Media Forecaster · Quick-Start Guide
Prescient AI
/ Media Forecaster · Quick-start guide 2–3 min read
Media Forecaster

Forecast and optimize future media performance

Media Forecaster turns your models into a plan. Set a goal and a budget, and Prescient recommends how to allocate spend across channels to grow returns — then tracks the plan against baseline and actuals as it runs.

Example · Plan summary — New Customers goal
Period
Jul 24 – Aug 22
30 days
Day 5 of 30 · 25 days left
Spend
$508,711
Plan Budget
Actual to date
$36,591 ↓ 56.8%
vs expected $84,785
Media New Customers — Optimized
11,347
Baseline 13,913 · −2,566 (−18.4%)
Actual to date
3 ↓ 99.8%
vs pace 1,891
Media CAC — Optimized
$44.83
Baseline $36.56
Actual to date
$10,923 ↑ high
early in plan

What you'll find here

Build a plan, run it, and track it against baseline and actuals.
1
My Plans
All your saved plans, with status, goal, date range and owner.
2
Set Plan
Goal, models, planning period, budget, risk tolerance and media.
3
Plan Summary
Spend and outcomes as Baseline, Optimized and Actual to date.
4
Performance Over Time
How the plan tracks day by day, with a Today marker.
5
Media Breakdown
Per-channel spend, outcomes and pacing — expand any row for its curve.

When to use this page

Whenever you're deciding where the next dollar of media should go.
Plan a budget change
Test how a bigger, smaller or reshuffled budget would perform.
Find the optimal mix
Let Prescient allocate spend across channels to hit your goal.
Monitor a live plan
Watch pacing — is spend and performance on track vs the forecast?
Compare scenarios
Save several plans and weigh them side by side before committing.

How it works

From a blank plan to a monitored allocation.
1

Start from My Plans

See every plan with its status, goal, date range and owner. Open one to review it, or hit New plan to start fresh. Plans can be kept Private while you draft, then made Public to share.

Example · My Plans
Search plans… All owners All statuses Private
NameStatusGoalDate rangeOwnerUpdated
Julieta's New Plan July 24thReadyMaximize new customersJul 24 – Aug 22, 2026JulietaJul 24, 2026
Tony's New Plan July 23rdReadyMaximize revenueJul 26 – Aug 22, 2026TonyJul 23, 2026
Khushbu's New Plan July 23rdReadyMaximize revenueJul 26 – Aug 22, 2026Khushbu KostiJul 23, 2026
2

Set the plan

Define what you're optimizing for. Pick a goal (e.g. fixed budget, maximize revenue), the outcome models to include, a planning period and budget, and a risk tolerance that bounds how far spend can move per campaign.

Example · Set Plan
Set PlanUnsavedPrivate Plan ▾
Goal Type
Fixed Budget, Maximize Revenue
Models
Amazon Selling Partner, Shopify, TikTok Shop +2
Planning Period
Aug 2 – Aug 29, 2026 · 4 weeks
Marketing Budget
Average daily spend$246,970
Avg daily spend last 4 weeks ($8,820) × 4 weeks = $246,970
Risk ToleranceHow far each campaign may move
Medium — 0.5× to 1.5×
3

Choose the media to include

Pick which channels the plan can move. Each shows its model confidence and recent performance, and an allocation type — Optimize (let Prescient decide), or hold/fix a channel where you want control.

Example · Select Included Media
MediaConfidenceAllocationRecent SpendRecent RevenueRecent ROAS
fFacebook Ads
1 tactic · 7 campaigns
Strong Optimize $119,025$756,4796.36
aAmazon Ads
1 tactic · 43 campaigns
Strong Optimize $55,197$546,6549.90
tTiktok Gmv Max
1 tactic · 3 campaigns
Strong Optimize $4,599$248,19353.96
Total$246,970$1,836,8537.44
4

Run it and read the summary

Prescient allocates the budget and returns a plan. The summary cards (shown above) frame every metric three ways — Baseline (flat spend), Optimized (the recommendation), and Actual to date once it's live.

See the Spend, New Customers — Optimized and CAC — Optimized cards in the summary above.
5

Explore Performance Over Time

Plot the plan day by day. Compare baseline, optimized and actual for one metric, or Break down by channel. A Today marker separates forecast from what's already happened.

Example · Performance Over Time
Performance Over Time
CompareBreakdown
Comparing Baseline vs. Optimized vs. Actual · Media New Customers
Jul 25Aug 1Aug 8Aug 15Aug 22
BaselineOptimizedActual
6

Break down by channel and monitor pacing

The Media Breakdown lines up Baseline, Optimized and Actual per channel, with deltas. Switch Channel/Tactic, toggle % or $, and expand a row for its curve. On active plans, watch pacing to see if you're on track.

Example · Media Breakdown
Baseline vs. Optimized vs. Actual
ChannelTactic%$CSV
BaselineOptimizedActual to Date
ChannelSpendNew Cust.CACSpendNew Cust.CACSpendNew Cust.CAC
AAdwords $222,1534,271$52.02 $194,867↓ 12.3%4,064↓ 4.8%$47.95↓ 7.8% $5,299↓ 97.6%1↓ 100%$4,731↑ high
fFacebook Ads $286,5589,642$29.72 $313,844↑ 9.5%7,283↓ 24.5%$43.10↑ 45.0% $31,292↓ 89.1%2↓ 100%$14,032↑ high

Two ideas worth knowing

What the forecast means — and who decides.
Baseline · Optimized · Actual

Baseline is what you'd get holding spend flat. Optimized is Prescient's recommended allocation for your goal. Actual to date is what really happened once the plan is live — early on it lags the forecast simply because little of the period has elapsed (that's pacing, not failure).

It recommends — you decide

Prescient does not change your budgets automatically. It may even trim a high-ROAS channel when the curve shows diminishing returns at higher spend. Review per-model confidence and set a risk tolerance so recommendations stay realistic.

Tips

Best practices for plans you can trust.

Start with a clear objective — the goal type shapes the whole plan.

Include all relevant outcome models so nothing is left out of the mix.

Check per-model confidence before acting on a recommendation.

Set a risk tolerance to keep budget shifts within realistic guardrails.

Save multiple scenarios and keep plans private while drafting.

On live plans, review pacing before judging results mid-flight.

Prescient AI · Media Forecaster quick-start guide