Techniques are described for enabling users to configure the auto scaling of virtual computing resources using various intent-based auto scaling configurations. Intent-based configurations generally provide various indications of how a user intends to use a scalable group of virtual computing resources and what expectations a user might have about how those resources are scaled in response to changes in demand. A service provider network receives first input to create a scalable group of virtualized computing resources, the first input indicating at least one primary scaling configuration used by the hardware virtualization service to scale the scalable group of compute instances over time, and further receives second input indicating at least one secondary, intent-based scaling configuration used to scale the virtualized computing resources, for example, when the service is unable to scale the group of virtualized computing resources according to the at least one primary scaling condition.