Guide · Agent skill
How to use the ads-math agent skill for paid media math
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
ads-math is an agent skill, a folder of instructions that an AI agent such as Claude loads when a task matches it. Once installed, it makes the agent work through paid advertising money questions in a structured way: it names the formula, lists each input, checks the numbers and then gives an answer. This guide is for marketers, small business owners and analysts who want that kind of help, and it covers installation, how to ask for things, safety notes and tips.
Paid Media Math ModelAgriciDaniel/claude-ads · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Download the ads-math ZIP from this page. It contains SKILL.md.
- 2Unzip into a skills folder. Unzip into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into .claude/skills/ inside a project.
- 3Or upload in the Claude apps. Open Settings, then Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the ZIP.
- 4Ask a metric question. Describe the decision and include your spend, conversions or revenue, and period.
- 5Check the formula and inputs. Review the formula and input list the agent shows before you rely on the result.
- 6Test sensitivity. Ask for base, downside and upside cases when the decision carries real risk.
What the ads-math skill makes the agent do
The skill covers paid-media metrics including CPA, CPL, CPC, CPM, ROAS, MER, break-even targets, contribution margin, LTV:CAC, impression-share opportunity, budgets, forecasts and experiment economics.
The skill sets a working method for the agent. It asks for units, currency, period, margin, attribution basis and uncertainty, shows the formula with every input mapped to a value you gave, checks for division by zero, missing values and mismatched time windows, and where uncertainty affects the decision it calculates base, downside and upside cases.
It also keeps platform-attributed revenue, blended business revenue, cash flow and contribution margin separate, so an ad platform's revenue claim is not mistaken for total profit. The skill states that it never fabricates missing financial inputs and never presents a point forecast without its assumptions.
How to install the ads-math skill
Download the ZIP of the skill from this page. The skill is a single file, SKILL.md, so the download is small. Then choose one of two routes.
For a personal install across projects, unzip the download into ~/.claude/skills/ so that the skill sits in that folder. For a single project, unzip it into the .claude/skills/ folder inside that project.
You can also upload the skill in the Claude apps. Go to Settings, then Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the ZIP there.
- Personal: ~/.claude/skills/
- Project: .claude/skills/ inside your project folder
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills
How to trigger the skill with natural requests
You do not need a special command. Ask in plain language and include the numbers. The skill's description lists the kinds of requests it matches: PPC math, ad calculator, break-even analysis, ROAS calculator, CPA calculator, budget forecast, LTV CAC and MER.
Give the agent the spend, the conversions or revenue, the period and any margin figure you have. If you leave something out, the skill is designed to ask for it rather than guess.
- "Using ads-math, what is my CPA if I spent 4,200 over 30 days and got 85 sales?" (replace with your own figures)
- "Run a break-even ROAS for a product with a 40% contribution margin."
- "Build a base, downside and upside budget forecast for next quarter."
- "Is my LTV:CAC healthy? Here is my average customer value and acquisition cost."
Examples of what a good answer looks like
A useful answer shows the formula before the result, for example CPA equals spend divided by conversions, followed by the inputs you supplied and the calculated figure. If conversions were zero, the agent should flag the division by zero rather than return a number.
For planning questions, expect separate base, downside and upside cases and a list of the assumptions behind each. For revenue questions, expect the platform-attributed figure and the blended business figure to be labelled separately.
What the skill needs and what it runs
The skill lists no requirements. It runs no scripts and uses no network access. It works from the numbers you type into the conversation and the instructions in SKILL.md.
Because the skill only reasons over the inputs you provide, its output is only as reliable as those inputs. Check your spend, conversion counts, margin and attribution settings before acting on a result.
Safety notes and limits
The skill is a modelling aid. It does not verify accounting treatment, so do not use its output for tax filings or formal financial reports.
Do not make spending decisions on numbers you have not checked. Treat each forecast as a set of assumptions to test, not a prediction.
- Not for tax filing or formal financial reporting
- Verify inputs before spending decisions
- Ask the agent to show assumptions for every forecast
Tips for better results
Name the currency, the time period and whether revenue is platform-attributed or total business revenue at the start of your request. Including your contribution margin lets the agent calculate break-even figures that reflect profit rather than revenue.
Ask for the downside case when the decision is expensive to get wrong. The skill is built to show how sensitive the answer is to each input.
- State currency, period and attribution basis up front
- Provide contribution margin for break-even work
- Request base, downside and upside cases for budget decisions
What people use it for
- Checking whether a campaign's CPA or ROAS pays back before increasing spend
- Calculating a break-even ROAS from contribution margin
- Comparing LTV to customer acquisition cost with LTV:CAC
- Building a simple budget forecast with base, downside and upside cases
- Separating platform-attributed revenue from total business revenue when reviewing results
Frequently asked questions
How do I install the ads-math skill?
Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or into .claude/skills/ inside a project. You can also upload the ZIP in the Claude apps under Settings, then Capabilities, then Skills.
Does ads-math require anything else to run?
The skill lists no requirements. It runs no scripts and uses no network access, and works from the numbers you give it in the conversation.
Is ads-math free to use?
The skill is published under the MIT licence. Check the repository licence file for the full terms.
What metrics can ads-math calculate?
It covers CPA, CPL, CPC, CPM, ROAS, MER, break-even targets, contribution margin, LTV:CAC, impression-share opportunity, budgets, forecasts and experiment economics.
Can I use ads-math for taxes or financial reports?
No. The skill is a modelling aid and does not verify accounting treatment, so it is not suitable for tax filings or formal financial reports.
Why does the agent ask me for more numbers?
The skill is designed never to fabricate missing financial inputs. It asks for missing values and flags division by zero instead of guessing an answer.
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Our verdict
Use ads-math if you want an agent to lay out paid-media money calculations with formulas, inputs and base, downside and upside cases, especially for checking whether a campaign pays back. Pick something else if you need tax work or formal financial reporting, or if you cannot supply reliable spend, conversion and margin figures.
Download the skill