Hello there, @Wasapi. I have here some details to share about your concern. 

Currently, there is still an ongoing investigation about the Auto Payroll feature getting blocked in QuickBooks Online (QBO) Payroll. Our Product Engineers are working nonstop to have this issue resolved as soon as possible.

To ensure that you'll be notified about the investigation updates, I recommend contacting our QuickBooks Online Payroll Support Experts again and have you added to the list of affected users. 

Also, to clarify my colleague's instruction, you need to run payroll for all of your employees before enabling the feature in QBO, so you'll have the option to select the employees you want to include in the Auto Payroll.

Moreover, I'll also share this link where you can browse for articles which can serve as your reference to help you with your payroll concerns in QBO: QuickBooks Online Payroll Help Articles.

I'm looking forward to having this resolved. Feel free to leave a reply if you require further assistance. The Community team always has your back. Have a good one.