I have the exact question as you. I’ve posted on the /r/brave_browser subreddit and I made a post here 3 days ago asking the same question and got zero response. They really need to clarify the behavior of Auto-Contribute and expand on the auto-contribute controls. I do NOT want a majority of my BAT tied up in limbo trying to get sent to Google, of all companies…
What’s even MORE confusing is that the official Brave support page regarding this shows a different wording for the option. It says there is a “Allow contribution to non-verified sites” option, but I only see “Show non-verified sites in list”. I am not sure whether the behavior changed and if so WHY? Having BAT withheld for 3 months is a crazy long time. That BAT could be better spent by creators who are ready to receive it.