into almost immediately:

Getting access to the account.

Between confusing user roles, hidden menus, account IDs, and back-and-forth with clients, what should be a quick setup can easily turn into a frustrating process.

Whether you’re:

• An agency trying to get access to a client account
• A business adding team members
• Or a client unsure how to grant permissions

This guide will walk you through exactly how to give and request access to Microsoft Ads without the confusion. 👇

TL;DR

If you just want the quick version:

• Method 1: Adding a user? Go to User management and invite them
• Method 2: Are you an agency working with a client? Send a linking request (don’t share logins)
• Method 3: Want to skip account IDs and manual setup? Use a tool like Leadsie to link accounts instead

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User roles in Microsoft Advertising  

There are four main roles you can assign to someone in your Microsoft Advertising account. 

Here’s a summary:

1. Super Admin 

The person who created the Microsoft Ads account is automatically given the Super Admin role and full permissions for all accounts.

• Has full control over the entire Microsoft Ads account
• Can manage everything related to billing, payments, and account details
• Can control user access (including other Super Admins)
• Can update customer account sharing scope, shared audiences, or UET tag

‍Best for: Business owners, internal marketing leads, or anyone responsible for billing and account ownership.

‍⚠️ Security tip: Always have at least two Super Admins. If the only one leaves or loses login access, no one else can manage the account (and recovering access through Microsoft support is a slow, painful process).

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2. Standard User 

The Standard User role is designed for people who actively manage campaigns but don’t need full account control.

✅ They can:

• Create and optimize campaigns
• Access selected accounts they've been given access to
• Perform some billing-related tasks
• Invite other users (except Super Admins)

❌ But they can’t:

• Add or edit payment methods
• Create/delete accounts
• Link or unlink accounts
• Change Super Admin permissions

Best for: Marketing agencies managing ads, PPC specialists, and internal team members running campaigns.

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3. Advertiser Campaign Manager 

This role is purpose-built for people whose job is to run campaigns and nothing else. 

✅ They can:

• View selected accounts they've been given access to
• Create, edit, and delete campaigns

❌ But they can’t:

• Manage billing or payments (they can only view payment methods, not edit them)
• Invite users
• Change account-level settings

Best for: Junior marketers, external partners who only need to manage ads (not settings), and short-term hires.

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4. Viewer 

The Viewer role provides read-only access to the account.

✅ They can:

• View campaigns and performance
• Access reports

❌ But they can’t make any changes.

Best for: Stakeholders who need visibility without involvement.

A note on user limits

Most Microsoft Ads accounts support up to 15 users per account.

If you’re an agency, this usually isn’t something you need to worry about.

That’s because you’re not expected to add your entire team directly into a client’s account. Instead, you’ll link your account to each client’s account (more on that below) and manage everything from your own login.

Since each client account has its own user limit, you can work across multiple clients without running into a single global cap.

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Method #1: How to give someone access to a Microsoft Ads account (invite a user)

If you want to give someone access to your Microsoft Ads account, you’ll need to invite them as a user and assign the right role.

📝 Before you start, make sure:

• You’re a Super Admin (only Super Admins can fully manage users)
• You know which role to assign (e.g., Standard User vs Viewer)
• You have the person’s email address 

Once that’s sorted, follow these steps to invite a user:

Step 1. Go to Microsoft Advertising and log in with your account.

Step 2. Hover over “Settings” in the left menu and select “User management.”

This is where all user access is controlled.

❗ If you don’t see this option, it usually means:

• You’re not a Super Admin, or
• You don’t have permission to manage users

Step 3. Click “Invite user.”

Step 4. Enter their information, select a user role, and specify the account(s) they can access, then click “Send.”

💡 Good to know: The email you enter is just for sending the invite. The user can log in with a different Microsoft account after accepting it.

Step 5. Ask them to check their inbox and accept the invitation. They'll be guided to log in or set up an account to join your team.

Modifying or removing user access in Microsoft Ads

You can update someone’s role or remove their access from the same place in Microsoft Ads.

✏️ Before making changes, keep in mind:

• Only Super Admins (and in some cases Standard Users) can manage users
• If you’re removing a Primary Contact, you’ll need to assign a new one first

From there, you can update or remove access in just a few steps:

1. Go to Settings > User management.

2. Find the user you want to update.

From here, what you do depends on your goal:

• To change their role:
  Click “Edit,” update their role under Account role, then click “Save.”
• To remove access:
  Click “Delete” to remove them from the account.

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Accepting a Microsoft Ads invitation as a new user

If you’ve invited someone to your Microsoft Ads account, they’ll need to accept the invitation before they can access it.

Send them the steps below to speed up the process and avoid back-and-forth:

Step 1. Look for an email from Microsoft Advertising with the subject line: “Invitation to Microsoft Advertising.”

 If you don’t see it, check your spam/junk folder or ask the account owner to resend the invite.

Step 2. Open the email and click the invitation link to begin setting up your access.

⚠️ Important: You have 30 days to accept the invitation before it expires.

Step 3. Choose how you want to sign in.

You’ll see two options here:

1. Continue with Microsoft
2. Continue with Google

Use whichever account you want tied to your access. It doesn’t have to match the email the invite was sent to.

Step 4. Confirm your contact details and accept Microsoft Advertising’s terms.

Then click “Save” to continue.

Step 5. Once setup is complete, you’ll be taken into Microsoft Ads and should now see the account you were invited to. 🎉

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Method #2: How to request access to Microsoft Ads by linking to a client’s account

If you’re an agency working with a client, you don’t have to be added as a regular user. Instead, you can link your account to theirs and manage everything from your own login.

Rather than placing everyone in a single account, Microsoft lets you keep accounts separate and allows access through linking. This means:

✔️ Clients keep full ownership of their account (even if they switch agencies)

✔️ Agencies can manage multiple clients without sharing logins

✔️ Billing and permissions can be kept separate

📝 Before you start, you’ll need either your client’s:

• Manager account number (10 characters) - to access all ad accounts under their manager
• Ad account number (8 characters) - to access a specific ad account

💡 Not sure where to find these? Share this guide with your client: how to find your Microsoft Advertising account numbers.

Step 1. In your Microsoft Ads dashboard, open the left-hand menu and click “Tools.”

Step 2.  Scroll to the Account & billing management section and select “All accounts.”

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Step 3. Go to “Account summary” and look for the Requests tab.

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This is where you can send and manage linking requests.

Step 4. Click “Link to accounts.”

Step 5. Enter your client’s account number.

⚠️ Make sure you’re using the correct type:

• Use a manager account number (10 characters) if your client manages multiple ad accounts (common for larger businesses) and you need access to everything under that manager account
• Use an ad account number (8 characters) if your client only wants to give you access to a specific account/s (e.g. one brand, region, or campaign account)

These are different from the Manager account ID, which is only used by Microsoft support.

💡Tip:  If your client don’t know where to find their number, it’s usually visible in the account dropdown at the top or under Settings > Account settings.

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Step 6. It’s time to set your access details. You’ll be asked to:

• Choose a start date (immediate or scheduled)
• Decide whether you want to take over billing (optional)

⚠️ Be aware that If you take over billing, you'll also be responsible for any pending charges on the account once your request is accepted. You can choose to take over billing at any point.

Step 7. Send the request to your client. 

Once submitted, they will receive a notification, and they’ll need to approve the request before you get access.

⏳ If they don’t accept within 30 days, the request will expire and need to be resent.

🔗 Related: Agency client onboarding best practices

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Accepting a request to link Microsoft Ads accounts

If your client struggles to find the linking request, send them the steps below:

1. Go to “Tools” in the left-hand menu and scroll down to “All accounts.”
2. Click “Accounts summary” and select the “Requests”  tab.
3. Choose to either “Accept request” or “Decline request.”

Unlinking a Microsoft Ads account (remove agency access)

Both the account owner (client) and the agency (direct manager) can unlink accounts at any time.

This is useful if you’re ending a contract, switching to a new agency, or bringing campaign management in-house.

💡Tip:  It’s also a good idea to download reports or confirm handover details like billing before removing access.

1. Go to Settings > Direct managers
2. Find the agency (direct manager) you want to remove
3. Click “Unlink” under Actions
4. Choose when to remove access (immediately, or set a future date)
5. Click “Unlink accounts” to confirm
   
   

🔗 Related: 7 Client Retention Strategies for Agencies

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Method #3: How to request access to Microsoft Ads with Leadsie (the easiest way)

Manually requesting access to client accounts often means you have to: 

❌ Ask the client for their account number (which they probably don’t know where to find).

❌ Walk them through hidden menus.

❌ Wait for them to accept the request in the right place.

❌ Follow up when something inevitably gets missed.

And if you’re doing this across Google, Meta, and Microsoft Ads, that back-and-forth can quickly add up.

But there’s a simpler way. 

Leadsie is a client onboarding tool that lets agencies request Microsoft Ads access by sending a single secure access link to clients. Instead of asking for account IDs or walking them through setup, all they have to do is log in, select the account they want to share, and confirm access.

Here's how it works:

Step 1. Set up a new (or custom) access request link in your Leadsie dashboard and select Microsoft Ads (along with any other platforms you need access to). 

Leadsie supports 30+ platforms, so you can request everything at once.

Step 2. Share your Leadsie link with your client via email, Slack, or wherever you communicate.

Step 3. Your client logs in with their Microsoft account, selects the ad account they want to share, and confirms access.

That’s it. Once they’ve confirmed, the account is linked, and you can start managing their campaigns straight away! 🎉

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🔗 ‍Related: Best Ways Agencies Can Automate Client Onboarding

Common Microsoft Ads access issues (and how to fix them)

Even if you follow all the steps correctly, it’s pretty common to run into issues when accessing a Microsoft Ads account.

Here’s what to look out for:

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1) Login issues (wrong account, password, or setup)

❌ “We couldn’t find a Microsoft account”

This usually happens when the email you’re trying to use isn’t actually set up as a Microsoft account.

How to fix:

• Double-check for typos or the wrong email domain
• Try signing in with another account
• Or create a Microsoft account using that email
  
  

❌ “That password is incorrect”

This sounds simple, but it often happens when users have multiple Microsoft accounts (work + personal).

It’s also common when using the same email across different Microsoft services.

How to fix:

• Reset your password if needed
• Make sure you’re signing into the correct account type
  
  

❌ “Something went wrong” (or login keeps failing)

This is usually caused by too many failed attempts or browser/session issues.

How to fix:

• Wait ~30 minutes and try again
• Use an incognito window or a different browser
• Turn off VPNs or extensions temporarily
  
  

2) Access & permissions issues

❌ “I logged in, but I can’t see the account”

This is one of the most common issues. Usually, it means you haven’t accepted the invite yet, or you signed in with the wrong account.

How to fix:

• Go back to the invitation email and accept it
• Double-check which email/account you used
  
  

❌ Work vs personal account confusion

Microsoft Ads behaves differently depending on whether you’re using a personal account (e.g., Gmail, Outlook) or a work account (managed by your company).

Some organisations require one or the other.

How to fix:

• Try signing in with the correct account type
• If unsure, check with your team or IT admin
• In some cases, you may need to be re-invited with the correct account
  
  

3) Verification & security issues

❌ Multi-factor authentication (MFA) issues

If you’re stuck at the verification step, it’s often due to device issues or not completing the prompt properly.

How to fix:

• Retry the verification
• Use backup methods (if set up)
• Contact your admin if you’re locked out
  
  

4) Account blocked or suspended

❌ “Your access is blocked” or account suspended

This is less common but more serious. It usually means Microsoft has flagged the account for policy or security reasons.

How to fix:

• Check your email for details from Microsoft Ads
• Resolve any issues mentioned
• Submit an appeal if needed

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⚡ Agency hack: Get access to all your clients’ marketing accounts with one Leadsie link 

Are you an agency that needs access to multiple marketing or social media accounts?

With Leadsie, you can request and receive access to all your clients’ accounts in just a few clicks. 

Leadsie is a client onboarding software that simplifies requesting and giving access to marketing assets, social media, and ad accounts with one secure link. Get access to your clients' X, Facebook, Instagram, Google, TikTok, Shopify, LinkedIn, and other platform accounts without sharing passwords. 🔒

Leadsie automates account access management to deliver a fast, secure, and seamless client onboarding experience, helping you impress clients and showcase professionalism from day one.

✅ Minimize frustrating chaser emails and calls for access

✅ Reduces your agency's turnaround time by over 50%

✅ Scales with your agency as you grow beyond onboarding 5-10 new clients a week

✅ Makes it possible to get access to 31+ social, marketing, and analytics platforms at once

✅ Start billable work and billing cycles for your new clients without delays

🎁 Try a free 14-day trial on us—no credit card needed!‍

P.S. It's risk-free, and you get to keep your account connections after the trial ends. 🙌