Google Ads updates and changes

Google added 1-click experiment recommendations for AI Max search campaigns to eligible accounts.

Affects: 1-click AI Max experiments, AI Max Search campaigns, Search term matching, Asset optimization

Google is splitting child safety violations in Ads into two penalty tiers: non-sexual nudity gets a 7-day warning, while abuse content triggers immediate suspension.

Affects: Child Safety policy, Egregious Child Safety Violations, Other Child Safety Violations, account suspensions · Effective: January 11, 2027

Quebec's warranty disclosure law will require Google Shopping ads to display 3- to 6-year warranty terms, but Google won't implement the change until late 2026, leaving sellers without a clear compliance path in the interim.

Affects: Warranty attribute in Merchant Center product data, Shopping ads and free listings in Canada · Effective: October 5, 2026 (legal obligation); display on ads and free

Google introduced Smart Bidding Exploration, a Target ROAS setting that accepts lower returns to bid on converting search categories the algorithm would normally skip.

Affects: Smart Bidding Exploration, Target ROAS bid strategy, ROAS tolerance, Performance Max · Effective: after August 17, 2026

Google is now automatically feeding up to 10 videos crawled from social platforms, landing pages, and linked YouTube channels into Performance Max asset groups without requiring opt-in.

Affects: Sourced videos, Asset optimization, Performance Max asset groups

Google now allows Shopping and PMax advertisers to set ROAS target tolerance bands of 5–30%, letting performance metrics drift further from the target before triggering optimization adjustments.

Affects: Smart Bidding Exploration, Target ROAS bidding, Shopping campaigns, Performance Max campaigns

Google is discontinuing a backend setting that automatically allocated 50% of unused Search budget to Display campaigns in February 2027.

Affects: Display Expansion on Search campaigns, Channel prioritisation, Daily budget allocation percentage · Effective: February 2027

Google Ads now lets retailers apply bid multipliers between 1.1x and 5x specifically for new customer acquisition across Search, Shopping, PMax, and Demand Gen.

Affects: Percentage multipliers for customer acquisition goals, High value mode in Shopping campaigns, Customer retention modes · Effective: this month (October 2026)

Google Ads is rolling out a translation tool in the advertiser console to help campaigns reach global audiences.

Affects: Translation tool, Text assets, Keyword targeting, Image assets

Google is rolling out three customer lifecycle goal updates to Google Ads ahead of the holidays, including high-value mode expansion for Shopping campaigns and new retention features.

Affects: High value mode, Customer retention goals, Percentage multipliers, Customer lifecycle goals · Effective: Rolling out this month (October 2026)

Google is testing dynamic product attribute displays in its Sponsored Products ads.

Affects: Sponsored Products, product attributes in ad units

Google expanded its ad restrictions to pause ads from Russian advertisers globally, building on its 2022 policy of blocking ad delivery to users in Russia.

Affects: Ad serving to users in Russia, Ads for advertisers based in Russia

Meta reported 26% ad revenue growth to $63.1 billion while facing a $25 billion fine from a New Mexico judge and a $9.89 billion teen settlement charge.

Affects: Performance Max image extraction, ChatGPT ads rewrite · Effective: December 4 (Google); October 29 or 30 (OpenAI, dates differ

Google is activating automatic image extraction for Performance Max campaigns by default from December 4, requiring API users to opt out if they want to maintain existing settings.

Affects: Performance Max campaigns, GENERATE_IMAGE_EXTRACTION, Dynamic Image Extensions, asset_automation_settings · Effective: December 4, 2026

Google Ads is rolling out a new A/B testing toggle for asset group changes to let advertisers measure the impact of creative updates.

Affects: Asset group A/B test toggle, Save and test asset group changes

Google Ads updated its Smart Bidding learning documentation, adding a seven-day limit and new operational guidance.

Affects: Smart Bidding, Learning status, Conversion goals, Daily budgets

Google is extending its Financial Services Verification program for Google Ads to the United States and Canada in partnership with banking associations.

Affects: Financial Services Verification · Effective: early 2027

Google is rolling out new safeguards in early 2027 to prevent financial scam ads in the U.S. and Canada.

Affects: Financial services ads verification · Effective: 2027

Prebid, a non-profit ad-tech organization, outlined plans to reduce publisher and independent ad-tech reliance on Google's dominance in the sell-side auction.

Affects: Channel prioritization controls, Budget allocation controls, Search, Shopping · Effective: Oct. 14

Google Ads is eliminating the featured professionals feature and making headshots optional for local service ads advertisers.

Affects: Featured professionals in Local Services Ads, Advertiser headshots · Effective: Starting in October

Google Ads is replacing SHA-256 hashing with encryption for customer data uploads in the Data Manager starting November 16.

Affects: Customer Match, enhanced conversions, Data Manager · Effective: November 16, 2026

Google's Ads API v26 adds 15 search lift metrics alongside Local Services Performance Max API support and removes political ad declaration requirements for non-EU campaigns.

Affects: Search Lift metrics and resources, Campaign.contains_eu_political_advertising, Hotel AdGroupBidModifier criteria, Local Services Performance Max campaigns · Effective: October 14, 2026

Google published specific examples of what it considers sexually suggestive content in ads across YouTube and Display Network.

Affects: Sexual content policy, Sexually suggestive ad creative, Strongly restricted and moderately restricted content tiers · Effective: October 14, 2026

Google Ads now allows Performance Max advertisers to set their Search partner spend cap to 0% via the API, with help pages indicating the feature is coming more broadly.

Affects: channel prioritization, Low priority budget allocation cap, Performance Max Search partner spend, Google Ads API support · Effective: October 14, 2026

A Google Ads product manager clarified that adjusting target or budget on a steady campaign won't reset the learning period.

Affects: Channel prioritization, Budget allocation, Promotion mode, Smart Bidding Exploration · Effective: Progressive availability starting October 15, 2026; Display

Google AdSense moved consent string error reporting from the TCF error report to its Policy Center under a new Regulatory issue category.

Affects: TCF error report, Policy center, Regulatory issue category · Effective: October 15, 2026

Google Ads is rolling out a certification program allowing qualified online gambling advertisers to run ads on the platform starting in October 2026.

Affects: Online gambling advertiser certification, Policy > Account section in Admin · Effective: October 2026

Google Ads now lets advertisers score leads based on form-answer criteria to filter for higher-quality prospects.

Affects: Lead Form assets, Custom Questions, Leads page

Skai now offers Uber ads in eight countries outside the US for eligible brands, though specifics on formats, cost, and tracking remain unclear.

Effective: October 13, 2026

Google released API version 26, adding SMS messaging, local services, hotel center support, and other paid-search features.

Affects: Search Lift measurement, Local Services, Performance Max campaign creation, Unified enhanced conversions configuration · Effective: Oct 15, 2026

Google Ads clarified its sexual content policies with additional examples to help advertisers comply.

Affects: Sexual content policy, Sexually suggestive elements and themes section

Google Ads now allows advertisers to cap Display and partner network spending by percentage on a best-effort basis.

Affects: Channel prioritization, Budget allocation, Search partners, Display Network · Effective: Rolling out from October 15; Search campaigns migrate from F

Google is letting advertisers set daily spending caps for Display and partner networks as a percentage of their average budget, starting October 15.

Affects: Channel prioritization, Budget allocation, Display Expansion budget behavior · Effective: October 15, 2026

Google Ads is rolling out channel prioritization and budget allocation controls to let advertisers manage spending distribution across Search, Performance Max, and other campaigns.

Affects: Channel Prioritization, Budget Allocation, Search Display Network settings, Performance Max channel controls · Effective: February 2027

Google Ads added new controls to let advertisers prioritize channel groupings and allocate budgets more directly.

Affects: channel prioritization controls, budget allocation controls

Google Ads is testing a unified report that combines search queries, ad creatives, and landing pages into a single view.

Affects: Search terms and ad combinations report, AI Max for Search campaigns

Google formalized prediction market advertising rules by adding a dedicated section to its main Ads policy documentation.

Affects: Prediction market advertising, Google Ads policies

ID5 remains on Safari's blocklist following Apple's privacy enforcement, while The Trade Desk works on a 13-day remediation plan.

Google claims its tag gateway setup can deliver a 20% conversion uplift in Demand Gen campaigns, with The Zebra reporting a 16% increase.

Affects: Data Strength Uplift metric, Data Manager, enhanced conversions, Google tag gateway · Effective: October 13, 2026

YouTube shipped a new Demand Gen update in October 2026 focused on measurement and ROI tracking capabilities.

Affects: Data Strength Uplift metric, Data Manager, Enhanced conversions, Google Tag Gateway

Apple's iOS 27 unexpectedly blocked major data and identity vendors like LiveRamp and Permutive, forcing the ad tech ecosystem to scramble for workarounds.

Google Ads now lets advertisers set up conversion lift measurement without contacting a representative, provided they meet minimum thresholds of 1,000 conversions and $5,000 spend.

Affects: Conversion Lift measurement, Search campaigns, Performance Max campaigns

Google Ads is testing an updated billing menu with additional links and options.

Affects: Billing menu, Billing Reports, Transactions, Payment Methods

Google is automating promotion detection and application for Search and Performance Max campaigns, rolling out October 12, 2026.

Affects: Automated promotions, Search campaigns, Performance Max campaigns · Effective: October 12, 2026

Google Ads is updating its business name policy to permit certain advertisers to use a business name that differs from their destination domain, subject to specific restrictions.

Affects: Business name requirements policy, Business name vs. destination domain rules · Effective: October 16, 2026

Google Ads updated its destination policy to clarify that campaigns must have at least one asset group configured to avoid invalid final URL errors.

Affects: Destination not working policy, Asset groups, Invalid final URL error

Google rolled out affiliate location extensions in Maps and one-click ads on YouTube Shorts to streamline demand gen conversions.

Affects: Demand Gen, affiliate location extensions, one-click ad placements on YouTube Shorts

Google Ads added Holistic and Growth modes to its budget allocation recommendations, letting advertisers either reallocate spend between campaigns or inject fresh budget into top performers.

Affects: Recommended Investment Strategy, Holistic mode, Growth mode, Performance Planner

Google has released Ads API v25.2, a minor update adding Performance Max draft generation, competitive benchmarks, and new bid adjustment features.

Affects: Competitive benchmark percentile metrics, Performance Max drafts from Smart campaigns, Asset group URL options, Search bid adjustment recommendations

Google is running a limited pilot program allowing ads for certain gun accessories to appear on Google Ads in the U.S. from October 2026 through March 2027.

Affects: Search ads for gun accessories, Dangerous products or services policy · Effective: October 2026

Google Ads is rolling out a spending benchmarks report that lets advertisers compare their budget against competitors in their industry.

Affects: Spend Benchmarks report

Google finished rolling out target-based bid strategies globally between August 17–27, 2026.

Affects: Target-based bid strategies, Campaigns limited by budget, Performance Planner forecasting · Effective: August 17, 2026 (rollout began); completed August 27, 2026

Google Ads added a landing-page option in Performance Max campaigns to direct clicks to either a website or Google Business Profile.

Affects: Performance Max landing page destination, Google Business Profile landing page (optimized for ads)

Google Ads launched a Product Value Optimization beta that lets advertisers apply value adjustments to automated bidding strategies.

Affects: Product Value Optimization, Performance Max, Shopping campaigns, automated bidding

Google Ads is beta testing a Video Campaign Group feature that aggregates metrics and controls for reach and frequency across multiple video and Demand Gen campaigns.

Affects: Video Campaign Group, Demand Gen campaigns, Video campaigns

Google launched a beta experiment variable in Ads that lets advertisers test different budget and bidding targets to optimize spending.

Affects: Experiments for budget and bidding targets, Search campaigns, AI Max experiments, Performance Planner recommendations

Google Ads introduced Local Customer Optimization and Store Sales tracking features for multi-location retailers ahead of the holiday season.

Affects: Local Customer Optimization, Store Sales in Data Manager

Google updated its documentation for location assets in Google Ads to improve clarity and add troubleshooting guidance.

Affects: Location assets, Location asset requirements

Google added Local Customer Optimization to Performance Max campaigns and improved Store Sales measurement for retailers.

Affects: Local Customer Optimization, Performance Max store goals campaigns, Store Sales in Google Ads Data Manager · Effective: Store Sales expected to begin rolling out at the end of Sept

Google Ads is adding Local Customer Optimization for Performance Max campaigns and a simplified Store Sales data upload feature to help businesses connect online ad spend to offline conversions.

Affects: Performance Max, Local Customer Optimization, Store Sales in Data Manager · Effective: Local Customer Optimization rolling out now; Store Sales in

Google Ads published documentation on its ability to automatically detect and apply active promotional offers from advertiser websites in ad campaigns.

Affects: Automated promotions, Search campaigns, Performance Max campaigns

Google's Demand Gen product adds new messaging, travel, and creative capabilities in its August update.

Affects: Demand Gen campaigns, messaging-app conversations from Demand Gen ads on YouTube, travel ads and hotel ads personalization, Multimodal Video Creation in Asset Studio

Google has moved its Customer Lifecycle Optimization feature into the Conversion Goals section of Google Ads, requiring audience segments of at least 100 members.

Affects: Customer Lifecycle Optimization, Customer Acquisition, Lapsed Customers, Loyalty Program Members

Google is migrating Local Services Ads management into Performance Max starting August 2026, changing how budgets, bidding, and reporting work.

Affects: Local Services Ads, Performance Max, Automated bidding, Lead reports · Effective: August 2026 for first U.S. advertisers; remaining accounts t

Google updated Google Tag and Tag Manager with a streamlined interface and consolidated features to simplify measurement setup for advertisers and analysts.

Affects: Google Tag, Google Tag Manager, No-code event tracking, Visual tagging

Google Ads is rolling out an AI-powered sitelink suggestion feature to help advertisers identify and add new ad extensions.

Affects: Sitelinks, Ad extensions

Google released Ads API v25.1 with new measurement tools including lift studies, brand sentiment analysis, and category-level competitive benchmarks.

Affects: Conversion lift reporting, Brand lift reporting, Brand sentiment and loyalty reporting, Competitive benchmarking metrics

Google is testing an Enhanced Matching option for Customer Match in Google Ads that could expand audience reach by connecting consented first-party data with publisher signals.

Affects: Enhanced matching, Customer Match

Google Ads now lets advertisers increase bids specifically for loyalty program members and display member benefits in eligible markets.

Affects: Customer retention settings, Loyalty program member bidding, Member benefits display

Google has updated its Branded Searches conversion metric to use a 7-day attribution window by default and now limits eligibility to YouTube and Demand Gen campaigns, removing Performance Max from the supported list.

Affects: Branded Searches conversion, Performance Max, Demand Gen, YouTube campaigns

Google Ads now allows advertisers to track searches for their brand name as a conversion type.

Affects: branded searches conversion type

Google Analytics now lets advertisers set custom lookback windows (1–30 days for engaged-view, 1–90 days for click-through conversions) instead of preset options.

Affects: custom conversion attribution windows, click-through conversions, engaged-view conversions

Google has introduced local customer optimization capabilities to its Performance Max advertising platform.

Affects: Performance Max store-goal campaigns, local customer optimization

Google published new help docs explaining Local Customer Optimization, a Performance Max feature designed to help local businesses reach nearby, ready-to-act customers as it migrates Local Service Ads to its main ad platform.

Affects: Local customer optimization, Performance Max for store goals, Local Service Ads migration

Google Ads is testing a feature that lets text disclaimers override pinned descriptions in position 1, giving advertisers more control over ad messaging.

Affects: Text disclaimers, Responsive search ads description line 1

Google's Data Manager API now offers bulk audience removal, field-level validation warnings, and expanded address data fields to streamline advertiser workflows.

Affects: Data Manager API, RemoveAllAudienceMembers method, Customer Match, Google Analytics address fields

Google Ads is rolling out a carousel-style insights section that surfaces eight categories of automated recommendations—from budget alerts to competitive performance—in a single swipeable interface.

Affects: Insights section, Automated account insights

Google released an update to its Demand Gen campaign tool with upgraded tROAS bidding and Checkout Links features ahead of the holiday shopping season.

Affects: Checkout Links, Target ROAS bidding, Affiliate partnerships boost, Universal Commerce Protocol