{"generated":"2026-09-04T04:10:30.941Z","site":"https://googleadschangehistory.com","count":980,"license":"CC BY 4.0 — attribute googleadschangehistory.com","changes":[{"date":"2026-09-03","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"An 'Under re-review' eligible (limited) ad status drew attention; Google said it has existed for years","summary":"Anthony Higman highlighted the status on LinkedIn; Google told Search Engine Roundtable the label is not new. PPC News Feed had also documented it in August.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-09-03); PPC News Feed (2026-08-28).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Under Re-Review Label Status","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-under-re-review-status-41976.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-09-03"},{"title":"Google Ads Shows Under Re-Review Policy Status","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/google-ads-shows-under-re-review-policy-status/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-28"}],"id":"2026-09-03-under-re-review-eligible-limited-status"},{"date":"2026-09-03","effective_date":"2026-10-30","product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Policy","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Personalized advertising policy to allow personalized alcohol ads on YouTube where locally permitted","summary":"From October 30, 2026, alcohol advertising may use personalization on YouTube inventory where locally allowed, with age restrictions maintained, no targeting of alcohol-related health information, and user controls in My Ad Center. Egypt, India, Indonesia and Poland are excluded.","details":"","regions":"Global (ex Egypt, India, Indonesia, Poland)","sources":[{"title":"Update to Google Ads Personalized Advertising Policy (September 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17598957","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-09-03"}],"id":"2026-09-03-personalized-advertising-policy-to-allow-personalized"},{"date":"2026-09-02","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Retired","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"Google Analytics showed zero traffic for September 1 across many properties due to a processing glitch","summary":"Dana DiTomaso flagged on LinkedIn that GA4 reports displayed no data for Sept 1 (and late Aug 31) across client accounts. Google had not confirmed the issue at publication.","details":"Search Engine Land described the impact as widespread across GA4 properties; the data appeared to be a processing delay rather than actual traffic loss.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Analytics showing zero traffic on Sept. 1","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-analytics-showing-zero-traffic-on-september-1st-486448","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-09-02"}],"id":"2026-09-02-ga4-zero-traffic-september-1-bug"},{"date":"2026-09-02","effective_date":"2026-10-07","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"Deprecation","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API v22 sunset confirmed for October 7, 2026","summary":"Google reminded developers that all v22 requests will fail from October 7, 2026; integrations must move to v23 or later (v25 recommended).","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads API v22 sunset reminder","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/09/google-ads-api-v22-sunset-reminder.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-09-02"},{"title":"Deprecation and sunset dates","url":"https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/sunset-dates","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2026-09-02"}],"id":"2026-09-02-ads-api-v22-sunset"},{"date":"2026-09-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Performance Max Help documentation rewritten to clarify Search prioritization, controls and budget panel","summary":"Google substantially revised the main Performance Max Help page: clarified how Search and Performance Max campaigns interact (exact match keywords and Search themes priority), regrouped brand exclusions, negative keywords, Search themes and Final URL expansion as campaign controls, and documented the Budget Panel's three recommendation levels.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"About Performance Max campaigns","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/10724817?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-09-01"},{"title":"Google Ads Performance Max Help Document Updated","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-pmax-help-doc-updated-41982.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-09-01"}],"id":"2026-09-01-pmax-help-doc-search-priority-rewrite"},{"date":"2026-09-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"AI Max help doc was updated: broad keywords are not treated as exact match for keyword prioritization","summary":"Barry Schwartz spotted new guidance that advertisers must add exact match copies of keywords to preserve keyword prioritization in AI Max, at the cost of historical data.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads AI Max Keyword Prioritization For Exact Match","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-ai-max-keyword-prioritization-41988.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-09-01"}],"id":"2026-09-01-ai-max-exact-match-prioritization-doc-update"},{"date":"2026-09-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Sponsored results gained a 'What customers love' block labeled 'AI-generated from the store rating reviews'","summary":"Sachin Patel shared the new AI summary label on X and Search Engine Watch.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads AI-Generated From The Store Rating Reviews Label","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-ai-generated-store-rating-reviews-41983.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-09-01"}],"id":"2026-09-01-ai-generated-store-rating-reviews-label"},{"date":"2026-08-31","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Popular products report enhanced with broader coverage and more accurate rankings","summary":"Google enhanced the Popular products report in Merchant Center Analytics (and the equivalent Merchant API and BigQuery data) to give a more accurate and comprehensive view of product and brand popularity, which may shift rankings and expand coverage across regions.","details":"The Help Center notice says the enhancements took effect in late June 2026; Search Engine Roundtable covered it on August 31, 2026.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Enhanced coverage and insights for popular product reports","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/18080698?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-06-30"},{"title":"Merchant Center announcements change log","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/announcements/6192467?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-11"},{"title":"Google Merchant Center Popular Products Report Enhanced","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-merchant-center-popular-products-report-enhanced-41977.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-08-31"}],"id":"2026-08-31-popular-products-report-enhanced"},{"date":"2026-08-31","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Channel prioritization sliders spotted in Performance Max alpha for Search, YouTube, Display and more","summary":"An alpha lets Performance Max advertisers set Low-to-High priority sliders for seven channels (Search, Search Partners, Discover, YouTube, Maps, Gmail, Display), which adjust CPA bids per channel under Target CPA bidding.","details":"Spotted by Heidi Sturrock and Thomas Eccel; no Google announcement yet.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Performance Max Adds Channel Prioritization Controls","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/performance-max-adds-channel-prioritization-controls/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-31"}],"id":"2026-08-31-pmax-channel-prioritization-alpha"},{"date":"2026-08-31","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"'Automatic payments' renamed Postpay and 'Manual payments' renamed Prepay across billing","summary":"Google renamed its two payment settings across roughly 60 Help pages, billing screens and navigation: automatic payments are now 'Postpay' and manual payments are 'Prepay'. Charging behavior is unchanged.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"About the postpay payment setting","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6311","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-08-31"},{"title":"Prepay payments","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2393016","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-08-31"},{"title":"Automatic and Manual Payments Renamed to Postpay and Prepay","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/automatic-manual-payments-renamed-postpay-prepay/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-31"}],"id":"2026-08-31-payments-renamed-postpay-prepay"},{"date":"2026-08-31","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads Developer Policies updated for AI-era integrations","summary":"Google revised its Developer Policies to set clearer frameworks for secure integrations using emerging AI technologies. Affects developers building on the Google Ads API.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to the Google Ads Developer Policies (August 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/18105638","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-08-31"}],"id":"2026-08-31-google-ads-developer-policies-updated-for"},{"date":"2026-08-31","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads Developer Policies updated to ban programmatic proxies and require a dedicated Cloud project","summary":"The renamed Google Ads Developer Policies (formerly Google Ads API Policy) now require integrations to connect directly to Google Ads services using their own Google Cloud project rather than through programmatic proxies, citing security, cross-tenant data leak and throughput risks; the Ads API Compliance team is reviewing existing integrations and contacting affected developers.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Making Google Ads More Secure with Updates to Developer Policies","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/08/making-google-ads-more-secure-with.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-08-31"},{"title":"Google Ads Developer Policies","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/6169371?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-08-31"}],"id":"2026-08-31-developer-policies-update-no-proxies"},{"date":"2026-08-31","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"AI Mode began showing inline Shopping ad carousels plus a single ad unit at the bottom of responses","summary":"Brodie Clark (SERPalerts) called it a big change to ads in AI Mode; Google did not comment.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google AI Mode With Inline Shopping Carousel Ads & Single Ad Unit","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-mode-shopping-carousel-ads-41973.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-08-31"}],"id":"2026-08-31-ai-mode-inline-shopping-carousel-ads"},{"date":"2026-08-29","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Product titles report launched showing AI-customized titles versus original titles with performance","summary":"A new report lists the AI-generated product titles Google serves alongside the original feed titles with impressions, clicks, CTR, cost and CPC, so advertisers can see which version Google chose and how it performed.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Product Titles Report Reveals AI-Generated Product Names","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/product-titles-report-reveals-ai-generated-product-names/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-29"}],"id":"2026-08-29-product-titles-report-ai-generated"},{"date":"2026-08-29","effective_date":"2026-10-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Local Services","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Local Services Ads to charge for missed calls over 20 seconds and follow-up calls from October 1, 2026","summary":"Google will bill Local Services advertisers for calls missed during business hours when the caller waits more than 20 seconds, and for one follow-up call within 15 days of a valid lead. For menu-routed lines the timer starts after the caller presses the key.","details":"Clarified by Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin after Barry Schwartz's report.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google To Charge For Missed & Subsequent Calls On LSAs","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/google-charge-missed-subsequent-calls-lsas/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-29"}],"id":"2026-08-29-lsa-charges-missed-and-subsequent-calls"},{"date":"2026-08-28","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Product spec for short_title was updated to say Performance Max now uses it for YouTube and Discover formats","summary":"Hana Kobzova spotted the spec change, which also set a recommended length under 40 characters (max 65).","details":"Previously the attribute was documented for Demand Gen only; the help page now covers both campaign types.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Short Title Attribute Now Used in Performance Max","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/short-title-attribute-performance-max/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-28"},{"title":"Short title [short_title]","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/11551083?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-28"}],"id":"2026-08-28-short-title-attribute-now-used-by-pmax"},{"date":"2026-08-28","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Local Services","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Reserve with Google 'Book' buttons began appearing on Search and Performance Max ads for eligible merchants","summary":"Michel van Luijtelaar reported that booking buttons previously limited to LSAs and Maps now activate automatically on paid Search and PMax ads, with opt-out available and healthcare excluded.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-08-28); PPC News Feed (2026-08-28).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Book Buttons Expand To Search & Performance Max","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-book-buttons-41964.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-08-28"},{"title":"'Book Online' Buttons Expand to Search and Performance Max","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/book-online-buttons-expand-search-performance-max/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-28"}],"id":"2026-08-28-reserve-with-google-book-buttons-in-search-and-pmax"},{"date":"2026-08-27","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Sponsored results tested swipeable category tabs (e.g. 'featured', 'cheap') that filter the ads shown","summary":"Sachin Patel documented the carousel test, a follow-up to a 2024 Shopping ads experiment.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-08-27); PPC News Feed (2026-08-27).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Testing Swipeable Categories For Sponsored Results","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-swipeable-categories-41959.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-08-27"},{"title":"Swipeable Categories Tested in Google Search Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/swipeable-categories-tested-google-search-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-27"}],"id":"2026-08-27-swipeable-category-tabs-under-sponsored-results"},{"date":"2026-08-27","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Smart Bidding guidance shortened: wait 1-2 conversion cycles after changes instead of 3 cycles or 4 weeks","summary":"Google updated its Target ROAS, change-bid-strategy and Smart Bidding Exploration Help pages to say bidding systems now adapt within one to two conversion cycles, shortening the recommended evaluation period after strategy or target changes.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"About Target ROAS bidding","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6268637","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-08-27"},{"title":"Google Shortens Smart Bidding Adjustment Period","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/google-shortens-smart-bidding-adjustment-period/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-27"}],"id":"2026-08-27-smart-bidding-adjustment-period-shortened"},{"date":"2026-08-27","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Customer retention controls added to bid higher for loyalty program members and show member benefits","summary":"Google Ads added retention controls letting advertisers bid higher specifically for loyalty program members (separate from lapsed-customer bidding) and display member benefits in eligible countries.","details":"Google Ads API v25 added matching loyalty campaign goals.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Adds Loyalty Member Bidding Controls","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/google-adds-loyalty-member-bidding-controls/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-27"},{"title":"Loyalty Member Options for Customer Retention","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/loyalty-member-options-customer-retention/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-27"}],"id":"2026-08-27-loyalty-member-bidding-controls"},{"date":"2026-08-27","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Hotel & Travel","type":"Launch","status":"Announced","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"August Demand Gen Drop: local activities, events and real-time offers coming to travel Demand Gen ads","summary":"Google is developing travel personalization for Demand Gen that surfaces local activities, events and live offers, and personalizes hotel ads to show relevant properties to each audience.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Reach your audience in new ways with August's Demand Gen Drop","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-august-2026/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-08-27"}],"id":"2026-08-27-demand-gen-travel-personalization"},{"date":"2026-08-27","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"August Demand Gen Drop: messaging-app conversations from YouTube Demand Gen ads entered testing","summary":"Google is testing a Demand Gen format that lets viewers start a conversation with a brand in a messaging app directly from a YouTube ad, to move high-intent viewers toward purchase.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Reach your audience in new ways with August's Demand Gen Drop","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-august-2026/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-08-27"}],"id":"2026-08-27-demand-gen-messaging-app-integration-test"},{"date":"2026-08-27","effective_date":"2026-09-30","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Announced","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Alcohol policy rewritten as a unified global framework effective September 30, 2026","summary":"Google will replace country-by-country alcohol rules with a unified global framework that expands allowed locations and clarifies advertiser requirements. Advertisers targeting regions that permit only 0% ABV products must apply for certification or face suspension.","details":"Follows the July 28, 2026 expansion of alcohol advertising to 28 additional countries and the July 8 help-article clarification. The unified framework revises country-specific guidelines and expands allowed locations; advertisers targeting regions that permit only 0% ABV products must apply for certification before September 30, 2026 to avoid suspension.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to the Alcohol Advertising Policy (August 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17452318","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-08-27"},{"title":"Update to Alcohol Advertising Policy","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/update-alcohol-advertising-policy/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-27"}],"id":"2026-08-27-alcohol-policy-rewritten-as-a-unified"},{"date":"2026-08-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Policy Manager moved from Tools > Troubleshooting to Admin > Policy with a new Ads tab","summary":"The Policy Manager for monitoring limited and disapproved ads now lives under Admin > Policy, with an 'Ads' tab alongside the existing 'Account' tab for verifications and certifications.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Moves Policy Manager to New Admin Location","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/google-moves-policy-manager-new-admin-location/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-26"}],"id":"2026-08-26-policy-manager-moved-admin"},{"date":"2026-08-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Local customer optimization launched for Performance Max store goals campaigns","summary":"A new toggle prioritizes nearby people with immediate intent to visit or contact a business, steering budget to locally tailored ads on Google Maps, Waze and Search. Not compatible with online goals or Merchant Center products.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"About local customer optimization","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/17198659","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-08-26"},{"title":"Local Customer Optimization for PMAX for Store Goals","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/local-customer-optimization-pmax-store-goals/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-26"}],"id":"2026-08-26-pmax-local-customer-optimization-store-goals"},{"date":"2026-08-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Gemini Omni launched globally in Asset Studio for brief-to-video creation in Demand Gen, PMax and YouTube","summary":"Gemini Omni lets advertisers anchor brand guidelines, generate video concepts from a prompt, refine scenes in natural language and export 16:9 and 9:16 variations with SynthID watermarking, free inside Google Ads.","details":"Delivers the multimodal video creation previewed at Google Marketing Live 2026.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Create on-brand video ads faster with Omni in Google Ads Asset Studio","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/omni-in-google-ads/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-08-26"},{"title":"Reach your audience in new ways with August's Demand Gen Drop","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-august-2026/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-08-27"}],"id":"2026-08-26-gemini-omni-asset-studio-launched"},{"date":"2026-08-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Pilot restricts sensitive account actions for users signed in with free consumer email domains","summary":"As part of its account-security push, Google is piloting an email-domain requirement so users on free addresses (Gmail, Yahoo and similar) cannot perform sensitive actions such as user or billing changes in affected accounts; notified accounts see in-product and email notices.","details":"Companion to the July 15 passkey requirement.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Use passkeys to protect your Google Ads account","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16917887","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-08-26"},{"title":"Google Ads Limits Sensitive Actions for Free Email Accounts","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/google-ads-limits-sensitive-actions-free-email-accounts/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-26"}],"id":"2026-08-26-free-email-sensitive-actions-pilot"},{"date":"2026-08-25","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Beta","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"Performance Max alpha added per-channel prioritization controls across Search, YouTube, Display and Maps","summary":"Heidi Sturrock shared an alpha setting letting advertisers apply positive or negative adjustments per channel, a major departure from fully automated PMax. Thomas Eccel confirmed the alpha the next day.","details":"Reported by Search Engine Land Aug 25, Thomas Eccel's blog Aug 26 and PPC News Feed. Google had not announced the control.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google tests channel prioritization controls for Performance Max","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-tests-channel-prioritization-controls-for-performance-max-485825","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-08-25"},{"title":"Google Ads PMax Channel Priorization Alpha is live","url":"https://www.thomaseccel.com/blogs/news/google-ads-pmax-channel-priorization-alpha-is-live","publisher":"Thomas Eccel","date":"2026-08-26"},{"title":"Performance Max Adds Channel Prioritization Controls","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/performance-max-adds-channel-prioritization-controls/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-25"}],"id":"2026-08-25-pmax-channel-prioritization-controls-alpha"},{"date":"2026-08-25","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"'Conversions with multiple data sources' renamed multi-source conversions (beta)","summary":"Google renamed the beta that links a website conversion action to backend sources via Data Manager or its API to recover conversions lost to ad blockers while deduplicating on transaction ID. Not available for imported GA4 conversions or URL-based actions.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"About multi-source conversions","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16288216","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-08-25"},{"title":"Google Introduces Multi-Source Conversions","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/google-introduces-multi-source-conversions/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-25"}],"id":"2026-08-25-multi-source-conversions-beta"},{"date":"2026-08-25","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Local Services","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Local Services Ads direct booking expanded to 500+ Reserve with Google partners, auto-enabled from GBP links","summary":"Advertisers whose Google Business Profile already has an active partner booking link now get booking in their Local Services Ads automatically. Bookings from LSAs on Search and Maps count as paid leads, and partner links can be managed under Profile & Budget > Settings.","details":"- Booking settings carry over as LSA accounts migrate into Google Ads.\n- Individual partner links can be disabled.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google expands direct booking for Local Services Ads","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-expands-direct-booking-for-local-services-ads-485807","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-08-25"}],"id":"2026-08-25-lsa-direct-booking-500-reserve-partners"},{"date":"2026-08-25","effective_date":"2026-09-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Google TV Masthead opened to alcohol, select electronics, healthcare and specific gambling assets","summary":"From September 2026, the Google TV masthead format permits alcohol, select consumer electronics, healthcare content and specific gambling assets that were previously restricted.","details":"","regions":"US; Canada","sources":[{"title":"Update to Masthead format requirements (September 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17372257","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-08-25"}],"id":"2026-08-25-google-tv-masthead-opened-to-alcohol"},{"date":"2026-08-25","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API Developer Assistant v4.0.0 released as a plugin for Antigravity and Claude Code","summary":"The Developer Assistant moved to a unified plugin architecture with native support for Antigravity and the Claude Code CLI (slash commands such as /validate-gaql, /inspect-object, /troubleshoot-conversions and /get-cids), generating code in Python, Java, PHP, .NET and Ruby, validating GAQL, inspecting Protobuf schemas and running ad hoc reports.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads API Developer Assistant v4.0.0","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/08/google-ads-api-developer-assistant-v400.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-08-25"}],"id":"2026-08-25-developer-assistant-v4"},{"date":"2026-08-25","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Demand Gen campaigns can now optimize toward multiple conversion goals at once","summary":"An 'Add goal' control lets Demand Gen advertisers configure several goals in one campaign, such as lead form submissions, contacts, engagements and YouTube follow-on views.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Demand Gen Now Allows Multiple Conversion Goals","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/demand-gen-multiple-conversion-goals/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-25"}],"id":"2026-08-25-demand-gen-multiple-conversion-goals"},{"date":"2026-08-25","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Customer lifecycle optimization section added to the Conversions summary page","summary":"A new section lets advertisers configure optimization across lifecycle stages: acquiring new customers, re-engaging lapsed customers and valuing loyalty program members, using audience segments of at least 100 active members.","details":"Related loyalty-member bidding controls followed on August 27 and the Google Ads API v25 added loyalty campaign goals.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Customer Lifecycle Optimization Feature Live","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/customer-lifecycle-optimization-feature-live-google-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-25"}],"id":"2026-08-25-customer-lifecycle-optimization-section"},{"date":"2026-08-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Event section added to Merchant Center Promotions for sale events with URL, images and categories","summary":"Merchant Center Promotions gained an Event section that lets merchants create sale-event promotions with a dedicated event URL, up to three images and assigned product categories, so the event can appear in Search and listings without being tied to individual products.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Event Section Added to Promotions in Merchant Center","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/event-section-added-promotions-merchant-center/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-24"}],"id":"2026-08-24-event-section-in-promotions"},{"date":"2026-08-22","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Deprecation","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"TrueView in-stream and in-feed consideration campaigns being upgraded to Video view campaigns","summary":"Google is converting legacy TrueView consideration campaigns into Video view campaigns that use multi-format ads powered by Google AI; campaigns that had excluded YouTube Search may find it included after the upgrade.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"TrueView Campaigns Upgraded to Video View Campaigns","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/google-ads-upgrades-trueview-campaigns-video-view/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-22"}],"id":"2026-08-22-trueview-upgraded-video-view-campaigns"},{"date":"2026-08-22","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Attribution reports clarified to only model offline conversions uploaded within 7 days","summary":"Google updated the attribution reports Help page to state that data-driven attribution only processes offline conversions uploaded within the last seven days; later uploads still appear in standard reports but are ignored by DDA modeling.","details":"Explains long-standing discrepancies for lead-gen advertisers with slow CRM uploads.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"About attribution reports","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/1722023","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-08-22"},{"title":"Offline Conversion Uploads Have 7-Day Upload Gate","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/offline-conversion-uploads-7-day-upload-gate/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-22"}],"id":"2026-08-22-offline-conversions-7-day-attribution-window"},{"date":"2026-08-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Local Services","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Local Services Ads added pre-badge ads and dozens of new business verticals; Verified badge narrowed","summary":"Businesses can now receive LSA leads after passing preliminary checks while finishing onboarding (pre-badge ads, excluding garage door, healthcare and locksmith verticals). Google added many granular dining, auto and beauty categories, removed state-only restrictions on categories like barber shops, and made the Google Verified badge unavailable for auto, beauty and dining verticals.","details":"","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Getting started with Local Services Ads","url":"https://support.google.com/localservices/answer/6224841?hl=en","publisher":"Local Services Ads Help","date":"2026-08-21"},{"title":"Google Local Services Ads Pre-Badge Ads & New Verticals","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-lsa-prebadge-new-verticals-41920.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-08-21"}],"id":"2026-08-21-lsa-pre-badge-ads-expanded-verticals"},{"date":"2026-08-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Google Ads began showing 'I found some sitelinks for you' suggestions generated from the final URL","summary":"Arpan Banerjee and Barry Schwartz reported the new in-UI sitelink suggestion prompt.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Introduces Automatic Sitelink Suggestions","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/google-ads-introduces-automatic-sitelink-suggestions/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-21"}],"id":"2026-08-21-automatic-sitelink-suggestions-notification"},{"date":"2026-08-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Performance Planner gained previews of bid and budget target changes with one-click apply","summary":"Performance Planner now shows how changing bidding or budget targets may affect existing campaign performance and lets advertisers apply the recommended changes to live campaigns in one click, with campaigns deselectable and changes reversible via Bulk Actions.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"New AI Max tools can help you scale your Search campaigns","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/ai-max-testing-planning-tools/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-08-20"},{"title":"Google Ads Launches New Search and AI Max Experimentation Tools","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-ads-launches-new-search-and-ai-max-experimentation-tools/586549/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2026-08-24"}],"id":"2026-08-20-performance-planner-one-click-apply"},{"date":"2026-08-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"native_commerce [native_commerce] attribute added to the product data specification for Buy-now checkout","summary":"Google published the spec page for the native_commerce attribute and its checkout_eligibility boolean sub-attribute, which controls whether a product shows the Buy button for checkout inside Gemini and AI Mode. It is optional, supported in text, XML and Merchant API sources, and typically set via supplemental feeds.","details":"Formalizes the attribute first referenced in the March 2026 UCP checkout help page. Setting checkout_eligibility to false or leaving it empty disables the Buy button for that product.","regions":"US, Canada, Australia","sources":[{"title":"Native commerce [native_commerce]","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/17251586?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-20"},{"title":"Native Commerce Attribute Help Page Released","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/native-commerce-attribute-help-page-released/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-20"}],"id":"2026-08-20-native-commerce-attribute-documented"},{"date":"2026-08-20","effective_date":"2026-09-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Launch","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Multi-campaign A/B tests for budget and ROI targets announced for Search, rolling out in September","summary":"Advertisers will be able to test different budgets and CPA/ROAS targets across a group of Search campaigns in a single A/B experiment to see how scaling affects results, instead of testing campaign by campaign.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"New AI Max tools can help you scale your Search campaigns","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/ai-max-testing-planning-tools/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-08-20"},{"title":"Make AI Max work for your business with new testing and planning tools","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/make-ai-max-work-for-your-business-with-new-testing-and-planning-tools/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-08-26"},{"title":"Google Ads Launches New Search and AI Max Experimentation Tools","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-ads-launches-new-search-and-ai-max-experimentation-tools/586549/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2026-08-24"}],"id":"2026-08-20-multi-campaign-search-experiments"},{"date":"2026-08-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Misleading ad design policy article expanded with more examples","summary":"Google added examples and clearer guidance to the Misleading ad design policy article; enforcement is unchanged.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Misleading ad design policy article (August 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17600038","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-08-20"}],"id":"2026-08-20-misleading-ad-design-policy-article-expanded"},{"date":"2026-08-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Visual tagging (no-code event and conversion setup by clicking page elements) launched in beta","summary":"Advertisers can define events and set up conversions by selecting elements on their site while Google generates selectors and triggers; the beta initially supports Google Ads purchase conversions.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Google tag and Google Tag Manager","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/17079602","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2026-08-20"},{"title":"Google unifies Google tag and Tag Manager, adds no-code event tracking","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-unifies-google-tag-and-tag-manager-adds-no-code-event-tracking-485688","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-08-24"}],"id":"2026-08-20-gtm-visual-tagging-beta"},{"date":"2026-08-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Google tags upgraded to full Tag Manager containers; GTM sends data directly to Google destinations","summary":"Google announced the unification of Google tag and Google Tag Manager: Google tags become fully capable GTM containers (interface tagging, debugging, version control), containers send data directly to Google destinations instead of loading a separate gtag.js, Google tag settings are centralized as Destinations, and new snippets use a 'gtm init' trigger. Adoption is opt-in via in-account optimization prompts; nothing changes automatically.","details":"Previewed to partners around Google Marketing Live (May 20, 2026) and rolled out with UI changes from late June 2026. Users with edit/approve/publish permissions see optimization prompts and can preview before publishing; a visual data-flow view shows which Google destinations receive data. Google also cited partner integrations with Akamai, Cloudflare, Duda, Fastly and Webflow.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Google tag and Google Tag Manager","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/17079602","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2026-08-20"},{"title":"Announcements - Tag Manager Help","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/announcements/15205707","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2026-08-20"},{"title":"Google unifies Google tag and Tag Manager, adds no-code event tracking","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-unifies-google-tag-and-tag-manager-adds-no-code-event-tracking-485688","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-08-24"},{"title":"Google Tag & GTM Updates August 2026: Rollout Explained","url":"https://stape.io/news/google-tag-gtm-updates","publisher":"Stape","date":"2026-08-21"}],"id":"2026-08-20-google-tag-gtm-unification"},{"date":"2026-08-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Enhanced matching setting rolled out for Customer Match to match non-Google email addresses via publishers","summary":"Enhanced matching privately matches Customer Match lists against publishers' consented lists, so international advertisers can reach customers whose emails (for example yahoo.com, outlook.com, web.de) are not tied to Google accounts. Maximum membership duration is 60 days versus 540 for standard Customer Match, and it works without third-party cookies.","details":"Some early testers reported poor match quality and disabled it.","regions":"International advertisers","sources":[{"title":"About enhanced matching for Customer Match","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16613635?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-08-20"},{"title":"Google Ads Testing Enhanced Matching In Customer Match","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-enhanced-matching-41905.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-08-20"},{"title":"Enhanced Matching for Customer Match","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/enhanced-matching-customer-match/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-20"}],"id":"2026-08-20-customer-match-enhanced-matching"},{"date":"2026-08-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Google Ads began suggesting sitelinks automatically from the campaign's final URL","summary":"A new in-account prompt ('I found some sitelinks for you') analyzes the landing page and proposes sitelink assets that advertisers can review and add.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Find Sitelinks For You","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-find-sitelinks-for-you-41907.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-08-20"},{"title":"Google Ads Introduces Automatic Sitelink Suggestions","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/google-ads-introduces-automatic-sitelink-suggestions/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-20"}],"id":"2026-08-20-automatic-sitelink-suggestions"},{"date":"2026-08-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"AI Max experiments now keep brand and location controls active as guardrails during tests","summary":"Advertisers can run AI Max experiments with brand inclusions/exclusions and location-of-interest controls enabled, where previously those settings had to be disabled to test AI Max.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"New AI Max tools can help you scale your Search campaigns","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/ai-max-testing-planning-tools/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-08-20"},{"title":"Google Ads & AI Max New Experimentation & Planning Capabilities","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-ai-max-experimentation-planning-41910.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-08-21"}],"id":"2026-08-20-ai-max-experiments-brand-location-controls"},{"date":"2026-08-19","effective_date":"2026-09-04","product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Performance Max to auto-generate missing video aspect ratios with generative AI; opt out by September 4","summary":"Google emailed advertisers that Performance Max will use generative AI to create vertical and square versions of horizontal videos (and vice versa) so ads fit more placements. Advertisers who do not want this must opt out via their account team or a form by September 4, 2026, or manage it in video optimization settings afterward.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Performance Max Adds AI Generated Video Aspect Ratios","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/performance-max-adds-ai-generated-video-aspect-ratios/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-19"}],"id":"2026-08-19-pmax-ai-generated-video-aspect-ratios"},{"date":"2026-08-19","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"An opt-in 'Enhanced matching' setting appeared in Customer Match to expand reach via publisher-consented users","summary":"Joey Bidner shared a screenshot of the unchecked-by-default setting; Google had not announced it.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-08-19); PPC News Feed (2026-08-19).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads tests Enhanced Matching for Customer Match","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-tests-enhanced-matching-for-customer-match-485490","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-08-19"},{"title":"Enhanced Matching for Customer Match","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/enhanced-matching-customer-match/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-19"}],"id":"2026-08-19-enhanced-matching-for-customer-match-test"},{"date":"2026-08-19","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API v25.1 released with Brand Lift and Conversion Lift measurement and benchmark category filters","summary":"v25.1, a drop-in upgrade for v25, added read-only LiftMeasurementConfig and LiftMeasurementFlight resources with 24 Conversion Lift metrics and Brand Lift dimension resources (allowlisted accounts), category_filter and share_of_voice metrics in BenchmarksService, brand sentiment insights in ContentCreatorInsightsService, Segments.loyalty_membership, Metrics.original_conversion_value, parental status targeting in reach planning and text disclaimer assets.","details":"Release notes also list new campaign auto-migration tracking fields (`aca_migration_date_time`, `broad_match_migration_date_time`). The sunset schedule projects v25.2 for September 2026 and v26 for October 2026 (sunset November 2027), with v26.1 optional in November 2026.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Announcing v25.1 of the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/08/announcing-v251-of-google-ads-api.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-08-19"},{"title":"Release notes (v25.1, 2026-08-19)","url":"https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/release-notes","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2026-08-19"}],"id":"2026-08-19-ads-api-v25-1-released"},{"date":"2026-08-18","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Retired","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Google quietly removed the July announcement expanding Shopping ads and free listings to 14 new markets","summary":"PPC News Feed found that the 14 countries added on July 14 had vanished from the supported-countries table and the announcement page returned a 404, with no explanation from Google.","details":"The original announcement page (answer 17262696) now returns a not-found error. Google gave no explanation; observers read it as a delay or change in rollout plans for the March 2026 European expansion.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Takes Back Shopping Ads Expansion to 14 Markets","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/google-merchant-center-removes-support-14-countries/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-18"},{"title":"Supported languages and currencies","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/160637?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-18"}],"id":"2026-08-18-shopping-ads-14-market-expansion-quietly-reversed"},{"date":"2026-08-18","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Recommended daily budget for Demand Gen Target CPA lowered from 15x to 10x the target","summary":"Google revised its Demand Gen bidding guidance so campaigns using Target CPA should budget at least 10 times the target CPA per day, down from 15 times.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"About bidding for Demand Gen campaigns","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/13695777","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-08-18"},{"title":"Google Lowers Demand Gen Budget Recommendation to 10x","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/google-lowers-demand-gen-budget-10x/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-18"}],"id":"2026-08-18-demand-gen-tcpa-budget-guidance-10x"},{"date":"2026-08-18","effective_date":"2026-09-01","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Deprecation","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Content API for Shopping reached its sunset date; requests begin failing with HTTP 410 from September 1, 2026","summary":"The Content API for Shopping v2.1 officially sunset on August 18, 2026. From September 1, 2026, requests from Google Cloud projects without an approved extension intermittently fail with HTTP 410 Gone (reason content_api_sunset), escalating until full decommissioning in early 2027; developers can request an extension while completing Merchant API migration.","details":"Artificial 410 errors during degradation do not count against quota, and retries may succeed initially but become less reliable. Third-party platform users are migrated by their platform; custom integrations must call the Merchant API. Approved extensions temporarily exempt a Cloud project from degradation errors.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Deprecation and sunset - Content API for Shopping","url":"https://developers.google.com/shopping-content/guides/deprecation-and-sunset","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2026-08-18"},{"title":"Merchant API latest updates","url":"https://developers.google.com/merchant/api/latest-updates","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2026-09-01"}],"id":"2026-08-18-content-api-for-shopping-sunset-reached"},{"date":"2026-08-18","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Branded searches added as a conversion type for YouTube and Demand Gen campaigns","summary":"Google Ads now counts branded searches on Google and YouTube within 7 days of an ad exposure as a Consideration-goal conversion type using last-click and view-through attribution, with no additional setup.","details":"Builds on the attributed branded searches reporting that reached GA in January 2026.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Measure branded searches","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16212033","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-08-18"},{"title":"Branded Searches Conversion Type Added","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/branded-searches-conversion-type-added-google-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-18"}],"id":"2026-08-18-branded-searches-conversion-type"},{"date":"2026-08-17","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Mobile product ads tested a supersized star-rating layout","summary":"Sachin Patel reported oversized review stars on sponsored product results.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-08-17); PPC News Feed (2026-08-17).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Testing New Review Layout For Sponsored Results","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-review-layout-41877.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-08-17"},{"title":"Big Star Ratings Appear in Google Search Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/big-star-ratings-appear-google-search-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-17"}],"id":"2026-08-17-supersized-star-ratings-in-product-ads-test"},{"date":"2026-08-14","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Merchant Center for Agencies documented a limit of 1,000 linked client accounts per agency account","summary":"Google's help documentation now states an agency account can link up to 1,000 client Merchant Center accounts. The cap already existed but had not been published; it is unclear whether a linked multi-client account counts as one or by its sub-accounts.","details":"- Quota help: https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16564100.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Merchant Center for Agencies now supports up to 1,000 linked accounts","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-merchant-center-for-agencies-now-supports-up-to-1000-linked-accounts-485018","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-08-14"},{"title":"Google Merchant Center for Agencies tops out at 1,000 client accounts","url":"https://ppc.land/google-merchant-center-for-agencies-tops-out-at-1-000-client-accounts/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-08-14"}],"id":"2026-08-14-merchant-center-for-agencies-1000-account-limit"},{"date":"2026-08-14","effective_date":"2027-02-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Deprecation","status":"Announced","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Dynamic Search Ads automatic migration to AI Max rescheduled to February 2027","summary":"Google revised its DSA timeline: in-account upgrade prompts begin September 2026, reminders go out January 15, 2027, and automatic migration plus removal of new DSA ad group creation happens February 1-28, 2027, rather than September 2026 as first announced.","details":"Campaign-level broad match and ACA still migrate in September 2026. API versions supporting DSA sunset around September 2027.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Migrate campaign-level broad match and automatically created assets to AI Max","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/08/migrate-campaign-level-broad-match-and.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developer Blog","date":"2026-08-03"},{"title":"Google sets AI Max migration timeline for Search campaigns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-sets-ai-max-migration-timeline-for-search-campaigns-485006","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-08-14"},{"title":"How to prepare for Google's DSA sunset and move to AI Max","url":"https://searchengineland.com/prepare-google-dsa-sunset-ai-max-483290","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-07-24"}],"id":"2026-08-14-dsa-auto-migration-rescheduled-feb-2027"},{"date":"2026-08-13","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Announced","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"Campaign-level language targeting to be removed from Search campaigns and the Search part of Performance Max","summary":"From late September 2026 Google will drop the language setting from Search campaigns and from Google Search inventory in Performance Max, relying instead on the language of ads and landing pages plus its understanding of user language. Other Performance Max channels keep the setting. API users should stop sending language criteria for new campaigns.","details":"Communicated through an advertiser roundtable in August 2026 rather than a public Google post at time of reporting. Google says existing campaigns need no restructuring, but multilingual and international accounts should watch search terms and geo traffic after rollout.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Is Retiring Language Targeting In Search Campaigns","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-is-removing-language-targeting-from-search-campaigns/585592/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2026-08-13"},{"title":"Google Removes Campaign-Level Language Targeting","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/google-removes-campaign-level-language-targeting/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-13"}],"id":"2026-08-13-language-targeting-removed-search-pmax"},{"date":"2026-08-13","effective_date":"2026-09-30","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Campaign-level language targeting removed for Search and AI Max campaigns from late September 2026","summary":"Search ads match on the language of the ad instead of campaign language settings; adding or updating CampaignCriterion.language on Search campaigns returns ContextError.OPERATION_NOT_PERMITTED_FOR_CONTEXT, while Performance Max keeps the language setting for non-Search channels only. Existing criteria are still returned in queries but no longer used.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads language targeting changes starting September 2026","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/08/google-ads-language-targeting-changes.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-08-13"}],"id":"2026-08-13-language-targeting-removed-search"},{"date":"2026-08-12","effective_date":"2026-09-01","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Search","type":"Deprecation","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Campaign-level broad match and automatically created assets auto-migrated to AI Max from September 1, 2026","summary":"Search campaigns using campaign-level broad match or standalone automatically created assets are upgraded in place to AI Max during September 2026 (trackable via campaign.aca_migration_date_time and broad_match_migration_date_time); creating new legacy configurations was blocked on August 3, 2026, and API versions released after September 1, 2026 remove the legacy entities entirely.","details":"Default migrated settings: campaign-level broad match -> text customization OFF, final URL expansion OFF, search term matching ON, brand lists preserved; standalone ACA -> text customization ON, final URL expansion OFF, search term matching ON. Older active API versions keep supporting legacy settings until their scheduled sunsets (around September 2027).","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Migrate Campaign-level Broad Match and Automatically Created Assets to AI Max","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/08/migrate-campaign-level-broad-match-and.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-08-12"}],"id":"2026-08-12-broad-match-aca-automigration-to-ai-max"},{"date":"2026-08-11","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"YouTube and Discover Feed ad requirements language refined","summary":"Google refined wording and presentation of the YouTube and Discover Feed ad requirements without changing their content or enforcement.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Updates to the YouTube and Discover Feed ad requirements (August 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17455694","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-08-11"}],"id":"2026-08-11-youtube-and-discover-feed-ad-requirements"},{"date":"2026-08-11","effective_date":"2026-08-24","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Performance reports realigned Aug 24, 2026: YouTube affiliate split out; PMax, Video, App, Demand Gen added","summary":"Google changed Merchant Center performance reporting so YouTube affiliate traffic is reported separately from organic, YouTube organic click and impression definitions match YouTube reporting, product-level Google Ads reporting includes Performance Max, Video, App and Demand Gen, and a new Network segmentation dimension is added later. Organic traffic may show a one-time drop.","details":"The first two changes were applied retroactively to data from July 1, 2026. The stated goal was consistency of definitions between Merchant Center, Google Ads and YouTube.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Merchant Center performance reporting updates","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/17103877?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-11"},{"title":"Merchant Center announcements change log","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/announcements/6192467?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-11"},{"title":"Google Merchant Center Performance Reporting Update Coming August 24th","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-merchant-center-performance-report-update-41859.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-08-12"},{"title":"Google Merchant Center organic traffic drops in August 24 reporting change","url":"https://ppc.land/google-merchant-center-organic-traffic-drops-in-august-24-reporting-change/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-08-11"}],"id":"2026-08-11-performance-reporting-updates-august-24"},{"date":"2026-08-11","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 conversions gained custom integer lookback windows: CTC 1-90 days, EVC 1-30 days","summary":"Conversion window configuration under Advertising > Conversion management > Settings now accepts any integer click-through window from 1 to 90 days (previously preset values) and engaged-view windows from 1 to 30 days (previously fixed at 3), letting advertisers align attribution with their sales cycle.","details":"Changing windows affects conversion counts shared with linked Google Ads accounts; review bidding targets after adjusting.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new in Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9164320","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-08-11"},{"title":"Google Analytics adds custom conversion attribution windows","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-analytics-adds-custom-conversion-attribution-windows-485014","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-08-14"}],"id":"2026-08-11-ga4-custom-conversion-lookback-windows"},{"date":"2026-08-11","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Mobile sponsored results tested a header listing advertiser names and favicons above the ads","summary":"Sachin Patel shared screenshots on X of a summary row under the 'Sponsored results' label.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-08-11); PPC News Feed (2026-08-11).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Sponsored Results Tests Advertiser Name & Favicon Summary","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-sponsored-results-ad-summary-header-41851.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-08-11"},{"title":"Google Tests Advertiser List with Favicons","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/google-tests-advertiser-list-favicons/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-11"}],"id":"2026-08-11-advertiser-name-favicon-summary-header-test"},{"date":"2026-08-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Prompt-built dashboards with AI performance summaries announced for Google Ads (beta, coming soon)","summary":"Advertisers will be able to describe a report in text and have Google Ads build a visual dashboard with an automatically generated summary of what drove performance. Beta for English-language accounts.","details":"","regions":"Global (English)","sources":[{"title":"Try new AI tools from Google Ads and Analytics","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-ads-analytics-ai-updates/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-08-10"}],"id":"2026-08-10-prompt-built-dashboards-google-ads"},{"date":"2026-08-10","effective_date":"2026-08-10","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Political content policy allowed Māori-language election and government ads in New Zealand","summary":"Election ads and official government body ads in New Zealand may include contextually relevant Māori language on Google Ads and DV360 if all other policy requirements are met.","details":"","regions":"New Zealand","sources":[{"title":"Update to Political Content policy (August 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17369892","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-08-10"}],"id":"2026-08-10-political-content-policy-allowed-m-ori"},{"date":"2026-08-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 launched a Campaign data import validation report","summary":"A validation report compares non-Google campaign data with imported campaign data to identify campaigns missing cost, clicks or impressions and review past imports.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new in Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9164320","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-08-10"},{"title":"[GA4] Campaign data import validation","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/17231531","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-08-10"},{"title":"Google adds Campaign Data Import Validation Report","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-adds-campaign-data-import-validation-report-484618","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-08-11"}],"id":"2026-08-10-ga4-campaign-data-import-validation-report"},{"date":"2026-08-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"AI-powered insight cards launched in beta on the Google Ads home page with a custom-insight prompt box","summary":"The Google Ads home page now shows personalized insight cards (for example competitor impact or campaign trends) and a prompt box to generate custom insights. Beta for English-language accounts.","details":"","regions":"Global (English)","sources":[{"title":"Try new AI tools from Google Ads and Analytics","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-ads-analytics-ai-updates/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-08-10"}],"id":"2026-08-10-ai-insight-cards-google-ads-homepage"},{"date":"2026-08-09","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Sensitive account actions restricted for free email domains in a security test","summary":"Google began testing a requirement that sensitive actions such as account linking and user access changes be performed from corporate email addresses rather than free domains like Gmail, citing a rise in account hijacking.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Limits Sensitive Actions for Free Email Accounts","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/google-ads-limits-sensitive-actions-free-email-accounts/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-09"},{"title":"About email domain requirements for performing sensitive actions in Google Ads","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/17423445","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-08-09"}],"id":"2026-08-09-sensitive-account-actions-restricted-for-free"},{"date":"2026-08-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Phone call conversions leads report gained a 'View call report' link","summary":"Govind Singh Panwar spotted the new link that opens call details in a new tab.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-08-07); PPC News Feed (2026-08-07).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Phone Call Conversions Report Gets View Call Report Link","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-phone-call-view-call-report-link-41772.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-08-07"},{"title":"Phone Conversions Get View Call Report Link","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/phone-conversions-get-view-call-report-link/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-07"},{"title":"Google Ads gains View call report link inside phone conversion actions","url":"https://ppc.land/google-ads-gains-view-call-report-link-inside-phone-conversion-actions/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-08-07"}],"id":"2026-08-07-view-call-report-link-in-phone-conversions"},{"date":"2026-08-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"A 'Report on new customers acquired' measurement-only option replaced the 0.01 bid-adjustment workaround","summary":"Vasant Chaudhary found the new customer acquisition option that segments conversions by new versus existing customers without affecting bidding; Thomas Eccel shared it on LinkedIn.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-08-07); Search Engine Land (2026-08-07); PPC News Feed (2026-08-07).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"New Google Ads Report On New Customers Acquired","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-report-on-new-customers-acquired-41832.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-08-07"},{"title":"Google Ads adds dedicated reporting for new customer acquisition","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-adds-dedicated-reporting-for-new-customer-acquisition-484473","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-08-07"},{"title":"Report on New Customers Acquired as New Customer Acquisition","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/report-new-customers-acquired-as-new-customer-acquisition/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-07"}],"id":"2026-08-07-report-on-new-customers-acquired-option"},{"date":"2026-08-05","effective_date":"2026-08-05","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Limited ad serving policy expanded to cover all Google Ads products","summary":"Google extended Limited ad serving beyond Search to all Google Ads, restricting impressions from unqualified advertisers across Search, YouTube, Gmail, Play and Discover in specific scenarios. Implementation is gradual and completes by 2028; advertisers qualify via verification, clear branding, policy compliance and positive engagement.","details":"Google recommends completing advertiser verification and pinning the domain in the first headline of responsive search ads.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Limited Ad Serving Policy (August 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17344822","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-08-05"},{"title":"Google Expands Limited Ad Serving Policy to All Google Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/google-expands-limited-ad-serving-policy-all-google/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-05"}],"id":"2026-08-05-limited-ad-serving-policy-expanded-to"},{"date":"2026-08-04","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"A 'new' option let text disclaimers override descriptions pinned to position one","summary":"Emirhan Bayutmus spotted the option, labeled new in the interface, allowing compliance text to display as the first description.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-08-04); PPC News Feed (2026-07-31).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Text Disclaimer Override Pinned Descriptions Position One","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-text-disclaimer-override-41803.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-08-04"},{"title":"Disclaimer Text as the First Ad Description","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/disclaimer-text-first-ad-description/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-31"}],"id":"2026-08-04-text-disclaimer-overrides-pinned-description"},{"date":"2026-08-04","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Search ad descriptions were spotted with clickable, keyword-style hyperlinks pointing to the ad's landing page","summary":"Nayan Prakash shared the experiment on LinkedIn; Search Engine Roundtable documented it the same week. Google did not confirm.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-08-04); Search Engine Land (2026-08-05); PPC News Feed (2026-08-04).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Testing Anchor Text Hyperlinks In Ad Descriptions","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-text-hyperlinks-ad-descriptions-41814.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-08-04"},{"title":"Google tests clickable hyperlinks in Search ad descriptions","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-tests-clickable-hyperlinks-in-search-ad-descriptions-484288","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-08-05"},{"title":"Blue Hyperlinks Spotted in Google Search Ad Descriptions","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/google-ads-tests-blue-hyperlinks-ad-descriptions/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-04"}],"id":"2026-08-04-hyperlinked-text-in-ad-descriptions-test"},{"date":"2026-08-04","effective_date":"2026-10-05","product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Policy","status":"Announced","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Government documents and services ads limited to authorized providers from October 5, 2026","summary":"From October 5, 2026, only providers explicitly authorized by the relevant government entity, with domains linked from official government websites, may run ads promoting government documents and services, and only for the specific services and regions they are authorized for.","details":"US Trusted Traveler programs are noted as a transnational exception.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Other restricted businesses: Government documents and services policy (October 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17260489","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-08-04"},{"title":"Google Ads Government Documents and Services Policy To Be Updated On October 5, 2026","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-government-documents-and-services-41819.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-08-05"}],"id":"2026-08-04-government-documents-and-services-ads-limited"},{"date":"2026-08-04","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Retired","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Ad Preview & Diagnosis tool broke for many users due to a captcha loop","summary":"Advertisers reported the preview tool repeatedly prompting captchas and failing to load results.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-08-04); PPC News Feed (2026-08-04).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Ad Preview & Diagnosis Captcha Bug","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-ad-preview-and-diagnosis-broken-41812.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-08-04"},{"title":"Google Ads Ad Preview & Diagnosis Captcha Bug","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/google-ads-ad-preview-diagnosis-captcha-bug/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-04"}],"id":"2026-08-04-ad-preview-and-diagnosis-captcha-bug"},{"date":"2026-08-03","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Pilot launched to restrict sensitive API calls on manager account hierarchies to allowlisted Cloud projects","summary":"Google began piloting a program that audits API activity under a top-level manager account and restricts account management, user management and billing API methods to a pre-approved allowlist of Google Cloud projects, so unapproved applications fail even with valid credentials.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads API pilot: Secure API Access to your Manager Accounts","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/08/google-ads-api-pilot-secure-api-access.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-08-03"}],"id":"2026-08-03-secure-api-access-pilot"},{"date":"2026-08-03","effective_date":"2026-09-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Deprecation","status":"Retired","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Campaign-level broad match and legacy ACA creation stopped; auto-migration to AI Max during September","summary":"From August 3, 2026 advertisers can no longer enable the campaign-level broad match setting or legacy automatically created assets in the Google Ads UI, Editor or API. Remaining eligible Search campaigns using them are migrated to AI Max (AI-powered search term matching and text customization on by default) gradually during September 1-30, 2026, with an opt-out in campaign settings.","details":"Older Google Ads API versions that still support the legacy fields sunset around September 2027.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Migrate campaign-level broad match and automatically created assets to AI Max","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/08/migrate-campaign-level-broad-match-and.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developer Blog","date":"2026-08-03"},{"title":"Google sets AI Max migration timeline for Search campaigns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-sets-ai-max-migration-timeline-for-search-campaigns-485006","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-08-14"},{"title":"AI Max Becoming Default for More Search Campaigns","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/ai-max-becoming-default-more-search-campaigns/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-10"}],"id":"2026-08-03-campaign-level-broad-match-aca-creation-stopped"},{"date":"2026-07-31","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"'Top things to know today' became a swipeable carousel of seven insight cards","summary":"Natasha Kaurra and Jordan Fry reported the new carousel covering budget alerts, spend changes, device and competitive insights.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-07-31); PPC News Feed (2026-07-30).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Insights Carousel: Top Things To Know Today","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-insights-carousel-41790.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-31"},{"title":"Insights Carousel Available in Google Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/insights-carousel-available-google-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-30"}],"id":"2026-07-31-insights-carousel-top-things-to-know"},{"date":"2026-07-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 added a diagnostic for missing GBRAID and gad_ aggregate identifiers in landing URLs","summary":"Properties missing aggregate identifiers receive a diagnostic listing the affected URLs and how to fix them, since these parameters now underpin paid-traffic attribution when click IDs are unavailable.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new in Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9164320","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-07-30"},{"title":"[GA4] Aggregate identifier diagnostic","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/16973975","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-07-30"},{"title":"Google Analytics adds campaign diagnostics for missing aggregate identifiers","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-analytics-adds-campaign-diagnostics-for-missing-aggregate-identifiers-484132","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-07-31"}],"id":"2026-07-30-ga4-aggregate-parameter-diagnostic"},{"date":"2026-07-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Google's AI-generated ad description test extended from text ads to Shopping and Product ads","summary":"Google confirmed a small experiment that adds AI-generated context beneath sponsored results; it has now been seen on Shopping and Product ads as well as text ads.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google tests AI-generated descriptions in Shopping ads","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-tests-ai-generated-descriptions-in-shopping-ads-484016","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-07-30"}],"id":"2026-07-30-ai-generated-descriptions-shopping-ads-test"},{"date":"2026-07-29","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Universal Commerce Protocol checkout enabled from YouTube Demand Gen ads for US shoppers","summary":"Demand Gen ads on YouTube can now complete purchases directly through the Universal Commerce Protocol for eligible US merchants, extending the UCP integrations announced at Google Marketing Live.","details":"","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Prepare for the holiday season with July's Demand Gen Drop","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-july-2026/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-07-29"}],"id":"2026-07-29-ucp-purchases-from-youtube-demand-gen-ads"},{"date":"2026-07-29","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Target ROAS bidding in Demand Gen upgraded to be less conservative early in a campaign","summary":"Google upgraded Demand Gen tROAS so the system is less overly cautious during a campaign's early phase, helping campaigns ramp faster.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Prepare for the holiday season with July's Demand Gen Drop","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-july-2026/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-07-29"}],"id":"2026-07-29-demand-gen-troas-bidding-upgrade"},{"date":"2026-07-29","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Checkout Links for Demand Gen expanded to nine more markets","summary":"Checkout Links, which send shoppers from a Demand Gen ad straight to an optimized checkout or cart page, are now generally available in Switzerland, Australia, South Korea, Indonesia, Mexico, France, Poland, Israel and Argentina. Google says Checkout URLs lift Demand Gen conversions by about 6%.","details":"","regions":"CH, AU, KR, ID, MX, FR, PL, IL, AR","sources":[{"title":"Prepare for the holiday season with July's Demand Gen Drop","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-july-2026/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-07-29"},{"title":"Checkout Links","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/checkout-links/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-07-29-checkout-links-nine-new-markets"},{"date":"2026-07-28","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"New 'Product clicks' and 'Non-product clicks' metrics separated product clicks from store-name and CTA clicks","summary":"Yash Mandlesha shared the new metrics on LinkedIn, calling product reporting much more transparent.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-07-28); PPC News Feed (2026-07-28).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Gain Product Clicks & Non-Product Clicks Metrics","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-product-clicks-non-41757.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-28"},{"title":"Product Clicks Metrics for Products in Google Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/product-clicks-metrics-products-google-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-28"}],"id":"2026-07-28-product-clicks-and-non-product-clicks-metrics"},{"date":"2026-07-28","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"A new conversion tracking status, 'Has improvements', appeared on conversion actions","summary":"Thomas Eccel spotted the status on a store visits conversion action; it flags missing elements and suggests fixes.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-07-28); PPC News Feed (2026-07-27).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"New Google Ads Status: Has Improvements","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-status-has-improvements-41759.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-28"},{"title":"Tracking Status 'Has Improvements' Spotted","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/new-tracking-status-has-improvements/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-27"}],"id":"2026-07-28-has-improvements-conversion-tracking-status"},{"date":"2026-07-28","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 campaign data import now requires a currency field for cost data","summary":"Uploads of cost data must map a currency column or set a single fixed currency so reporting stays accurate if the property currency changes.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new in Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9164320","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-07-28"},{"title":"[GA4] Campaign data import","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/10071305","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-07-28"}],"id":"2026-07-28-ga4-campaign-data-import-currency-required"},{"date":"2026-07-28","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"AI image generation gained an 'Add images' option to upload reference images guiding output","summary":"Arpan Banerjee posted screenshots of the new reference-image upload in the Generated assets section.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads AI Generated Images With Upload Image Feature","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-ai-generated-images-upload-image-41766.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-28"}],"id":"2026-07-28-ai-image-generation-reference-image-upload"},{"date":"2026-07-27","effective_date":"2026-08-05","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Passkeys required for Google Ads API user-authentication flows from August 5, 2026","summary":"Users generating new OAuth 2.0 refresh tokens must authenticate with a passkey; password-only and TOTP/SMS 2FA are disallowed, with a possible 7-day delay before a new passkey is trusted. Service accounts and existing refresh tokens are unaffected; Google Ads Editor, scripts, BigQuery Data Transfer Service and Data Studio are also subject to the requirement.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Passkey authentication requirement for the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/07/passkey-authentication-requirement-for.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-07-27"}],"id":"2026-07-27-passkey-requirement"},{"date":"2026-07-27","effective_date":"2026-08-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"In-account Social Casino Games certification applications rolled out under Admin > Policy > Account","summary":"Google began gradually enabling advertisers to apply for Social Casino Games certification within the Google Ads account; existing certifications and pending applications are unaffected.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to the Google Ads certification process (August 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17251524","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-07-27"}],"id":"2026-07-27-in-account-social-casino-games-certification"},{"date":"2026-07-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads Editor 2.13 released with channel performance reports, AI attestation and AI Max for Shopping","summary":"Editor 2.13 added native channel performance reporting, a User attestation field for AI-generated image and video assets, AI Max capabilities for Shopping campaigns, a customer retention goal for Performance Max, business name and logo fields on responsive and non-skippable video ads, classic display assets and the Maps channel for Demand Gen, optional Target CPV/CPM bids with best-practice warnings, redesigned column management and resumable downloads, and restructured Target CPA/Target ROAS bidding strategies; creating Video Action campaigns was removed.","details":"Search Engine Roundtable counted 17 new features and one deprecation. Active Video Action campaigns were migrated to Demand Gen.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Editor version 2.13","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/editor/answer/17136249?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Editor Help","date":"2026-07-26"},{"title":"Google Releases Google Ads Editor 2.13","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/google-releases-google-ads-editor-2-13/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-26"},{"title":"Google Ads Editor Version 2.13 Is Now Available","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-editor-version-2-13-41755.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-27"}],"id":"2026-07-26-google-ads-editor-2-13"},{"date":"2026-07-25","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Ask Advisor began rolling out in Merchant Center following its Google Marketing Live 2026 announcement","summary":"Ask Advisor, Google's Gemini-built agent spanning Google Ads, Analytics and Merchant Center, started appearing in selected Merchant Center accounts to diagnose account issues and help with tasks, in a phased rollout.","details":"Announced at Google Marketing Live on May 20, 2026 as an always-on strategic partner across Google's marketing products.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"How we're helping retailers thrive with new Universal Commerce Protocol features and AI tools on Google","url":"https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/shopping/shopping-updates-google-marketing-live/","publisher":"Google Keyword Blog","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Ask Advisor Now Available in Google Merchant Center","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/ask-advisor-available-google-merchant-center/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-25"}],"id":"2026-07-25-ask-advisor-rolling-out-merchant-center"},{"date":"2026-07-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Household income exclusions (seven brackets plus Unknown) appeared at the Performance Max campaign level","summary":"Thomas Eccel found the new exclusion options in a European PMax campaign and shared them on LinkedIn.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-07-24); Search Engine Roundtable (2026-07-27); PPC News Feed (2026-07-24).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Household income exclusions spotted in Performance Max campaigns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/household-income-exclusions-spotted-in-performance-max-campaigns-483494","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-07-24"},{"title":"Google Ads Household Income Exclusions For PMax","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-household-income-exclusions-41753.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-27"},{"title":"Household Income Exclusions Available in Performance Max","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/household-income-exclusions-performance-max/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-24"}],"id":"2026-07-24-household-income-exclusions-in-pmax"},{"date":"2026-07-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Comparison Listing ads renamed CSS Product Listing ads with rewritten Help documentation","summary":"Google replaced the Comparison Listing ads format name and Help page with 'CSS Product Listing ads', redirecting the old URL; the carousel format for comparison shopping services works the same way.","details":"","regions":"EU/UK","sources":[{"title":"About CSS Product Listing ads","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/14645037?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-07-24"},{"title":"Google Comparison Listing Ads Now CSS Product Listing Ads","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-css-product-listing-ads-41746.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-24"}],"id":"2026-07-24-css-product-listing-ads-rename"},{"date":"2026-07-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"AI summary insights, suggested searches and previous-chats panel added to the Merchant Center dashboard","summary":"Merchant Center added AI-generated summary insights, a search box with suggested queries and a section for previous AI chats on the dashboard, building on Merchant Advisor and AI performance reports introduced earlier in 2026.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Merchant Center Portal Gains More AI Features","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-merchant-center-ai-features-41736.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-24"}],"id":"2026-07-24-ai-summary-insights-search-suggestions-chats"},{"date":"2026-07-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"'Recommended by Google AI' measurement suggestions added to the Conversion summary page","summary":"The Conversion summary dashboard now shows AI-generated recommendations to improve conversion measurement, labeled 'Recommended by Google AI'.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Recommended By Google AI In Conversion Summaries","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-recommended-by-google-al-conversions-41716.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-24"}],"id":"2026-07-24-ai-recommendations-conversion-summary"},{"date":"2026-07-23","effective_date":"2026-08-26","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Gambling certification applications and standards revised globally","summary":"From August 26, 2026, all new gambling, certified non-casino game and social casino applications must use revised forms requiring valid local licences, destination-site compliance (age warnings, addiction resources, licensing details) and account structures that do not mix certification types.","details":"Applies to online gambling in all jurisdictions, online non-casino games where certification is required, and social casino games. New requirements include valid local licensing, destination-site elements such as age warnings, addiction resources and licence details, and a prohibition on mixing certification types within one account. Existing certifications are not automatically revoked but new applicants must use the revised forms.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy: Global (August 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17258294","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-07-23"}],"id":"2026-07-23-gambling-certification-applications-and-standards-revised"},{"date":"2026-07-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"AI Max features spotted rolling out inside Standard Shopping campaigns","summary":"Practitioners saw AI Max controls appear in Standard Shopping campaigns: AI-powered matching for conversational queries, auto-generated ad copy from Merchant Center attributes, Final URL expansion and text-versus-Shopping format selection.","details":"Search Engine Land noted advertisers should treat it as an early look. Google had announced AI Max for Shopping at the end of April but the Standard Shopping controls had not been documented.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"AI Max spotted in Google Standard Shopping campaigns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/ai-max-spotted-in-google-standard-shopping-campaigns-483311","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-07-23"},{"title":"Google Ads AI Max for Shopping Campaigns expands","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-ai-max-shopping-campaigns-41743.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-24"},{"title":"AI Max for Shopping Campaigns Spotted Live","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/ai-max-shopping-campaigns-spotted-live/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-23"}],"id":"2026-07-23-ai-max-standard-shopping-spotted"},{"date":"2026-07-22","effective_date":"2026-08-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Telemedicine prescription-drug service ads allowed in Spain","summary":"From August 2026, telemedicine providers certified by LegitScript and Google may advertise prescription drug services in Spain; prescription drugs themselves cannot be promoted.","details":"","regions":"Spain","sources":[{"title":"Update to Healthcare and Medicines Policy (July 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17219940","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-07-22"}],"id":"2026-07-22-telemedicine-prescription-drug-service-ads-allowed"},{"date":"2026-07-22","effective_date":"2026-08-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Crypto exchange and wallet ads allowed in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under MiCA","summary":"From August 2026, advertisers holding CASP licences under MiCA and Google certification may promote crypto exchanges, software wallets and hardware wallets in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.","details":"","regions":"Iceland; Liechtenstein; Norway","sources":[{"title":"Update to Cryptocurrencies and related products policy (August 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17264747","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-07-22"}],"id":"2026-07-22-crypto-exchange-and-wallet-ads-allowed"},{"date":"2026-07-22","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API v25 released with loyalty retention goals, Shorts social metrics and unified goals schema","summary":"v25 added the ad_sub_format_type segment for non-skippable YouTube ad durations, comments/likes/shares metrics for Shorts ads, a loyalty retention goal, a revamped new customer acquisition goal using Goal and CampaignGoalConfig (removing CustomerLifecycleGoal and CampaignLifecycleGoal), and consented YouTube channel insights, and made synthetic content attestation fields mutable.","details":"Breaking changes per release notes: lifecycle goal resources and services removed (migrate to the unified goals schema); Incentive Service `type` fields replaced with standalone enum fields; deprecated Planning Service fields `search_brand` and `plannable_location_id` removed. Also added YouTube third-party conversion attribution and animated image generation for Demand Gen. v25 sunset: August 2027.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Announcing v25 of the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/07/announcing-v25-of-google-ads-api.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-07-22"},{"title":"Release notes (v25, 2026-07-22)","url":"https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/release-notes","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2026-07-22"}],"id":"2026-07-22-ads-api-v25-released"},{"date":"2026-07-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"'Missed growth opportunities' moved from Labs into the Recommendations tab as 'Missed opportunities'","summary":"Thomas Eccel noticed the estimates of missed clicks, conversions and value now live in Recommendations rather than the Labs hub.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-07-21); Search Engine Roundtable (2026-07-22); PPC News Feed (2026-07-21).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads adds missed growth estimates to the Recommendations tab","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-adds-missed-growth-estimates-to-the-recommendations-tab-482917","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-07-21"},{"title":"Google Ads Moved Missed Opportunities From Labs To Recommendations Tab","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-missed-opportunities-recommendations-41723.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-22"},{"title":"Missed Opportunities Moved to Recommendations","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/missed-opportunities-moved-recommendations/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-21"}],"id":"2026-07-21-missed-opportunities-moved-to-recommendations"},{"date":"2026-07-21","effective_date":"2026-07-21","product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"In-account appeals removed for policy decisions older than six months","summary":"Effective immediately, advertisers can no longer appeal a policy decision from within Google Ads if the decision was made more than six months earlier.","details":"Coverage noted the change removes the main correction route for enforcement errors that go unnoticed for extended periods.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Appeals Limits (July 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17251522","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-07-21"},{"title":"Google Ads kills appeals for policy decisions over 6 months old","url":"https://ppc.land/google-ads-kills-appeals-for-policy-decisions-over-6-months-old/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-07-21"}],"id":"2026-07-21-in-account-appeals-removed-for-policy"},{"date":"2026-07-20","effective_date":"2026-08-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Local Services","type":"Launch","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Local Services Ads moving into Google Ads as Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals","summary":"Google is migrating Local Services Ads out of the standalone dashboard into Google Ads as a new Performance Max campaign type with pay-per-lead goals. Ads still show only on Search and Maps and bill per valid lead, but weekly budgets become daily, manual bidding and vertical-level tCPA are removed, BBB callouts end, and historical LSA performance reports do not carry over.","details":"Phased rollout: August 2026 for select US home and storefront services (pet care, home services, wellness, education); late 2026 for broader groups; 2027 for non-US accounts and remaining categories. Admins get 14- and 7-day notices and lose LSA dashboard access after migration, so Google strongly recommends downloading historical reports first. Google Business Profile details sync one-way into Google Ads.","regions":"US first, global in 2027","sources":[{"title":"About the Local Services Ads transition to Google Ads","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/17213585","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-07-20"},{"title":"Local Services Ads come to Google Ads via Performance Max","url":"https://searchengineland.com/local-services-ads-come-to-google-ads-via-performance-max-482692","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-07-20"},{"title":"Google Local Services Ads To Transition To Google Ads Platform","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-local-services-ads-transition-google-ads-41717.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-21"},{"title":"Google folds Local Services Ads into Google Ads, cuts historical reports","url":"https://ppc.land/google-folds-local-services-ads-into-google-ads-cuts-historical-reports/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-09-03"}],"id":"2026-07-20-local-services-ads-into-google-ads-pmax"},{"date":"2026-07-20","effective_date":"2026-08-31","product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Deprecation","status":"Announced","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Local inventory ads enabled by default in Shopping campaigns from August 31, 2026; Local products toggle cut","summary":"Google announced that from August 31, 2026 Shopping campaigns in accounts linked to a Merchant Center with the local inventory ads add-on will serve local inventory ads by default, and the campaign-level \"Local products\" toggle is being removed. Advertisers wanting separate online and local budgets must adjust inventory filters before the deadline.","details":"Announced on the Google Ads Developer Blog on July 20, 2026. After the deadline the change is automatic and the old toggle disappears entirely.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Enabling Local Inventory Ads by Default for Shopping Campaigns starting on August 31, 2026","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/07/enabling-local-inventory-ads-by-default.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developer Blog","date":"2026-07-20"},{"title":"Local Inventory Ads Enabled By Default","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/local-inventory-ads-enabled-default/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-01"}],"id":"2026-07-20-local-inventory-ads-enabled-by-default"},{"date":"2026-07-20","effective_date":"2026-08-31","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Shopping","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Local Inventory Ads enabled by default for Shopping campaigns from August 31, 2026","summary":"ShoppingSetting.enable_local is overridden to true for all Shopping campaigns; from v25.1 setting it to false returns ContextError.OPERATION_NOT_PERMITTED_FOR_CONTEXT. Advertisers wanting online-only serving should add a listing scope with product_channel ONLINE via CampaignCriterionService or use the inventory filter. Performance Max and Demand Gen are unaffected.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Enabling Local Inventory Ads by Default for Shopping Campaigns starting on August 31, 2026","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/07/enabling-local-inventory-ads-by-default.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-07-20"}],"id":"2026-07-20-local-inventory-ads-default-shopping"},{"date":"2026-07-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Enhanced Brand Lift study option rolled out to more advertisers, detecting lifts as small as 1.2%","summary":"Advertisers can now choose between Standard Brand Lift (2% detection threshold) and Enhanced Brand Lift, which detects lifts down to 1.2% and is 60% more likely to detect positive lift but needs roughly three times the budget.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google expands Brand Lift Studies with enhanced measurement option","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-expands-brand-lift-studies-with-enhanced-measurement-option-482701","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-07-20"}],"id":"2026-07-20-enhanced-brand-lift-study"},{"date":"2026-07-16","effective_date":"2026-06-15","product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Product-level reporting for Performance Max began including all networks, causing a one-time jump in metrics","summary":"Bia Camargo flagged that PMax product reports now include video, app and Demand Gen network data (effective June 15), and Google noted a one-time increase in impressions and clicks for PMax only.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-07-16); PPC News Feed (2026-07-16).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Performance Max Product Reporting Now Uses All Networks","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-pmax-product-reporting-all-networks-41694.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-16"},{"title":"Google Changes Performance Max Product Reporting","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/google-changes-performance-max-product-reporting/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-16"}],"id":"2026-07-16-pmax-product-reporting-expanded-to-all-networks"},{"date":"2026-07-16","effective_date":"2026-08-31","product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Advertisers were emailed that local inventory ads would turn on by default and 'Local products' would go away","summary":"Arpan Banerjee shared the notice that Shopping campaigns linked to Merchant Center accounts with the LIA add-on will serve local inventory ads by default, with the inventory filter replacing the old dropdown.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-07-16); PPC News Feed (2026-07-16).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads To Turn On Local Inventory Ads By Default For Shopping Campaigns","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-local-inventory-ads-setting-shopping-campaigns-41699.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-16"},{"title":"Local Inventory Ads Enabled By Default","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/local-inventory-ads-enabled-default/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-16"}],"id":"2026-07-16-local-inventory-ads-enabled-by-default"},{"date":"2026-07-16","effective_date":"2026-08-31","product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Local inventory ads turned on by default in Shopping campaigns; 'Local products' setting replaced","summary":"Google emailed advertisers whose Merchant Center has the local inventory ads add-on that local inventory ads will turn on automatically in Shopping campaigns. The 'Local products' dropdown is removed and advertisers who want to separate online and local inventory must use an inventory filter (Channel = Local or Online) by August 31, 2026.","details":"Communicated by email and on the Ads Developer Blog rather than a Help Center announcement.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads To Turn On Local Inventory Ads By Default For Shopping Campaigns","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-local-inventory-ads-setting-shopping-campaigns-41699.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-16"}],"id":"2026-07-16-local-inventory-ads-default-on-shopping"},{"date":"2026-07-15","effective_date":"2026-09-01","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Shopping ads and free listings policies consolidated into single 'Shopping policies'","summary":"Google will merge the Shopping ads and free listings policies into one set of Shopping policies from September 2026 for clarity, with no substantive or more restrictive changes.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Google's Shopping ads and free listing policies","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/17263064","publisher":"Google Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-07-15"}],"id":"2026-07-15-shopping-ads-and-free-listings-policies"},{"date":"2026-07-15","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"'Partners (Alpha)' setting spotted letting some Performance Max advertisers opt out of Search Partners and GDN","summary":"A limited alpha adds two checkboxes to Performance Max campaigns to exclude the Search Partner Network and Google Display Network; some accounts also saw household income exclusions. Google confirmed it is a pilot with a small group and gave no rollout date.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google tests Performance Max network controls with new Partners (Alpha) setting","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-tests-performance-max-network-controls-with-new-partners-alpha-setting-482469","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-07-15"},{"title":"Google lets some PMax advertisers switch off search partners and display","url":"https://ppc.land/google-lets-some-pmax-advertisers-switch-off-search-partners-and-display/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-07-27"}],"id":"2026-07-15-pmax-partners-alpha-network-controls"},{"date":"2026-07-15","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Google tested a control letting users hide sponsored products in Shopping results; Ads Liaison confirmed","summary":"Sachin Patel spotted the hide/show toggle and Ginny Marvin confirmed Google is testing more consistent ad labeling across search and shopping.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-07-15); PPC News Feed (2026-07-15).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Confirms Testing Hide Sponsored Products In Shopping Results","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-tests-hide-sponsored-products-41689.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-15"},{"title":"Google Showcases 'Hide Sponsored Results' in Shopping Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/google-hide-sponsored-results-shopping-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-15"}],"id":"2026-07-15-hide-sponsored-products-in-shopping-test"},{"date":"2026-07-14","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Removing a user's account access began requiring a written justification sent to another admin","summary":"Arpan Banerjee reported on X that Google Ads now asks for a justification when removing access, tied to multi-party approval security.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-07-14); PPC News Feed (2026-07-14).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Asks For Justification When Requesting Removal Of Access","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-justification-removal-41667.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-14"},{"title":"Multi-Party Approval Feature Spotted in Google Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/multi-party-approval-google-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-14"}],"id":"2026-07-14-justification-required-when-removing-user-access"},{"date":"2026-07-13","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Video campaign groups launched globally to manage reach and frequency across multiple YouTube campaigns","summary":"Advertisers can group multiple YouTube campaigns under one reach or frequency objective while keeping separate budgets and creatives, with unified reporting on unique reach and weekly frequency. Coming to Display & Video 360 later.","details":"Google cites a Meridian study finding 2.7 impressions per week as optimal frequency (19% ROI increase).","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Coordinate reach and frequency with video campaign groups","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/video-campaign-groups/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-07-13"},{"title":"Google Ads rolls out video campaign groups globally","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-rolls-out-video-campaign-groups-globally-483180","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-07-22"}],"id":"2026-07-13-video-campaign-groups-global"},{"date":"2026-07-13","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Google re-tested a sticky sponsored results block with rounded card borders and a thinner label","summary":"Khushal Bherwani reported the card-style sponsored layout on X, echoing a September 2024 test.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-07-13); PPC News Feed (2026-07-13).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Testing Sticky Sponsored Results Interface, Again","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-sticky-sponsored-results-again-41671.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-13"},{"title":"Google Tests New Card Layout for Sponsored Results","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/google-tests-new-card-layout-sponsored-results/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-13"}],"id":"2026-07-13-sticky-sponsored-results-card-layout-test"},{"date":"2026-07-13","effective_date":"2026-07-13","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Prediction market ads prohibited in Michigan and New York","summary":"Google added Michigan and New York to the states where prediction market contracts and related products cannot be advertised.","details":"","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Update to Prediction Markets (July 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17230476","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-07-13"}],"id":"2026-07-13-prediction-market-ads-prohibited-in-michigan"},{"date":"2026-07-13","effective_date":"2026-09-14","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Announced","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"'Good policy health' certification requirement extended to all gambling and games categories","summary":"From September 14, 2026, every gambling and games certification category requires accounts to show good policy health; MCCs with repeated revocations or violations lose eligibility, and free-subdomain or unrelated domains are ineligible.","details":"Extends the March 23, 2026 eligibility rules (initially applied to accounts seeking certification) to every gambling and games category. Manager accounts with a substantial volume of revoked certificates or violations lose eligibility for new certifications and may have existing ones revoked.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy: Gambling and games Certification Eligibility Update (July 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17199930","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-07-13"}],"id":"2026-07-13-good-policy-health-certification-requirement-extended"},{"date":"2026-07-13","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"App","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 added native AdMob linking under Admin > Product links","summary":"App properties can manage links between app data streams and AdMob apps directly in Analytics Admin (requires Admin/Editor in Analytics and Administrator in AdMob).","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new in Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9164320","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-07-13"},{"title":"[GA4] AdMob links","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9379420","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-07-13"}],"id":"2026-07-13-ga4-admob-linking"},{"date":"2026-07-13","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Conversion action statuses were renamed to 'Misconfigured', 'Awaiting conversions' and 'Removed'","summary":"Natasha Kaurra and Saquib Syed independently shared the new status labels on LinkedIn; Google's help documentation was updated to match.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-07-13); PPC News Feed (2026-07-13).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Conversion Tracking Status: Awaiting Conversions & Misconfigured","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-conversion-tracking-status-updates-41668.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-13"},{"title":"Google Ads Updates Conversion Tracking Statuses","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/google-ads-updates-conversion-tracking-statuses/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-13"}],"id":"2026-07-13-conversion-tracking-statuses-renamed"},{"date":"2026-07-13","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Ad preview gained filtering by asset plus side-by-side examples for text customization and final URL expansion","summary":"Arpan Banerjee reported the new preview options on LinkedIn and X.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-07-13); PPC News Feed (2026-07-13).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Previews For Assets, Text Customizations & Final URL Expansion","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-previews-updates-41666.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-13"},{"title":"Google Ads Allows Asset Selection in Ad Preview","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/google-ads-asset-selection-ad-preview/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-13"}],"id":"2026-07-13-ad-preview-asset-filter-and-side-by-side-previews"},{"date":"2026-07-09","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"\"Merchant Center Next\" branding dropped; platform renamed back to Merchant Center","summary":"Google began removing the \"Next\" label from Help Center articles, emails and the Merchant Center interface, nearly two years after the Merchant Center Next migration completed. Accounts, product data and campaigns were unaffected and no action was required.","details":"Google's help-center notice is dated July 2026 (month only); trade press reported the change around July 9, 2026.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Merchant Center Next is now Merchant Center","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/17252069?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-07-09"},{"title":"Merchant Center announcements change log","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/announcements/6192467?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-11"},{"title":"Google drops the \"Next\" from Merchant Center name","url":"https://ppc.land/google-drops-the-next-from-merchant-center-name/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-07-09"},{"title":"Merchant Center Next Is Now Merchant Center","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/merchant-center-next-is-now-merchant-center/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-01"}],"id":"2026-07-09-merchant-center-next-renamed-merchant-center"},{"date":"2026-07-09","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GTM container behavior on unsupported load paths now set by container ID type, not path","summary":"Containers loaded via paths like /gtag/js or /gtag/destination no longer degrade to restricted mode by path; GTM-XXXX containers run unrestricted while product IDs such as G- or AW- allow only Google tags.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Release notes - Tag Manager Help","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/4620708","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2026-07-09"},{"title":"Manage tagging behavior using the container ID","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/17070049","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2026-07-09"}],"id":"2026-07-09-gtm-container-behavior-by-id-type"},{"date":"2026-07-09","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Sponsored results tested favicons next to each sitelink","summary":"Spotted by @SachuPatel53124 and @b4k_khushal on X; Google did not confirm.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-07-09); PPC News Feed (2026-07-09).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Tests Favicons In Sponsored Results Sitelinks","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-favicons-sitelinks-41656.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-09"},{"title":"Google Ads Tests Favicons In Sponsored Results Sitelinks","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/google-ads-tests-favicons-sponsored-results-sitelinks/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-09"}],"id":"2026-07-09-favicons-in-sitelinks-test"},{"date":"2026-07-09","effective_date":"2026-07-09","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"AI labeling setting allowed in-creative AI disclosure labels for image and video ads","summary":"From July 2026 advertisers may add text or visual AI-generated/modified labels directly inside image and video creatives via a gradually rolling out AI label setting, to help with rules in the EU, India and New York; the label does not guarantee compliance.","details":"","regions":"EU; India; US (New York)","sources":[{"title":"Updates to AI labeling requirements (July 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17257106","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-07-09"}],"id":"2026-07-09-ai-labeling-setting-allowed-in-creative"},{"date":"2026-07-09","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"'How this ad was made' AI disclosure added to My Ad Center for Search, YouTube and Discover ads","summary":"Ads created or modified with Google's generative AI tools automatically get a disclosure in the My Ad Center panel, and advertisers using third-party AI tools can add the disclosure themselves; labels may appear on the ad itself where local rules require.","details":"PPC News Feed later reported the disclosures appearing in the local map pack (August 2026). Existing policies on misleading content are unchanged.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Expanding AI transparency in ads","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-ads-ai-transparency-labels/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-07-09"},{"title":"Google expands AI ad disclosures across Search, YouTube, Discover","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ai-ad-disclosures-search-youtube-discover-481887","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-07-09"}],"id":"2026-07-09-ai-ad-disclosures-my-ad-center"},{"date":"2026-07-08","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Hotel & Travel","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Search campaigns for Travel beta extended to Things to Do and Events verticals","summary":"Advertisers selling attractions, tours and event tickets can now access the Search campaigns for Travel open beta (limited availability), which uses AI-driven matching for date- and location-sensitive inventory.","details":"Announced by Google Ads on X and LinkedIn on July 8, 2026.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Expands Travel Campaigns To Things To Do And Events","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-search-campaigns-travel-things-to-do-events-beta/581816/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2026-07-08"}],"id":"2026-07-08-search-campaigns-travel-things-to-do-events"},{"date":"2026-07-08","effective_date":"2026-08-17","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Announced","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"Ads Liaison clarified the Aug 17 bidding change only affects budget-limited tCPA/tROAS campaigns","summary":"After Kirk Williams, Jack Carr, Maggie Humphrey and others questioned whether Google was reducing efficiency, Ginny Marvin stated the update would not raise spend or alter settings, only make bidding hit targets more consistently for budget-constrained campaigns, and denied a broader Smart Bidding update.","details":"PPC Land framed the change as forcing some CPAs to double (Jul 2). Marvin's clarifications ran on LinkedIn and were covered by Search Engine Journal (Jul 8) and Search Engine Roundtable (Jul 17). The underlying change was announced by Google on June 15 and took effect August 17.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Clarifies Smart Bidding Update After Advertiser Concerns","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-clarifies-smart-bidding-update-after-advertiser-concerns/581804/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2026-07-08"},{"title":"Google Ads Making Broader Smart Bidding Updates? Google Says No.","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-broader-smart-bidding-updates-41702.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-17"},{"title":"Google Ads forces some CPAs to double starting August 17","url":"https://ppc.land/google-ads-forces-some-cpas-to-double-starting-august-17/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-07-02"}],"id":"2026-07-08-liaison-clarifies-aug-17-bidding-change-scope"},{"date":"2026-07-08","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Conversion status card gained a 'last event ping' timestamp showing when the tag last fired","summary":"Arpan Banerjee spotted the new timestamp, which appears even when no conversion was recorded.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-07-08); PPC News Feed (2026-07-08).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Conversions Last Event Ping Timestamp","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-conversions-last-event-ping-41640.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-08"},{"title":"Google Ads Redesigns Conversion Status Card","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/google-ads-redesigns-conversion-status-card/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-08"}],"id":"2026-07-08-conversions-status-card-last-event-ping"},{"date":"2026-07-08","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Alcohol policy article clarified acceptable ad formats","summary":"Google clarified acceptable ad formats in the Alcohol help article; enforcement was unchanged.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Alcohol policy article (July 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17232894","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-07-08"}],"id":"2026-07-08-alcohol-policy-article-clarified-acceptable-ad"},{"date":"2026-07-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"A prominent 'Visit site' button was tested on sponsored search results","summary":"Arpan Banerjee shared the button test on LinkedIn, mirroring earlier tests on organic sitelinks and map results.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-07-07); PPC News Feed (2026-07-07).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Tests Visit Site Button On Google Ads Sponsored Results","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-visit-site-button-sponsored-results-41628.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-07"},{"title":"Search Ads Shows 'Visit Site' Button","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/search-ads-shows-visit-site-button/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-07"}],"id":"2026-07-07-visit-site-button-on-sponsored-results-test"},{"date":"2026-07-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Brand verification pilot launched to expedite Basic Access developer token reviews","summary":"Developers with a pending Basic Access application can associate their developer token with a Google Cloud project and complete OAuth brand verification to have the application reviewed within hours; verification is optional for now but may be requested by the Ads API Compliance team.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Accelerate Google Ads API Basic Access reviews with brand verification","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/07/accelerate-google-ads-api-basic-access.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-07-07"}],"id":"2026-07-07-brand-verification-basic-access-pilot"},{"date":"2026-07-06","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"API & Tools","status":"Retired","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"Google & YouTube Shopify app migration was found to reset product IDs (US to ZZ), wiping performance history","summary":"Emmanuel Flossie warned that reinstalling the Shopify app for the Merchant API migration changes IDs like Shopify_US_123_456 to Shopify_ZZ_123_456. Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin said Google was looking into it, and a fix was later confirmed.","details":"Search Engine Roundtable covered it July 6; PPC News Feed reported Google confirming a fix later in July. Merchants had until August 18 to migrate off the Content API.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google & YouTube Shopify App Sync May Cause Mess After August 18th","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-youtube-shopify-app-sync-merchant-concerns-41627.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-06"},{"title":"Google Confirms Fix for Shopify Product ID Bug","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/google-confirms-fix-shopify-product-id-bug/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-20"}],"id":"2026-07-06-shopify-app-reinstall-resets-product-ids"},{"date":"2026-07-02","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Unsolicited 'book a call with your Google Ads expert' emails gained an unsubscribe option","summary":"Emmanuel Flossie found that third-party (XWF) expert outreach emails can now be unsubscribed from, though Google's own rep emails cannot.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-07-02); PPC News Feed (2026-07-02).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"You Can Now Unsubscribe From Google Ads Expert Book Call Emails","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-expert-book-call-emails-unsubscribe-41617.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-02"},{"title":"Google Ads Users Can Now Unsubscribe From Reps","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/google-ads-unsubscribe-reps/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-02"}],"id":"2026-07-02-unsubscribe-from-expert-book-call-emails"},{"date":"2026-07-02","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Performance Max channel performance gained a diagnostics view listing missing or rejected assets per channel","summary":"Aleksejus Podpruginas first reported the diagnostics panel on LinkedIn; it was not yet in all accounts.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-07-02); PPC News Feed (2026-07-02).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Performance Max Channel Diagnostics","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-channel-diagnostics-41607.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-02"},{"title":"Google Launches PMAX Channel Diagnostics","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/google-launches-pmax-channel-diagnostics-feature/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-02"}],"id":"2026-07-02-pmax-channel-diagnostics"},{"date":"2026-07-02","effective_date":"2026-07-06","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Bid Target Adjustment Tool released July 6 ahead of the August 17 target-based bidding change","summary":"A new tool, reachable from the account notifications banner or the Campaigns page bidding settings (and in Search Ads 360), lets advertisers review campaigns that were limited by budget over the past 12 months and keep, lower or replace their CPA/ROAS targets before the August 17 change.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Frequently asked questions about changes to Target-based bid strategies","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/17125145?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-07-02"},{"title":"Google Ads Changes With Bidding For Campaigns Limited By Budget","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-bidding-campaigns-limited-budget-41618.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-02"},{"title":"Google Ads forces some CPAs to double starting August 17","url":"https://ppc.land/google-ads-forces-some-cpas-to-double-starting-august-17/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-07-02"}],"id":"2026-07-02-bid-target-adjustment-tool"},{"date":"2026-07-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GTM Overview page redesigned; triggers, variables and templates moved under a collapsible Advanced section","summary":"The Tag Manager Overview was streamlined with a container-wide Settings section and an entity activity table, while triggers, variables, templates and folders moved to a collapsible Advanced area; the workspace switcher was hidden by default and can be restored in user settings.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Release notes - Tag Manager Help","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/4620708","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2026-07-01"},{"title":"Google Tag Manager Update 2026: GTM Containers Become Google Tags","url":"https://www.gaoptimizer.com/blog/google-tag-manager-biggest-update-2026/","publisher":"GA4 Optimizer","date":"2026-05-07"}],"id":"2026-07-01-gtm-overview-redesign"},{"date":"2026-07-01","effective_date":"2026-07-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"France crypto ads no longer accept AMF DASP registration; MiCA CASP authorization required","summary":"Google stopped accepting AMF Digital Asset Service Provider registrations for crypto exchange and wallet ads targeting France; advertisers must hold CASP authorization under MiCA.","details":"","regions":"France","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Cryptocurrency Advertising Policy in France (July 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17218519","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-07-01"}],"id":"2026-07-01-france-crypto-ads-no-longer-accept"},{"date":"2026-07-01","effective_date":"2026-07-01","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Checkout (\"Buy now\") links expanded to Indonesia, France, Mexico, Argentina, Israel, Poland and Australia","summary":"Merchants based in these seven countries can now enable checkout links in Merchant Center, adding a Buy now call-to-action that sends ready-to-buy shoppers straight from a listing to the merchant's cart or checkout page.","details":"Checkout on Merchant (checkout links) is distinct from UCP native checkout: it deep-links to the merchant's own cart or checkout page rather than completing the purchase on Google.","regions":"ID, FR, MX, AR, IL, PL, AU","sources":[{"title":"Checkout on Merchant country expansion","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/17061047?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-07-01"},{"title":"Merchant Center announcements change log","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/announcements/6192467?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-11"},{"title":"Checkout Links Now Available in More Countries","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/google-shopping-checkout-links-more-countries/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-01"}],"id":"2026-07-01-checkout-links-expanded-seven-countries"},{"date":"2026-07-01","effective_date":"2026-07-28","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Alcohol policy expanded to permit alcohol ads in 28 additional countries","summary":"From July 28, 2026, alcohol advertising is permitted, up to region-specific ABV limits, in 28 more countries including Brazil, Finland, Iceland, Kenya, South Korea, Vietnam and many African markets.","details":"Google's change log dates this entry to July 2026. Ecuador (<5% ABV), Iceland (<2.25%) and Vietnam (<5.5%) carry ABV caps.","regions":"Global (28 added countries)","sources":[{"title":"Update to Alcohol Policy: Country expansion (July 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17230661","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-07-01"}],"id":"2026-07-01-alcohol-policy-expanded-to-permit-alcohol"},{"date":"2026-07-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"AI-generated summaries began appearing beneath Search ad descriptions in a small experiment","summary":"Darcy Burk shared screenshots of AI summaries under sponsored results with a disclaimer that Google AI responses can make mistakes. Google confirmed it as a small experiment; Brodie Clark spotted the same treatment on Shopping ads July 30.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-07-01); Search Engine Roundtable (2026-07-01); Search Engine Roundtable (2026-07-30).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google tests AI-generated summaries in Search ads","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-tests-ai-generated-summaries-in-search-ads-481424","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-07-01"},{"title":"Google Ads Testing AI Generated Summaries Under Descriptions","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-ai-generate-summaries-41599.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-01"},{"title":"Google Shopping Ads With AI-Generated Descriptions","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-shopping-ads-ai-generated-descriptions-41784.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-30"}],"id":"2026-07-01-ai-generated-summaries-under-search-ads"},{"date":"2026-06-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Sponsored results tested an open-in-new-window icon after the displayed URL","summary":"Sachin Patel and Khushal Bherwani documented the icon on X; Google did not confirm.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-06-30); PPC News Feed (2026-07-01).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Tests Open In New Window Icon","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-open-in-new-window-icon-41589.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-06-30"},{"title":"Google Tests New Window Icon for Search Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-07/google-tests-new-window-icon-search-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-07-01"}],"id":"2026-06-30-open-in-new-window-icon-on-ad-urls-test"},{"date":"2026-06-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"The 'All campaigns' selector was redesigned with an expandable hierarchy and search","summary":"Vivek Gupta spotted the new selector layout on LinkedIn; it was rolling out gradually.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-06-30); Search Engine Roundtable (2026-07-02); PPC News Feed (2026-06-30).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads redesigns All Campaigns selector","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-redesigns-all-campaigns-selector-481325","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-06-30"},{"title":"Google Ads Updates All Campaigns Drop Down","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-updates-all-campaigns-41598.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-02"},{"title":"Google Ads Redesigns All Campaigns Selector","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-06/google-ads-redesigns-all-campaigns-selector/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-06-30"}],"id":"2026-06-30-all-campaigns-selector-redesign"},{"date":"2026-06-29","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"A 'Shorts ads actions' column tracking likes, comments and shares was added to the column picker","summary":"Arpan Banerjee spotted the new YouTube Shorts engagement column, which can go negative when removed engagement exceeds new engagement.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Shorts Ads Actions Added To Columns in Google Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-06/shorts-ads-actions-added-columns-google-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-06-29"}],"id":"2026-06-29-shorts-ads-actions-column"},{"date":"2026-06-29","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Performance Max product reporting became segmentable by asset group, with audience segment views","summary":"Advertisers began seeing product-level metrics broken down per PMax asset group and audience segments in the Products view.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-06-29); PPC News Feed (2026-06-29).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads PMax Product Reporting By Asset Group & View Audience Segments","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-pmax-product-reports-audience-segments-41586.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-06-29"},{"title":"Performance Max Gets Product Reporting by Asset Group","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-06/performance-max-gets-product-reporting-asset-group/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-06-29"}],"id":"2026-06-29-pmax-product-reporting-by-asset-group"},{"date":"2026-06-29","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Default Ads Treatment policy renamed 'Categories restricted while Google is estimating a user's age'","summary":"Google renamed and clarified the policy that restricts adult, alcohol and gambling ads while a user's age is being estimated; enforcement is unchanged and no advertiser action is needed.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Updates to the Default Ads Treatment policy (June 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17139202","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-06-29"}],"id":"2026-06-29-default-ads-treatment-policy-renamed-categories"},{"date":"2026-06-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Merchant Center for Agencies gained agency-level user access controls and client labels","summary":"Google added security controls to Merchant Center for Agencies: clients link to the agency rather than individual users, Agency Admins control linking and permissions while Standard users get restricted access, and custom labels let agencies group clients by brand, vertical or team.","details":"Announced by Google's Ads Liaison on June 26, 2026 alongside a new help page on managing user access.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Manage user access in Merchant Center for Agencies","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/17101837?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-06-26"},{"title":"Google Merchant Center For Agencies Gains Security Controls","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-merchant-center-for-agencies-security-41574.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-06-26"}],"id":"2026-06-26-merchant-center-for-agencies-user-access-controls"},{"date":"2026-06-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Maximize conversion value bidding without a ROAS target rolled out to Standard Shopping campaigns","summary":"Standard Shopping campaigns can now use Maximize conversion value without setting a target ROAS, removing a limitation that had pushed some advertisers to Performance Max to access value-based bidding.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-06-26); PPC News Feed (2026-06-26).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Maximize Conversion Value Bidding For Standard Shopping Campaigns","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-maximize-conversion-value-standard-shopping-41576.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-06-26"},{"title":"Max Conversion Value Strategy Available in Standard Shopping","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-06/max-conversion-value-strategy-available-standard-shopping/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-06-26"}],"id":"2026-06-26-maximize-conversion-value-standard-shopping"},{"date":"2026-06-25","effective_date":"2026-07-27","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Multi-party approvals required for sensitive user-access API actions from July 27, 2026","summary":"Inviting users (CustomerUserAccessInvitationService) and updating or removing user access (CustomerUserAccessService) may now return a pending MultiPartyAuthReview instead of taking effect immediately; a second administrator must approve via MultiPartyAuthReviewService.ResolveMultiPartyAuthReview. Support was added to v24.2, v23.3, v22.2 and v21.2.","details":"Pending reviews are queried from the `multi_party_auth_review` resource (`review_status = 'PENDING'`); approval can come from a human or a service account with administrator privileges other than the requestor, and the requestor can revoke a pending review.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Multi-party approvals in the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/06/multi-party-approvals-in-google-ads-api.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-06-25"}],"id":"2026-06-25-multi-party-approvals-required"},{"date":"2026-06-25","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Web-to-app acquisition measurement became available for Demand Gen campaigns","summary":"Demand Gen advertisers can now measure app installs and user acquisition driven by web-targeted Demand Gen campaigns.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Elevate your campaign performance with June's Demand Gen Drop","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-june-2026/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-06-25"}],"id":"2026-06-25-demand-gen-web-to-app-measurement"},{"date":"2026-06-25","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Announced","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"June Demand Gen Drop: more aspect-ratio transformations and Gemini creative insights announced","summary":"Demand Gen video enhancements will add vertical-to-square, vertical-to-landscape and square-to-landscape conversions, and a Gemini-powered creative insights panel will give automated YouTube creative recommendations during asset selection.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Elevate your campaign performance with June's Demand Gen Drop","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-june-2026/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-06-25"}],"id":"2026-06-25-demand-gen-video-enhancements-creative-insights"},{"date":"2026-06-25","effective_date":"2026-08-05","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"Deprecation","status":"Retired","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API v21 sunset confirmed for August 5, 2026","summary":"All v21 requests began failing on August 5, 2026; integrations had to move to v22 or later.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads API v21 sunset reminder","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/06/google-ads-api-v21-sunset-reminder.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-06-25"},{"title":"Deprecation and sunset dates","url":"https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/sunset-dates","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2026-06-25"}],"id":"2026-06-25-ads-api-v21-sunset"},{"date":"2026-06-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Three new columns appeared: unique search categories with clicks, with conversions, and with impressions","summary":"Arpan Banerjee spotted the new column set, which reveals gaps in search category coverage. Google did not announce it.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-06-24); PPC News Feed (2026-06-24).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads: Unique Search Categories With Clicks, Conversions & Impressions","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-unique-search-categories-column-41553.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-06-24"},{"title":"Google Introducing Unique Search Categories Columns","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-06/google-introducing-unique-search-categories-columns/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-06-24"}],"id":"2026-06-24-unique-search-categories-columns"},{"date":"2026-06-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"A 'Shop diagnostics' tab appeared under Conversions to diagnose shop sales reporting and eligibility","summary":"Arpan Banerjee spotted the section and Adriaan Dekker shared screenshots on LinkedIn.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-06-24); PPC News Feed (2026-06-24).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Shop Diagnostics: Shop Sales Eligibility","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-shop-diagnostics-41540.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-06-24"},{"title":"Shop Diagnostics Tab in Conversions Section","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-06/shop-diagnostics-tab-conversions-section/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-06-24"}],"id":"2026-06-24-shop-diagnostics-tab-in-conversions"},{"date":"2026-06-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Help doc added how to control 'Found by Google' products via a pause attribute rule or data-nosnippet","summary":"Google documented two ways to remove unwanted crawled products: set the pause attribute to 'all' via an attribute rule so they are archived after 14 days, or add the data-nosnippet HTML attribute on the site to stop Google discovering them.","details":"- Help doc: https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/14996874.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google On How To Remove Found By Google Products In Merchant Center","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-remove-found-by-google-products-41555.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-06-24"}],"id":"2026-06-24-controlling-found-by-google-products-guidance"},{"date":"2026-06-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google published Agent Skills for Google Ads API, Data Manager API and Mobile Ads SDK integrations","summary":"Google launched a curated set of Agent Skills (following the open Agent Skills standard) in the Google skills repository, including google-ads-api-quickstart, google-ads-api-mcp-setup, data-manager-api-audience-ingestion and data-manager-api-event-ingestion, so AI coding agents load official integration guidance on demand.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"More autonomy, less context: Introducing Agent Skills for Google Advertising and Measurement","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/06/more-autonomy-less-context-introducing.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-06-24"}],"id":"2026-06-24-agent-skills-for-google-ads"},{"date":"2026-06-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API v24.2 released with multi-party approvals, synthetic content labeling and new experiment types","summary":"v24.2 (with minors v23.3, v22.2 and v21.2) added MultiPartyAuthReview support for sensitive user-access actions, SyntheticContentInfo/SyntheticContentAttestation on Asset and Ad for AI-generated creative labeling ahead of the EU AI Act, ad_network_type segmentation of performance_max_placement_view, YouTube brand channel data links, LANDING_PAGE_TEXT_GENERATION asset automation, COMPARE_CAMPAIGNS campaign-mix experiments and PMAX_TEXT_CUSTOMIZATION_FINAL_URL_EXPANSION experiments, plus Local Services Ads in Performance Max and creator topic insights.","details":"Advertiser attestation fields (`synthetic_content_info.advertiser_attestation.status`/`source`) were exposed but immutable in v22-v24.2 and became fully mutable in v25. Google also revamped the release notes format to list breaking changes separately and added a 'Feature deprecations and unversioned changes' guide. v24.2 sunset: June 2027.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Announcing v24.2 of the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/06/announcing-v242-of-google-ads-api.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-06-24"},{"title":"Release notes (v24.2, 2026-06-24)","url":"https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/release-notes","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2026-06-24"}],"id":"2026-06-24-ads-api-v24-2-released"},{"date":"2026-06-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Google began a small US experiment adding 'Strongest match' and 'Strong match' labels to Search ads","summary":"Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin confirmed a limited US experiment that labels certain sponsored results as 'Strongest match' or 'Strong match' using existing quality and relevance signals, without changing the auction.","details":"Confirmed by Google on social media rather than through a blog post. Sources: Search Engine Roundtable Jun 23, Search Engine Land and Search Engine Journal Jun 24, SER Aug 7 for live sightings.","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Testing Strongest Match & Strong Match Labels","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-strongest-match-and-strong-match-labels-41561.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-06-23"},{"title":"Google Tests 'Strongest Match' Labels On Search Ads","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-strongest-match-search-ad-labels-test/580378/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2026-06-23"},{"title":"Google tests 'Strongest match' labels on Search ads","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-tests-strongest-match-labels-on-search-ads-480978","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-06-24"},{"title":"Google Ads Live Tests Of Strong Match Labels","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-strong-match-labels-live-test-41836.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-08-07"}],"id":"2026-06-23-strongest-match-labels-test"},{"date":"2026-06-23","effective_date":"2026-09-23","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"Deprecation","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Creation of new Smart Campaigns via the Google Ads API ends September 23, 2026","summary":"Attempts to create campaigns with advertising_channel_type SMART fail with SmartCampaignError.CREATION_FAILED (v24) or OperationAccessDeniedError.CREATE_OPERATION_NOT_PERMITTED (v23 and earlier) from September 23, 2026; existing Smart Campaigns can still be updated and keep serving. The start date was moved from August 5 to September 23, 2026 on August 13.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Changes to Support for Smart Campaigns in the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/06/changes-to-support-for-smart-campaigns.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-06-23"}],"id":"2026-06-23-smart-campaign-creation-ends"},{"date":"2026-06-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Gmail ads moved to the bottom of the Promotions and Social tabs on desktop","summary":"Hana Kobzova noticed desktop Gmail now places ads at the bottom of the Promotions and Social tabs instead of at the top or mixed into the inbox.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Gmail Ads Move to the Bottom of Promotions and Social Tabs","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-06/gmail-ads-move-bottom-promotions-social-tabs/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-06-23"}],"id":"2026-06-23-gmail-ads-moved-to-bottom-of-tabs"},{"date":"2026-06-23","effective_date":"2026-07-23","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Financial services verification extended to 24 additional EEA markets","summary":"Advertisers promoting banking, credit, investment, insurance and related products in 24 EEA countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden) must complete Financial Services verification when requested, with rolling enforcement from July 23, 2026.","details":"Extends the verification program already in place in markets such as the UK, Ireland, Germany, Spain and others.","regions":"EEA","sources":[{"title":"Introducing New Verification Requirements for Certain Financial Services Advertisers (June 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17127726","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-06-23"}],"id":"2026-06-23-financial-services-verification-extended-to-24"},{"date":"2026-06-23","effective_date":"2026-07-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Destination mismatch policy allowed cross-domain redirects with prior approval","summary":"From early July 2026, redirects from an ad's final URL to a different domain are allowed in certain circumstances with prior approval, notably for CPG manufacturers sending users to pre-approved retailer sites.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Destination Requirements Policy (June 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17140995","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-06-23"}],"id":"2026-06-23-destination-mismatch-policy-allowed-cross-domain"},{"date":"2026-06-22","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Server-to-server conversions now joined with browser signals when a GCLID is present","summary":"Google recovers conversions previously undercounted in server-to-server setups lacking browser cookie context by pairing server data with browser signals when a GCLID exists, improving Google Ads attribution for sGTM and API-based conversion senders.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Release notes - Tag Manager Help","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/4620708","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2026-06-22"}],"id":"2026-06-22-sgtm-server-to-server-conversion-recovery"},{"date":"2026-06-22","effective_date":"2026-07-08","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Online lottery ads permitted in Peru with MIMP technical opinion","summary":"From July 8, 2026, lottery operators with a favorable technical opinion from Peru's Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations may be certified to advertise online lotteries in Peru.","details":"","regions":"Peru","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy: Peru (June 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17134487","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-06-22"}],"id":"2026-06-22-online-lottery-ads-permitted-in-peru"},{"date":"2026-06-19","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Bid strategy labels reverted from 'Maximize conversions with a Target CPA' back to 'Target CPA'/'Target ROAS'","summary":"Advertisers began seeing the shorter names in the interface; Google confirmed through its Ads API blog that bidding behavior was unchanged.","details":"On July 28 Natasha Kaurra spotted Target CPA and Target ROAS presented as standalone options in campaign setup rather than as optional targets under Maximize conversions (Search Engine Land, Search Engine Roundtable Jul 29).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads brings back Target CPA and Target ROAS naming","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-brings-back-target-cpa-and-target-roas-naming-480690","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-06-19"},{"title":"Google Ads Smart Bidding Strategies Target CPA & Target ROAS Updates","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-target-cpa-roas-updates-41539.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-06-22"},{"title":"Google Ads appears to separate Target CPA and Target ROAS bidding strategies","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-appears-to-separate-target-cpa-and-target-roas-bidding-strategies-483786","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-07-28"},{"title":"Google Ads Target CPA & Target ROAS As Explicit Bidding Strategy Options","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-target-cpa-target-roas-bidding-options-41770.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-29"}],"id":"2026-06-19-target-cpa-target-roas-names-restored"},{"date":"2026-06-19","effective_date":"2026-08-18","product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Announced","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"Advertisers using Enhanced Conversions plus Customer Match were auto-enrolled in conversion-based lists","summary":"Menachem Ani shared the notification on X that Google would automatically turn on conversion-based customer lists for eligible advertisers, with data processing starting August 18 unless they opt out.","details":"Reported by Search Engine Land and Search Engine Roundtable on June 19. Google had described automatic classification of conversion-based lists two days earlier, but the auto-enrollment mechanics were surfaced via advertiser notifications.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads automatically enrolls advertisers in conversion-based customer lists","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-automatically-enrols-advertisers-in-conversion-based-customer-lists-480693","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-06-19"},{"title":"Google Ads Turning On Conversion-Based Customer Lists For Advertisers","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-conversion-based-customer-lists-41529.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-06-19"}],"id":"2026-06-19-auto-enrollment-conversion-based-customer-lists"},{"date":"2026-06-18","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Admin API added UpdateReportingIdentitySettings and can_edit on PropertySummary","summary":"Developers can now update a property's reporting identity via the Admin API v1alpha, and PropertySummary exposes a can_edit flag indicating whether the caller may edit property settings.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Analytics Admin API changelog","url":"https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/config/admin/v1/changelog","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2026-06-18"}],"id":"2026-06-18-admin-api-update-reporting-identity"},{"date":"2026-06-17","effective_date":"2026-08-18","product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Conversion-based customer lists to be auto-assigned a customer type from August 18, 2026","summary":"Google notified accounts that from August 18, 2026 it will process conversion-based customer lists and automatically assign each eligible list a customer type (existing, new, other) unless the advertiser labels or opts out first, which affects new-customer acquisition bidding.","details":"Surfaced through in-product notifications from June 17, 2026; no Help Center or blog post was found. Mislabeled lists can silently skew Smart Bidding for acquisition goals.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Auto-Labels Customer Lists: Prep for August","url":"https://www.digitalapplied.com/blog/google-ads-customer-type-labeling-2026-advertiser-guide","publisher":"Digital Applied","date":"2026-06-17"}],"id":"2026-06-17-customer-type-auto-labeling-conversion-lists"},{"date":"2026-06-17","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Campaign status badges changed from solid color fills to minimalist outlined badges","summary":"Saquib Syed reported on LinkedIn that campaign statuses now use colored borders with transparent backgrounds in a quiet design refresh.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Updates Its Campaign Status User Interface","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-updates-campaign-status-interface-41507.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-06-17"}],"id":"2026-06-17-campaign-status-badges-outlined-redesign"},{"date":"2026-06-16","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Search","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Target CPA and Target ROAS decoupled from Maximize strategies in Google Ads naming and API strategy types","summary":"From June 2026 Google Ads renamed 'Maximize conversions with a Target CPA' to 'Target CPA' and 'Maximize conversion value with a Target ROAS' to 'Target ROAS', prioritizing standalone TARGET_CPA and TARGET_ROAS strategy types over Maximize strategies with optional targets for applicable campaign types such as Search. Developers should review parsing of BiddingStrategyType and campaign creation logic.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Smart Bidding Strategy Naming and Organization in Google Ads","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/06/updates-to-smart-bidding-strategy.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-06-16"}],"id":"2026-06-16-smart-bidding-strategy-naming"},{"date":"2026-06-16","effective_date":"2026-07-15","product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Demand Gen campaigns using view-through optimization on Discover were moved from CPC to CPM billing","summary":"Anthony Higman shared a notification that from July 15 Demand Gen campaigns using VTC optimization on Discover would be billed per thousand impressions; disabling VTC optimization opts out.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-06-16); PPC News Feed (2026-06-16).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads shifts Demand Gen billing to CPM for some Discover campaigns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-shifts-demand-gen-billing-to-cpm-for-some-discover-campaigns-480300","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-06-16"},{"title":"Billing Update for Demand Gen with VTC","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-06/billing-update-demand-gen-vtc/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-06-16"}],"id":"2026-06-16-demand-gen-discover-vtc-billing-moved-to-cpm"},{"date":"2026-06-16","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"'Limited by budget' and 'Limited by bid strategy' status labels were tested in a softer badge design","summary":"Hana Kobzova noticed redesigned limitation badges in the Status column with a less intrusive appearance.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Tests New Campaign Limitation Labels","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-06/google-tests-new-campaign-limitation-labels/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-06-16"}],"id":"2026-06-16-campaign-limitation-labels-redesign-test"},{"date":"2026-06-15","effective_date":"2026-08-17","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Announced","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Target CPA/ROAS bidding changed so budget-limited campaigns deliver at target instead of overperforming","summary":"Starting August 17, 2026 (completed globally August 27), budget-limited campaigns using Target CPA, Target ROAS or Demand Gen Target CPC bid more consistently toward the set target rather than beating it. A campaign set to a $10 CPA that had been achieving $5 will move toward $10. Applies to Search, Shopping, Performance Max, Demand Gen and Travel campaigns.","details":"Excluded: App, Video reach and Video view campaigns; manual CPC, Target Impression Share and Target CPM are unaffected. Advertisers whose campaigns had been outperforming targets should lower targets to recent performance or switch to a volume strategy. Google released a Bid Target Adjustment Tool on July 6 to review campaigns that were 'Limited by budget' over the prior 12 months.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Frequently asked questions about changes to Target-based bid strategies","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/17125145?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-06-15"},{"title":"Bidding and Budgeting Updates to Scale Your Growth","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/bidding-and-budgeting-updates-to-scale-your-growth/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-06-15"},{"title":"Google Ads forces some CPAs to double starting August 17","url":"https://ppc.land/google-ads-forces-some-cpas-to-double-starting-august-17/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-07-02"},{"title":"Google Ads updates target-based bidding for budget-limited campaigns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-updates-target-based-bidding-for-budget-limited-campaigns-480752","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-06-15"}],"id":"2026-06-15-target-based-bidding-budget-limited-change"},{"date":"2026-06-15","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Smart Bidding Exploration launched for all feedless Performance Max campaigns; beta for Shopping ads","summary":"Smart Bidding Exploration is now available globally in all languages for Performance Max campaigns without a product feed, and in beta for Shopping ads in both feed-based Performance Max and standard Shopping campaigns. Advertisers set a ROAS tolerance to reach converting users from unexpected queries.","details":"Google cites an 18% increase in unique converting search query categories and 19% more conversions from internal 2025 data.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Bidding and Budgeting Updates to Scale Your Growth","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/bidding-and-budgeting-updates-to-scale-your-growth/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-06-15"},{"title":"Google expands Smart Bidding Exploration, adds Promotion Mode","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-expands-smart-bidding-exploration-adds-promotion-mode-480165","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-06-15"},{"title":"Google Ads Promotion Mode Beta, Smart Bidding Exploration Expands & Bidding Target Optimization Changes","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-promotion-mode-smart-bidding-bidding-target-41501.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-06-15"}],"id":"2026-06-15-smart-bidding-exploration-pmax-ga-shopping-beta"},{"date":"2026-06-15","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Promotion mode launched in beta for Search and Performance Max to schedule temporary ROAS and budget changes","summary":"Promotion mode lets advertisers schedule a 3-to-14-day window in which ROAS tolerance is temporarily loosened and extra daily budget is added, then automatically reverts. Compatible with daily and campaign total budgets.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Bidding and Budgeting Updates to Scale Your Growth","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/bidding-and-budgeting-updates-to-scale-your-growth/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-06-15"},{"title":"Promotion mode is here - Google's Ginny Marvin explains what actually changed","url":"https://ppc.land/promotion-mode-is-here-googles-ginny-marvin-explains-what-actually-changed/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-06-15"}],"id":"2026-06-15-promotion-mode-beta"},{"date":"2026-06-15","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"A 'Good price' label was spotted on Shopping product carousels","summary":"Sachin Patel shared the label on X; Search Engine Roundtable could not replicate it and noted Google rotates many such labels.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-06-15); PPC News Feed (2026-06-15).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Shopping Results With Good Price Label","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-shopping-good-price-41503.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-06-15"},{"title":"'Good Price' Text Appears in Shopping Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-06/good-price-text-appears-shopping-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-06-15"}],"id":"2026-06-15-good-price-label-shopping"},{"date":"2026-06-15","effective_date":"2026-07-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Daily fantasy sports ads permitted in Colorado for state-licensed operators","summary":"From July 1, 2026, DFS operators licensed by Colorado's Division of Gaming may be certified to advertise in Colorado.","details":"","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy: Colorado, USA (June 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17117810","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-06-15"}],"id":"2026-06-15-daily-fantasy-sports-ads-permitted-in"},{"date":"2026-06-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Retired","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Search Lost IS (budget) was reported spiking to 79-90% despite stable spend, suggesting a reporting bug","summary":"Rakshit Shetty flagged abnormal Search Lost IS (budget) values across multiple accounts and bid strategies on LinkedIn.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Issues Reported With Google's Search Lost IS","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-06/issues-reported-google-s-search-lost/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-06-12"}],"id":"2026-06-12-search-lost-is-budget-spikes"},{"date":"2026-06-12","effective_date":"2026-06-12","product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Policy","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Limited ad serving policy extended to Google Search with phased rollout through 2028","summary":"Google expanded Limited ad serving to additional Search scenarios, restricting impressions from unqualified advertisers on queries more likely to produce negative experiences. Advertisers qualify through clear branding, verification and best practices such as pinning their domain in headlines. Rollout is gradual and completes by 2028.","details":"Followed in August 2026 by an expansion to all Google Ads products.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Limited ad serving Policy (June 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17122370","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-06-12"},{"title":"Google expands limited ad serving policy to Google Search from June 2026","url":"https://ppc.land/google-expands-limited-ad-serving-policy-to-google-search-from-june-2026/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-06-12"}],"id":"2026-06-12-limited-ad-serving-policy-extended-to"},{"date":"2026-06-12","effective_date":"2026-06-29","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"France gambling policy updated to make statutory lottery monopoly operators certifiable","summary":"From June 29, 2026, France's statutory lottery monopoly operators became eligible for gambling certification after completing Google's certification process.","details":"","regions":"France","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy: France (June 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17101147","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-06-12"}],"id":"2026-06-12-france-gambling-policy-updated-to-make"},{"date":"2026-06-11","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Search ads tested showing image assets inside the sitelinks section","summary":"Anthony Higman shared a narrow test in which images rendered alongside sitelinks; Search Engine Roundtable could not replicate it.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-06-11); PPC News Feed (2026-06-11).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Sitelinks With Images","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-images-sitelinks-41491.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-06-11"},{"title":"Multiple Image Assets Alongside Sitelinks","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-06/multiple-image-assets-alongside-sitelinks/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-06-11"}],"id":"2026-06-11-images-inside-sitelinks-test"},{"date":"2026-06-11","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 introduced a Source Group field and updated Source Platform values","summary":"Source grouping consolidates variant source values (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) into single reporting values and improves Source Platform classifications, including emerging sources such as ChatGPT; applies retroactively to historical data.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new in Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9164320","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-06-11"},{"title":"Google Analytics adds source grouping and hostname filtering","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-analytics-adds-source-grouping-and-hostname-filtering-480096","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-06-12"}],"id":"2026-06-11-ga4-source-group-field"},{"date":"2026-06-11","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 added a Hostname data filter to exclude events from unapproved domains","summary":"A new Data Filter type excludes events by hostname, helping properties keep spam or staging-domain traffic out of reports.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new in Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9164320","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-06-11"},{"title":"Google Analytics adds source grouping and hostname filtering","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-analytics-adds-source-grouping-and-hostname-filtering-480096","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-06-12"}],"id":"2026-06-11-ga4-hostname-data-filter"},{"date":"2026-06-11","effective_date":"2027-02-01","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Search","type":"Deprecation","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Dynamic Search Ads auto-migration to AI Max delayed to February 2027 and DSA creation restored","summary":"Google postponed the automatic upgrade of DSA campaigns to AI Max from September 2026 to February 2027 and restored the ability to create new DSAs on June 15, 2026; DSA creation will be removed in January 2027 before auto-migration in February 2027.","details":"The August 12, 2026 post added: in-account pre-migration banners from September 2026, an official reminder on January 15, 2027, and automigration between February 1-28, 2027 converting unmigrated DSA campaigns to standard Search ad groups with AI Max enabled.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) Automigration Delayed to February 2027 and Campaign Creation Restored","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/06/dynamic-search-ads-dsa-automigration.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-06-11"},{"title":"Migrate Campaign-level Broad Match and Automatically Created Assets to AI Max","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/08/migrate-campaign-level-broad-match-and.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-08-12"}],"id":"2026-06-11-dsa-automigration-delayed"},{"date":"2026-06-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Ads Liaison clarified AI Max is not required for AI Overviews/AI Mode ads and no separate AI Search reporting","summary":"In a PPC Chat Q&A after Google Marketing Live, Ginny Marvin said broad match campaigns remain eligible for AI search placements without AI Max, that AI placements are reported with other top-of-page ads, and that AI Brief will ship with positive and negative instruction controls.","details":"Search Engine Land summarized the session on June 10; the PPC Chat transcript was posted June 9. Marvin followed up on July 13 via the Ads Decoded LinkedIn newsletter clarifying Qualified Future Conversions is a supplemental metric.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Ginny Marvin clarifies AI Max, AI Search ads and what advertisers should prioritize after GML","url":"https://searchengineland.com/ginny-marvin-clarifies-ai-max-ai-search-ads-and-what-advertisers-should-prioritize-after-gml-479838","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-06-10"},{"title":"All Your Google Marketing Live 2026 Questions Answered with Ginny Marvin","url":"https://officialppcchat.com/2026/06/09/all-your-google-marketing-live-2026-questions-answered-with-ginny-marvin/","publisher":"PPCChat","date":"2026-06-09"},{"title":"Google's Marvin Clarifies AI Search and Qualified Future Conversions","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/googles-marvin-clarifies-ai-search-and-qualified-future-conversions/582185/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2026-07-13"}],"id":"2026-06-10-marvin-post-gml-clarifications-ai-max-eligibility"},{"date":"2026-06-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Search ad sitelinks tested blue dotted underlines on mobile","summary":"Spotted by @gaganghotra_, @b4k_khushal and SERPalerts on X; Google did not confirm.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-06-10); PPC News Feed (2026-06-10).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Tests Blue Dotted Underlines Sitelinks On Sponsored Listings","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-blue-dotted-underlines-sitelinks-41474.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-06-10"},{"title":"Google Tests Dotted Underline Sitelinks in Search Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-06/google-tests-dotted-underline-sitelinks-search-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-06-10"}],"id":"2026-06-10-dotted-underline-sitelinks-test"},{"date":"2026-06-09","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Sponsored results tested 'top pages' links listing a domain's top pages beneath the ad","summary":"Arpan Banerjee shared a screenshot of sitelink-like 'top pages' links under a Search ad.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Testing Top Pages Links","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-top-pages-links-41467.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-06-09"}],"id":"2026-06-09-top-pages-links-in-sponsored-results-test"},{"date":"2026-06-08","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Local Services","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 added Google Business Profile linking with seven local metrics","summary":"Properties can link Google Business Profiles in Admin to import interactions, calls, bookings, directions, website clicks, messages and menu metrics on a rolling six-month window.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new in Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9164320","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-06-08"}],"id":"2026-06-08-ga4-google-business-profile-linking"},{"date":"2026-06-05","effective_date":"2026-07-31","product":"Google Ads","area":"Local Services","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Local Services Ads policies restructured and renamed 'Local Services Ads requirements'","summary":"Google reorganized Local Services policies, removed outdated requirements, refined terminology and renamed them Local Services Ads requirements, effective July 31, 2026, in step with Google Guarantee badge changes.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Local Services Ads policy update (June 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17083421","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-06-05"}],"id":"2026-06-05-local-services-ads-policies-restructured-and"},{"date":"2026-06-04","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Policy","status":"Retired","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Merchant Center issued mass 'Product page unavailable' disapprovals for live product pages","summary":"Arpan Banerjee saw the false disapprovals across more than ten accounts and Chelsea Harding confirmed the same on LinkedIn; the glitch may have been tied to a Shopify outage.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Merchant Center Mass Product Page Unavailable Notices Last Night?","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-merchant-center-mass-product-page-unavailable-41450.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-06-04"}],"id":"2026-06-04-gmc-mass-product-page-unavailable-notices"},{"date":"2026-06-03","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Restricted targeting guidance clarified for sensitive categories in Demand Gen and Discovery","summary":"Google clarified how sensitive interest categories affect serving for Demand Gen and Discovery campaigns under the Restricted targeting section of the Personalized advertising policy.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Restricted targeting in Personalized advertising (June 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17135641","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-06-03"}],"id":"2026-06-03-restricted-targeting-guidance-clarified-for-sensitive"},{"date":"2026-06-03","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Hotel & Travel","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Retired","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Hotel campaigns lost check-in day, advance booking and length-of-stay bid adjustments; Google confirmed a bug","summary":"Ethan H. and Dean Schmit reported the missing bid adjustments on LinkedIn. The AdsLiaison account confirmed on June 5 it was a bug and the options were restored by June 9.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Hotel Ads Drops Several Bid Adjustments - A Bug?","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-drops-several-bid-adjustments-for-hotel-ads-41444.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-06-03"}],"id":"2026-06-03-hotel-ads-bid-adjustments-disappeared-bug"},{"date":"2026-06-03","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google tag gateway for advertisers via Amazon CloudFront became available with a Tag Assistant workflow","summary":"A guided workflow in Tag Assistant configures the gateway for advertisers using Amazon CloudFront as their CDN.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Release notes - Tag Manager Help","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/4620708","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2026-06-03"},{"title":"Set up Google tag gateway for advertisers on Amazon CloudFront via Tag Assistant","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/17133552","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-06-03"}],"id":"2026-06-03-google-tag-gateway-amazon-cloudfront"},{"date":"2026-06-02","effective_date":"2026-07-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads Terms of Service updated for AI features, effective July 1, 2026","summary":"The updated terms authorize Google to use automated features to format, select or generate targets, ads and destinations on the advertiser's behalf, clarify that inputs to conversational tools and authorized URLs may be used to improve campaigns, keep advertisers responsible for reviewing generated assets, and revise arbitration and regional fee language.","details":"Regional changes include revised or removed arbitration provisions in some jurisdictions, new regulatory-fee references, and clarification of Google BR's role in Brazil. Advertisers were notified in-account.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads updates terms of service ahead of July 2026 rollout","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-updates-terms-of-service-ahead-of-july-2026-rollout-479255","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-06-02"},{"title":"Google Ads tells advertisers how their inputs will be used starting July 2026","url":"https://ppc.land/google-ads-tells-advertisers-how-their-inputs-will-be-used-starting-july-2026/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-06-02"}],"id":"2026-06-02-terms-of-service-update-july-2026"},{"date":"2026-06-02","effective_date":"2026-06-02","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Prediction market ads prohibited in Ohio","summary":"Google restricted advertising of prediction market contracts and related products in Ohio, effective immediately.","details":"","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Update to Prediction Markets (June 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17109636","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-06-02"}],"id":"2026-06-02-prediction-market-ads-prohibited-in-ohio"},{"date":"2026-06-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Vehicle ads launched for all auto advertisers in Japan","summary":"Google made Vehicle ads available to all vehicle advertisers in Japan, who can upload vehicle data sources to Merchant Center and run Performance Max campaigns; clicks lead to the Vehicle Description Page.","details":"Google's notice is dated June 2026 (month only). Ads show make, model, price, kilometers and advertiser name; parts, accessories, tires and services are excluded.","regions":"Japan only","sources":[{"title":"Vehicle ads available to Japan advertisers","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/17118636?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-06-01"},{"title":"Merchant Center announcements change log","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/announcements/6192467?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-11"}],"id":"2026-06-01-vehicle-ads-japan"},{"date":"2026-06-01","effective_date":"2026-06-24","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Online lottery ads permitted in Vietnam for Vietlott-authorized entities","summary":"From June 24, 2026, entities authorized by Vietlott and certified by Google may advertise online lottery products in Vietnam.","details":"Google's change log dates this entry to June 2026.","regions":"Vietnam","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy: Vietnam (June 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17094102","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-06-01"}],"id":"2026-06-01-online-lottery-ads-permitted-in-vietnam"},{"date":"2026-06-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Invalid Activity Credit Report added to Report Editor for Search and Performance Max","summary":"A new report shows invalid-click credits by campaign and network for Search and Performance Max, with adjusted cost, clicks and interactions after invalid traffic is removed, reducing manual reconciliation.","details":"Listed as an April 2026 item on the Search Partner Network announcements page; the Help article was noticed June 1.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"About the Invalid Activity Credit Report","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16826168?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-06-01"},{"title":"Search partner network (SPN) announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16286960?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-04-15"},{"title":"Google Ads New Invalid Activity Credit Report","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-invalid-activity-credit-report-41423.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-06-01"}],"id":"2026-06-01-invalid-activity-credit-report"},{"date":"2026-06-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Google confirmed a limited test of healthcare ads inside AI Mode","summary":"Google confirmed it is running a small test of healthcare-related ads within AI Mode responses, extending AI Mode ad inventory to a sensitive vertical.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Begins Limited Test Of Healthcare Ads In AI Mode","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-healthcare-ads-ai-mode-41420.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-06-01"}],"id":"2026-06-01-healthcare-ads-ai-mode-test"},{"date":"2026-06-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google tag gateway for advertisers via Google Cloud Platform reached general availability","summary":"The GCP integration left beta, using Google Cloud's global external Application Load Balancer to send measurement data through first-party infrastructure before relaying to Google; confidential-computing support was announced as coming soon.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Release notes - Tag Manager Help","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/4620708","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2026-06-01"},{"title":"Google tag gateway for advertisers hits general availability on Google Cloud","url":"https://ppc.land/google-tag-gateway-for-advertisers-hits-general-availability-on-google-cloud/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-06-01"}],"id":"2026-06-01-google-tag-gateway-gcp-ga"},{"date":"2026-06-01","effective_date":"2026-07-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"Google Ads Terms of Service updated for AI features, arbitration and regulatory fees","summary":"Google notified advertisers that new Terms of Service take effect July 1, 2026, formalizing how advertiser inputs and provided URLs/accounts may be used across AI-powered features, reinforcing the duty to review auto-generated campaigns and assets, revising arbitration language by region, and adding jurisdiction-specific regulatory fees.","details":"Also designates Google BR as the entity monetizing ad space in Brazil.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads tells advertisers how their inputs will be used starting July 2026","url":"https://ppc.land/google-ads-tells-advertisers-how-their-inputs-will-be-used-starting-july-2026/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-06-01"},{"title":"Google Ads Terms of Service Updated For AI Changes After 8 Years","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-06/google-ads-terms-of-service-updated/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-06-01"}],"id":"2026-06-01-google-ads-terms-of-service-updated"},{"date":"2026-05-31","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Attribute rules extended to automatically found (crawled) products in Merchant Center","summary":"Attribute rules, previously limited to products supplied through feeds, now apply to products Google discovers automatically from a merchant's website. Merchants are being prompted to apply rules to these crawled products.","details":"- First shared by Vojtěch Audy on LinkedIn; reported by Hana Kobzová.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"GMC Expands Attribute Rules to Automatically Found Products","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-05/gmc-expands-attribute-rules-automatically-found-products/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-05-31"},{"title":"Google Merchant Center Attribute Rules For Automatically Found Products","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-merchant-center-attribute-rules-for-automatically-found-products-41422.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-06-04"}],"id":"2026-05-31-attribute-rules-automatically-found-products"},{"date":"2026-05-29","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"'1st order price' label was spotted again on Shopping ads for first-time-customer discounts","summary":"Sachin Patel shared a Shopping ad carrying a '1st order price' label. PPC News Feed had spotted a similar 'First order' label in March.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-05-29); PPC News Feed (2026-03-16).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google 1st Order Price Labels On Shopping Ads (Again)","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-1st-order-price-label-41386.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-05-29"},{"title":"'First Order' Label Spotted in Shopping Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-03/first-order-label-spotted-shopping-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-03-16"}],"id":"2026-05-29-first-order-price-label-shopping-ads"},{"date":"2026-05-29","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"AI Max campaigns gained a 'Branded searches' setting with all/controlled/unbranded-only options","summary":"Thomas Eccel shared a screenshot on LinkedIn of a new AI Max control offering three options: show on all searches, control branded via inclusions/exclusions, or show only on unbranded searches. Google had not announced it.","details":"Reported by Search Engine Land on May 29, PPC Land on June 1 and Search Engine Roundtable on June 1. It addresses a top advertiser complaint about brand traffic in AI Max.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google appears to be testing new branded search controls in AI Max campaigns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-appears-to-be-testing-new-branded-search-controls-in-ai-max-campaigns-479088","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-05-29"},{"title":"Google Ads gets branded search controls inside AI Max","url":"https://ppc.land/google-ads-gets-branded-search-controls-inside-ai-max/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-06-01"},{"title":"Google Ads New Branded Searches Controls For AI Max","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-branded-searches-controls-41418.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-06-01"}],"id":"2026-05-29-ai-max-branded-searches-controls"},{"date":"2026-05-27","effective_date":"2026-06-02","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Video","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Reach metrics switched to a Total Co-view definition from June 2, 2026","summary":"Campaign-level unique_users, average_impression_frequency_per_user and the unique_users_N_plus metrics now count all co-viewers of connected TV impressions, aligning the API, UI and Editor with offline media measurement; no code changes are required but reported reach and frequency values change from the launch date.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Standardizing Reach Metrics with Total Co-view in the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/05/standardizing-reach-metrics-with-total.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-05-27"}],"id":"2026-05-27-total-co-view-reach-metrics"},{"date":"2026-05-27","effective_date":"2026-06-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Deprecation","status":"Announced","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Hourly, daily and weekly reporting data to be deleted after 37 months starting June 1, 2026","summary":"Under a new data retention policy, Google Ads keeps hourly, daily and weekly performance data for 37 months and reach/frequency metrics for 3 years, while monthly, quarterly and yearly data stays for 11 years. Older granular data disappears from the UI and API.","details":"Advertisers relying on long daily histories for MMM or benchmarking need to export and warehouse data before it expires.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Data retention policy","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/15188209?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-05-27"},{"title":"Google Ads will start deleting historical reporting data after set retention periods","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-will-start-deleting-historical-reporting-data-after-set-retention-periods-478795","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-05-27"},{"title":"Google Ads To Delete Short Term Performance Data June 1, 2026","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-delete-performance-data-41403.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-05-28"}],"id":"2026-05-27-reporting-data-retention-37-months"},{"date":"2026-05-27","effective_date":"2026-06-15","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Merchant Center Terms of Service updated effective June 15, 2026 to broaden data usage for AI surfaces","summary":"Google issued updated Merchant Center Terms of Service (the first since October 2022) effective June 15, 2026, expanding what content Google may access, crawl, analyze and cache, including merchant marketing emails and content linked from feeds, and adding forward-looking language for future products. Continued use constitutes acceptance.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Expands Merchant Data Usage in New Merchant Center Terms as AI Shopping Evolves","url":"https://www.searchen.com/2026/05/27/google-expands-merchant-data-usage-in-new-merchant-center-terms-as-ai-shopping-evolves/","publisher":"Searchen Networks","date":"2026-05-27"}],"id":"2026-05-27-merchant-center-terms-of-service-update"},{"date":"2026-05-27","effective_date":"2026-07-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Ireland gambling advertisers required to hold GRAI licence and re-certify by September 1, 2026","summary":"From July 1, 2026, online gambling operators targeting Ireland must be licensed by the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland; existing advertisers must re-certify with GRAI credentials by September 1, 2026 or lose certification.","details":"","regions":"Ireland","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy: Ireland (May 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17079109","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-05-27"}],"id":"2026-05-27-ireland-gambling-advertisers-required-to-hold"},{"date":"2026-05-27","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Announced","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"AI performance insights announced for Merchant Center to show visibility in AI Mode, AI Overviews and Gemini","summary":"Google announced AI performance insights in Merchant Center covering share of voice versus similar brands on AI surfaces, shopping-funnel performance, product term insights and product attribute completeness, rolling out over the following months in the US, Canada, Australia, India and New Zealand.","details":"Announced at Google Marketing Live 2026 and in the Merchant Center Help Center on May 27, 2026. The report measures organic visibility on AI surfaces rather than paid metrics, and Google noted AI Mode had passed one billion monthly users.","regions":"US, Canada, Australia, India, New Zealand","sources":[{"title":"Insights for AI-powered shopping experiences coming soon","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/17117204?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-05-27"},{"title":"Merchant Center announcements change log","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/announcements/6192467?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-11"},{"title":"Google's new Merchant Center report tracks your brand in AI Mode","url":"https://ppc.land/googles-new-merchant-center-report-tracks-your-brand-in-ai-mode/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-05-27"}],"id":"2026-05-27-ai-performance-insights"},{"date":"2026-05-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Shopping ads tested enlarging and expanding on mouse hover to reveal extra copy","summary":"Sachin Patel and Anthony Higman observed Shopping ads growing on hover to show additional details. Google did not confirm the test.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Tests Growing Expanding Shopping Ads","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-growing-expanding-shopping-ads-41374.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-05-26"}],"id":"2026-05-26-expanding-shopping-ads-on-hover-test"},{"date":"2026-05-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Display","type":"Deprecation","status":"Announced","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Standalone Display campaigns to be retired as GDN moves into Demand Gen; migration tool from June","summary":"Google announced that Display campaigns are transitioning into Demand Gen, where advertisers can still serve exclusively on GDN. A migration tool appears in Google Ads from June 2026, new standalone Display campaign creation ends later in 2026, and remaining eligible campaigns are auto-migrated with the transition expected to complete by 2027.","details":"Google cites a 9.5% average ROI increase when GDN is added to Demand Gen. Demand Gen brings carousel ads, expanded video formats, lookalikes, generative image tools and channel-level reporting to former Display advertisers. Google Ads Editor 2.13 added 'classic display assets' support for Demand Gen image ads to help the migration.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Display Ads has a new home in Demand Gen","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-display-ads-demand-gen/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-05-26"},{"title":"Google Is Retiring Standalone Display Campaigns In Favor Of Demand Gen","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-is-retiring-standalone-display-campaigns-in-favor-of-demand-gen/575889/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2026-05-26"},{"title":"Google's Display Ads are dead - here is what replaces them in 2026","url":"https://ppc.land/googles-display-ads-are-dead-here-is-what-replaces-them-in-2026/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-05-26"}],"id":"2026-05-26-display-campaigns-fold-into-demand-gen"},{"date":"2026-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Six optional conversational attributes added to help AI Mode and Gemini understand products","summary":"Google introduced question_and_answer, document_link, related_product, item_group_title, variant_option and popularity_rank as optional attributes that help AI shopping surfaces answer conversational queries. They can be submitted via a supplemental data source (recommended), the primary source or the Merchant API and do not affect approval status.","details":"Rolled out globally and highlighted at Google Marketing Live 2026 on May 20, 2026; help documentation was spotted May 21 and covered widely by May 26.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"How to use conversational attributes","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/17085370?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-05-21"},{"title":"How we're helping retailers thrive with new Universal Commerce Protocol features and AI tools on Google","url":"https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/shopping/shopping-updates-google-marketing-live/","publisher":"Google Keyword Blog","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Google Merchant Center Conversational Attributes","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-merchant-center-conversational-attributes-41370.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-05-26"},{"title":"Google Merchant Center Introduces Conversational Attributes","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-05/google-merchant-center-introduces-conversational-attributes/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-05-21"}],"id":"2026-05-21-conversational-attributes"},{"date":"2026-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Universal Cart launched and UCP checkout expanded to Canada, Australia, the UK and YouTube","summary":"At Google Marketing Live 2026 Google introduced Universal Cart, a cross-retailer cart spanning Search, Gemini, YouTube and Gmail with Google Pay checkout, and said UCP checkout would extend to Canada and Australia, later the UK, plus YouTube in the US, with buy-now-pay-later via Affirm and Klarna. Merchants remain merchant of record.","details":"Launch partners included Nike, Sephora, Target, Ulta Beauty, Walmart, Wayfair and Shopify merchants. Universal Cart was slated for US Search and the Gemini app in summer 2026. UCP was also slated to reach Demand Gen and YouTube Shopping ads.","regions":"US, Canada, Australia, UK","sources":[{"title":"How we're helping retailers thrive with new Universal Commerce Protocol features and AI tools on Google","url":"https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/shopping/shopping-updates-google-marketing-live/","publisher":"Google Keyword Blog","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Google Shopping introduces Universal Cart, agentic shopping","url":"https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/shopping/google-shopping-cart/","publisher":"Google Keyword Blog","date":"2026-05-19"},{"title":"Google expands Universal Commerce Protocol and launches new agentic shopping tools","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-expands-universal-commerce-protocol-and-launches-new-agentic-shopping-tools-478113","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-05-20-universal-cart-and-ucp-checkout-expansion"},{"date":"2026-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GML 2026: Qualified Future Conversions metric introduced to predict conversions up to six months out","summary":"Qualified Future Conversions is a Gemini-powered predictive metric that links follow-on branded searches and site visits to forecast conversions up to six months after exposure, available in Google Ads and Google Marketing Platform.","details":"Announced alongside the Meridian integration into Analytics 360 (out of scope for this list).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2026: News and announcements","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-marketing-live-2026-collection/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2026: Everything you need to know","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-marketing-live-2026-everything-you-need-to-know-478167","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2026: every announcement that actually matters","url":"https://ppc.land/google-marketing-live-2026-every-announcement-that-actually-matters/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-05-20-gml-qualified-future-conversions"},{"date":"2026-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GML 2026: Product videos at scale announced, serving Merchant Center video libraries dynamically in Demand Gen","summary":"Advertisers will be able to connect their whole Merchant Center video library to Demand Gen so product-specific videos are chosen dynamically by user intent, removing the previous five-video upload limit.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Product videos at scale","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/product-videos-at-scale/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Fuel your next wave of growth on YouTube with Demand Gen","url":"https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/youtube/youtube-demand-gen-updates","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-05-20-gml-product-videos-at-scale"},{"date":"2026-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GML 2026: 1-click creative testing announced to auto-test new assets against current top performers","summary":"From Asset Studio, advertisers will be able to launch an A/B test of newly generated assets against existing top performers across Search, Display, YouTube and Shopping with one click. Global English rollout planned for summer 2026.","details":"PPC News Feed reported creative insights gaining A/B testing in August 2026.","regions":"Global (English)","sources":[{"title":"Asset Studio is entering a new era of AI-powered creativity","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/asset-studio-updates","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2026: every announcement that actually matters","url":"https://ppc.land/google-marketing-live-2026-every-announcement-that-actually-matters/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-05-20-gml-one-click-creative-testing"},{"date":"2026-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GML 2026: 'New prospects' customer acquisition mode added alongside new-customer value and new-customers-only","summary":"A third new customer acquisition mode targets people who have never searched for the brand, visited the site, engaged or purchased. Works across Performance Max, Search, Shopping and Demand Gen. Practitioners spotted the 'Only bid for new prospects' beta option in Performance Max in August 2026.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"New Customer Acquisition modes","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/new-customer-acquisition-modes/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Google Tests 'Only Bid for New Prospects' in Performance Max","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-08/google-tests-only-bid-new-prospects-performance-max/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-08-25"}],"id":"2026-05-20-gml-new-prospects-acquisition-mode"},{"date":"2026-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GML 2026: Missed opportunity reporting announced to show growth lost to budget and bid constraints","summary":"Interactive weekly charts will contrast actual performance against potential for Search, Shopping, Performance Max, Demand Gen, YouTube, App and Hotel campaigns, with bid and budget recommendations tied to seasonality and auction conditions.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Missed opportunity reporting","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/missed-opportunity-reporting/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2026: News and announcements","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-marketing-live-2026-collection/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-05-20-gml-missed-opportunity-reporting"},{"date":"2026-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Launch","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GML 2026: Message ads with RCS for Business announced to turn Search ad clicks into verified text chats","summary":"A new lead-gen format lets people continue from a Search ad into an RCS text conversation with a verified branded profile, with Google AI qualifying leads instantly and responding around the clock.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Message Ads with RCS for Business","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/message-ads-with-rcs-for-business/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2026: News and announcements","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-marketing-live-2026-collection/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-05-20-gml-message-ads-rcs"},{"date":"2026-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GML 2026: Leads in Google Ads launched as a built-in lead management dashboard for Google-hosted forms","summary":"A new Leads section under Conversions consolidates leads from Google-hosted forms (last 60 days) with contact details, status and funnel progression, and feeds lead-quality signals back into bidding. Reported live in accounts by May 29, 2026.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Leads in Google Ads","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/leads-in-google-ads/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Google Ads launches built-in lead management dashboard","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-launches-built-in-lead-management-dashboard-479068","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-05-29"},{"title":"Google Ads Leads Management Feature","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-lead-management-41416.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-06-01"}],"id":"2026-05-20-gml-leads-in-google-ads"},{"date":"2026-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GML 2026: Google Maps inventory added to Demand Gen with opt-in/opt-out channel control","summary":"Demand Gen ads can now reach people in Google Maps Browse, Directions and Place Details modes using non-disruptive formats such as Promoted Pins, with a channel control to include or exclude Maps.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Fuel your next wave of growth on YouTube with Demand Gen","url":"https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/youtube/youtube-demand-gen-updates","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Google Maps in Demand Gen","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/google-maps-in-demand-gen/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2026: every announcement that actually matters","url":"https://ppc.land/google-marketing-live-2026-every-announcement-that-actually-matters/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-05-20-gml-google-maps-demand-gen"},{"date":"2026-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GML 2026: Gemini Omni multimodal video creation announced for Asset Studio (summer rollout)","summary":"Google previewed Gemini Omni in Asset Studio, combining Gemini reasoning with generative media so advertisers can go from brief to storyboard to finished horizontal and vertical video in one workflow.","details":"Launched globally on August 26, 2026 (see separate entry).","regions":"Global (English)","sources":[{"title":"Asset Studio is entering a new era of AI-powered creativity","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/asset-studio-updates","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Multimodal Video Creation in Asset Studio","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/multimodal-video-creation-in-asset-studio/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-05-20-gml-gemini-omni-asset-studio-announced"},{"date":"2026-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GML 2026: Direct Offers pilot expanded with AI-built bundles, native UCP checkout and travel partners","summary":"Google expanded the Direct Offers pilot: advertisers can upload multiple promotions and Gemini assembles a relevant bundle per search, UCP merchants get faster native checkout, and travel partners such as Booking and Expedia can surface offers during trip planning.","details":"","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"A new generation of ads for the AI era of Search","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-marketing-live-search-ads","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Direct Offers","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/direct-offers/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2026: Everything you need to know","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-marketing-live-2026-everything-you-need-to-know-478167","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-05-20-gml-direct-offers-expanded"},{"date":"2026-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GML 2026: Demand Gen uplift experiments launched to measure incremental impact alongside Performance Max","summary":"A structured A/B experiment measures the statistically significant uplift in conversions, sales, CPA and ROAS from adding Demand Gen to an existing Performance Max or Search mix.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Demand Gen Uplift Experiments","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/demand-gen-uplift-experiments/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Fuel your next wave of growth on YouTube with Demand Gen","url":"https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/youtube/youtube-demand-gen-updates","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-05-20-gml-demand-gen-uplift-experiments"},{"date":"2026-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GML 2026: Demand Gen product feeds extended to tablets, more verticals and a mobile pause option","summary":"Product feeds in Demand Gen now serve on tablets, support automotive and additional verticals, and let advertisers pause product ads on mobile.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Fuel your next wave of growth on YouTube with Demand Gen","url":"https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/youtube/youtube-demand-gen-updates","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Product feeds expansion","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/product-feeds-expansion/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2026: every announcement that actually matters","url":"https://ppc.land/google-marketing-live-2026-every-announcement-that-actually-matters/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-05-20-gml-demand-gen-product-feeds-expansion"},{"date":"2026-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GML 2026: Creator partnership videos surfaced in the asset picker during Demand Gen setup","summary":"Relevant YouTube creator partnership videos now appear directly in the asset picker while building a Demand Gen campaign so they can be boosted as ads without leaving setup.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Fuel your next wave of growth on YouTube with Demand Gen","url":"https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/youtube/youtube-demand-gen-updates","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Creator Videos in Asset Picker","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/creator-videos-in-asset-picker/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-05-20-gml-creator-videos-asset-picker"},{"date":"2026-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"GML 2026: Conversational Discovery ads and Highlighted Answers introduced as new AI Mode ad formats","summary":"Google unveiled Gemini-powered ad formats for AI Mode: Conversational Discovery ads generate a creative response to the user's specific question with an independent AI explainer, and Highlighted Answers let high-quality ads appear inside AI Mode recommendation lists. Both are in testing and require AI Max for Search or Performance Max.","details":"Google positioned AI Max as the entry ticket to the new AI Search ad experiences. Rollout is described as 'coming months'.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"A new generation of ads for the AI era of Search","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-marketing-live-search-ads","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Ads in AI Mode","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/ads-in-ai-mode/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2026: Everything you need to know","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-marketing-live-2026-everything-you-need-to-know-478167","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2026: every announcement that actually matters","url":"https://ppc.land/google-marketing-live-2026-every-announcement-that-actually-matters/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-05-20-gml-conversational-discovery-ads-highlighted-answers"},{"date":"2026-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GML 2026: Campaign type attribution launched to isolate every conversion Demand Gen contributes","summary":"Campaign type attribution separates all conversions Demand Gen contributes to, so advertisers can compare it like-for-like with paid social platforms.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Fuel your next wave of growth on YouTube with Demand Gen","url":"https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/youtube/youtube-demand-gen-updates","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Campaign Type Attribution","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/campaign-type-attribution/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-05-20-gml-campaign-type-attribution-demand-gen"},{"date":"2026-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GML 2026: Business Agent for Leads adds a Gemini chat experience inside Search ads for lead qualification","summary":"Business Agent for Leads embeds a brand chatbot grounded in the advertiser's website inside Search ads so prospects can ask questions and be qualified before hand-off to sales. Initially tested in education, automotive and real estate.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"A new generation of ads for the AI era of Search","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-marketing-live-search-ads","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Business Agent for Leads","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/business-agent-for-leads/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2026: every announcement that actually matters","url":"https://ppc.land/google-marketing-live-2026-every-announcement-that-actually-matters/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-05-20-gml-business-agent-for-leads"},{"date":"2026-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GML 2026: Asset Studio upgraded to generate and refine on-brand assets from a brief using natural language","summary":"Asset Studio now reads a marketing brief, brand guidelines, website and goals to generate a range of image, text and video assets, which advertisers refine conversationally. Google also opened Asset Studio capabilities to design tools such as Adobe and Canva via API.","details":"","regions":"Global (English)","sources":[{"title":"Asset Studio is entering a new era of AI-powered creativity","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/asset-studio-updates","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2026: every announcement that actually matters","url":"https://ppc.land/google-marketing-live-2026-every-announcement-that-actually-matters/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-05-20-gml-asset-studio-natural-language-generation"},{"date":"2026-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"GML 2026: Ask Advisor launched in beta as one Gemini agent across Ads, Analytics, Merchant Center and GMP","summary":"Ask Advisor consolidates the separate in-product AI agents into one collaborator that can build campaigns from a plain-language goal, surface cross-product insights and recommend next steps, with shared memory of business goals. Beta for English-language accounts; more features through the year.","details":"Merchant Center's agent joins Ask Advisor later. On August 10, 2026 Google added AI insight cards and dashboards to the Google Ads home page as part of the same push.","regions":"Global (English)","sources":[{"title":"Meet Ask Advisor, your new AI-powered collaborator","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/ask-advisor","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2026: News and announcements","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-marketing-live-2026-collection/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2026: Everything you need to know","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-marketing-live-2026-everything-you-need-to-know-478167","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-05-20-gml-ask-advisor-beta"},{"date":"2026-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"GML 2026: AI-powered Shopping ads with Gemini-written product explainers rolling out","summary":"A new Shopping ad experience pulls the most relevant products from a retailer's feed and writes a custom explanation of why each product fits the shopper's need. Rolling out over the coming months to AI Max and Performance Max advertisers.","details":"Described by Google as testing at GML and 'rolling out over the coming months'. Requires AI Max for Search or Performance Max with a Merchant Center feed; the Gemini-written explainer is generated per query. Merchant Center's new conversational attributes feed this format.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"A new generation of ads for the AI era of Search","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-marketing-live-search-ads","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"AI-powered Shopping ads","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/ai-powered-shopping-ads/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2026: every announcement that actually matters","url":"https://ppc.land/google-marketing-live-2026-every-announcement-that-actually-matters/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-05-20-gml-ai-powered-shopping-ads"},{"date":"2026-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GML 2026: AI-assisted Demand Gen campaign creation builds a campaign from existing Performance Max settings","summary":"A one-click flow combines an advertiser's existing Performance Max settings with Demand Gen best practices to create a new Demand Gen campaign.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Fuel your next wave of growth on YouTube with Demand Gen","url":"https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/youtube/youtube-demand-gen-updates","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"AI-assisted Demand Gen campaign creation","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/ai-assisted-demand-gen-campaign-creation/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-05-20-gml-ai-assisted-demand-gen-creation"},{"date":"2026-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GML 2026: Affiliate partnerships boost announced to amplify organic YouTube affiliate content as ads","summary":"Advertisers can boost creators' organic affiliate videos featuring their products at scale through Demand Gen. Confirmed generally available in the July 2026 Demand Gen Drop.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Affiliate partnerships boost","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/affiliate-partnerships-boost/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Prepare for the holiday season with July's Demand Gen Drop","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-july-2026/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-07-29"}],"id":"2026-05-20-gml-affiliate-partnerships-boost"},{"date":"2026-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"Launch","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google announced Meridian marketing mix modeling coming to Google Analytics 360","summary":"At Google Marketing Live, Google said its open-source Meridian MMM is coming to Analytics 360 to unify first-party cross-channel data, measure causal performance and run predictive scenario forecasts, with Qualified Future Conversion signals from Google Ads to be integrated later.","details":"The cross-channel budgeting help page already references a Meridian-based model in alpha for select 360 customers.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Turn data into decisions with unified measurement","url":"https://blog.google/products/marketingplatform/analytics/meridian-google-analytics-360/","publisher":"Google Blog","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"[GA4] Cross-channel budgeting","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/14896117","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-05-20-ga360-meridian-integration-announced"},{"date":"2026-05-19","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"A 'Sync columns' option appeared for manager accounts to copy column layouts across client accounts","summary":"Vivek Gupta shared a new MCC feature that synchronizes table column configurations across multiple accounts; it was still rolling out.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Sync Columns Feature for MCC Accounts","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-05/sync-columns-feature-mcc-accounts/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-05-19"}],"id":"2026-05-19-sync-columns-across-mcc-accounts"},{"date":"2026-05-18","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Help doc was updated: primary conversions not used for optimization may still enhance bidding predictions","summary":"Dario Zannoni spotted new documentation language that non-optimized primary conversion actions can be used to enhance Smart Bidding predictions.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-05-18); PPC News Feed (2026-05-18).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Primary Conversion Actions May Be Used For Enhance Predictions","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-primary-conversion-actions-enhance-predictions-41334.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-05-18"},{"title":"Smart Bidding May Benefit From Secondary Conversions","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-05/smart-bidding-may-benefit-from-secondary-conversions/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-05-18"}],"id":"2026-05-18-primary-conversions-used-to-enhance-predictions"},{"date":"2026-05-15","effective_date":"2026-06-15","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Measurement","type":"Deprecation","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API closed to new adopters of offline conversion imports and enhanced conversions for leads","summary":"Developer tokens that had not imported offline conversions between December 2025 and May 2026 receive CUSTOMER_NOT_ALLOWLISTED_FOR_THIS_FEATURE from ConversionUploadService.UploadClickConversions starting June 15, 2026; the Data Manager API is now the primary offline conversion import API.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Changes to Offline Click Conversion Import Support in the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/05/changes-to-offline-click-conversion.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-05-15"}],"id":"2026-05-15-offline-conversion-imports-closed-to-new-adopters"},{"date":"2026-05-14","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google tag gateway added automated Akamai and Fastly integrations from the Google tag interface","summary":"Google can now detect CDN zones and inject routing rules directly for Akamai and Fastly, removing manual CDN configuration when deploying the gateway.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Release notes - Tag Manager Help","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/4620708","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2026-05-14"},{"title":"Set up Google tag gateway for advertisers with Fastly","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/16923354","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2026-05-14"}],"id":"2026-05-14-google-tag-gateway-akamai-fastly-automated"},{"date":"2026-05-13","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"Help doc was found saying the search terms report may show a 'best approximation' of intent, not the query","summary":"Anthony Higman found new help-center language explaining that for searches involving Lens, AI Mode, AI Overviews or autocomplete, the search terms report shows the closest approximation of intent rather than the literal query.","details":"Covered by Search Engine Land, Search Engine Roundtable and Search Engine Journal on May 13. The change reduces the reliability of search term data for negative keyword mining in AI-driven surfaces.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google says Search Query Reports may not show actual user searches","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-says-search-query-reports-may-not-show-actual-user-searches-477393","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-05-13"},{"title":"Google Ads Search Terms Report Shows Best Approximation Of User's Intent","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-search-terms-report-best-users-intent-41316.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-05-13"},{"title":"Google Quietly Alters Search Terms Reporting For AI Queries In Google Ads","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-quietly-changed-how-search-terms-are-reported-for-some-ai-queries/574803/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2026-05-13"}],"id":"2026-05-13-search-terms-report-best-approximation-doc"},{"date":"2026-05-13","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"'Merchant Advisor' AI chatbot was spotted live inside Merchant Center","summary":"Tamara Hellgren found an AI assistant inside Merchant Center offering setup, troubleshooting and optimization guidance in a limited beta. Google later folded it into Ask Advisor.","details":"Coverage: PPC News Feed (2026-05-13); Search Engine Roundtable (2026-05-13).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Merchant Advisor Spotted in Google Merchant Center","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-05/merchant-advisor-spotted-google-merchant-center/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-05-13"},{"title":"Google Merchant Center Tests Merchant Advisor","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-merchant-advisor-41319.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-05-13"}],"id":"2026-05-13-merchant-advisor-chatbot-spotted"},{"date":"2026-05-13","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 added an 'AI Assistant' default channel for ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude traffic","summary":"Traffic from AI assistants is now automatically assigned medium 'ai-assistant', campaign '(ai-assistant)' and a dedicated AI Assistant channel in Default Channel Group reports.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new in Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9164320","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-05-13"},{"title":"Google Analytics adds AI Assistant channel to measure AI traffic","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-analytics-ai-assistant-477544","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-05-14"}],"id":"2026-05-13-ga4-ai-assistant-channel"},{"date":"2026-05-13","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API v24.1 released with expanded experiments and a mobile device platform segment","summary":"v24.1 added segments.mobile_device_platform (iOS/Android), classic_display_images for Demand Gen multi-asset ads on the Display Network, a passkey_enabled field, the REQUESTED_DATE_GRANULARITY_NOT_SUPPORTED error, and a revamped experiments feature set with direct experiment statistics and new experiment types for AI Max, broad match, Video/Demand Gen, Performance Max replacement and PMax asset optimization.","details":"Experiment reporting now exposes control-arm stats, jackknife point estimates, margin of error and p-values directly through the API. New experiment types per release notes include ADOPT_AI_MAX, ADOPT_BROAD_MATCH_KEYWORDS and OPTIMIZE_ASSETS.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Announcing v24.1 of the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/05/announcing-v241-of-google-ads-api.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-05-13"},{"title":"Announcing expanded experiment functionality in Google Ads API v24.1","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/05/announcing-expanded-experiment.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-05-14"},{"title":"Release notes (v24.1, 2026-05-13)","url":"https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/release-notes","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2026-05-13"}],"id":"2026-05-13-ads-api-v24-1-released"},{"date":"2026-05-11","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Merchant Center for Agencies became generally available worldwide","summary":"Two months after the US and Canada launch, Google made Merchant Center for Agencies generally available to agencies globally.","details":"Google later added agency-admin user access controls and client labels (June 2026) and raised the supported client-account limit (August 2026).","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Merchant Center for Agencies available globally","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/17072077?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-05-11"},{"title":"Merchant Center announcements change log","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/announcements/6192467?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-11"},{"title":"Merchant Center for Agencies goes global after US and Canada head","url":"https://ppc.land/merchant-center-for-agencies-goes-global-after-us-and-canada-head/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-05-17"}],"id":"2026-05-11-merchant-center-for-agencies-global-ga"},{"date":"2026-05-11","effective_date":"2026-06-06","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Google Ads accounts without product ads auto-linked to Merchant Center from June 6, 2026","summary":"Google notified advertisers that Google Ads accounts without product ads would be automatically linked to the associated Merchant Center account starting June 6, 2026, with a \"Connect now\" option to link earlier.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Automatic Linking Google Ads With Merchant Center","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-05/automatic-linking-google-ads-merchant-center/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-05-11"}],"id":"2026-05-11-automatic-google-ads-merchant-center-linking"},{"date":"2026-05-11","effective_date":"2026-06-06","product":"Merchant Center","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Google notified advertisers that Ads and Merchant Center accounts would be linked automatically from June 6","summary":"Marcin Wsol shared a notification that accounts not yet running product ads will be auto-linked to Merchant Center starting June 6, 2026, with a 'Connect now' option to link earlier.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Automatic Linking Google Ads With Merchant Center","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-05/automatic-linking-google-ads-merchant-center/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-05-11"}],"id":"2026-05-11-automatic-ads-merchant-center-linking-notice"},{"date":"2026-05-08","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Google Tag Manager management controls surfaced inside Google Ads' Data Manager","summary":"Adriaan Dekker and Marthijn Hoiting shared screenshots of a new 'Manage' option embedding GTM tag controls in Google Ads. Google had not announced it at the time.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-05-08); Search Engine Roundtable (2026-05-11).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads surfaces Tag Manager controls inside its interface","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-surfaces-tag-manager-controls-inside-its-interface-476969","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-05-08"},{"title":"Google Tag Manager May Be Coming To Google Ads Interface","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-tag-manager-to-google-ads-41296.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-05-11"}],"id":"2026-05-08-tag-manager-controls-inside-google-ads"},{"date":"2026-05-08","effective_date":"2026-07-15","product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Launch","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Passkeys to be required for sensitive Google Ads account actions starting July 15, 2026","summary":"Google Ads will require passkey verification for sensitive actions such as changing user access, adding users, updating account links and changing billing details. Administrators can set an enforcement date; users without a passkey can still sign in and manage campaigns but are blocked from those actions.","details":"Framed as a response to rising account-hijacking incidents. A related pilot restricts sensitive actions for users on free consumer email domains (see August entry).","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Use passkeys to protect your Google Ads account","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16917887","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-05-08"},{"title":"Google Ads To Require Passkey For Certain Sensitive Actions","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-passkey-sensitive-actions-41286.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-05-08"}],"id":"2026-05-08-passkeys-required-sensitive-actions"},{"date":"2026-05-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Smart Bidding Exploration announced for Performance Max and Shopping campaigns","summary":"Smart Bidding Exploration, previously limited to Search campaigns with target ROAS, will let Performance Max and Shopping advertisers set a ROAS tolerance to capture new converting queries. Google says Search campaigns using it see 27% more unique converting users on average.","details":"The rollout itself happened June 15, 2026 (see separate entry).","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2026: bidding and budgeting news","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/bidding-budgeting-google-marketing-live-2026/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-05-07"},{"title":"Smart Bidding Exploration expansion","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/smart-bidding-exploration-expansion/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-05-07-smart-bidding-exploration-pmax-shopping-announced"},{"date":"2026-05-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Journey-aware bidding launched in beta for Search campaigns using Target CPA","summary":"Journey-aware bidding lets Smart Bidding learn from every stage of the lead-to-sale journey, including non-biddable conversion goals such as qualified calls and form fills, to optimize toward downstream outcomes. Advertisers must import the relevant conversion actions.","details":"Aimed at longer sales cycles (B2B, healthcare, higher education, financial services). Announced ahead of Google Marketing Live 2026.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2026: bidding and budgeting news","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/bidding-budgeting-google-marketing-live-2026/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-05-07"},{"title":"Journey-aware bidding","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/journey-aware-bidding/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Google Ads Rolls Out Journey-Aware Bidding And New Pacing Controls For Advertisers","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-ads-introduces-journey-aware-bidding-and-new-budget-pacing-updates/574141/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2026-05-07"}],"id":"2026-05-07-journey-aware-bidding-beta"},{"date":"2026-05-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Data Manager API added server-to-server event ingestion for GA as a Measurement Protocol alternative","summary":"The Data Manager API can now send recommended and custom events directly to web and app data streams in a Google Analytics property, offering an alternative to Measurement Protocol (reserved events excluded).","details":"Confirmed against: Google Analytics Help (2026-05-07); Google for Developers (2026-05-07); Google Ads Developer Blog (2026-05-07). Dated per Google's release note.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new in Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9164320","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-05-07"},{"title":"Data Manager API","url":"https://developers.google.com/data-manager/api","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2026-05-07"},{"title":"Data Manager API: Introducing support for Google Ads store sales and more event ingestion use cases for Google Analytics","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/05/data-manager-api-introducing-support.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developer Blog","date":"2026-05-07"}],"id":"2026-05-07-ga-data-manager-api-server-events"},{"date":"2026-05-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Demand-led budget pacing announced for Search and Shopping, shifting spend toward high-demand days","summary":"Google AI will automatically spend more on days with stronger predicted consumer demand and less on slow days while still respecting the monthly budget limit and daily cap. Rolling out to Search and Shopping campaigns in the coming months.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2026: bidding and budgeting news","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/bidding-budgeting-google-marketing-live-2026/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-05-07"},{"title":"Demand-led budget pacing","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/demand-led-budget-pacing/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Google Ads Journey-Aware Bidding, Expands Smart Bidding Exploration & Budget Pacing","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-smart-bidding-exploration-budget-pacing-41288.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-05-08"}],"id":"2026-05-07-demand-led-budget-pacing-announced"},{"date":"2026-05-07","effective_date":"2026-07-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Advertisers were emailed that call recording would default to 'Yes' on July 1 unless changed","summary":"Anthony Higman shared a Google email stating that call recording for call assets would be switched on by default from July 1, 2026 so AI can qualify call leads; advertisers could opt out before June 30.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-05-07); PPC News Feed (2026-05-07).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Call Recording To Default To Yes On July 1st","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-call-recording-default-yes-41262.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-05-07"},{"title":"Google's Call Recording Defaults To Enabled","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-05/google-call-recording-defaults-enabled/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-05-07"}],"id":"2026-05-07-call-recording-default-yes-july-1"},{"date":"2026-05-04","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"'Use AI to add products - beta' appeared as a product source option in Merchant Center","summary":"First spotted on X and reported by Search Engine Roundtable on May 4, the option runs a one-time AI scan of a website to build product listings without a structured feed. Adriaan Dekker confirmed it on LinkedIn the next day.","details":"First documented publicly on May 4, 2026. Google positions it as the easiest way to get started; because it is a one-time scan, data can go stale as inventory and pricing change.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Adds Use AI To Add Products","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-use-ai-to-add-products-41255.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-05-04"},{"title":"Google Merchant Center quietly adds AI product import in beta","url":"https://ppc.land/google-merchant-center-quietly-adds-ai-product-import-in-beta/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-05-05"},{"title":"AI Option for Adding Products Now in Google Merchant Center","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-05/ai-option-adding-products-now-google-merchant-center/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-05-05"}],"id":"2026-05-04-gmc-use-ai-to-add-products-beta"},{"date":"2026-05-04","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"API & Tools","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GA Data API added cross-channel Conversion performance report data (alpha)","summary":"The Data API v1alpha runReport can now return data from the Advertising > Conversion performance report, giving programmatic access to the same paid and organic conversion data shown in the UI (availability varies by property).","details":"The Data API changelog entry is dated April 23, 2026; the GA release note followed on May 4, 2026.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new in Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9164320","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-05-04"},{"title":"Google Analytics Data API changelog","url":"https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/reporting/data/v1/changelog","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2026-04-23"},{"title":"Google Analytics Data API adds cross-channel conversion reporting (alpha)","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-analytics-data-api-adds-cross-channel-conversion-reporting-alpha-476635","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-05-06"}],"id":"2026-05-04-ga-data-api-conversion-reporting-alpha"},{"date":"2026-05-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"US Vehicle ads expanded to ATVs, UTVs, RVs and non-motorized trailers","summary":"Google expanded US Vehicle ads to include all-terrain vehicles, utility task vehicles, RVs and non-motorized trailers such as travel trailers and campers, submitted through vehicle data sources in Merchant Center.","details":"Google's notice is dated May 2026 (month only). Clicks continue to lead to the advertiser's Vehicle Description Page; parts, accessories, tires and services remain out of scope.","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Vehicle ads expansion to ATVs and non-motorized vehicles (US)","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/17091241?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-05-01"},{"title":"Merchant Center announcements change log","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/announcements/6192467?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-11"}],"id":"2026-05-01-vehicle-ads-atv-utv-trailers-us"},{"date":"2026-05-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Ads-linked GA properties using server-side tagging gained parallel browser signals for conversions","summary":"For server-side Tag Manager customers with Google signals enabled, Analytics now sends parallel browser signals so Google Ads conversion tracking and attribution recover data previously lost in server-only setups.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Release notes - Tag Manager Help","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/4620708","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2026-05-01"}],"id":"2026-05-01-sgtm-parallel-browser-signals-google-signals"},{"date":"2026-05-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Merchant API MCP Access Service (alpha) launched with conversational product attributes","summary":"May 2026 updates added an alpha MCP service giving AI agents authorized, read-focused access to Merchant Center data and insights, a mapi-developer-assistant agent skill in the Code Assist Toolkit, new conversational attributes (question_and_answer, document_link, related_product, item_group_title, variant_option, popularity_rank), a full vehicle ads attribute set, UCP checkout product status notifications, a YouTube sub-API v1alpha and low-latency price/availability patches for allowlisted merchants.","details":"Month-level date from Google's latest-updates page. The Merchant API docs now list 'Agentic tools' including the Merchant API MCP Access Service and the API Integration and Code Assist Toolkit.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Merchant API latest updates (May 2026)","url":"https://developers.google.com/merchant/api/latest-updates","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2026-05-01"}],"id":"2026-05-01-merchant-api-mcp-alpha-and-conversational-attributes"},{"date":"2026-05-01","effective_date":"2026-06-01","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Reporting","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"37-month retention limit for daily/hourly/weekly stats in the Google Ads API and scripts from June 1, 2026","summary":"Queries segmenting by date, week or hour for ranges older than 37 months return DateRangeError.INVALID_DATE (REQUESTED_DATE_GRANULARITY_NOT_SUPPORTED in v24.1+); monthly, quarterly and yearly data remain available for 11 years. The GA Data API truncates ad cost, clicks and impressions with the date dimension to 36 months, and BigQuery Data Transfer backfills stop beyond 37 months.","details":"Unsegmented historical queries must align to calendar month boundaries. Google recommended exporting granular history before June 1, 2026. DV360 and CM360 APIs keep their 24-month retention.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"New Data Retention Policy for Google Ads starting June 1, 2026","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/05/new-data-retention-policy-for-google.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-05-01"}],"id":"2026-05-01-37-month-data-retention"},{"date":"2026-04-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Text disclaimers launched so mandatory text is guaranteed in RSAs, including with Final URL expansion","summary":"A new text disclaimer asset (up to 90 characters) guarantees required legal or regulatory text is shown in the description of responsive search ads, so regulated advertisers can use Final URL expansion in AI Max. Announced April 30 and visible globally in accounts by late June 2026.","details":"Added under Assets in the Campaigns menu; a dedicated Help page followed in August 2026.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Steer performance with new AI Max features","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/ai-max-new-features/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-04-30"},{"title":"Google Ads Text Disclaimers Rolling Out To All Advertisers","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-text-disclaimers-live-41536.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-06-22"}],"id":"2026-04-30-text-disclaimers-final-url-expansion"},{"date":"2026-04-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Hotel & Travel","type":"Launch","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Travel feeds and formats being consolidated into Search campaigns with AI Max ('Search campaigns for Travel')","summary":"Google is moving hotel and travel advertising into standard Search campaigns so travel feeds and ad formats are managed through one campaign type with full AI Max features, unified controls and consolidated reporting including search terms.","details":"The beta was extended to Things to Do and Events verticals in July 2026, and PPC News Feed reported in August 2026 that Travel campaigns are migrating into Search campaigns.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Upgrade into Search campaigns for Travel","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/ai-max-for-travel/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-04-30"},{"title":"Search campaigns for travel","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/search-campaigns-for-travel/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-04-30-search-campaigns-for-travel"},{"date":"2026-04-30","effective_date":"2026-06-15","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Shopping","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Product reporting expanded to all PMax networks plus Video, Demand Gen and App campaigns (June 15, 2026)","summary":"shopping_product now returns cost and conversion metrics for Video, Demand Gen and App campaigns, shopping_performance_view covers all Merchant Center-connected campaign types, and all PMax networks are included, producing a one-time increase in product metrics for dates from June 15, 2026.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Product reporting changes for Google Ads starting June 15, 2026","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/04/product-reporting-changes-for-google.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-04-30"}],"id":"2026-04-30-product-reporting-all-pmax-networks"},{"date":"2026-04-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Beta","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"A 'Partners (alpha)' setting let some Performance Max campaigns opt out of search partners and Display","summary":"Adriaan Dekker (crediting Renaldo Spin) shared a PMax alpha control for choosing whether ads run on search partner networks and the Display Network. Google later documented search partner and Display exclusions for PMax in May.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-04-30); PPC News Feed (2026-04-30).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads PMax Tests Select Partners To Run Ads With","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-select-partners-to-run-ads-with-41248.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-04-30"},{"title":"Performance Max Adds Search Partners And Display Controls","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-04/performance-max-adds-search-partners-display-controls/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-04-30"}],"id":"2026-04-30-pmax-partners-alpha-network-selection"},{"date":"2026-04-30","effective_date":"2026-05-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"In-account certification applications opened to all advertisers for four financial categories","summary":"All advertisers can now apply within Google Ads for crypto exchange/software wallet, hardware wallet, coin trust and complex speculative financial product certifications; existing certifications and pending applications are unaffected.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to the Google Ads Certification Process (May 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17067928","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-04-30"}],"id":"2026-04-30-in-account-certification-applications-opened-to"},{"date":"2026-04-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"AI Max for Shopping campaigns launched with a one-click upgrade for existing Shopping campaigns","summary":"AI Max for Shopping brings text customization (generated ad copy for conversational queries), Final URL expansion and automatic text-versus-Shopping format selection to Shopping campaigns, driven by Merchant Center product data. Retailers can turn it on with one click.","details":"Text customization for Shopping ads in Performance Max was described as arriving separately. Practitioners reported the closed beta in Standard Shopping campaigns widening in late July 2026.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Adapt your Shopping campaigns to modern Search with AI Max","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/ai-max-for-shopping/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-04-30"},{"title":"AI Max for Shopping campaigns","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/ai-max-for-shopping-campaigns/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"},{"title":"Google Ads AI Max for Shopping Campaigns expands","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-ai-max-shopping-campaigns-41743.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-07-24"}],"id":"2026-04-30-ai-max-for-shopping-campaigns"},{"date":"2026-04-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"AI Brief introduced to steer AI Max with plain-language messaging, matching and audience guidelines","summary":"AI Brief lets advertisers describe their brand and how they want to show up, in three guideline types (messaging, matching, audience), and previews sample assets and search matches before committing. Rolling out first to Search campaigns in English, then Performance Max and Shopping.","details":"Extends the text guidelines beta that went global in February 2026.","regions":"Global (English first)","sources":[{"title":"Steer performance with new AI Max features","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/ai-max-new-features/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-04-30"},{"title":"AI Brief","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/ai-brief/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-04-30-ai-brief-natural-language-guidelines"},{"date":"2026-04-29","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"A 'Preview impact' button appeared for estimating the effect of up to 10 negative keywords before adding them","summary":"Menachem Ani spotted the new estimate feature on X. Google published documentation on negative keyword impact prediction in July.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-04-29); PPC News Feed (2026-04-29).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Preview Impact Of Negative Keywords (& More)","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-preview-impact-of-negative-keywords-41237.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-04-29"},{"title":"Negative Keyword Impact Preview Added to Google Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-04/negative-keyword-impact-preview-added-google-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-04-29"}],"id":"2026-04-29-negative-keyword-preview-impact-button"},{"date":"2026-04-29","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 launched Task Assistant with tailored configuration recommendations","summary":"Task Assistant groups recommended setup tasks into categories (connect accounts, enhance reporting, fix data issues) that users can complete or skip.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new in Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9164320","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-04-29"},{"title":"[GA4] Task Assistant","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/16888318","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-04-29"}],"id":"2026-04-29-ga4-task-assistant"},{"date":"2026-04-29","effective_date":"2026-06-10","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"Deprecation","status":"Retired","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API v20 sunset confirmed for June 10, 2026","summary":"All v20 requests began failing on June 10, 2026; developers had to upgrade to v21 or later (v23+ recommended under the monthly cadence).","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads API v20 sunset reminder","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/04/google-ads-api-v20-sunset-reminder.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-04-29"},{"title":"Deprecation and sunset dates","url":"https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/sunset-dates","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2026-04-29"}],"id":"2026-04-29-ads-api-v20-sunset"},{"date":"2026-04-28","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Shopping ads tested rendering the cents portion of prices in superscript","summary":"Sachin Patel shared examples on X of Shopping ad prices with the decimal portion raised and shrunk.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-04-28); PPC News Feed (2026-04-28).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Shopping Ads Tests Pricing In Superscript","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-pricing-in-superscript-41214.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-04-28"},{"title":"Google Tests Decimal Styling in Shopping Ad Prices","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-04/google-tests-decimal-styling-shopping-ad-prices/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-04-28"}],"id":"2026-04-28-shopping-ad-prices-superscript-cents-test"},{"date":"2026-04-28","effective_date":"2026-09-30","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Launch","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"pickup_cost and minimum_order_value made mandatory for in-store pickup products in the UK, Switzerland and EEA","summary":"Google added a pickup cost [pickup_cost] attribute and, from September 30, 2026, requires merchants in the UK, Switzerland and EEA countries to supply pickup cost and minimum order value for in_store products enabled for pickup, so local inventory ads and free local listings show accurate total costs.","details":"Applies only to products marked in_store with pickup enabled where a pickup fee or minimum order value applies on the merchant's website.","regions":"EU/UK/Switzerland","sources":[{"title":"Pickup cost and minimum order values required (UK, Switzerland, EEA)","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/17036057?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-04-28"},{"title":"Merchant Center announcements change log","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/announcements/6192467?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-11"}],"id":"2026-04-28-pickup-cost-minimum-order-value-required-eea-uk-ch"},{"date":"2026-04-27","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Policy","status":"Retired","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Demand Gen image ads sat in review for 7+ days; Ads Liaison confirmed a review backlog","summary":"Matthew Skelton raised the delays on LinkedIn and Ginny Marvin confirmed Google was aware of an issue causing some Demand Gen image ads to take longer than expected to review.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-04-27); PPC News Feed (2026-04-27).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Confirms Demand Gen Image Ads Approval Delays","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-demand-gen-image-ads-approval-delays-41216.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-04-27"},{"title":"Review Delays Impact Google Ads Demand Gen Campaigns","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-04/review-delays-impact-google-ads-demand-gen-campaigns/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-04-27"}],"id":"2026-04-27-demand-gen-image-ad-review-delays"},{"date":"2026-04-27","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"An 'AI' label was spotted on some mobile Search ads in two visual variants","summary":"Brodie Clark and Barry Schwartz reported a small AI label on select sponsored results, one with a rounded background and one with an info icon; clicking it did nothing.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-04-27); PPC News Feed (2026-04-30).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Tests AI Label On Search Ads","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-ads-ai-label-41224.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-04-27"},{"title":"Google Tests AI Label On Search Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-04/google-tests-ai-label-on-search-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-04-30"}],"id":"2026-04-27-ai-label-on-search-ads-test"},{"date":"2026-04-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Analytics Data API v1alpha added Conversion performance reporting with attribution model selection","summary":"runReport in the Data API v1alpha can now return the Advertising > Conversion performance report, with a ConversionSpec to filter by conversion action IDs and choose DATA_DRIVEN or LAST_CLICK attribution, and getMetadata exposes conversion metadata and section compatibility. Availability is being expanded property by property.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Analytics Data API changelog","url":"https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/reporting/data/v1/changelog","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2026-04-23"}],"id":"2026-04-23-ga-data-api-conversion-reporting"},{"date":"2026-04-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"View-through conversion optimization became generally available for Demand Gen on YouTube","summary":"Demand Gen campaigns can now bid toward view-through conversions, which Google says drives more conversions in less time for YouTube-heavy campaigns.","details":"PPC News Feed reported a further expansion and behavior update of VTC optimization in August 2026.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Convert faster on YouTube with April's Demand Gen Drop","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-april-2026/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-04-23"},{"title":"View-through conversion (VTC) optimization","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/view-through-conversion-optimization/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-05-20"}],"id":"2026-04-23-demand-gen-view-through-conversion-optimization"},{"date":"2026-04-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Demand Gen inventory added to Commerce Media Suite for retailer first-party data campaigns","summary":"Retailers using Commerce Media Suite can now run Demand Gen campaigns in Google Ads that use their first-party catalog and conversion data to reach shoppers on YouTube, Discover and Gmail.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Convert faster on YouTube with April's Demand Gen Drop","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-april-2026/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-04-23"},{"title":"Convert faster on YouTube with April's Demand Gen Drop","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/convert-faster-on-youtube-with-aprils-demand-gen-drop/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-04-23"}],"id":"2026-04-23-demand-gen-commerce-media-suite"},{"date":"2026-04-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Google began retiring the AW-XXXXXXXX tag ID format in favor of unified GT-XXXXXXXX IDs","summary":"Arjun Singh shared that Google Ads conversion tagging is moving from AW- prefixed IDs to the GT- format shared with GA4 and Floodlight.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Retires AW Tag Prefix for Measurement","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-04/google-retires-aw-tag-prefix-measurement/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-04-23"}],"id":"2026-04-23-aw-tag-prefix-retired-for-gt"},{"date":"2026-04-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"App","type":"API & Tools","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"An 'App Labs' beta tab appeared in the app advertising hub for early-access features","summary":"Thomas Eccel spotted a new App Labs tab offering experimental App campaign features ahead of wider rollout.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-04-23); PPC News Feed (2026-04-23).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google tests 'App Labs' hub for early ad features","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-tests-app-labs-hub-for-early-ad-features-475330","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-04-23"},{"title":"Google Adds App Labs to App Advertising Hub","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-04/google-ads-beta-app-labs-experimental-features/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-04-23"}],"id":"2026-04-23-app-labs-hub-in-app-advertising"},{"date":"2026-04-22","effective_date":"2026-04-22","product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Policy","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Canada cannabis pilot expanded to provincially authorized private retailers","summary":"Eligibility for the Canada cannabis Search pilot now includes provincially authorized private retailers in addition to federal licence holders and government operators; pilot runs through December 31, 2026.","details":"","regions":"Canada","sources":[{"title":"Updated Cannabis-Related Content Policy (March 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16989811","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-04-22"}],"id":"2026-04-22-canada-cannabis-pilot-expanded-to-provincially"},{"date":"2026-04-22","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API v24 released with cart data conversions, non-biddable metrics and simpler keyword forecasts","summary":"v24 added CartDataSalesView (segment conversions by product sold), all_* non-biddable metrics, the conversion_attribution_event_type segment on ShoppingPerformanceView, and made VideoResponsiveAdInfo mutable, while introducing breaking changes: campaign-level video content exclusions replaced by customer-level settings, refactored AudienceInsights/ReachPlan/ContentCreatorInsights fields, a streamlined GenerateKeywordForecastMetrics, and removed click_type from asset views.","details":"Breaking/updated in v24:\n- Video content exclusion settings removed from campaigns; set at the customer level instead.\n- `InsightsAudience.topic_audience_combinations` moved to the common namespace; `youtube_select_lineups` moved into `youtube_select_lineup_targeting`; `is_brand_connect_creator` removed (use `CREATOR_PARTNERSHIPS` in `partnership_opportunities`).\n- `GenerateKeywordForecastMetrics`: forecasts aligned to bidding strategy (clicks/CPC/cost for Manual CPC and Maximize Clicks; conversions/CPA/cost for Maximize Conversions); `geo_modifiers[]` replaced by `geo_target_constants[]`, `biddable_keywords[]` by `keywords[]`; `keyword_plan_network`, `negative_keywords`, `max_cpc_bid_micros` and `CriterionBidModifier` removed. All versions use the unified forecasting infrastructure once v23 sunsets in February 2027.\n- `ad_sub_network_type` removed from `campaign_budget`; `click_type` removed from `ad_group_asset`, `campaign_asset`, `customer_asset`.\n- `videos`, `business_name`, `logo_images` now required on `DemandGenVideoResponsiveAdInfo` and `VideoResponsiveAdInfo`.\n- `ShareablePreviewService.GenerateShareablePreviews` no longer uses partial failure.\n- Also removed per release notes: loyalty sign-ups user category and keyword plan forecast fields. v24 sunset: May 2027.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Announcing v24 of the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/04/announcing-v24-of-google-ads-api.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-04-22"},{"title":"Release notes (v24, 2026-04-22)","url":"https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/release-notes","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2026-04-22"},{"title":"Simplifying Keyword Forecast Metrics in Google Ads API v24","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/04/simplifying-keyword-forecast-metrics-in.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-04-23"}],"id":"2026-04-22-ads-api-v24-released"},{"date":"2026-04-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Shopping tab began mixing sponsored products into the free listing grid rather than only at the top","summary":"Brodie Clark (SERPalerts) documented Shopping ads appearing within the product grid and 'related products' sections of the Shopping tab.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Shopping Showing Shopping Ads Within Free Listing Grid","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-shopping-showing-more-shopping-ads-41188.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-04-21"}],"id":"2026-04-21-shopping-ads-inside-free-listing-grid"},{"date":"2026-04-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"AI-qualified call conversions launched; call recording turned on by default for US and Canada accounts","summary":"Google Ads now uses AI analysis of call recordings, rather than call duration, as the primary signal for counting a phone call as a conversion, with duration and ad interaction as fallbacks. Call recording is enabled by default for most eligible accounts (excluding healthcare and financial services or previously opted-out accounts), and call reports show AI summaries and intent hashtags.","details":"Recording only works when both numbers are in the US or Canada. Callers hear an automated recording notice. Smart Bidding optimizes toward AI-classified qualified calls when recording is on. Google framed the same capability as 'improved click-to-call ads' at Google Marketing Live.","regions":"US and Canada","sources":[{"title":"About AI-qualified call conversions","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16913326?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-04-21"},{"title":"Manage your call recording settings and eligibility","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16913427?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-04-21"},{"title":"Google Ads now uses AI to qualify phone call leads","url":"https://ppc.land/google-ads-now-uses-ai-to-qualify-phone-call-leads/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-04-21"},{"title":"Google Ads Makes Call Recording Default For AI Lead Calls","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-ads-makes-call-recording-default-for-ai-lead-calls/572613/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2026-04-21"}],"id":"2026-04-21-ai-qualified-call-conversions"},{"date":"2026-04-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Announced","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Ads Advisor gained proactive policy troubleshooting, 24/7 security monitoring and instant certifications","summary":"Google announced three agentic additions to Ads Advisor: unprompted flagging of complex policy violations with guidance, a personalized account-security dashboard, and Gemini-powered instant certification approvals. Rolling out over the coming months to English-language accounts globally.","details":"","regions":"Global (English)","sources":[{"title":"3 new ways Ads Advisor is making Google Ads safer and faster","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/ads-advisor-google-ads/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-04-21"}],"id":"2026-04-21-ads-advisor-agentic-safety-features"},{"date":"2026-04-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Local Services","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Paid local pack results tested 'immersive map view' videos inside ads","summary":"Anthony Higman spotted video content playing within local pack ads tied to a pre-opted Location Manager setting. Google did not confirm the test.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-04-20); Search Engine Roundtable (2026-04-20).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google tests video ads in local search results","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-tests-video-ads-in-local-search-results-474860","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-04-20"},{"title":"Google Local Search Ads With Videos Ads","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-local-video-ads-41183.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-04-20"}],"id":"2026-04-20-video-ads-in-local-pack-test"},{"date":"2026-04-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Launch","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Asset experiments launched in Performance Max plus a centralized Experiments hub","summary":"Advertisers can now A/B test new creative assets, asset sets or Asset Studio-generated assets in Performance Max. Conversion lift studies and experiments are consolidated on one Experiments page, with a secondary success metric and API/manager-account support following.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Scale results with new experiments in Performance Max","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/scale-results-with-new-asset-experiments-in-performance-max/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-04-20"}],"id":"2026-04-20-pmax-asset-experiments"},{"date":"2026-04-17","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"YouTube and Discover Feed ad requirements clarified treatment of election ads","summary":"Google clarified how election ads are handled under the YouTube and Discover Feed ad requirements; no change to enforcement scope.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"YouTube and Discover Feed ad requirements (April 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16966390","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-04-17"}],"id":"2026-04-17-youtube-and-discover-feed-ad-requirements"},{"date":"2026-04-17","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Conversion setup tested a 'Set up in Google Tag Manager' option that pushes tags directly into GTM","summary":"Natasha Kaurra spotted a new option during conversion action setup that creates the conversion tag in Google Tag Manager without manual implementation. Google later added guided GTM setup in July.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-04-17); PPC News Feed (2026-04-17).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads tests direct Google Tag Manager integration for conversion setup","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-tests-direct-google-tag-manager-integration-for-conversion-setup-474693","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-04-17"},{"title":"Conversion Setup Gets Direct GTM Integration Option","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-04/conversion-setup-gets-direct-gtm-integration-option/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-04-17"}],"id":"2026-04-17-set-up-in-google-tag-manager-option-test"},{"date":"2026-04-17","effective_date":"2026-04-21","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Multi-factor authentication required for Google Ads API user-authentication flows from April 21, 2026","summary":"Users generating new OAuth 2.0 refresh tokens for the Google Ads API are always challenged for a second factor from April 21, 2026 (rolling out over several weeks); existing refresh tokens and service-account workflows are unaffected. Google Ads Editor, Google Ads scripts, BigQuery Data Transfer Service and Data Studio users are also challenged.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Multi-factor authentication requirement for the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/04/multi-factor-authentication-requirement.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-04-17"}],"id":"2026-04-17-mfa-requirement"},{"date":"2026-04-16","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Real-Time Policy Reviews launched for responsive search ads, cutting review time from hours to seconds","summary":"Google Ads now checks responsive search ads against policy field by field while they are drafted and returns a policy decision on save, so compliant ads can serve immediately. Available in the Google Ads UI and Google Ads Editor, expanding to Performance Max and Demand Gen in H2 2026.","details":"Issues are split into editable problems (typos, capitalization) and complex violations with remediation steps.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Get instant feedback and serve ads faster with Real-Time Policy Reviews","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/faster-ad-creation-with-real-time-policy-reviews/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-04-16"}],"id":"2026-04-16-real-time-policy-reviews-rsa"},{"date":"2026-04-16","effective_date":"2026-06-15","product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"Policy","status":"Announced","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Google announced consent mode becomes sole control of Ads data from GA; Google signals narrowed","summary":"From June 15, 2026, for Analytics properties linked to Google Ads, the consent mode ad_storage signal alone controls whether Google Ads cookies and IDs are collected; the Google signals setting only governs association of Analytics data with signed-in users for reporting. Later in 2026 ad_personalization will exclusively control personalization, and encrypted IP addresses will flow to linked Ads accounts under Ads terms.","details":"Advertisers should verify consent mode v2 is implemented with all four parameters (ad_storage, analytics_storage, ad_user_data, ad_personalization) and correct default states before June 15, 2026, since Google signals no longer acts as a backstop for advertising data. The ads-personalization consolidation and encrypted-IP handling have no fixed dates yet.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Google Analytics Data Controls","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/17016975","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-04-16"},{"title":"Google strips Analytics of ad data authority in June 2026 consent overhaul","url":"https://ppc.land/google-strips-analytics-of-ad-data-authority-in-june-2026-consent-overhaul/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-04-16"},{"title":"Google Consent Mode June 2026 Update","url":"https://www.uniconsent.com/blog/google-ads-consent-mode-change-2026","publisher":"UniConsent","date":"2026-04-16"}],"id":"2026-04-16-ga-data-controls-consent-mode-single-control"},{"date":"2026-04-15","effective_date":"2026-09-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Deprecation","status":"Announced","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Dynamic Search Ads, automatically created assets and campaign-level broad match to auto-upgrade to AI Max","summary":"Google announced that Dynamic Search Ads, legacy automatically created assets and the campaign-level broad match setting will be automatically upgraded into AI Max for Search starting September 2026, with voluntary upgrade tools and in-account prompts available immediately.","details":"Original plan: new DSA campaign creation stops in September 2026 across the UI, Editor and API, and remaining eligible Search campaigns auto-upgrade by end of September. Google reports a 7% average lift in conversions or value when AI Max's full feature set is used. In August 2026 Google revised the DSA portion of this timeline to February 2027 (see separate entry) while keeping September 2026 for broad match and ACA.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"We're upgrading Dynamic Search Ads to AI Max","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/dsa-upgrade-to-ai-max-2026/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-04-15"},{"title":"Google to retire Dynamic Search Ads in favor of AI Max","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-retire-dynamic-search-ads-ai-max-474262","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-04-15"},{"title":"Google ends Dynamic Search Ads: DSA upgrades to AI Max in September","url":"https://ppc.land/google-ends-dynamic-search-ads-dsa-upgrades-to-ai-max-in-september/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-04-15"}],"id":"2026-04-15-dsa-aca-broad-match-upgrade-ai-max"},{"date":"2026-04-14","effective_date":"2026-06-30","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Optional video_link attribute added to the product feed; videos eligible to serve from June 30, 2026","summary":"Merchants can submit direct links to product videos (up to 10 per item, YouTube URLs not supported) via the new video link [video_link] attribute. Technical validation started April 14, 2026; serving plus policy and quality validation began June 30, 2026. Video errors do not block the underlying product offer.","details":"Announced in the 2026 product data specification update. Videos are used to enhance how products display across Google surfaces.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Merchant Center product data specification update 2026","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16989427?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-04-14"},{"title":"Video link [video_link]","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/15216925?hl=en-GB","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-04-14"},{"title":"Google Updates Some Merchant Center Product Specifications For 2026","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-updates-some-merchant-center-product-spec-41171.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-04-16"}],"id":"2026-04-14-video-link-attribute"},{"date":"2026-04-14","effective_date":"2026-04-14","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"2026 spec added handling_cutoff_time, minimum_order_value and loyalty sub-attributes for shipping","summary":"The 2026 product data specification update added product-level handling cutoff time [handling_cutoff_time] and minimum order value [minimum_order_value] attributes and new loyalty program label [loyalty_program_label] and loyalty tier label [loyalty_tier_label] sub-attributes of shipping [shipping] so merchants can express loyalty shipping benefits per product.","details":"Effective immediately on April 14, 2026. The update also stated Google will deprecate the energy efficiency class attributes in favor of [certification] to comply with updated EU labelling rules.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Merchant Center product data specification update 2026","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16989427?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-04-14"},{"title":"Merchant Center announcements change log","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/announcements/6192467?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-11"},{"title":"Google Updates Some Merchant Center Product Specifications For 2026","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-updates-some-merchant-center-product-spec-41171.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-04-16"}],"id":"2026-04-14-new-shipping-attributes-cutoff-minimum-order-loyalty"},{"date":"2026-04-14","effective_date":"2027-01-31","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Deprecation","status":"Announced","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Minimum product image size raised to 500x500 px for all categories, enforced from January 31, 2027","summary":"Google raised the minimum resolution for image_link and additional_image_link to 500x500 pixels across all product categories and marketing methods. Warnings began April 14, 2026 and products with smaller images will be disapproved from January 31, 2027. Google recommends 1500x1500 or larger.","details":"Google may automatically optimize some sub-500px images using high-resolution near-duplicates or AI upscaling to avoid disapproval. Merchants can find affected products via the Needs attention tab (\"Image too small for upcoming enforcement\") and download the impacted list. The previous minimums were 100x100 (250x250 for apparel).","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Merchant Center product data specification update 2026","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16989427?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-04-14"},{"title":"Google Merchant Center Product Images Minimum Size Going To 500 x 500 Pixels","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-merchant-center-product-images-update-41924.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-08-24"},{"title":"Google blocks product images under 500 x 500 pixels from 31 January 2027","url":"https://ppc.land/google-blocks-product-images-under-500-x-500-pixels-from-31-january-2027/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-04-14"}],"id":"2026-04-14-image-minimum-500x500-enforcement-2027"},{"date":"2026-04-14","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Admin API added GetUserProvidedDataSettings (v1alpha)","summary":"Developers can now read a property's user-provided data collection settings via the Admin API.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Analytics Admin API changelog","url":"https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/config/admin/v1/changelog","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2026-04-14"}],"id":"2026-04-14-admin-api-user-provided-data-settings"},{"date":"2026-04-13","effective_date":"2026-06-15","product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads data collection to rely solely on the ad_storage consent signal from June 15","summary":"From June 15, 2026 Google Ads checks only the ad_storage consent setting rather than also depending on linked Google Analytics Google Signals settings. Analytics continues to use Google Signals independently.","details":"Advertisers should verify Consent Mode update calls fire correctly and that ad_storage reflects real user choices; accounts that had Google Signals disabled may see more Ads-linked data once ad_storage is granted.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Google Analytics Data Controls","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/17016975","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-04-13"},{"title":"Google simplifies Analytics and Ads consent rules","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-simplifies-analytics-and-ads-consent-rules-474206","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-04-13"}],"id":"2026-04-13-ads-consent-relies-on-ad-storage"},{"date":"2026-04-13","effective_date":"2026-02-03","product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Ad Grants Performance Max campaigns stopped serving on Google Maps after Feb 3","summary":"Jason King reported that Ad Grants PMax campaigns show zero Maps impressions in the channel performance report since February 3, with no explanation from Google.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ad Grants Ads Disappeared From Google Maps","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-04/google-ad-grants-ads-disappeared-maps/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-04-13"}],"id":"2026-04-13-ad-grants-pmax-stopped-serving-on-maps"},{"date":"2026-04-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Enhanced conversions for web and for leads being merged into a single on/off setting","summary":"Google Ads began accepting user-provided data from website tags, Data Manager and the API simultaneously (April 2026) and is replacing the separate enhanced conversions for web and for leads products with one unified on/off setting at account and conversion-action level (June 2026). Existing users are migrated automatically.","details":"Phase one (April 2026): multiple implementation channels accepted at once. Phase two (June 2026): UI distinction removed. Separately, the Google Ads API blocked new offline conversion import / enhanced conversions for leads uploads from June 15, 2026 in favor of the Data Manager API.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"About enhanced conversions","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16884284","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-04-10"},{"title":"Google kills 3 enhanced conversion methods, replaces all with single toggle","url":"https://ppc.land/google-kills-3-enhanced-conversion-methods-replaces-all-with-single-toggle/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-04-10"}],"id":"2026-04-10-enhanced-conversions-single-toggle"},{"date":"2026-04-09","effective_date":"2026-03-09","product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Deprecation","status":"Retired","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Performance Planner quietly dropped support for Display and Video campaigns and impression-share-based plans","summary":"Hana Kobzova noticed Performance Planner no longer supports Display or Video campaigns (effective Mar 9) or plans based on impression share; Search, Shopping, App, Demand Gen, Local and PMax remain.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Deprecates Features In Performance Planner","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-04/google-deprecates-features-performance-planner/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-04-09"}],"id":"2026-04-09-performance-planner-dropped-display-video"},{"date":"2026-04-09","effective_date":"2026-04-22","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Merchant API rolled out to Google Ads scripts as an Advanced API starting April 22, 2026","summary":"The Merchant API became available in the Google Ads scripts editor as an Advanced API from April 22, 2026, ahead of the Content API for Shopping sunset on August 18, 2026, so shopping scripts using the Content API must migrate.","details":"The post highlights Merchant API advantages over the Content API: modular sub-APIs with independent versioning, Product Studio (generative AI), Reviews and Notifications APIs, expanded data source management (supplemental, local inventory, regional inventory, promotions) and omnichannel support with a `legacy_local` compatibility flag.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Merchant API is coming to Google Ads scripts starting April 22, 2026","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/04/merchant-api-is-coming-to-google-ads.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-04-09"},{"title":"Merchant API comes to Google Ads scripts April 22 as Content API nears its end","url":"https://ppc.land/merchant-api-comes-to-google-ads-scripts-april-22-as-content-api-nears-its-end/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-04-09"}],"id":"2026-04-09-merchant-api-in-google-ads-scripts"},{"date":"2026-04-07","effective_date":"2026-04-07","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Telemedicine prescription-drug service ads allowed in New Zealand","summary":"Telemedicine providers certified by LegitScript and Google may advertise prescription drug services in New Zealand from April 2026.","details":"","regions":"New Zealand","sources":[{"title":"Update to Healthcare and Medicines Policy (April 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16985077","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-04-07"}],"id":"2026-04-07-telemedicine-prescription-drug-service-ads-allowed"},{"date":"2026-04-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Launch","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Sponsored ad units began appearing inside the Images tab on mobile search","summary":"Matteo Braghetta spotted Search and Performance Max ads serving within Google Images results on mobile without any campaign changes. Google had not announced the placement or reporting for it.","details":"PPC News Feed separately noted individual Shopping ads in mobile image search in April and a sponsored card carousel test in June.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google starts showing sponsored ads in the Images tab on mobile search","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-starts-showing-sponsored-ads-in-the-images-tab-on-mobile-search-473812","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-04-07"},{"title":"Google Image Search Shows Individual Shopping Ads on Mobile","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-04/google-image-search-shows-individual-shopping-ads-mobile/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-04-07"}],"id":"2026-04-07-sponsored-ads-in-mobile-images-tab"},{"date":"2026-04-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Search ads tested vertical multi-location layouts and a swipeable location carousel","summary":"Anthony Higman spotted location assets rendering as a vertical list with per-location reviews and as a horizontal swipeable carousel on mobile. Google did not confirm the test.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-04-07); Search Engine Land (2026-04-08); PPC News Feed (2026-04-08).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Testing New Layouts for Multi-Location GBP Assets?","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-testing-new-layouts-for-multi-location-gbp-assets-41142.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-04-07"},{"title":"Google tests swipeable location carousel in search ads","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-tests-swipeable-location-carousel-in-search-ads-473897","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-04-08"},{"title":"Location Asset Carousel Test for Search Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-04/location-asset-carousel-text-search-ds/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-04-08"}],"id":"2026-04-07-multi-location-asset-carousel-layouts-test"},{"date":"2026-04-07","effective_date":"2026-04-07","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Certified online pharmacies allowed to promote prescription drug services in India","summary":"Online pharmacies with LegitScript Healthcare Merchant Certification and Google certification may promote prescription drug services targeting India; prescription drugs themselves cannot be promoted.","details":"","regions":"India","sources":[{"title":"Update to Google Ads Healthcare and Medicines Policy (April 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16990310","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-04-07"}],"id":"2026-04-07-certified-online-pharmacies-allowed-to-promote"},{"date":"2026-04-06","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Google Advertising and Measurement Developers Hub launched alongside the Ads DevCast podcast","summary":"Google launched a technical-user hub site directing developers to product documentation, Discord, GitHub projects and media, following the March 20, 2026 launch of Ads DevCast, a bi-weekly vodcast covering MCP servers, agents and the Google Ads, Analytics and DV360 APIs.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Introducing the Google Advertising and Measurement Developers Hub!","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/04/introducing-google-advertising-and.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-04-06"},{"title":"Introducing: Ads DevCast","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/03/introducing-ads-devcast.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-03-20"}],"id":"2026-04-06-developers-hub-and-devcast"},{"date":"2026-04-06","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Creating a new conversion action began requiring a conversion value instead of allowing a blank field","summary":"Marcin Wsol noticed that the value field is now mandatory when creating conversion actions; advertisers who do not want values must enter 0.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Conversion Value Now Required in Google Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-04/conversion-value-required-google-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-04-06"}],"id":"2026-04-06-conversion-value-field-now-required"},{"date":"2026-04-02","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Performance Max channel performance report gained a timeline view of channel contribution over time","summary":"Axel Falck shared on LinkedIn a new timeline chart showing how Search, YouTube, Display and other channels contribute over time, with investment and performance filters.","details":"Andrew Lolk separately noted on X (Apr 16) that clicking into channel performance on the Insights page shows spend over time per channel.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google adds channel performance timeline view to PMax campaigns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-adds-channel-performance-timeline-view-to-pmax-campaigns-473355","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-04-02"},{"title":"Timeline Chart Added to PMAX Channel Report","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-04/timeline-chart-added-pmax-channel-report/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-04-02"},{"title":"Google Ads PMax Channel Performance Spend Over Time","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-pmax-channel-performance-spend-over-time-41165.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-04-16"}],"id":"2026-04-02-pmax-channel-performance-timeline-view"},{"date":"2026-04-01","effective_date":"2026-04-15","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Vehicle ads data-quality mismatches surfaced in the account issues page from mid-April 2026","summary":"Merchant Center began highlighting Vehicle ads data-quality problems, such as availability, condition, price, mileage, VIN and landing-page mismatches between the data source and the website, in the account issues interface. Vehicles with mismatched data are disapproved.","details":"Google's notice is dated April 2026 (month only) with enforcement starting mid-April. Merchants are told to monitor the account issues page and clear warnings to keep vehicle listings approved.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Vehicle listing ads: Vehicle ads data quality will show in account issues","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16911068?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-04-01"},{"title":"Merchant Center announcements change log","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/announcements/6192467?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-11"}],"id":"2026-04-01-vehicle-ads-data-quality-in-account-issues"},{"date":"2026-04-01","effective_date":"2026-04-21","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Gambling certification applications reopened for Australia","summary":"Google resumed accepting online gambling certification applications for Australia from April 21, 2026, ending the pause introduced in August 2025.","details":"Google's change log dates this entry to April 2026.","regions":"Australia","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy: Australia (April 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17000006","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-04-01"}],"id":"2026-04-01-gambling-certification-applications-reopened-for-australia"},{"date":"2026-04-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"Google Ads experiments gained an auto-apply setting that is switched on by default","summary":"Bob Meijer reported that new experiments now auto-apply the winning variant unless the setting is turned off, with success thresholds selectable at directional, 80%, 85% or 95% confidence.","details":"Because the setting defaults to on, experiments can change live campaigns without manual review. PPC News Feed also documented the new option in April.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads experiments now auto-apply results by default","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-experiments-now-auto-apply-results-by-default-473266","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-04-01"},{"title":"Auto-Apply Option Added to Experiments","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-04/auto-apply-option-added-experiments/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-04-01"}],"id":"2026-04-01-experiments-auto-apply-enabled-by-default"},{"date":"2026-04-01","effective_date":"2026-05-04","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Brand-awareness-only online gambling ads allowed in Alberta for AGLC-licensed operators","summary":"From May 4, 2026, operators with proof of an AGLC licence application may be certified to run online gambling ads geo-restricted to Alberta, initially limited to brand awareness campaigns.","details":"Google's change log dates this entry to April 2026.","regions":"Canada (Alberta)","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy: Alberta, Canada (April 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/17020430","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-04-01"}],"id":"2026-04-01-brand-awareness-only-online-gambling-ads"},{"date":"2026-03-31","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Eight policy articles (crypto, healthcare, financial products, sexual content, etc.) rewritten","summary":"Google reorganized eight help center policy articles for readability; enforcement is unchanged.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Ads Policy Help Center articles (March 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16992218","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-03-31"}],"id":"2026-03-31-eight-policy-articles-crypto-healthcare-financial"},{"date":"2026-03-30","effective_date":"2026-04-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Google Ads promotional credit offers stopped applying automatically and moved to manual partner selection","summary":"Arpan Banerjee and Adriaan Dekker reported that from April partners must pick from up to seven offers per eligible client instead of credits applying automatically.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Free Credit Offers Stop Applying Automatically","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-03/google-ads-free-credit-offers-stop-applying-automatically/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-03-30"}],"id":"2026-03-30-promo-credits-no-longer-auto-applied"},{"date":"2026-03-30","effective_date":"2026-03-30","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"Deprecation","status":"Retired","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Support for Google Ads Editor 2.9 and earlier ended on March 30, 2026","summary":"Under Editor's one-year support policy, versions 2.9 and earlier stopped working on March 30, 2026 and users had to upgrade to a newer version to keep managing accounts.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Support for previous versions","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/editor/answer/70133?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Editor Help","date":"2026-03-30"}],"id":"2026-03-30-google-ads-editor-2-9-support-ended"},{"date":"2026-03-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"API & Tools","status":"Retired","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Google Ads Editor bug kept copied structured snippets linked across accounts, syncing language changes","summary":"Marcin Wsol found that structured snippets copied between Czech and Slovak accounts stayed linked in Editor; Hana Kobzova reproduced it within one account.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-03-30); PPC News Feed (2026-03-30).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Editor bug links structured snippet languages across accounts","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-editor-bug-links-structured-snippet-languages-across-accounts-472983","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-03-30"},{"title":"Google Ads Editor Bug Links Copied Structured Snippets","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-03/google-ads-editor-bug-copied-structured-snippets/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-03-30"}],"id":"2026-03-30-ads-editor-structured-snippet-language-link-bug"},{"date":"2026-03-27","effective_date":"2026-03-01","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Vehicle ads made available to all vehicle advertisers in Spain, Italy and Germany","summary":"Google opened Vehicle ads to all vehicle advertisers in Spain, Italy and Germany, who can upload vehicle data sources to Merchant Center and run Performance Max campaigns.","details":"Continues the European rollout that reached France and the Netherlands in August 2025; Google said expansion to additional countries was planned.","regions":"Spain, Italy, Germany","sources":[{"title":"Vehicle ads available to Spain, Italy and Germany advertisers","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/17003740?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-03-27"},{"title":"Merchant Center announcements change log","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/announcements/6192467?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-11"}],"id":"2026-03-27-vehicle-ads-spain-italy-germany"},{"date":"2026-03-27","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Performance Max gained 'asset group theming' to clone asset groups with seasonal AI-generated variations","summary":"Advertisers began seeing an option to duplicate a high-performing asset group and apply a seasonal or stylistic theme that generates image variants and suggested text. Bia Camargo shared it on LinkedIn; a help document appeared shortly after.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-03-27); Search Engine Roundtable (2026-03-31).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google adds seasonal creative theming to PMax asset groups","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-adds-seasonal-creative-theming-to-pmax-asset-groups-472762","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-03-27"},{"title":"Google Ads PMax Asset Group Theming","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-pmax-asset-group-theming-41127.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-03-31"}],"id":"2026-03-27-pmax-asset-group-theming"},{"date":"2026-03-27","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"BatchJobService.AddBatchJobOperations request size cap quadrupled to about 41.9 MB","summary":"The request size limit for AddBatchJobOperations rose from 10,484,488 bytes to 41,937,920 bytes (single operations still capped at 10,484,488 bytes), letting developers batch more image assets per request; the 10,000 operations per request and 1 million per job limits still apply.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Increase in Batch Job Service Request Size","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/03/increase-in-batch-job-service-request.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-03-27"}],"id":"2026-03-27-batch-job-request-size-increase"},{"date":"2026-03-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"A 'sponsored stores' unit was spotted inside AI Mode product detail panels","summary":"Glenn Gabe documented on X (Mar 25) a sponsored stores block placing paid merchant listings above organic results inside AI Mode, alongside a 'Quick results from the web' block. Google had not announced either.","details":"Coverage: PPC Land (2026-03-26); Search Engine Roundtable (2026-03-26).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Sponsored stores and quick web results spotted inside Google AI Mode","url":"https://ppc.land/sponsored-stores-and-quick-web-results-spotted-inside-google-ai-mode/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-03-26"},{"title":"Sponsored Stores Spotted in AI Mode As Google Expands Ads Across AI Surfaces","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/sponsored-stores-google-ai-mode-41114.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-03-26"}],"id":"2026-03-26-sponsored-stores-spotted-in-ai-mode"},{"date":"2026-03-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Performance Max placement reports gained network segmentation in the 'When and where ads showed' tab","summary":"Advertisers can segment Performance Max placement reports by network to see exactly where ads served, supporting brand-safety reviews.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"New Performance Max steering and reporting updates coming in 2026","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/resources/articles/new-performance-max-steering-and-reporting-updates-coming-in-2026/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-03-26"}],"id":"2026-03-26-pmax-placement-report-network-segmentation"},{"date":"2026-03-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"First-party audience exclusions announced for Performance Max so customer lists can be excluded","summary":"Advertisers will be able to exclude specific customer lists from Performance Max campaigns to focus spend on new customers rather than re-engagement.","details":"One of four Performance Max steering and reporting updates Google previewed for 2026.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"New Performance Max steering and reporting updates coming in 2026","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/resources/articles/new-performance-max-steering-and-reporting-updates-coming-in-2026/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-03-26"},{"title":"Google Ads Performance Max Audience Exclusions & New Reporting","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-pmax-audience-exclusions-reporting-41118.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-03-27"}],"id":"2026-03-26-pmax-first-party-audience-exclusions"},{"date":"2026-03-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Budget projections and full audience reporting (age, gender) announced for Performance Max","summary":"Performance Max is gaining budget reporting with end-of-month spend projections and the effect of daily budget changes, plus audience reporting broken down by demographics such as age range and gender.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"New Performance Max steering and reporting updates coming in 2026","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/resources/articles/new-performance-max-steering-and-reporting-updates-coming-in-2026/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-03-26"},{"title":"Google Ads Performance Max Audience Exclusions & New Reporting","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-pmax-audience-exclusions-reporting-41118.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-03-27"}],"id":"2026-03-26-pmax-budget-and-full-audience-reporting"},{"date":"2026-03-26","effective_date":"2026-04-01","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Offline conversion import backend improved attribution and cross-account authorization (April-May 2026)","summary":"Non-breaking backend changes let the Google Ads API attribute some expired GCLIDs and pre-conversion clicks (fewer EXPIRED_EVENT and CONVERSION_PRECEDES_EVENT errors) and relaxed authorization so manager or client accounts can import on behalf of other trafficking accounts (fewer UNAUTHORIZED_CUSTOMER and INVALID_CUSTOMER_FOR_CLICK errors).","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Upcoming Improvements to Offline Conversion Imports","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/03/upcoming-improvements-to-offline.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-03-26"}],"id":"2026-03-26-offline-conversion-import-improvements"},{"date":"2026-03-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"YouTube engagements goal and follow-on views optimization became GA in Demand Gen","summary":"Demand Gen campaigns can now optimize for YouTube channel engagements and follow-on views to grow watch time alongside an organic channel presence.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Upgrade your creative performance with March's Demand Gen Drop","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-march-2026/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-03-26"}],"id":"2026-03-26-demand-gen-youtube-engagements-goal-ga"},{"date":"2026-03-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"YouTube Creator Partnerships in Google Ads and Creator Partnerships Boost reached general availability","summary":"Advertisers can discover and connect with YouTube creators from Google Ads and boost authentic creator videos as Demand Gen ads. Google reports a 30% average conversion-lift increase on Shorts when creator assets are used.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Upgrade your creative performance with March's Demand Gen Drop","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-march-2026/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-03-26"},{"title":"Upgrade your creative performance with March's Demand Gen Drop","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/demand-gen-drop-march-2026/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-03-26"}],"id":"2026-03-26-creator-partnerships-boost-ga"},{"date":"2026-03-25","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Shopping ads expanded to 15 additional European markets in two phases","summary":"Google announced Shopping ads availability in 15 more European countries (including Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia, Serbia, Moldova, North Macedonia, Liechtenstein, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro), rolled out in two phases aligned to seasonal shopping periods.","details":"In August 2026 Google removed a July 14 announcement covering 14 of these markets from its supported-countries table without explanation (see separate entry).","regions":"Europe","sources":[{"title":"Google Expands Shopping Ads to 15 New European Markets","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-03/google-expands-shopping-ads-15-european-markets/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-03-25"}],"id":"2026-03-25-shopping-ads-15-new-european-markets"},{"date":"2026-03-25","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Loyalty features expanded to 14 countries and to local, regional and AI Mode/Gemini surfaces","summary":"Google expanded Merchant Center loyalty features so member pricing and member shipping benefits show on standard Shopping ads, local inventory ads, regional Shopping ads and AI surfaces (AI Mode and Gemini) across 14 countries. Customer Match lists in Google Ads are required for member shipping and green strikethrough member pricing.","details":"Countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, UK and US. Google cited up to a 20% CTR lift for tailored offers to loyalty members and noted a US pilot allowing Customer Match data for free listings.","regions":"14 countries","sources":[{"title":"Loyalty program updates: Drive customer growth with expanded loyalty features","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16986038?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-03-25"},{"title":"Merchant Center announcements change log","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/announcements/6192467?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-11"},{"title":"Google expands Merchant Center loyalty features to 14 countries and AI surfaces","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-expands-merchant-center-loyalty-features-to-14-countries-and-ai-surfaces-473122","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-03-31"}],"id":"2026-03-25-loyalty-features-expanded-14-countries-ai-surfaces"},{"date":"2026-03-25","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API v23.2 released with VideoEnhancement resource, AppTopCombinationView and ad-level scheduling","summary":"v23.2 added the VideoEnhancement resource (Google-generated vs advertiser-provided video info), the read-only AppTopCombinationView for App campaign asset combinations, HotelSettingInfo.disable_hotel_setting for Demand Gen, a biddable_indirect_install_first_in_app_conversion_micros metric, ad-level start/end date-times, and ContentCreatorInsightsService and ReachPlanService enhancements.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Announcing v23.2 of the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/03/announcing-v232-of-google-ads-api.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-03-25"},{"title":"Release notes (v23.2, 2026-03-25)","url":"https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/release-notes","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2026-03-25"}],"id":"2026-03-25-ads-api-v23-2-released"},{"date":"2026-03-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Veo image-to-video generation made available for all campaign types in Asset Studio","summary":"Advertisers can upload up to three images and have Veo generate a unique video of up to 10 seconds with natural motion, then drop it into ad templates. Available for all campaigns and for auto-generated Demand Gen campaigns.","details":"Google recommends pairing Veo with Nano Banana to create audience-specific variations without production resources.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Resonate with the YouTube audiences that matter most to you, with Veo in Google Ads","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/veo-google-ads/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-03-24"},{"title":"Upgrade your creative performance with March's Demand Gen Drop","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-march-2026/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-03-26"}],"id":"2026-03-24-veo-in-google-ads-all-campaigns"},{"date":"2026-03-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"An option to generate AI animated video clips from static images appeared in Performance Max asset groups","summary":"Nikki Kuhlman of JumpFly spotted a new asset creation option that animates images into short clips inside PMax. Google later documented image-to-animation in its help center (April).","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-03-24); PPC News Feed (2026-03-24).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google is testing AI-generated animated video clips inside PMax","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-is-testing-ai-generated-animated-video-clips-inside-pmax-472340","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-03-24"},{"title":"Animated Clips Now Appearing in Performance Max Asset Creation","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-03/animated-clips-appearing-performance-max-asset-creation/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-03-24"}],"id":"2026-03-24-pmax-ai-animated-clips-from-images"},{"date":"2026-03-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Competing Search ads were spotted displaying identical automatically generated website statistics","summary":"Anthony Higman flagged multiple advertisers' ads showing the same 'website stats' annotations at once. Google did not explain whether it was a test or a glitch.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-03-23); PPC News Feed (2026-03-23).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Duplicate website stats appear in Google paid search ads","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-are-showing-identical-website-stats-across-multiple-advertisers-472207","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-03-23"},{"title":"Google Shows Identical Web Stats Across Multiple Search Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-03/identical-web-stats-across-multiple-search-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-03-23"}],"id":"2026-03-23-identical-website-stats-across-competing-ads"},{"date":"2026-03-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Google Ads moved the account switcher to the top left and redesigned the campaign hierarchy navigation","summary":"Vojtech Audy reported a UI refresh for select users placing the account switcher in the top-left corner with a new horizontal campaign hierarchy layout.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Updates Account Switcher And Navigation","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-03/google-ads-updates-account-switcher-and-navigation/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-03-20"}],"id":"2026-03-20-account-switcher-and-navigation-redesign"},{"date":"2026-03-19","effective_date":"2026-04-30","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Duplicate Lookalike user lists rejected from April 30, 2026","summary":"Creating a Lookalike list with the same seed lists, expansion level and country targeting as an existing list returns DUPLICATE_LOOKALIKE in v24+ (RESOURCE_ALREADY_EXISTS in earlier versions), primarily affecting Demand Gen campaigns.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Upcoming changes to Lookalike user lists in the Google Ads API, starting April 30, 2026","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/03/upcoming-changes-to-lookalike-user.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-03-19"}],"id":"2026-03-19-lookalike-duplicate-check"},{"date":"2026-03-17","effective_date":"2026-03-17","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Deprecation","status":"Retired","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Form ad, image quality, responsive ad and text ad requirements retired","summary":"Google discontinued four legacy ad format requirement pages because the products evolved; advertisers should rely on the general Google Ads policies and Ad format requirements.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Ad format requirements (March 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16971215","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-03-17"}],"id":"2026-03-17-form-ad-image-quality-responsive-ad"},{"date":"2026-03-16","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"'Sponsored Shops' blocks showing whole storefronts were spotted in Google Shopping results","summary":"Arpan Banerjee shared a new Shopping format that displays a store with multiple products instead of individual product listings. Google did not confirm the test.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-03-16); PPC News Feed (2026-03-16).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google tests 'Sponsored Shops' blocks in Shopping results","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-tests-sponsored-shops-blocks-in-shopping-results-471725","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-03-16"},{"title":"Google Shopping Rolls Out Sponsored Shops Block","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-03/google-shopping-rolls-out-sponsored-shops-block/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-03-16"}],"id":"2026-03-16-sponsored-shops-block-in-shopping-results"},{"date":"2026-03-16","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Performance Max channel performance report gained an 'Ads using video' segment","summary":"Hana Kobzova spotted a new segmentation option that splits PMax channel results by whether video assets were used.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-03-16); Search Engine Land (2026-03-17).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"PMax Channel Reporting Gets Video Segmentation Option","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/pmax-channel-reporting-gets-video-segmentation-option-41075.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-03-16"},{"title":"Google adds video visibility to Performance Max reporting","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-adds-video-visibility-to-performance-max-reporting-471897","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-03-17"}],"id":"2026-03-16-pmax-channel-report-ads-using-video-segment"},{"date":"2026-03-16","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads Editor 2.12 released with total campaign budgets, more PMax videos and text guidelines","summary":"Editor 2.12 raised the Performance Max video limit to 15 per asset group, added 9:16 images for PMax, non-skippable mix video campaigns, Demand Gen NCA goals, brand guidelines, hotel feeds and the USD 5 budget floor, total (flighted) budgets of 3-90 days for Search, Shopping and PMax, video bid guidance, text guidelines (25 term exclusions, 40 messaging restrictions), account-level tracking templates, a final URL expansion assets report, Pending/Ended/Draft status filters and Link Check find-and-replace.","details":"Date reflects the start of the rollout as reported by PPC News Feed and ALM Corp on March 16, 2026; Google's help page labels 2.12 a 2026 release.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Editor version 2.12","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/editor/answer/16924635?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Editor Help","date":"2026-03-16"},{"title":"Google Ads Editor 2.12 Is Rolling Out","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-03/google-ads-editor-2-12-rolling-out/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-03-16"},{"title":"Google Ads Editor 2.12: Every New Feature Explained","url":"https://almcorp.com/blog/google-ads-editor-2-12-new-features-2026/","publisher":"ALM Corp","date":"2026-03-16"}],"id":"2026-03-16-google-ads-editor-2-12"},{"date":"2026-03-16","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Retired","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Campaign table displayed '0.00/day' budgets whenever a campaign filter was applied","summary":"Hana Kobzova documented a display-only bug in which filtered campaign views showed zero daily budgets; the correct values returned when the filter was removed.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Filter Bug Shows Zero Daily Budget","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-03/google-ads-filter-bug-shows-zero-daily-budget/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-03-16"}],"id":"2026-03-16-campaign-filter-shows-zero-daily-budget-bug"},{"date":"2026-03-12","effective_date":"2026-03-31","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Recurring billing policy expanded to certified US online pharmacies for prescription drugs","summary":"From March 31, 2026, certified US online pharmacies may promote prescription drug subscriptions, bundled prescription-plus-service offers and prescription consultation services in Shopping, subject to feed and fee-transparency requirements.","details":"","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Recurring billing policy expansion: Prescription drugs","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16940854","publisher":"Google Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-03-12"}],"id":"2026-03-12-recurring-billing-policy-expanded-to-certified"},{"date":"2026-03-12","effective_date":"2026-03-31","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Physical goods subscriptions policy extended to alcohol (e.g., wine clubs) in the US","summary":"From March 31, 2026, qualifying US sellers may offer alcohol subscriptions such as wine clubs in Shopping, provided they comply with alcohol policies, use the correct category and include subscription cost data.","details":"","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Physical goods subscriptions expansion: Alcohol","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16941451","publisher":"Google Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-03-12"}],"id":"2026-03-12-physical-goods-subscriptions-policy-extended-to"},{"date":"2026-03-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Demand Gen 'Asset optimization' panel was redesigned into simple toggles for AI creative controls","summary":"The panel now groups auto-generated shorter videos, automatic video resizing and landing page image pulls into single toggles. Reported by Anu Adegbola and PPC News Feed.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-03-12); Search Engine Roundtable (2026-03-12).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads refreshes Asset Optimization layout for Demand Gen","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-refreshes-asset-optimization-layout-for-demand-gen-471485","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-03-12"},{"title":"Google Ads Asset Optimization Layout Gets a Refresh","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-asset-optimization-layout-gets-a-refresh-41069.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-03-12"}],"id":"2026-03-12-demand-gen-asset-optimization-panel-redesign"},{"date":"2026-03-11","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Merchant Center for Agencies became generally available in the US and Canada","summary":"Google made Merchant Center for Agencies, a dedicated command center for managing an entire client portfolio, generally available to agencies in the United States and Canada, with a global pilot continuing elsewhere.","details":"Google cited a single-view interface, centralized monitoring and delegation, early detection of issues that could lead to suspensions, and growth-opportunity insights. Agencies request conversion of their account through Google support.","regions":"US and Canada","sources":[{"title":"Introducing Merchant Center for Agencies","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16944668?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-03-11"},{"title":"Merchant Center announcements change log","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/announcements/6192467?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-11"}],"id":"2026-03-11-merchant-center-for-agencies-ga-us-canada"},{"date":"2026-03-10","effective_date":"2026-03-20","product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"AI voice-over enhancement added to Performance Max video ads; opt-out deadline March 20","summary":"Google began layering AI-generated voice-over (built from ad headlines and descriptions) onto silent video assets in Performance Max. From March 20, 2026 every campaign with video enhancements enabled became eligible; advertisers who wanted to avoid it had to turn off video enhancement control.","details":"Communicated to advertisers by in-account notice and email rather than a public announcement.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google AI Voice Models Coming To Google Ads Performance Max Videos","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-voice-models-google-ads-41051.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-03-10"},{"title":"Google Ads adds AI voice-over to Performance Max video ads","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-adds-ai-voice-over-to-performance-max-video-ads-471156","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-03-10"}],"id":"2026-03-10-pmax-ai-voice-over-video"},{"date":"2026-03-09","effective_date":"2026-03-20","product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Google began auto-enabling AI voice-overs on Performance Max videos without audio (opt-out by Mar 20)","summary":"Advertisers received notices that PMax videos lacking an audio track would get AI narration generated from headlines and descriptions unless they opted out by March 20. Arpan Banerjee and Anu Adegbola reported the change.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-03-09); PPC News Feed (2026-03-10); Search Engine Roundtable (2026-03-10).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads adds AI voice-over to Performance Max video ads","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-adds-ai-voice-over-to-performance-max-video-ads-471156","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-03-09"},{"title":"Google Ads Auto-Enables AI Voice for Performance Max","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-03/performance-max-videos-get-ai-generated-voiceovers/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-03-10"},{"title":"Google AI Voice Models Coming To Google Ads PMax Videos","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-voice-models-google-ads-41051.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-03-10"}],"id":"2026-03-09-pmax-ai-voiceover-auto-enabled"},{"date":"2026-03-09","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"A large AI Max promotional card began appearing in the Recommendations tab","summary":"Hana Kobzova noticed an oversized recommendation card pushing advertisers to activate AI Max text customization and final URL expansion directly from the Recommendations page.","details":"PPC News Feed also noted an AI Max promotion appearing inside campaign settings in February.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Pushes AI Max With Huge Recommendation","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-03/google-ads-pushes-ai-max-huge-recommendation/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-03-09"},{"title":"Google Ads Displays AI Max Promotion in Campaign Settings","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-02/google-ads-displays-ai-max-promotion-campaign-settings/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-02-20"}],"id":"2026-03-09-large-ai-max-recommendation-card"},{"date":"2026-03-09","effective_date":"2026-04-14","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Financial services verification required for advertisers targeting Malaysia","summary":"From April 14, 2026, advertisers promoting banking, credit cards, loans, investments, brokerages, bonds/commodities/futures trading or insurance in Malaysia must verify through partner G2 and apply to Google as first-party or authorized advertisers.","details":"","regions":"Malaysia","sources":[{"title":"Introducing New Verification Requirements for Certain Financial Services Advertisers (April 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16888296","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-03-09"}],"id":"2026-03-09-financial-services-verification-required-for-advertisers"},{"date":"2026-03-04","effective_date":"2026-04-01","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Measurement","type":"Deprecation","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API closed to new adopters of Customer Match from April 1, 2026 in favor of the Data Manager API","summary":"Developer tokens that had not uploaded to a Customer Match list between October 2025 and March 2026 receive CUSTOMER_NOT_ALLOWLISTED_FOR_THIS_FEATURE from OfflineUserDataJobService and UserDataService starting April 1, 2026; existing adopters can continue while migrating to the Data Manager API.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Changes to Customer Match Support in the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/03/changes-to-customer-match-support-in.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-03-04"}],"id":"2026-03-04-customer-match-closed-to-new-adopters"},{"date":"2026-03-03","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Display","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"A new recommendation urged advertisers to remove contextual targeting and use audience targeting alone","summary":"Anthony Higman found a previously unseen recommendation stating that combining audience and contextual targeting 'restricts your reach' and suggesting audience-only ad groups.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Unusual Recommendation to Target a Broader Audience","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-03/unusual-recommendation-to-target-a-broader-audience/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-03-03"}],"id":"2026-03-03-recommendation-to-drop-contextual-targeting"},{"date":"2026-03-02","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"UCP checkout documentation published; native_commerce attribute required to show the Buy button","summary":"Google published the merchant help page for Universal Commerce Protocol checkout, explaining that only listings carrying the native_commerce (checkout_eligibility) attribute display the Buy button in AI Mode and Gemini, that Google Pay tokens are used with the merchant as merchant of record, and that merchants apply for early access.","details":"Initially limited to US merchants in an early access program; the help page later lists the US, Canada and Australia. Merchants also need a Google Pay & Wallet Console account and a PSP that accepts Google Pay tokens. A dedicated native_commerce attribute spec page was published in August 2026.","regions":"US, Canada, Australia","sources":[{"title":"Checkout with Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP)","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16837055?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-03-02"},{"title":"Google's UCP checkout help page is finally here - what merchants need to know","url":"https://ppc.land/googles-ucp-checkout-help-page-is-finally-here-what-merchants-need-to-know/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-03-02"}],"id":"2026-03-02-ucp-checkout-help-page-native-commerce"},{"date":"2026-03-02","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Local Services","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"New 'Sponsored options in the area' label with image carousels appeared on local ad groupings","summary":"Anthony Higman posted the new dynamic label and stock-photo carousel on X on Feb 24, criticizing the format; Search Engine Roundtable covered it Mar 2.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-03-02); PPC News Feed (2026-03-02).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Label: Sponsored Options In The Area","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-sponsored-options-in-the-area-40984.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-03-02"},{"title":"New 'Sponsored Options in the Area' Label in Search","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-03/new-sponsored-options-in-thearea-label-search/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-03-02"}],"id":"2026-03-02-sponsored-options-in-the-area-label"},{"date":"2026-03-02","effective_date":"2026-03-17","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Government documents policy dropped authorization requirement for business identifiers in India","summary":"Advertisers promoting business identifiers exclusively to India no longer need government authorization but must still apply for a certification exemption; other government documents and services still require certification.","details":"","regions":"India","sources":[{"title":"Update to Other restricted businesses: Government documents and services policy (March 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16924938","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-03-02"}],"id":"2026-03-02-government-documents-policy-dropped-authorization-requirement"},{"date":"2026-03-01","effective_date":"2026-03-01","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Shopping ended cross-border certification for UK pharmacies targeting Germany and Austria","summary":"Merchant Center discontinued the certification program that allowed UK online pharmacies to advertise in Germany and Austria, matching the Google Ads change from October 2025.","details":"Google's Merchant Center announcement log dates this to March 2026.","regions":"UK; Germany; Austria","sources":[{"title":"Policy update: Healthcare & medicines","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16938359","publisher":"Google Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-03-01"}],"id":"2026-03-01-shopping-ended-cross-border-certification-for"},{"date":"2026-03-01","effective_date":"2026-04-16","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Shopping ads political content policy required election verification in nine countries; India ban","summary":"From April 16, 2026, Shopping ads with political content targeting Argentina, Australia, Chile, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, the UK and the US require election advertiser verification, and certain political content in Shopping ads is prohibited in India.","details":"Google's Merchant Center announcement log dates this to March 2026.","regions":"Argentina; Australia; Chile; Israel; Mexico; New Zealand; South Africa; UK; US; India","sources":[{"title":"Update to Shopping Ads political content policy","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16891967","publisher":"Google Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-03-01"}],"id":"2026-03-01-shopping-ads-political-content-policy-required"},{"date":"2026-03-01","effective_date":"2026-03-31","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"New certification applications for online gambling aggregators paused in Indiana","summary":"From March 31, 2026, Google temporarily stopped accepting certification applications from online gambling content aggregators targeting Indiana.","details":"Google's change log dates this entry to March 2026.","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy: Indiana, USA (March 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16927310","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-03-01"}],"id":"2026-03-01-new-certification-applications-for-online-gambling"},{"date":"2026-02-27","effective_date":"2026-04-01","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API began enforcing a USD 5 minimum daily budget for Demand Gen campaigns from April 1, 2026","summary":"An unversioned change returns BUDGET_BELOW_DAILY_MINIMUM (v21+; v20 returns UNKNOWN with details.unpublished_error_code) when creating or modifying a Demand Gen campaign with a daily or flighted budget below USD 5 or local equivalent; existing lower-budget campaigns keep serving until edited.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Minimum Budget Requirement for Demand Gen Campaigns","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/02/minimum-budget-requirement-for-demand.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-02-27"}],"id":"2026-02-27-demand-gen-minimum-budget"},{"date":"2026-02-27","effective_date":"2026-04-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Announced","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Demand Gen campaigns to require a minimum $5 daily budget from April 1, 2026","summary":"Google announced that Demand Gen campaigns created or edited on or after April 1, 2026 must have a daily budget of at least $5 USD (or local equivalent) to get through the initial learning phase. Existing lower-budget campaigns keep serving until edited.","details":"Announced by the Google Ads API team on the Ads Developer Blog as an unversioned change; it surfaces as a BUDGET_BELOW_DAILY_MINIMUM error in the API and blocks sub-$5 budgets on creation or edits.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google to enforce $5 minimum daily budget on Demand Gen campaigns from April","url":"https://ppc.land/google-to-enforce-5-minimum-daily-budget-on-demand-gen-campaigns-from-april/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-02-27"}],"id":"2026-02-27-demand-gen-5-dollar-minimum-budget"},{"date":"2026-02-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Text guidelines beta in AI Max expanded to all advertisers globally with full language support","summary":"Text guidelines let advertisers tell AI Max which terms or concepts to avoid in AI-generated text (for example, 'don't imply our products are cheap'). The beta moved from limited access to all advertisers, languages and verticals.","details":"PPC Land reported the feature supports up to 25 term exclusions and 40 messaging restrictions. Text guidelines were later folded into the broader AI Brief (announced April 30 / May 20).","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"We're expanding beta access to text guidelines for all advertisers globally in AI Max","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/we-have-expanded-beta-access-to-text-guidelines-for-all-advertisers-globally-in-ai-max/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-02-26"}],"id":"2026-02-26-text-guidelines-ai-max-global-beta"},{"date":"2026-02-26","effective_date":"2026-04-01","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Campaign mutates blocked for accounts with undeclared EU political ads status from April 1, 2026","summary":"From April 1, 2026, in v20 through v23 of the Google Ads API and in Google Ads scripts, any account with one or more campaigns missing the EU political advertising declaration fails all campaign-management mutate calls with MutateError.EU_POLITICAL_ADVERTISING_DECLARATION_REQUIRED until the campaigns are declared; reporting and account management calls are unaffected.","details":"Query `campaign.missing_eu_political_advertising_declaration = true` to find undeclared campaigns; updates that only set `contains_eu_political_advertising` are allowed through `CampaignService.MutateCampaigns`, `GoogleAdsService.Mutate` or `BatchJobService`.","regions":"European Union","sources":[{"title":"Additional changes for supporting European Union Political Ads Regulation in Google Ads API and Google Ads scripts","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/02/additional-changes-for-supporting.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-02-26"}],"id":"2026-02-26-eu-political-ads-account-level-enforcement"},{"date":"2026-02-25","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API v23.1 released with YouTube video uploads, text guidelines and EU political ads fields","summary":"v23.1 (with minors v20.2, v21.1 and v22.1 for EU political ads support) added Campaign.missing_eu_political_advertising_declaration and Customer.contains_eu_political_advertising, a YouTubeVideoUploadService, campaign text guidelines for Performance Max and Search, unique_users_two_plus through ten_plus reach metrics, and ConversionActionCategory.YOUTUBE_FOLLOW_ON_VIEWS.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Announcing v23.1 of the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/02/announcing-v231-of-google-ads-api.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-02-25"},{"title":"Release notes (v23.1, 2026-02-25)","url":"https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/release-notes","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2026-02-25"}],"id":"2026-02-25-ads-api-v23-1-released"},{"date":"2026-02-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Merchant Center 'Video assets' section began auto-populating with videos pulled from YouTube and other sources","summary":"Hana Kobzova noticed the video section, empty since its September rollout, is now filled with automatically imported videos. Google did not announce the change.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-02-24); PPC News Feed (2026-02-24).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Merchant Center becomes a central video hub as Google auto-imports content","url":"https://searchengineland.com/gmc-video-assets-section-now-showing-populated-content-470126","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-02-24"},{"title":"Video Assets in GMC Now Populated With Videos","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-02/video-assets-gmc-populated-videos/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-02-24"}],"id":"2026-02-24-gmc-video-assets-section-auto-populated"},{"date":"2026-02-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"February Demand Gen Drop published a best-practices framework and confirmed several features as GA","summary":"Google published a four-pillar Demand Gen best-practices framework and confirmed general availability of optimized targeting, lookalike audiences, new customer acquisition goals, tCPA/tROAS, Performance Planner, Excellent Ad Strength, Google tag gateway and Data Manager connections.","details":"Google claims advertisers adopting at least three of the four best practices saw over 40% more conversions on average.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Our February Demand Gen Drop has more ways to unlock high-performing Demand Gen campaigns","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-february-2026/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-02-24"},{"title":"Our February Demand Gen Drop has more ways to unlock high-performing Demand Gen campaigns","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/demand-gen-drop-february-2026/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-02-24"}],"id":"2026-02-24-demand-gen-best-practices-features-ga"},{"date":"2026-02-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Google Ads support forms began requiring advertisers to authorize Google to make account changes","summary":"Arpan Banerjee noticed the support form now asks advertisers to grant explicit authorization for specialists to change the account. Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin said on Feb 25 this was not new and applies when advertisers request changes.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-02-23); Search Engine Roundtable (2026-02-24).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads support requires account change authorization","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-support-now-requires-account-change-authorization-469989","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-02-23"},{"title":"Google Ads Support Form Requires You To Authorize Google To Make Changes","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-support-form-requires-you-to-authorize-google-reps-to-make-changes-40974.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-02-24"}],"id":"2026-02-23-support-form-requires-change-authorization"},{"date":"2026-02-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Local Services","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Google tested a 'Sponsored Places' label and ad unit in search results","summary":"Alex Sparks spotted search results labeling a local ad block 'Sponsored Places' rather than 'Sponsored results', with maps integration. Google did not confirm the test.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-02-20); PPC News Feed (2026-02-20).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Sponsored Places Search Ad Unit","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-sponsored-places-search-ad-unit-40965.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-02-20"},{"title":"Google Tests Sponsored Places Ad Unit in Search Results","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-02/google-tests-sponsored-places-ad-unit-search-results/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-02-20"}],"id":"2026-02-20-sponsored-places-ad-unit-test"},{"date":"2026-02-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Performance Max began previewing how landing page images would be turned into ad creatives","summary":"Thomas Eccel spotted new example previews showing how images pulled from a landing page may be used in PMax ads before the campaign goes live.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-02-20); PPC News Feed (2026-02-20).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads shows how landing page images power PMax ads","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-shows-how-landing-page-images-power-pmax-ads-469737","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-02-20"},{"title":"Google Ads Adds Landing Page Image Examples for PMax","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-02/google-ads-adds-landing-page-image-examples-pmax/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-02-20"}],"id":"2026-02-20-landing-page-image-examples-for-pmax"},{"date":"2026-02-19","effective_date":"2026-03-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"Budget pacing changed so scheduled campaigns pace toward the full 30.4x monthly limit","summary":"Campaigns using ad scheduling now pace toward the full monthly spending limit (30.4 times the daily budget) even if ads are only eligible on some days, rather than scaling to the number of active days. The 2x daily cap still applies.","details":"Google communicated the change by email to affected accounts (first surfaced publicly on LinkedIn February 19, 2026) with a March 1 effective date rolling out in waves. Search Engine Land later reported a further wave with a June 1, 2026 date. Advertisers who limited days to cap spend may see monthly spend rise; lowering the daily budget is the recommended fix.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads budget pacing with ad scheduling: what the March 1 change actually does","url":"https://ppc.land/google-ads-budget-pacing-with-ad-scheduling-what-the-march-1-change-actually-does/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-03-01"},{"title":"Google changes budget pacing rules for scheduled campaigns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-changes-budget-pacing-rules-for-scheduled-campaigns-475107","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-04-22"}],"id":"2026-02-19-budget-pacing-ad-schedule-monthly-cap"},{"date":"2026-02-18","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"'Where ads showed' report began listing Performance Max placements including search partner domains","summary":"Thomas Eccel shared on LinkedIn that the placement report, which previously showed nothing for PMax, now displays where PMax ads served across search partners, Display and other networks.","details":"Reported by Search Engine Land and Search Engine Roundtable on Feb 18 and by Search Engine Journal on Feb 20. This was a notable transparency gain for PMax, exposing search partner domains for the first time.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads shows PMax placements in 'Where ads showed' report","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-shows-pmax-placements-in-where-ads-showed-report-469527","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-02-18"},{"title":"Google Ads Now Shows PMax Placement Report Details","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-pmax-placement-report-details-40941.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-02-18"},{"title":"Google Ads Surfaces PMax Search Partner Domains In Placement Report","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-ads-surfaces-pmax-search-partner-domains-in-placement-report/567922/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2026-02-20"}],"id":"2026-02-18-pmax-placements-in-where-ads-showed-report"},{"date":"2026-02-18","effective_date":"2026-03-10","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GCGRA-licensed operators allowed to advertise internet gaming, sports wagering and lotteries in UAE","summary":"From March 10, 2026, entities licensed by the UAE General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority and certified by Google may advertise online gaming, sports betting and lotteries in the UAE.","details":"","regions":"UAE","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy: UAE (February 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16856189","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-02-18"}],"id":"2026-02-18-gcgra-licensed-operators-allowed-to-advertise"},{"date":"2026-02-17","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Recommendations section gained a 'Results' tab measuring the impact of applied bid and budget suggestions","summary":"Hana Kobzova spotted a new Results tab comparing actual outcomes to estimated baselines on a rolling seven-day basis. A Google spokesperson told Search Engine Land it was an early pilot.","details":"Search Engine Roundtable found the help document on Feb 17 and Search Engine Land reported the UI on Feb 18. Broader availability was noted by SER on Apr 30 and SEL on Apr 7.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Recommendations Doc About The Results Tab","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/about-the-results-tab-google-ads-40937.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-02-17"},{"title":"Google Ads adds Results tab to show impact of applied recommendations","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-adds-results-tab-to-show-impact-of-applied-recommendations-469390","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-02-18"},{"title":"Google Ads adds 'Results' tab to show impact of recommendations","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-adds-results-tab-to-show-impact-of-recommendations-473868","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-04-07"}],"id":"2026-02-17-recommendations-results-tab"},{"date":"2026-02-17","effective_date":"2026-03-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Lookalike segments in Demand Gen changed from hard targeting limits to audience suggestions from March 2026","summary":"Starting March 2026, Lookalike segments in Demand Gen no longer cap reach at the narrow/balanced/broad similarity thresholds; Google AI may expand beyond them when it predicts more conversions or lower CPA. Advertisers must file a form to opt out.","details":"Documented in Google's Help Center and FAQ updates per PPC Land; opt-out removal takes about a week and UI opt-out controls were promised later in 2026. Applies only to Demand Gen, not Video brand campaigns or DV360.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google quietly strips Lookalike's hard targeting control in Demand Gen","url":"https://ppc.land/google-quietly-strips-lookalikes-hard-targeting-control-in-demand-gen/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-02-17"}],"id":"2026-02-17-lookalike-segments-demand-gen-suggestions"},{"date":"2026-02-17","effective_date":"2026-02-17","product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"In-account certification applications piloted for crypto, hardware wallet, coin trust and CSFP categories","summary":"Google began incrementally letting some advertisers apply for cryptocurrency exchange/software wallet, hardware wallet, coin trust and complex speculative financial product certifications directly in their Google Ads account instead of via the Help Center.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to the Google Ads Certification Process (February 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16882849","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-02-17"}],"id":"2026-02-17-in-account-certification-applications-piloted-for"},{"date":"2026-02-17","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Merchant Center renamed 'Destinations' to 'Marketing methods'","summary":"Hana Kobzova noticed the Destinations control in Merchant Center now appears as 'Marketing methods'; the support page was updated to match.","details":"The help page title now reads \"Marketing method (previously known as 'Destinations')\"; the excluded_destination and included_destination attribute names were not changed by this rename.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Renames Destinations to Marketing Methods in Merchant Center","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-02/google-renames-destinations-marketing-methods-gmc/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-02-17"},{"title":"Marketing method (previously known as 'Destinations')","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/15624454?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-02-17"}],"id":"2026-02-17-gmc-destinations-renamed-marketing-methods"},{"date":"2026-02-17","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Conversion action settings gained a beta to connect BigQuery, MySQL and other data sources","summary":"A gradual beta lets advertisers link external databases directly inside conversion settings to enrich conversion data with first-party values. Reported by Anu Adegbola for Search Engine Land.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-02-17); PPC News Feed (2026-02-17).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads adds beta data source integrations to conversion settings","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-adds-beta-data-source-integrations-to-conversion-settings-469328","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-02-17"},{"title":"Data Source Integration Now Available in Conversion Settings","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-02/data-source-integration-now-available-in-conversion-settings/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-02-17"}],"id":"2026-02-17-data-source-integrations-in-conversion-settings"},{"date":"2026-02-16","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"'Low activity system bulk changes' tool was found automatically re-enabling paused keywords","summary":"Francesco Cifardi flagged on LinkedIn that Google's low-activity tool re-enabled previously paused keywords, with entries and an undo option in the activity log. Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin confirmed on Feb 19 that only system-auto-paused keywords were affected and called it 'uncommon but expected'.","details":"Search Engine Land reported it Feb 16; Search Engine Roundtable Feb 18; Marvin's clarification followed Feb 19. Advertisers who pause keywords manually were not affected, but auto-paused keywords deemed active again can be turned back on by the system.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads tool is automatically re-enabling paused keywords","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-tool-is-automatically-re-enabling-paused-keywords-469311","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-02-16"},{"title":"Google Ads Tool Auto Enabling Paused Keywords?","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-auto-enabling-paused-keywords-via-low-activity-system-bulk-changes-40942.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-02-18"},{"title":"Google Ads Automatically Enables Paused Keywords","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-02/google-ads-automatically-enables-paused-keywords/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-02-16"}],"id":"2026-02-16-low-activity-tool-re-enabled-paused-keywords"},{"date":"2026-02-11","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Veo 3 video generation added to Asset Studio alongside Nano Banana image editing","summary":"Google added its Veo 3 video model to Asset Studio in Google Ads so advertisers can generate video creative, joining the Nano Banana image tool. Google said nearly 70 million assets were generated with Gemini in AI Max and Performance Max in Q4 2025.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What to expect in digital advertising and commerce in 2026","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/digital-advertising-commerce-2026/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-02-11"}],"id":"2026-02-11-veo-3-asset-studio"},{"date":"2026-02-11","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Experiments page began surfacing pre-configured 'recommended experiments' based on account data","summary":"Hana Kobzova noticed the Experiments dashboard suggesting ready-to-launch tests such as bidding or creative changes that advertisers can run or customize.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-02-11); Search Engine Roundtable (2026-02-13).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads shows recommended experiments","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-shows-recommended-experiments-468887","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-02-11"},{"title":"Google Ads Recommended Experiments","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-recommended-experiments-40920.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-02-13"}],"id":"2026-02-11-recommended-experiments-on-experiments-page"},{"date":"2026-02-11","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Products section gained per-product campaign eligibility lists, status trend graphs and filters","summary":"Hana Kobzova spotted a new Products dashboard showing which campaigns each product is eligible or not eligible for, plus a detail table and status trends.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-02-11); Search Engine Roundtable (2026-02-13).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads simplifies product campaign tracking","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-simplifies-product-campaign-tracking-468852","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-02-11"},{"title":"Google Ads Product Eligibility View Across Campaigns","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-product-eligibility-across-campaigns-40917.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-02-13"}],"id":"2026-02-11-products-section-eligibility-per-campaign"},{"date":"2026-02-11","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Sponsored Shopping ad format began testing in AI Mode across retail and travel queries","summary":"Google confirmed it is testing a new Shopping ad unit in AI Mode that shows retailers offering a product, clearly labeled Sponsored, beneath organic shopping recommendations.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"What to expect in digital advertising and commerce in 2026","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/digital-advertising-commerce-2026/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-02-11"}],"id":"2026-02-11-ai-mode-sponsored-shopping-format-test"},{"date":"2026-02-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Deprecation","status":"Retired","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Parked domains removed as an ad surface from the Search Partner Network","summary":"Parked domain (AdSense for Domains) inventory no longer serves ads via the Search Partner Network, and the parked-domain option was deleted from Content suitability settings in all accounts.","details":"Completes a process that began in early 2025 when parked domains became opt-out by default. Advertisers cannot re-enable the inventory.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Search partner network (SPN) announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16286960?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-02-10"},{"title":"Google quietly kills parked domain ads from Search Partner Network","url":"https://ppc.land/google-quietly-kills-parked-domain-ads-from-search-partner-network/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-02-16"}],"id":"2026-02-10-parked-domains-removed-spn"},{"date":"2026-02-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 Home page now shows Generated insights summarizing the top three data changes since last visit","summary":"The Home page displays AI-generated summaries of the three most important changes since the user's last visit, including configuration updates, anomalies and seasonality.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new in Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9164320","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-02-10"},{"title":"[GA4] Generated insights","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/15598263","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-02-10"},{"title":"Google Analytics adds AI insights and cross-channel budgeting to Home page","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-analytics-adds-ai-insights-and-cross-channel-budgeting-to-home-page-469629","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-02-19"}],"id":"2026-02-10-ga4-generated-insights-home-page"},{"date":"2026-02-06","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"API & Tools","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Campaign Mix (mixed campaign type) experiments were spotted live in some accounts","summary":"Emil Emanuel Ankjaer Nordahl saw the new cross-campaign experiment type available in his account; SER noted it was not yet live for everyone. Google had described the beta a couple of weeks earlier.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-02-06); PPC News Feed (2026-02-06).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Mixed Campaign Type Experiments Live For Some","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-mixed-campaign-type-experiments-live-40886.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-02-06"},{"title":"Campaign Mix Experiments Spotted Live","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-02/campaign-mix-experiments-spotted-live/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-02-06"}],"id":"2026-02-06-mixed-campaign-type-experiments-live"},{"date":"2026-02-06","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Developer token access-application backlog acknowledged; developers told to stay on Explorer Access","summary":"Following Explorer Access, the MCP server and Developer Assistant launches, Basic Access reviews slowed; Google added reviewers, fast-tracked applications, and advised upgrading only when exceeding quotas or blocked by features, suggesting advertiser verification and OAuth app verification details to speed reviews.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"An update on Google Ads API developer token access applications","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/02/an-update-on-google-ads-api-developer.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-02-06"}],"id":"2026-02-06-developer-token-review-backlog"},{"date":"2026-02-06","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Data Manager gained a data source diagnostics view rating connection health from Excellent to Urgent","summary":"Georgi Zayakov reported on LinkedIn that Data Manager now monitors each data connection and flags refused credentials, formatting errors and failed imports with status labels.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-02-06); PPC News Feed (2026-02-06).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads adds a diagnostics hub for data connections","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-adds-a-diagnostics-hub-for-data-connections-468434","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-02-06"},{"title":"Data Connection Diagnostics Added to Google Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-02/google-ads-unveils-data-source-diagnostics/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-02-06"}],"id":"2026-02-06-data-source-diagnostics-hub"},{"date":"2026-02-05","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"New Merchant Center recommendations suggested attributes to add to product descriptions","summary":"Merchant Center began showing recommendations listing additional product attributes merchants could include in descriptions, many of which are not current Shopping feed attributes, hinting at attributes used by AI shopping surfaces.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"New Merchant Center Recommendations Focus on Product Descriptions","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-02/new-merchant-center-recommendations-focus-on-product-descriptions/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-02-05"}],"id":"2026-02-05-product-description-recommendations"},{"date":"2026-02-05","effective_date":"2026-02-05","product":"Google Ads","area":"App","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Personalization removed for DFS and Rummy App campaigns in India after legal changes","summary":"Google reversed its March 2025 allowance: App campaigns for Daily Fantasy Sports and Rummy apps targeting India can no longer use personalized targeting.","details":"","regions":"India","sources":[{"title":"Update to the Personalized ads policy (February 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16854029","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-02-05"}],"id":"2026-02-05-personalization-removed-for-dfs-and-rummy"},{"date":"2026-02-04","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads tag began automatically collecting a broader range of website event data","summary":"Google Ads now automatically collects more website event data with less manual configuration; advertisers may see additional network requests to Google domains from the Google tag.","details":"Advertisers with strict consent or data-minimization requirements should review what the Google tag now sends and adjust tag settings or consent mode accordingly.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Release notes - Tag Manager Help","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/4620708","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2026-02-04"}],"id":"2026-02-04-google-ads-broader-website-event-collection"},{"date":"2026-02-02","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Google Ads support contact form began redirecting advertisers to an AI chat agent","summary":"Marcin Wsol noticed that the support.google.com/google-ads/gethelp form now routes to an AI agent that asks users to describe the issue before offering advice. Arpan Banerjee also noted forms auto-filling from past cases.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-02-02); PPC News Feed (2026-01-30).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Replacing Support Form With AI Agent","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-support-form-now-ai-agent-40853.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-02-02"},{"title":"Google Ads Replaces Support Form With AI Chatbot","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-01/google-ads-replaces-support-form-with-ai-chatbot/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-01-30"}],"id":"2026-02-02-support-form-replaced-by-ai-agent"},{"date":"2026-02-02","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Shopping campaign setup stopped pre-selecting Performance Max, requiring an explicit choice","summary":"Adriaan Dekker and Emil Emanuel Ankjaer Nordahl reported on LinkedIn that the Shopping campaign creation flow now asks advertisers to choose between Standard Shopping and Performance Max instead of defaulting to PMax.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Stops Preselecting Performance Max in Shopping Setup","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-02/google-stops-pre-selecting-performance-max-shopping-setup/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-02-02"}],"id":"2026-02-02-shopping-setup-no-longer-preselects-pmax"},{"date":"2026-02-02","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Local Services","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Local pack ad placements rose from under 3% to roughly 22% of tracked mobile keywords","summary":"Joy Hawkins reported Places Scout data across 1,200 mobile ranking reports showing local pack ads expanding sharply over a couple of months. Google did not comment.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Vastly Increases Local Pack Ads Placement","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-local-pack-ads-more-40856.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-02-02"}],"id":"2026-02-02-local-pack-ads-share-jumped"},{"date":"2026-02-01","effective_date":"2026-02-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Crypto exchange and software wallet ads allowed in Indonesia with OJK licence","summary":"Advertisers licensed by Indonesia's Financial Services Authority (OJK) and certified by Google may promote cryptocurrency exchanges and software wallets targeting Indonesia from February 2026.","details":"Google's change log dates this entry to February 2026.","regions":"Indonesia","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Financial products and services policy (February 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16885619","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-02-01"}],"id":"2026-02-01-crypto-exchange-and-software-wallet-ads"},{"date":"2026-02-01","effective_date":"2027-02-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Deprecation","status":"Retired","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Creation of new call ads removed from Google Ads; existing call ads stop serving February 2027","summary":"As previously announced, from February 2026 advertisers can no longer create new call ads. Existing call ads keep serving until February 2027, after which Google directs advertisers to responsive search ads with call assets.","details":"The deprecation was announced October 3, 2025; the creation cutoff took effect in February 2026 (exact day not stated by Google, so the first of the month is used). Full sunset is February 2027.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Action Required: Transition from call ads to call assets","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16598240","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-10-03"},{"title":"Google ends call ads in February 2026, shifts advertisers to RSA format","url":"https://ppc.land/google-ends-call-ads-in-february-2026-shifts-advertisers-to-rsa-format/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-02-01"},{"title":"Google to phase out Call-Only Ads by 2027","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-to-phase-out-call-only-ads-by-2027-462983","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-10-03"}],"id":"2026-02-01-call-only-ads-creation-removed"},{"date":"2026-01-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Search ads were spotted showing third-party publisher endorsements (logo plus quote) beneath ad copy","summary":"Sarah Blocksidge shared a Search ad carrying a PCMag 'Best for Frequent Travelers' endorsement. A Google spokesperson confirmed it as a small experiment placing third-party endorsement content on Search ads.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-01-30); Search Engine Roundtable (2026-01-30).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google tests third-party endorsements in search ads","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-tests-third-party-endorsements-in-search-ads-468135","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-01-30"},{"title":"Google Ads Tests Third-Party Endorsement Content On Search Ads","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-third-party-content-on-search-ads-40844.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-01-30"}],"id":"2026-01-30-third-party-endorsements-in-search-ads-test"},{"date":"2026-01-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Performance Max asset group table gained one-click ad previews by clicking an image","summary":"Bia Camargo noticed that clicking an image in the PMax asset group table now opens a preview of how the ad renders across placements.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-01-30); PPC News Feed (2026-01-30).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"One Click Google Ads Performance Max Ad Previews","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-pmax-ad-preview-with-one-click-40835.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-01-30"},{"title":"Performance Max Gets One-Click Ad Preview","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-01/performance-max-gets-one-click-ad-preview/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-01-30"}],"id":"2026-01-30-pmax-one-click-ad-preview"},{"date":"2026-01-29","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Channel-level reporting for Performance Max became available in the API with v23","summary":"Starting with v23 the ad_network_type segment returns specific channels (Search, Search Partners, Gmail, YouTube, Display, Discover, Maps) for Performance Max at campaign, asset group and asset level instead of MIXED; asset group-level channel data is API-exclusive and available for dates from June 1, 2025.","details":"Works with the v22 segments `ad_using_product_data` and `ad_using_video`. Reporting systems must handle the new enum values instead of the generic `MIXED` result.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Introducing Channel-Level Reporting for Performance Max campaigns","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/01/introducing-channel-level-reporting-for.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-01-29"}],"id":"2026-01-29-pmax-channel-level-reporting"},{"date":"2026-01-29","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google tag gateway for advertisers via Akamai became available","summary":"Advertisers using Akamai as their CDN can configure Google tag gateway for advertisers to route Google tag traffic through their own domain.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Release notes - Tag Manager Help","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/4620708","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2026-01-29"},{"title":"Set up Google tag gateway for advertisers with Akamai","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/16698389","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2026-01-29"}],"id":"2026-01-29-google-tag-gateway-akamai"},{"date":"2026-01-28","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"'Advertiser verification' page was renamed 'Account', consolidating verification and certifications","summary":"Aditya Shrivastava noticed the Advertiser Verification page now appears as 'Account' under Admin > Policy, grouping verification status, business info and certifications. Existing statuses were unchanged.","details":"Payment-method verification was also moved into the same section (PPC News Feed, Feb 8).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Advertiser Verification Renamed as 'Account' in Google Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-01/advertiser-verification-renamed-as-account-in-google-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-01-28"},{"title":"Google Ads Advertiser Verification Page Moving","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-advertiser-verification-page-moved-40833.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-01-29"},{"title":"Google Moves Payment Verification to Account Section","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-02/google-moves-payment-verification-account-section/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-02-08"}],"id":"2026-01-28-advertiser-verification-page-renamed-account"},{"date":"2026-01-28","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API v23 released with PMax channel breakdowns, granular invoices and campaign date-times","summary":"v23, the first release of the monthly cadence, enabled ad_network_type breakdowns for Performance Max, granular campaign-level invoice details via InvoiceService, Campaign.start_date_time/end_date_time replacing date-only fields, store location details in PerStoreView, a LIFE_EVENT_USER_INTEREST audience insights dimension, AudienceInsightsService.GenerateAudienceDefinition (natural language to audience attributes) and new competitive and conversion-date metrics in ShoppingPerformanceView.","details":"v23 also removed the ability to create shared ads and blocked creation of new call-only ads, per earlier deprecation announcements. v23 sunset: February 2027.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Announcing v23 of the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/01/announcing-v23-of-google-ads-api.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-01-28"},{"title":"Release notes (v23, 2026-01-28)","url":"https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/release-notes","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2026-01-28"},{"title":"Google Ads API v23 brings PMax data, richer invoicing, scheduling","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-api-v23-468104","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-01-29"},{"title":"Google Ads API Version 23 Now Available","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-api-version-23-40839.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-01-29"}],"id":"2026-01-28-ads-api-v23-released"},{"date":"2026-01-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Products section began showing each product's performance across every campaign in a single view","summary":"Clicking a product title in the Products section now lists every campaign the product is active in with per-campaign metrics. Justin Jonkman first shared it on LinkedIn.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-01-26); PPC News Feed (2026-01-26).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Product Campaign View Report Is Useful","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-product-campaign-view-report-40808.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-01-26"},{"title":"Product-Level Campaign View Now in Google Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-01/google-ads-adds-unified-product-performance-view/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-01-26"}],"id":"2026-01-26-product-level-campaign-view"},{"date":"2026-01-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"A new billing report giving a line-by-line invoice breakdown appeared in Google Ads","summary":"Arpan Banerjee spotted a new billing report that lists invoice lines by account, campaign, usage and payment. Google confirmed the rollout to Search Engine Roundtable but published no announcement.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-01-26); PPC News Feed (2026-01-26).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Launches New Billing Report","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-launches-new-billing-report-40814.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-01-26"},{"title":"Billing Reports Added to Google Ads for Invoice Breakdown","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-01/billing-reports-added-to-google-ads-for-invoice-breakdown/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-01-26"}],"id":"2026-01-26-line-item-billing-report"},{"date":"2026-01-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Campaign total budgets opened in beta for Search, Performance Max and Shopping campaigns","summary":"Advertisers can set a fixed total budget for a campaign over a defined date range (days to weeks) and let Google pace spend to fully use it by the end date, instead of managing daily budgets manually.","details":"PPC Land reported the global open-beta expansion on January 15, 2026; Google's Accelerate announcement is dated January 26. Google later described total budgets as 'already launched' to all Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns in its May 2026 bidding roundup. Promotion mode (June 2026) is compatible with campaign total budgets.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Campaign total budgets are now available in Search, Performance Max and Shopping campaigns","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/campaign-total-budgets/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-01-26"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2026: bidding and budgeting news","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/bidding-budgeting-google-marketing-live-2026/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-05-07"}],"id":"2026-01-26-campaign-total-budgets-open-beta"},{"date":"2026-01-25","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Logo upload moved from Business info to Settings > Marketing > Brand > Logo","summary":"Merchant Center relocated logo management from the Business information section to a new Brand area under Marketing; only Admin or Super Admin users can see the new section.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Moves Logo Settings in Merchant Center","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-01/google-moves-logo-settings-in-merchant-center/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-01-25"}],"id":"2026-01-25-logo-settings-moved-to-marketing-brand"},{"date":"2026-01-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Retired","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"A bug blocked saving edits to Performance Max asset groups with a 'Value is required' error","summary":"Chelsea Harding flagged on LinkedIn that PMax asset groups could not be edited or saved in the UI. Google acknowledged the issue and advised using Google Ads Editor as a workaround.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-01-23); Search Engine Roundtable (2026-01-23).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads bug blocks edits to Performance Max asset groups","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-bug-blocks-edits-to-performance-max-asset-groups-467877","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-01-23"},{"title":"Google Ads PMax Asset Group Editing Bug","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-pmax-asset-group-editing-bug-40806.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-01-23"}],"id":"2026-01-23-pmax-asset-group-editing-bug"},{"date":"2026-01-22","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Travel feeds launched in Demand Gen, powering dynamic hotel video ads from Hotel Center data","summary":"Travel advertisers can connect Hotel Center feeds to Demand Gen campaigns to generate dynamic video ads showing hotel pricing, ratings and availability.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"See the newest product features in January's Demand Gen Drop","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-january-2026/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-01-22"}],"id":"2026-01-22-travel-feeds-demand-gen-ga"},{"date":"2026-01-22","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Shoppable CTV became generally available in Demand Gen campaigns","summary":"Demand Gen viewers watching YouTube ads on TV screens can now browse and buy products directly from the ad. Google says Demand Gen campaigns that include TV screens drive on average 7% more conversions.","details":"Part of the January 2026 Demand Gen Drop, which moved several Google Marketing Live 2025 previews to general availability.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"See the newest product features in January's Demand Gen Drop","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-january-2026/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-01-22"},{"title":"See the newest product features in January's Demand Gen Drop","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/demand-gen-drop-january-2026/","publisher":"Accelerate with Google (Google Ads)","date":"2026-01-22"}],"id":"2026-01-22-shoppable-ctv-demand-gen-ga"},{"date":"2026-01-22","effective_date":"2026-03-23","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Gambling certification required 'good policy health'; MCCs with repeated revocations lose eligibility","summary":"From March 23, 2026, accounts applying for gambling and games certification must demonstrate good policy health; manager accounts with substantial revoked certificates or violations lose eligibility and may have certifications revoked. Domains must be owned by the business and cannot be free subdomains or unrelated sites.","details":"Two change-log entries describe this update. It was later extended to all gambling and games categories effective September 14, 2026.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy: Gambling and Games Certification Eligibility Update (March 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16786233","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-01-22"},{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy: Certification Eligibility update (January 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16891635","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-01-22"}],"id":"2026-01-22-gambling-certification-required-good-policy-health"},{"date":"2026-01-22","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Attributed branded searches reporting reached general availability for Demand Gen and YouTube","summary":"Advertisers can now see the volume of branded searches on Google and YouTube driven by their campaigns, as a way to quantify upper-funnel impact. Activation requires a Google representative.","details":"Part of the January 2026 Demand Gen Drop. In August 2026 Google additionally exposed branded searches as a conversion type (see separate entry).","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"See the newest product features in January's Demand Gen Drop","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-january-2026/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-01-22"}],"id":"2026-01-22-attributed-branded-searches-ga"},{"date":"2026-01-20","effective_date":"2026-01-20","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Online gambling ads prohibited in Ethiopia; existing certifications revoked","summary":"Google disallowed all promotion of internet gambling targeting Ethiopia, revoked existing certifications and stopped accepting new applications.","details":"","regions":"Ethiopia","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy: Ethiopia (January 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16817815","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-01-20"}],"id":"2026-01-20-online-gambling-ads-prohibited-in-ethiopia"},{"date":"2026-01-17","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"\"Product data experiments\" A/B tests of product titles and images appeared for select advertisers","summary":"A Product data experiments section in Merchant Center let a limited group of advertisers A/B test alternative product titles and images for Shopping ads, with results expected in three to four weeks.","details":"Delivers on the A/B testing capability announced at Google Marketing Live 2025.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Shopping Ads Get Product Title & Image A/B Testing","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-01/shopping-ads-get-product-title-image-a-b-testing/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-01-17"}],"id":"2026-01-17-product-data-experiments-ab-testing-spotted"},{"date":"2026-01-16","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"'Product data experiments' for A/B testing Shopping ad titles and images were spotted in a limited test","summary":"Duane Brown shared on LinkedIn that some merchants could A/B test product titles and images for Shopping ads. Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin confirmed it as a limited test with broader availability expected later in the year.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-01-16); Search Engine Roundtable (2026-01-16).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads tests A/B experiments for Shopping ad product data","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-tests-a-b-experiments-for-shopping-ad-product-data-467644","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-01-16"},{"title":"Google Ads A/B Tests Product Titles & Images For Shopping Ads","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-ab-tests-shopping-ads-40768.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-01-16"}],"id":"2026-01-16-shopping-product-data-experiments-test"},{"date":"2026-01-16","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Manual CPC became selectable directly in campaign setup instead of behind a 'not recommended' path","summary":"Hana Kobzova of PPC News Feed noticed Manual CPC now appears directly under the Conversions goal during campaign creation rather than requiring advertisers to bypass Smart Bidding suggestions.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-01-16); Search Engine Roundtable (2026-01-16).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads makes Manual CPC easier to find","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-makes-manual-cpc-easier-to-find-467631","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-01-16"},{"title":"Google Ads Manual CPC Bid Selection Streamlined","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-manual-cpc-bidding-40770.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-01-16"}],"id":"2026-01-16-manual-cpc-easier-to-select"},{"date":"2026-01-16","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Beta","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 added per-conversion attribution settings and cross-channel conversion management for Ads (beta)","summary":"Google Ads customers can now adjust conversion attribution settings independently per conversion in Analytics, reducing reporting discrepancies between Ads and Analytics, with new cross-channel reporting features and dimension filters. Availability varies by property.","details":"Help center describes choosing between Google Analytics property attribution settings and Google Ads account attribution settings, and reporting by conversion time or interaction time.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new in Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9164320","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-01-16"},{"title":"[GA4] Cross-channel conversion management","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/16638051","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-01-16"}],"id":"2026-01-16-ga4-web-conversion-management-google-ads-beta"},{"date":"2026-01-16","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 cross-channel budgeting (projections and scenario plans) entered beta in the Advertising section","summary":"Cross-channel budgeting lets advertisers track paid-channel pacing against KPIs with projection plans and model ROI at different budget levels with scenario plans; requires a linked Google Ads account and is planning-only (does not change spend).","details":"Listed again in the February 10, 2026 release notes. Help center notes a DDA-based model in beta for standard and 360 customers, and a Meridian-based model in alpha for select 360 customers.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new in Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9164320","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-01-16"},{"title":"[GA4] Cross-channel budgeting","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/14896117","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-01-16"}],"id":"2026-01-16-ga4-cross-channel-budgeting-beta"},{"date":"2026-01-16","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 launched a Conversion attribution analysis report with assisted conversions and funnel stages (beta)","summary":"A new Advertising-section report shows the full value of channels across the customer journey via an Assisted conversions view (undervalued upper-funnel channels) and a funnel view classifying touchpoints as Early, Mid or Late.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new in Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9164320","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-01-16"},{"title":"[GA4] Conversion attribution analysis","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/16590327","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2026-01-16"}],"id":"2026-01-16-ga4-conversion-attribution-analysis-report-beta"},{"date":"2026-01-15","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Search Partner Network segment added to Performance Max channel reporting for all accounts","summary":"Performance Max channel-level reporting now breaks out Search Partner Network performance for every customer ID, giving campaign-level transparency into SPN traffic.","details":"Listed as a January 2026 item on Google's Search Partner Network announcements page (Google gives the month only; the day used here is approximate). Builds on the Performance Max channel reporting launched in late 2025.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Search partner network (SPN) announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16286960?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2026-01-15"}],"id":"2026-01-15-spn-segment-pmax-channel-reporting"},{"date":"2026-01-15","effective_date":"2026-01-15","product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Policy","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Canada cannabis Search pilot extended through December 31, 2026","summary":"Google extended the Canada cannabis advertising pilot, which began August 2025, through the end of 2026 for Health Canada licence holders and authorized retailers.","details":"","regions":"Canada","sources":[{"title":"Update to Cannabis-Related Content Policy (January 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16851502","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-01-15"}],"id":"2026-01-15-canada-cannabis-search-pilot-extended-through"},{"date":"2026-01-14","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"A low-visibility Location Manager setting let Google insert its own imagery into location ads","summary":"Paid media analyst Conor Crummey found a setting in Shared Library > Location Manager that allows Google to pull images from its own library into location-based ads without explicit approval. Google had not announced it.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"A quiet Google Ads setting could change your creative","url":"https://searchengineland.com/a-quiet-google-ads-setting-could-change-your-creative-467512","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-01-14"}],"id":"2026-01-14-google-owned-location-data-setting"},{"date":"2026-01-14","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Business Agent began rolling out to eligible US retailers, configured in Merchant Center","summary":"Business Agent, a branded conversational assistant on Google Search, started rolling out to US retailers with a verified Merchant Center account, at least 50 approved free listings and a claimed brand profile. Merchants customize tone, welcome message, conversation starters, colors and support contacts under Marketing > Business Agent.","details":"The agent answers product questions using the merchant's website and Merchant Center data. Google said future versions would train on brand guidelines and size guides, add performance insights and support checkout.","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"About Business Agent","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16410382?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-01-14"},{"title":"Business Agent Rolls Out in Google Merchant Center","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-01/branded-ai-agents-roll-out-in-google-merchant-center/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-01-14"}],"id":"2026-01-14-business-agent-rollout-merchant-center"},{"date":"2026-01-14","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Google tested 'Create an account with campaign for faster setup' bundling pre-built campaigns","summary":"Anthony Higman spotted a new onboarding flow on X that creates a Google Ads account together with a pre-built campaign. Google had not announced the option.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-01-14); Search Engine Roundtable (2026-01-14).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google tests faster account setup using pre-built campaigns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-tests-faster-account-setup-using-pre-built-campaigns-467526","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-01-14"},{"title":"Google Ads Faster Account Set Up With Campaigns","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-create-an-account-with-campaign-for-faster-set-up-40747.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-01-14"}],"id":"2026-01-14-account-setup-with-prebuilt-campaign-test"},{"date":"2026-01-14","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Account-level placement exclusions rolled out across Performance Max, Demand Gen, Display and YouTube","summary":"Advertisers can now maintain a single account-level list of websites, apps, YouTube channels and videos to exclude, which automatically applies to all eligible campaigns instead of being managed campaign by campaign.","details":"First spotted by practitioners on LinkedIn on January 14, 2026 and reported by PPC Land and Search Engine Land. Exclusions are additive: a placement blocked at account level is blocked everywhere. Rollout appeared gradual across accounts.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads rolls out account-level placement exclusions","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-rolls-out-account-level-placement-exclusions-467569","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-01-15"},{"title":"Google gives advertisers one placement list to rule them all","url":"https://ppc.land/google-gives-advertisers-one-placement-list-to-rule-them-all/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-01-14"}],"id":"2026-01-14-account-level-placement-exclusions"},{"date":"2026-01-13","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Performance Max asset groups were spotted testing 15 video asset slots instead of 5","summary":"Molly Pritchard and Anu Adegbola noticed some PMax asset groups accepting up to 15 videos. Google Ads Editor 2.12 later documented the higher limit.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Tests 15 Video Asset Slots in Performance Max","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-01/p-max-spotted-testing-15-video-assets-per-asset-group/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-01-13"}],"id":"2026-01-13-pmax-15-video-asset-slots-test"},{"date":"2026-01-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"Universal Commerce Protocol announced with direct checkout on Google product listings in AI Mode and Gemini","summary":"Google unveiled the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard for agentic commerce that lets shoppers buy directly from product listings in AI Mode and the Gemini app using saved Google Pay credentials while the merchant stays merchant of record. Merchants opt in via Merchant Center and product attributes.","details":"Announced around NRF in January 2026 with retail and payments partners. By January 22, 2026 merchants reported UCP setup instructions and enablement via supplemental feeds or custom attributes. Google published the merchant-facing UCP checkout help page on March 2, 2026 (see separate entry).","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Google Launches Agentic Shopping Tools and AI Features for Retailers","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-01/google-launches-agentic-shopping-tools-and-ai-features-for-retailers/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-01-12"},{"title":"Universal Commerce Protocol Now Live in Merchant Center","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-01/universal-commerce-protocol-now-live-in-merchant-center/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-01-22"}],"id":"2026-01-12-universal-commerce-protocol-announced"},{"date":"2026-01-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Built-in A/B asset experiments began appearing inside Performance Max asset groups","summary":"Advertisers started seeing a native option to split traffic between two asset sets within a single PMax asset group. It was spotted in accounts before any Google announcement and reported on LinkedIn.","details":"First covered by Search Engine Roundtable on Jan 12; Search Engine Land reported the beta on Feb 6 and SER documented it 'in the wild' on Feb 10. Google later formalized asset experiments at Google Marketing Live (May 20) and in June.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Performance Max A/B Testing Assets","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-pmax-ab-testing-assets-40734.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-01-12"},{"title":"Performance Max built-in A/B testing for creative assets spotted","url":"https://searchengineland.com/performance-max-built-in-a-b-testing-for-creative-assets-spotted-468459","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-02-06"},{"title":"Google Ads Performance Max A/B Experiments In The Wild","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-performance-max-a-b-experiments-40895.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-02-10"}],"id":"2026-01-12-pmax-asset-ab-experiments-spotted"},{"date":"2026-01-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"'Brand Linking' experiment appeared in the Google Ads Labs hub to link customers to brands","summary":"A new experimental 'Brand Linking' card surfaced in Google Ads Labs, described as helping Google understand relationships between brands, ads and user intent. Bia Camargo first reported it on LinkedIn; Google did not announce it.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2026-01-12); PPC News Feed (2026-01-12).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Brand Linking Experiment","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-brand-linking-40737.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-01-12"},{"title":"Brand Linking Experiment Spotted in Google Ads Labs","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-01/brand-linking-experiment-spotted-in-google-ads-labs/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-01-12"}],"id":"2026-01-12-brand-linking-experiment-in-labs"},{"date":"2026-01-11","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Direct Offers pilot launched, surfacing exclusive discounts inside AI Mode for high-intent shoppers","summary":"Google opened a Direct Offers pilot at NRF that lets retailers present exclusive, personalized discounts inside AI Mode conversations when Google's AI detects high purchase intent. Initially focused on discounts, with bundles and free shipping planned.","details":"Announced January 11, 2026 at NRF alongside the Universal Commerce Protocol. Direct Offers is a Google Ads pilot: retailers set up offers in campaign settings and Google AI decides when an offer is relevant to display. Google said early participants included Chewy, Gap and L'Oreal. At Google Marketing Live (May 20) the pilot was expanded with promotion bundling, native checkout and travel partners.","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Google's new AI tools, protocol and agentic commerce updates for retailers","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/agentic-commerce-ai-tools-protocol-retailers-platforms/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-01-11"},{"title":"Google Introduces Agentic Commerce Protocol & Direct Offers Ads In AI Mode","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-mode-direct-offers-ads-ucp-40738.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-01-12"}],"id":"2026-01-11-direct-offers-pilot-ai-mode"},{"date":"2026-01-08","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Display","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Google Ads was found to be the primary programmatic buyer of X (Twitter) ad inventory","summary":"Martech consultant Jonathan D'Souza-Rauto showed that Display, Video partner, Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns can land on X placements at very low CPMs because Google Ads buys X's programmatic supply. Google had not documented X as a placement.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads quietly buys ads on X","url":"https://ppc.land/google-ads-quietly-buys-ads-on-x/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-01-08"}],"id":"2026-01-08-google-ads-buying-x-inventory-programmatically"},{"date":"2026-01-07","effective_date":"2026-01-01","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Promotions expanded to subscription discounts, common abbreviations and Brazil payment-method offers","summary":"Merchant Center promotions now support amount-off or percent-off discounts and free trials on subscription costs (eligibility \"Subscribe and save\" / redemption_restriction subscribe_and_save), common shorthand such as BOGO and MSRP in promotion text, and, in Brazil, promotions requiring a specific payment method.","details":"Announced January 7, 2026 as a promotion policy guideline update effective January 2026. Merchants reported the Subscribe and save condition live under Marketing > Promotions by January 21, 2026.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Promotion policy guideline updates","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16796881?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-01-07"},{"title":"Merchant Center announcements change log","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/announcements/6192467?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-11"},{"title":"\"Subscribe and Save\" Now Live in Google Merchant Center","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-01/subscribe-and-save-now-live-in-google-merchant-center/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-01-21"}],"id":"2026-01-07-subscription-promotions-and-new-promotion-types"},{"date":"2026-01-07","effective_date":"2026-01-21","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Rummy and daily fantasy sports ads prohibited in India","summary":"To comply with Indian law, Google prohibited all promotion of Rummy and Daily Fantasy Sports targeting India from January 21, 2026.","details":"","regions":"India","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy: India (January 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16532050","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-01-07"}],"id":"2026-01-07-rummy-and-daily-fantasy-sports-ads"},{"date":"2026-01-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Personalized advertising policy reorganized for clarity","summary":"Google restructured the Personalized advertising policy page for readability; the substance and enforcement were unchanged.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Google Ads Personalized Advertising policy (January 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16828044","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-01-07"}],"id":"2026-01-07-personalized-advertising-policy-reorganized-for-clarity"},{"date":"2026-01-07","effective_date":"2026-02-02","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Measurement","type":"Deprecation","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API closed to new adopters of IP address and session attributes in conversion imports","summary":"From February 2, 2026 the Google Ads API no longer accepts session attributes or IP address data in click conversion imports from developer tokens that had not already used them; new adopters receive CUSTOMER_NOT_ALLOWLISTED_FOR_THIS_FEATURE and are directed to the Data Manager API.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Changes to IP Address and Session Attribute Support in the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/01/changes-to-ip-address-and-session.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-01-07"}],"id":"2026-01-07-ip-session-attributes-closed-to-new-adopters"},{"date":"2026-01-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Unannounced 'data transmission controls' found in Google tag settings to restrict ads, analytics, diagnostics","summary":"Google tag settings in Google Ads, GA4 and Campaign Manager 360 gained controls that decide what is sent when consent is denied: advertising data (limited with redacted identifiers, or blocked), behavioral analytics data and diagnostic data can each be restricted. Simo Ahava flagged the setting in December 2025 as 'basically a Basic Consent Mode type control on top of an Advanced Consent Mode setup'.","details":"- Path in Google Ads: Tools > Data manager > Google tag > Manage > Manage data transmission (requires consent mode already active).\n- GA4: Admin > Data collection and modification > Data streams; CM360: Floodlight > Google tag settings.\n- Tags are re-fired automatically once consent is granted.\n- Help doc: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16054531.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google's hidden data controls let advertisers block tag tracking","url":"https://ppc.land/googles-hidden-data-controls-let-advertisers-block-tag-tracking/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-01-07"},{"title":"Google adds new data transmission controls to Ads consent stack","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-adds-new-data-transmission-controls-to-ads-consent-stack-467519","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-01-14"},{"title":"Data Transmission Control Rolls Out In Google Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-01/data-transmission-control-rolls-out-in-google-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-01-17"}],"id":"2026-01-07-google-tag-data-transmission-controls"},{"date":"2026-01-06","effective_date":"2026-01-22","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Online gambling ads opened in Belarus for licensed operators","summary":"From January 22, 2026, operators authorized by Belarus's Ministry of Taxes and Duties or other relevant bodies may be certified to advertise poker, sports betting, casino games and state lotteries.","details":"","regions":"Belarus","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy: Belarus (January 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16776280","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-01-06"}],"id":"2026-01-06-online-gambling-ads-opened-in-belarus"},{"date":"2026-01-06","effective_date":"2026-03-01","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Deprecation","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Multi-channel products unified; separate IDs required when online and in-store attributes differ (March 2026)","summary":"From March 2026 Merchant Center manages products sold both online and in store as a single product, with online attributes as the default. Merchants needing different price, availability or condition per channel must submit two products with distinct IDs. Content API local-channel updates for multi-channel products are rejected.","details":"Google's help article warns that submitting the same product ID, language and feed label through multiple sources, or mixing multi-channel and local-only products with identical IDs, now triggers errors. New Merchant API data sources default to multi-channel, and BigQuery exports multi-channel products with the online channel.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Changes to multi-channel products","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16529073?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-01-06"},{"title":"Google forces retailers to split product IDs by March 2026","url":"https://ppc.land/google-forces-retailers-to-split-product-ids-by-march-2026/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-01-06"},{"title":"Google Merchant Center Multi-Channel Products Update","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-merchant-center-multi-channel-products-update-40709.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-01-07"}],"id":"2026-01-06-multi-channel-products-separate-ids"},{"date":"2026-01-05","effective_date":"2026-01-21","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Prediction market ads permitted in the US for CFTC-regulated entities","summary":"From January 21, 2026, Google allows ads for prediction markets in the US only from federally regulated entities such as CFTC-designated contract markets or NFA-registered brokerages, subject to Google certification.","details":"State-level carve-outs followed: Ohio (June 2, 2026) and Michigan and New York (July 13, 2026) were later excluded.","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Update to Prediction Markets (January 2026)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16749907","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2026-01-05"},{"title":"Google opens prediction markets to advertising, but only for CFTC-regulated platforms","url":"https://ppc.land/google-opens-prediction-markets-to-advertising-but-only-for-cftc-regulated-platforms/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-01-05"}],"id":"2026-01-05-prediction-market-ads-permitted-in-the"},{"date":"2026-01-05","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google tag gateway for advertisers via Google Cloud Platform launched in beta","summary":"A one-click integration inside GTM and Google tag settings deploys the gateway on Google Cloud's external Application Load Balancer, routing measurement through the advertiser's first-party infrastructure.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Release notes - Tag Manager Help","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/4620708","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2026-01-05"},{"title":"Set up Google tag gateway for advertisers with Google Cloud Platform","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/16816376","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2026-01-05"}],"id":"2026-01-05-google-tag-gateway-gcp-beta"},{"date":"2026-01-05","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Change history report gained a 'Go to' dropdown to jump straight to edited campaigns and ad groups","summary":"A new 'Go to...' button appeared in the Change history report, letting advertisers navigate directly to the affected campaign or ad group. PPC specialist Arpan Banerjee first flagged it on LinkedIn.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2026-01-05); Search Engine Roundtable (2026-01-05); PPC News Feed (2026-01-05).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads adds shortcut button to Change history","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-adds-shortcut-button-to-change-history-466996","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2026-01-05"},{"title":"Google Ads Change History Adds Go To Button","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-change-history-go-to-button-40699.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-01-05"},{"title":"Jump to Edited Campaigns from Change History","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2026-01/jump-to-edited-campaigns-from-change-history/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2026-01-05"}],"id":"2026-01-05-change-history-go-to-button"},{"date":"2026-01-01","effective_date":"2026-02-28","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Deprecation","status":"Retired","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Merchant API v1beta discontinued on February 28, 2026; all calls must target v1 or v1alpha","summary":"Google set February 28, 2026 as the shutdown date for Merchant API v1beta across the Accounts, Conversions, Data sources, Inventories, Products, Promotions and Reports sub-APIs; the May 2026 release notes confirmed v1beta was discontinued. January 2026 also added the FREE_LISTINGS_UCP_CHECKOUT reporting context, YouTube Shopping Affiliates reporting (v1alpha), ErrorInfo error metadata and InventoryLoyaltyProgram.","details":"The v1beta discontinuation was first flagged in the November 2025 release notes. Month-level date from Google's latest-updates page.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Merchant API latest updates (January 2026)","url":"https://developers.google.com/merchant/api/latest-updates","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2026-01-01"},{"title":"Merchant API versioning","url":"https://developers.google.com/merchant/api/guides/versioning","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2026-01-01"}],"id":"2026-01-01-merchant-api-v1beta-discontinuation"},{"date":"2025-12-31","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Search terms report showed AI Max and DSA quick filters even in accounts without those features","summary":"Anthony Higman noticed quick filters for AI Max and Dynamic Search Ads in the search terms report of accounts not using them; Melissa Mackey suggested the filters are default for all accounts. Google did not confirm.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Search Terms Report Adds Quick Filters Without Options Enabled","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-search-terms-report-quick-filters-40678.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-12-31"}],"id":"2025-12-31-search-terms-report-ai-max-dsa-quick-filters"},{"date":"2025-12-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Minimum audience size for Search and YouTube dropped to 100 active users, matching Display","summary":"Dario Zannoni spotted updated help documentation lowering the minimum list size for remarketing and customer lists on Search and YouTube from 1,000 to 100. Google did not announce the change.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-12-24); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-12-24); PPC News Feed (2025-12-24). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google lowers audience size limits across Ads","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-lowers-audience-size-limits-across-ads-466816","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-12-24"},{"title":"Google Ads Drops Active Visitors To 100 For Search Network & YouTube","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-lowers-customer-lists-40648.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-12-24"},{"title":"Google Lowers Audience Size Limit to 100 Across All Campaign Types","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-12/google-lowers-audience-size-limit-to-100-across-all-campaign-types/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-12-24"},{"title":"About audience list size requirements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7558048?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-12-24"}],"id":"2025-12-24-audience-minimum-size-100-all-networks"},{"date":"2025-12-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Google Maps rolled out as a selectable channel in Demand Gen channel controls","summary":"Demand Gen channel controls now include Google Maps, so advertisers can run Maps alongside YouTube, Discover, Gmail and Display or as a Maps-only campaign. Maps serving requires a non-affiliated location asset on the account.","details":"Follows the Maps-only beta reported in August 2025.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"About channel controls for Demand Gen campaigns","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/15973205?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-12-23"},{"title":"Google adds Maps to Demand Gen channel controls","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-adds-maps-to-demand-gen-channel-controls-466722","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-12-23"}],"id":"2025-12-23-demand-gen-google-maps-channel"},{"date":"2025-12-22","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"PMax channel performance report was first seen at manager (MCC) account level","summary":"Mike Ryan spotted the Channel Performance report available in some manager accounts, letting agencies analyse PMax channels across clients. Google had said it was coming but this was the first confirmed sighting.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-12-22); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-12-23). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google expands Performance Max channel reporting to MCCs","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-expands-performance-max-channel-reporting-to-mccs-466634","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-12-22"},{"title":"Google Ads MCC Accounts With Channel Performance Reporting","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-mcc-channel-performance-report-40643.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-12-23"}],"id":"2025-12-22-pmax-channel-performance-report-at-mcc-level"},{"date":"2025-12-22","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Search ads tested a 'Learn more' arrow link appended to ad text","summary":"Anthony Higman spotted Learn more links with arrows at the end of ad descriptions that go to the landing page. Google did not confirm the test.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2025-12-22); PPC News Feed (2025-12-22). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Tests Learn More Links After Ad Text","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-learn-more-40636.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-12-22"},{"title":"Google Tests Learn More Links in Search Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-12/google-tests-learn-more-links-in-search-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-12-22"}],"id":"2025-12-22-learn-more-links-in-search-ad-text-test"},{"date":"2025-12-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Resized videos added as an auto-enabled asset optimization in Demand Gen","summary":"A new Resized videos option in Demand Gen asset optimization settings automatically creates alternate aspect ratios of video assets and may be on by default alongside shorter video variants and landing page screenshots, so advertisers should review their settings.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"New Auto Opt-In for Resized Videos in Demand Gen","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-12/new-auto-opt-in-for-resized-videos-in-demand-gen/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-12-21"}],"id":"2025-12-21-demand-gen-resized-videos-auto-opt-in"},{"date":"2025-12-19","effective_date":"2025-12-19","product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"Help page quietly updated to show ads in AI Overviews live in 11 more English-speaking countries","summary":"Advertisers noticed Google's 'About ads and AI Overviews' help page changed to list Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines and Singapore. No formal announcement accompanied the expansion.","details":"Search Engine Roundtable noted the expansion excludes sensitive verticals.","regions":"AU, CA, IN, ID, KE, MY, NZ, NG, PK, PH, SG (plus US)","sources":[{"title":"Google quietly expands AI Overview ads to 11 countries without fanfare","url":"https://ppc.land/google-quietly-expands-ai-overview-ads-to-11-countries-without-fanfare/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-12-19"},{"title":"Ads in AI Overviews Now Live in 12 Countries","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-12/ads-in-ai-overviews-now-live-in-12-countries/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-12-19"},{"title":"Google Expands Ads In AI Overviews To More Countries But Not For Sensitive Verticals","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-expands-ads-in-ai-overviews-40629.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-12-22"}],"id":"2025-12-19-ai-overview-ads-expanded-to-11-countries"},{"date":"2025-12-19","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Ads in AI Overviews expanded to 11 more English-language countries","summary":"Google updated its help documentation to show ads inside AI Overviews now serve in English in Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore, in addition to the US, on mobile and desktop. Eligible ads come from existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns.","details":"No formal blog announcement; advertisers found the change in the updated help page. Sensitive verticals remain excluded from in-Overview placements.","regions":"US, Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore","sources":[{"title":"About ads and AI Overviews","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16297775","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-12-19"},{"title":"Google quietly expands AI Overview ads to 11 countries without fanfare","url":"https://ppc.land/google-quietly-expands-ai-overview-ads-to-11-countries-without-fanfare/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-12-19"}],"id":"2025-12-19-ads-in-ai-overviews-11-new-countries"},{"date":"2025-12-18","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Demand Gen campaigns gained a 'Presence' vs 'Presence or interest' location targeting option","summary":"Demand Gen setup now lets advertisers choose Presence only or Presence or interest, matching the control long available in Search. Previously reaching only people physically in a market required manually excluding other countries.","details":"- Spotted by Marcin Wsół on LinkedIn.\n- Reduces geo-leakage from users who merely showed interest in a targeted location.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google adds location targeting controls to Demand Gen campaigns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-adds-location-targeting-controls-to-demand-gen-campaigns-466435","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-12-18"}],"id":"2025-12-18-demand-gen-presence-location-targeting"},{"date":"2025-12-17","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Product Studio added animate-image, background removal and resolution-upscaling tools","summary":"Product Studio in Merchant Center gained three tools: animate a static product image into a short video from a text prompt, one-click background removal, and image upscaling, complementing the existing Generate image feature.","details":"The animation tool is aimed at short-form and social-style creative for Shopping and Performance Max; upscaling helps older or low-resolution assets meet the higher image minimums Google announced in 2026.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google adds animation and image editing tools to Merchant Center's Product Studio","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-adds-animation-and-image-editing-tools-to-product-studio-466369","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-12-17"},{"title":"Three New Features Released In Google Merchant Center's Product Studio","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-12/three-new-features-released-in-google-merchant-centers-product-studio/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-12-17"}],"id":"2025-12-17-product-studio-animate-background-upscale"},{"date":"2025-12-16","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Ads Liaison clarified exact match keywords don't block broad match from serving in AI Overviews","summary":"Toan Tran asked whether an exact match keyword would prevent its broad match twin from serving in AI Overviews. Ginny Marvin said it will not, because exact match is not eligible for AI Overview placements.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-12-16); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-12-16). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google: Exact match keywords won't block broad match in AI Max","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-exact-match-keywords-wont-block-broad-match-in-ai-max-466323","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-12-16"},{"title":"Google Ads Exact Match Can Not Show Ads In AI Overviews","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-exact-match-ai-overviews-40599.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-12-16"}],"id":"2025-12-16-exact-match-does-not-block-broad-in-ai-overviews"},{"date":"2025-12-15","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"App","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"View-through conversion optimized bidding launched for Android App campaigns for installs","summary":"App campaigns promoting Android apps can now opt into bidding that uses view-through conversion signals, extending reach on AdMob and YouTube formats where users convert after viewing rather than clicking. A view is 50% of pixels on screen for 1 second (or 2 seconds of video), matched to a conversion within a 24-hour window.","details":"- Currently Android only.\n- Help doc: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16257907.\n- Spotted by Rakshit Shetty on LinkedIn.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads adds VTC bidding for App campaigns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-adds-vtc-bidding-for-app-campaigns-466260","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-12-15"},{"title":"View-Through Conversion Bidding Now Live for Android App Campaigns","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-12/view-through-conversion-bidding-now-live-for-android-app-campaigns/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-12-16"}],"id":"2025-12-15-view-through-conversion-bidding-android-app-campaigns"},{"date":"2025-12-15","effective_date":"2026-02-11","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"Deprecation","status":"Retired","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API v19 sunset confirmed for February 11, 2026","summary":"All v19 requests began failing on February 11, 2026; developers had to move to v20 or later.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads API v19 sunset reminder","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/12/google-ads-api-v19-sunset-reminder.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-12-15"},{"title":"Deprecation and sunset dates","url":"https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/sunset-dates","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-12-15"}],"id":"2025-12-15-ads-api-v19-sunset"},{"date":"2025-12-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Performance Max","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Performance Max beta began auto-surfacing Merchant Center video assets during campaign setup","summary":"Google Ads started a beta that pulls product-associated videos from the Merchant Center Video assets page into Performance Max campaign setup, removing the need to upload videos manually.","details":"Spotted by advertisers in December 2025 rather than formally announced; it builds on the Video assets page launched in Merchant Center in September/October 2025, which syncs videos to Google Ads.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads quietly unlocks Merchant Center videos for Performance Max","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-quietly-unlocks-merchant-center-videos-for-performance-max-466137","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-12-12"},{"title":"Merchant Center Videos Now Available in Google Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-12/merchant-center-videos-now-available-in-google-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-12-01"}],"id":"2025-12-12-merchant-center-videos-in-performance-max-beta"},{"date":"2025-12-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"PMax setup gained a beta option to pull video assets directly from Merchant Center","summary":"Rakshit Shetty spotted a beta that lets Performance Max campaigns use videos stored in Merchant Center during setup. Google did not announce it.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-12-12); PPC News Feed (2025-12-15); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-12-19). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads quietly unlocks Merchant Center videos for Performance Max","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-quietly-unlocks-merchant-center-videos-for-performance-max-466137","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-12-12"},{"title":"Merchant Center Videos Now Available in Google Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-12/merchant-center-videos-now-available-in-google-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-12-15"},{"title":"Google Ads Tests Video Assets From Merchant Center","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-videos-merchant-center-40598.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-12-19"}],"id":"2025-12-12-merchant-center-videos-for-pmax-beta"},{"date":"2025-12-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Analytics Advisor (Gemini-powered agentic assistant) launched in GA4 for English properties","summary":"Analytics Advisor went live in Google Analytics: an agentic conversational assistant powered by Gemini that surfaces insights, generates visualizations, diagnoses performance changes and guides configuration, accessible from the top-right icon or search box in English-language properties.","details":"Announced November 12, 2025 on the Google blog; the help center lists it as a beta available to eligible English-language properties with other languages to follow. Processes data at the property level only.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-12-12"},{"title":"[GA4] Ask Advisor","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/16675569","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-12-12"},{"title":"Introducing Analytics Advisor in Google Analytics","url":"https://www.cardinalpath.com/blog/introducing-analytics-advisor-in-google-analytics-platform-expertise-at-your-fingertips","publisher":"Cardinal Path","date":"2025-12-09"}],"id":"2025-12-12-analytics-advisor-launched"},{"date":"2025-12-11","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GTM added Client ID, Session ID and Session Number built-in variables plus an Analytics Storage variable","summary":"Three new built-in variables in the Utilities category give an officially supported way to read GA4 client and session identifiers in Tag Manager, and a new Analytics Storage user-defined variable type supports a measurement ID and custom cookie prefix.","details":"Replaces the common workaround of reading _ga cookies with custom JavaScript variables; useful for enhanced conversions, server-side joins and BigQuery stitching.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Release notes - Tag Manager Help","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/4620708","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2025-12-11"}],"id":"2025-12-11-gtm-ga-built-in-variables-client-session-id"},{"date":"2025-12-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API Developer Assistant v1.0 launched as a Gemini CLI extension","summary":"Google released an open source Gemini CLI extension that answers Google Ads API questions, generates GAQL and Python code, executes read-only API calls and exports CSV. Subsequent releases added conversion troubleshooting (v2.0), a skills-based architecture on Antigravity (v3.0) and Claude Code support (v4.0).","details":"v2.0 (Feb 26, 2026): one-command setup, `/conversions_support_data` diagnostics, v23 support, session hooks and stricter GAQL validation. v3.0.0 (Jun 10, 2026): migrated from gemini-cli to the Antigravity agent framework with modular skills (`validate_gaql`, `troubleshoot_conversions`, `get_cids_under_mcc`, `inspect_object`, `pmax_listing_filter`); gemini-cli support ended June 18, 2026.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Introducing the Google Ads API Developer Assistant v1.0: Interact with the API using Natural Language","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/12/introducing-google-ads-api-developer.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-12-10"},{"title":"Introducing Google Ads API Developer Assistant v2.0","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/02/introducing-google-ads-api-developer.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-02-26"},{"title":"Introducing the Google Ads API Developer Assistant v3.0.0","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/06/introducing-google-ads-api-developer.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-06-10"}],"id":"2025-12-10-developer-assistant-v1"},{"date":"2025-12-09","effective_date":"2026-01-08","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Gambling ads opened in Córdoba province, Argentina","summary":"From January 8, 2026, operators certified through Lotería de Córdoba may advertise lotteries, sports betting and casino games within Córdoba.","details":"","regions":"Argentina","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy: Argentina (December 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16756510","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-12-09"}],"id":"2025-12-09-gambling-ads-opened-in-c-rdoba"},{"date":"2025-12-09","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Measurement","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Data Manager API reached general availability as Google's unified first-party data ingestion API","summary":"The Data Manager API became generally available for sending audience (Customer Match, mobile IDs, PAIR) and conversion data once to Google Ads and Display & Video 360, with confidential matching and encrypted identifiers. During 2026 Google made it the primary import path, closing the Google Ads API to new adopters of IP/session attributes, Customer Match and offline conversion imports.","details":"Later Data Manager API milestones: v1.5 (Feb 17, 2026) added `UserListService` lifecycle management, `PartnerLinkService` and User ID identifiers; May 7, 2026 added Google Ads store sales conversions and GA web/app event ingestion; May 28, 2026 added GMP (CM360/SA360/DV360) conversion destinations and IP ingestion for Customer Match via `CompositeData`; July 30, 2026 added `RemoveAllAudienceMembers`, field-level ingestion warnings and expanded address data.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"The Data Manager API is Now Generally Available","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/12/the-data-manager-api-is-now-generally.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-12-09"},{"title":"Announcing user list management and enhanced audience ingestion for the Data Manager API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/02/announcing-user-list-management-and.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-02-17"},{"title":"Data Manager API: Introducing support for Google Ads store sales and more event ingestion use cases for Google Analytics","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/05/data-manager-api-introducing-support.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2026-05-07"}],"id":"2025-12-09-data-manager-api-ga"},{"date":"2025-12-09","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"AI-generated summary added to the Store quality page","summary":"Merchant Center added an AI-generated summary at the top of the Store quality page that highlights key issues and action items for the account.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"AI Summary Added to Store Quality in Merchant Center","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-12/ai-summary-added-to-store-quality-in-merchant-center/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-12-09"}],"id":"2025-12-09-ai-summary-store-quality"},{"date":"2025-12-08","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Google published its Highlights of 2025 recap of Google Ads launches","summary":"Google's year-end recap consolidated 2025 launches across Search (ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode, AI Max, Smart Bidding Exploration), YouTube, Demand Gen, Performance Max, Apps, retail, measurement, Asset Studio and agentic tools, and is a useful index of what shipped during the year.","details":"Noted that text customization would reach all languages and verticals before year end and that Ads Advisor and Analytics Advisor were rolling out in December.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Highlights of 2025","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16756291?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-12-08"},{"title":"Google On The Biggest Google Ads Launches Of 2025","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/best-google-ads-launches-2025-40658.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-12-26"}],"id":"2025-12-08-google-ads-highlights-2025-recap"},{"date":"2025-12-08","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Image assets on mobile search ads tested a slide-in animation","summary":"Karl-Heinz Fogarascher noticed image assets animating into text ads on iPhone Chrome. Google did not confirm the test.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Tests Image Animation For Search Ads","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-image-animation-for-search-ads-40557.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-12-08"}],"id":"2025-12-08-animated-image-assets-search-ads-test"},{"date":"2025-12-05","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Regional member pricing beta let merchants vary loyalty prices by region via regional inventory feeds","summary":"Google began testing regional member pricing, which extends the loyalty program to regional inventory feeds so different member prices can show by shopper region in Shopping ads where both RAAP and loyalty programs are supported.","details":"Requires an approved loyalty program, regions set up to match, loyalty_program sub-attributes (program label, tier label, price, optional effective dates) in the regional inventory feed in TSV format, and landing pages that show the matching regional member price.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Regional member pricing","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16388178?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-12-05"},{"title":"Google Merchant Center Beta Regional Member Pricing","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-merchant-center-regional-member-pricing-40520.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-12-05"}],"id":"2025-12-05-regional-member-pricing-beta"},{"date":"2025-12-05","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Display","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Dynamic remarketing can now run on Google Analytics 4 ecommerce data instead of Google Ads tag events","summary":"Advertisers with GA4 ecommerce tracking linked to Google Ads can power dynamic remarketing from GA4 events, removing the need to implement dynamic remarketing events via the Google Ads tag, as long as product IDs match the feed.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"GA4 Ecommerce Data Now Powers Google Ads Remarketing","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-12/ga4-ecommerce-data-now-powers-google-ads-remarketing/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-12-05"}],"id":"2025-12-05-ga4-ecommerce-data-dynamic-remarketing"},{"date":"2025-12-01","effective_date":"2025-12-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Retired","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"US horse racing aggregator certifications revoked; new applications closed","summary":"Google ended promotion of online horse racing content by aggregators in the US, revoking existing certifications and refusing new applications. Licensed operators promoting their own horse racing offerings are unaffected.","details":"","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy: USA (December 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16720006","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-12-01"}],"id":"2025-12-01-us-horse-racing-aggregator-certifications-revoked"},{"date":"2025-12-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Merchant Center began warning that images under 500x500 px are ineligible for YouTube Shopping ads","summary":"Merchant Center started flagging product images smaller than 500x500 pixels as ineligible for YouTube Shopping placements, ahead of the account-wide 500x500 minimum announced in April 2026.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Flags Small Images as Ineligible for YouTube Shopping Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-12/google-flags-small-images-as-ineligible-for-youtube-shopping-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-12-01"}],"id":"2025-12-01-small-images-ineligible-youtube-shopping"},{"date":"2025-12-01","effective_date":"2026-01-28","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"Deprecation","status":"Retired","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API and Google Ads scripts support forums on Google Groups sunset effective January 28, 2026","summary":"Support agents stopped responding to new posts on the Google Ads API, Google Ads Scripts and CM360 API Google Groups forums from January 28, 2026; technical support moved to official contact forms, with community discussion on the Google Advertising and Measurement Community Discord server launched July 8, 2025.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Sunsetting Google Ads API, Google Ads Scripts, and Campaign Manager 360 API Developer Support Forums on Google Groups","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/12/sunsetting-google-ads-api-google-ads.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-12-01"},{"title":"Join our \"Google Advertising and Measurement Community\" Discord Server","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/07/join-our-google-advertising-and.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-07-08"}],"id":"2025-12-01-google-groups-forums-sunset"},{"date":"2025-12-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 added High-Value Purchasers and Disengaged Purchasers suggested audience templates","summary":"Two new suggested audiences (High-Value Purchasers by purchases or LTV with a new percentile field, and Disengaged Purchasers by days since last purchase) can be built and exported to Google Ads for lifecycle marketing.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-12-01"},{"title":"[GA4] Suggested audiences","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/10427338","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-12-01"},{"title":"Google pushes deeper into lifecycle targeting with new GA audience templates","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-pushes-deeper-into-lifecycle-targeting-with-new-ga-audience-templates-465564","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-12-02"}],"id":"2025-12-01-ga4-high-value-disengaged-purchaser-audiences"},{"date":"2025-12-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Display","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 enabled display dynamic remarketing using ecommerce event data for Google Ads","summary":"Properties with ecommerce event collection can now power Google Ads display dynamic remarketing from Analytics, so personalized ads show products and services users viewed on the site.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-12-01"},{"title":"[GA4] Enable remarketing with Analytics data","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9313634","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-12-01"}],"id":"2025-12-01-ga4-display-dynamic-remarketing"},{"date":"2025-11-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Partner Match documented for targeting YouTube with third-party partner audience data","summary":"Partner Match lets eligible data partners upload hashed customer data to build Agency/Provider audiences that advertisers can target in Video Reach, Video Views, Audio Reach and Demand Gen (YouTube-only) campaigns in Google Ads and DV360.","details":"Available globally except the UK, Switzerland and EEA. Not supported for ad sequences or YouTube Select guaranteed buys.","regions":"Global excluding UK, Switzerland and EEA","sources":[{"title":"About Partner Match","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16741968?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-11-30"},{"title":"Google Launches \"Partner Match\" for YouTube Targeting","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-11/google-launches-partner-match-for-youtube-targeting/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-11-30"}],"id":"2025-11-30-partner-match-youtube-audiences"},{"date":"2025-11-28","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Help docs for a new 'Website Optimizer' A/B testing tool in Google Ads surfaced before any announcement","summary":"Hana Kobzová found several support pages describing a Website Optimizer tool under the Reporting tab that integrates with GA4 and can auto-create a property. Google had made no announcement.","details":"Coverage: PPC News Feed (2025-11-28); Search Engine Land (2025-12-01); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-12-01). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Gets New Tool Called \"Website Optimizer\"","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-11/google-ads-gets-new-tool-called-website-optimizer/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-11-28"},{"title":"Google Ads tests new 'Website Optimizer' tool","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-tests-new-website-optimizer-tool-465493","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-12-01"},{"title":"Google Ads To Resurrect Website Optimizer?","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-website-optimizer-return-40515.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-12-01"}],"id":"2025-11-28-website-optimizer-help-docs-surface"},{"date":"2025-11-28","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Ads Advisor was seen carrying context between MCC client accounts; Liaison said team is looking into it","summary":"David Melamed reported that the Ads Advisor chatbot appeared to reuse business context from one client account in another within a manager account. Ginny Marvin acknowledged the report and said the team was investigating.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2025-11-28); PPC News Feed (2025-11-30). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Advisor May Take Context From Other MCC Client Chats","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-advisor-mcc-context-confusion-40505.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-11-28"},{"title":"Google Ads Advisor May Be Mixing Client Data","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-11/google-ads-advisor-may-be-mixing-client-data/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-11-30"}],"id":"2025-11-28-ads-advisor-mixing-mcc-client-context"},{"date":"2025-11-25","effective_date":"2025-12-12","product":"Google Ads","area":"Display","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Personalized ads policy expanded Custom Segments availability for Display campaigns","summary":"From December 12, 2025, Custom Segments became available to more Display campaigns that were previously restricted under the Personalized ads policy.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to the Personalized ads policy (December 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16758212","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-11-25"},{"title":"Google expands custom segments for restricted Display Campaigns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-expands-custom-segments-for-restricted-display-campaigns-465254","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-11-26"}],"id":"2025-11-25-personalized-ads-policy-expanded-custom-segments"},{"date":"2025-11-25","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Overview tab tested 'Performance by stage' and year-over-year trends sections","summary":"PPC News Feed and Anthony Higman spotted new Overview sections showing awareness, consideration and action metrics plus YoY trend comparisons. Google did not announce them.","details":"Coverage: PPC News Feed (2025-11-25); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-11-26). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"\"Performance by Stage\" Appears in Overview Dashboard","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-11/performance-by-stage-appears-in-overview-dashboard/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-11-25"},{"title":"Google Ads Overview Tab Gains Trends & Performance By Stage","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-overview-trends-performance-by-stage-40495.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-11-26"}],"id":"2025-11-25-overview-performance-by-stage-and-trends"},{"date":"2025-11-25","effective_date":"2025-12-12","product":"Google Ads","area":"Display","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Announced","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Custom segments extended to Display campaigns from December 12, 2025","summary":"Google announced a Personalized ads policy update effective December 12, 2025 that expands custom segments (audiences built from keywords, URLs and apps) to Display campaigns, beyond Performance Max and Demand Gen.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to the Personalized ads policy (December 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16758212?hl=en","publisher":"Google Advertising Policies Help","date":"2025-11-25"},{"title":"Google expands custom segments availability for Display campaigns","url":"https://ppc.land/google-expands-custom-segments-availability-for-display-campaigns/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-11-25"}],"id":"2025-11-25-custom-segments-display-campaigns"},{"date":"2025-11-25","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"Ads began appearing inside Google AI Mode responses in the US","summary":"Industry observers documented text ads serving inside AI Mode answers, including for local service queries, marking the start of a broader rollout of ads in Google's conversational search experience. Ads are drawn from existing Search (broad match and AI Max), Shopping and Performance Max campaigns.","details":"Google had said at Google Marketing Live in May 2025 that it was testing ads in AI Mode in the US; PPC Land dated the first observed AI Mode ads to November 21, 2025.","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Ads Now Appearing in Google AI Mode Results","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-11/ads-now-appearing-in-google-ai-mode-results/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-11-25"},{"title":"Google Ads Highlights of 2025","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16756291?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-12-08"}],"id":"2025-11-25-ads-in-ai-mode-spotted-live"},{"date":"2025-11-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Launch","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"YouTube channels to be auto-linked to Google Ads accounts after 30-day notice on high-confidence matches","summary":"A new help page says Google will automatically link a YouTube channel to a Google Ads account when its systems detect a high-confidence connection. Channel owners and Ads admins get 30 days' email notice to opt out; otherwise the link is created and can be removed at any time.","details":"- Linking lets the Ads account use organic view metrics, build audiences from channel interactions and count channel actions as conversions.\n- It does not give the channel owner control of the Ads account, nor let the advertiser edit or delete channel videos or use channel videos in campaigns.\n- Help doc: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16749726.\n- First spotted by Hana Kobzová.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google to auto-link YouTube channels and Google Ads accounts","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-to-auto-link-youtube-channels-and-google-ads-accounts-465110","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-11-24"},{"title":"Google Ads Rolls Out Auto-Linking to YouTube Channels","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/google-ads-to-auto-link-youtube-channels-with-eligible-accounts/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-11-24"}],"id":"2025-11-24-youtube-channels-auto-linked-to-google-ads"},{"date":"2025-11-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Performance Max gained an 'Upload' tab to add video files directly, stored in a Google-managed house channel","summary":"Advertisers can upload video files inside the PMax Edit assets panel without a linked YouTube channel or Shared Library. Videos are hosted on a Google-managed house channel, so they get no YouTube Analytics, remarketing lists, metadata editing, custom thumbnails or appeals.","details":"- Spotted by Dario Zannoni on LinkedIn.\n- Help doc on PMax video assets: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/14528532.\n- Google still recommends uploading via a brand YouTube channel to keep analytics and audience data.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Performance Max gets direct video uploads","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-performance-max-gets-direct-video-uploads-465105","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-11-24"}],"id":"2025-11-24-pmax-direct-video-upload-house-channel"},{"date":"2025-11-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Nano Banana Pro image model rolled out in Asset Studio for Performance Max and Demand Gen creative","summary":"Google's Nano Banana Pro image generation model is rolling out inside Asset Studio and campaign build flows, adding conversational editing, higher product fidelity, legible packaging text, control over lighting and camera angles, and up to five products in one scene.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Nano Banana Pro is Live in Google Ads!","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/nano-banana-pro-live-in-google-ads/","publisher":"Google Business (Accelerate with Google)","date":"2025-12-12"},{"title":"Google Ads Launches Nano Banana Pro for Smarter Creative Generation","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-11/google-ads-launches-nano-banana-pro-for-smarter-creative-generation/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-11-23"}],"id":"2025-11-23-nano-banana-pro-asset-studio"},{"date":"2025-11-22","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"is_incentivized_review attribute added to product review feeds","summary":"Google added a boolean is_incentivized_review attribute to the product review feed schema. Reviews collected in exchange for coupons, points, discounts or other incentives must be tagged true to avoid suppression or feed disapproval.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"New Feed Attribute Introduced For Incentivized Reviews","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-11/new-feed-attribute-introduced-for-incentivized-reviews/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-11-22"}],"id":"2025-11-22-is-incentivized-review-attribute"},{"date":"2025-11-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Launch","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"Ads began appearing widely in AI Mode results after months of limited testing","summary":"Greg Sterling and Brodie Clark independently documented ads in AI Mode responses, such as HVAC repair queries. Google had confirmed tests in May but issued no new statement for the wider appearance.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2025-11-21); PPC News Feed (2025-11-25). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"US","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads In AI Mode Results In The Wild","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-in-ai-mode-results-40479.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-11-21"},{"title":"Ads Now Appearing in Google AI Mode Results","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-11/ads-now-appearing-in-google-ai-mode-results/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-11-25"}],"id":"2025-11-21-ads-in-ai-mode-seen-broadly"},{"date":"2025-11-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Overview tab gained up to five customisable views with toggleable, reorderable cards","summary":"PPC News Feed first reported customisable Overview views; Adriaan Dekker and Govind Singh Panwar then shared the ability to create up to five custom tabs with reordered cards. Google did not announce it beyond in-console messaging.","details":"Coverage: PPC News Feed (2025-11-20); Search Engine Land (2025-11-26); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-11-26). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Adds Customisable Overview Views","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-11/google-ads-adds-customisable-overview-views/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-11-20"},{"title":"Google Ads overview tab now supports custom views","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-overview-tab-now-supports-custom-views-465268","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-11-26"},{"title":"Google Ads Overview Tab Gets Supports Custom Views","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-overview-tab-gains-supports-custom-views-40477.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-11-26"}],"id":"2025-11-20-overview-tab-custom-views"},{"date":"2025-11-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Google tested grey background shading behind search ads and the local pack","summary":"Darren Shaw and Thomas Eccel shared screenshots of grey-shaded sponsored results and local pack ads. Google did not confirm the test.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2025-11-20); PPC News Feed (2025-11-24). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Tests Gray Shaded Search Ads & Local Pack","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-gray-shaded-search-ads-local-pack-40471.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-11-20"},{"title":"Grey Background Tests on Search Ads & Local Pack","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-11/grey-background-tests-on-search-ads-local-pack/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-11-24"}],"id":"2025-11-20-gray-shaded-search-ads-and-local-pack-test"},{"date":"2025-11-19","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Hotel & Travel","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Hotel ads in search carousels tested a share icon","summary":"Lluc B. Penycate shared screenshots of a share button on hotel ads in search results. Google did not confirm the test.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Tests Share Icon On Ads","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-testing-share-icon-on-ads-40452.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-11-19"}],"id":"2025-11-19-share-icon-on-hotel-ads-test"},{"date":"2025-11-19","effective_date":"2025-11-19","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Offline gambling category updated with new examples and ~40 more prohibited countries","summary":"Google added examples of permitted offline gambling promotion (e.g., brick-and-mortar casinos, streamed poker tournaments) and expanded the list of countries where offline gambling ads are not allowed, effective immediately.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy: Offline Gambling (November 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16703175","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-11-19"}],"id":"2025-11-19-offline-gambling-category-updated-with-new"},{"date":"2025-11-19","effective_date":"2025-12-11","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Lottery courier service ads permitted in Puerto Rico","summary":"From December 11, 2025, advertisers holding a US state lottery courier licence may be certified to promote lottery courier services in Puerto Rico.","details":"","regions":"Puerto Rico","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Gambling and games policy: Puerto Rico (November 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16720314","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-11-19"}],"id":"2025-11-19-lottery-courier-service-ads-permitted-in"},{"date":"2025-11-19","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 renamed 'Cost data import' to 'Campaign data import'","summary":"The feature was renamed to reflect that it imports campaign-level attributes and metrics from non-Google platforms; functionality did not change.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-11-19"},{"title":"[GA4] Campaign data import","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/10071305","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-11-19"}],"id":"2025-11-19-ga4-cost-data-import-renamed-campaign-data-import"},{"date":"2025-11-18","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"A new 'Original conversion value' column exposing unadjusted revenue appeared","summary":"Thomas Eccel spotted a column that strips conversion value rules and lifecycle-goal adjustments to show raw conversion value. Google did not announce the metric.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-11-18); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-11-19). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads quietly rolls out a new conversion metric","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-quietly-rolls-out-a-new-conversion-metric-464864","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-11-18"},{"title":"Google Ads New Original Conversion Value Metric","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-original-conversion-value-40454.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-11-19"}],"id":"2025-11-18-original-conversion-value-column"},{"date":"2025-11-18","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Merchant Center 'Needs attention' began hiding non-priority issues behind a default 'Prioritized fixes' filter","summary":"Diagnostics in Merchant Center now show only prioritized issues by default. Merchants must turn off the 'Prioritized fixes' filter to see the full list, which risks lower-priority errors going unnoticed.","details":"- Spotted by Hana Kobzová.\n- Issues are ranked by click potential (High / Medium / Low).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Merchant Center Now Hides Non-Priority Issues in Diagnostics","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/google-merchant-center-now-hides-non-priority-issues-in-diagnostics/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-11-18"}],"id":"2025-11-18-merchant-center-prioritized-fixes-filter"},{"date":"2025-11-18","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Campaign total budgets went live for Performance Max in non-US accounts","summary":"Thomas Eccel reported the Campaign total budget option, teased in September, now live for Performance Max campaigns in non-US accounts. Google did not announce the rollout stage.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Campaign Total Budget For PMax Is Live","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-campaign-total-budget-pmax-40443.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-11-18"}],"id":"2025-11-18-campaign-total-budget-live-for-pmax"},{"date":"2025-11-17","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"PMax combinations report gained a 'Top combinations' view of how assets are assembled","summary":"Rakshit Shetty spotted a Top combinations section in the Performance Max combinations report; Adriaan Dekker and PPC News Feed amplified it. Google did not announce it.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Adds Top Combinations To Combinations Report For PMax","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-top-combinations-40442.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-11-17"}],"id":"2025-11-17-pmax-top-combinations-report"},{"date":"2025-11-17","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Generative video enhancements and animated image enhancements expanded across Demand Gen and App campaigns","summary":"Google added campaign-level video enhancements that crop or generatively extend videos into square and vertical formats, and image enhancements that add text overlays, new aspect ratios and animation, enabled by default for new Demand Gen and App campaign ads.","details":"Part of a four-feature holiday update with brand suitability controls and asset uplift experiments. Google reported 20% more conversions or value on average for Demand Gen advertisers in H1 2025 across 100+ launches.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google launches four new Demand Gen features for holiday campaigns","url":"https://ppc.land/google-launches-four-new-demand-gen-features-for-holiday-campaigns/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-11-17"}],"id":"2025-11-17-demand-gen-video-image-enhancements-expanded"},{"date":"2025-11-16","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google reported 80% fewer wrongful account suspensions after enforcement system rebuild","summary":"Google announced it rebuilt its policy infrastructure and Gemini-based signals, cutting wrongful suspensions by 80%, speeding appeals by 70% and resolving 99% of cases within a day.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Improved accuracy in account suspensions","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/improved-accuracy-account-suspensions/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-11-16"},{"title":"Google Ads Cuts Wrong Suspensions by 80%","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-11/google-ads-cuts-wrong-suspensions-by-80/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-11-16"}],"id":"2025-11-16-google-reported-80-fewer-wrongful-account"},{"date":"2025-11-14","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Performance-based cost adjustments launched in beta for Demand Gen tCPA and tROAS on YouTube","summary":"In beta, Google may retroactively lower costs for new Demand Gen Target CPA and Target ROAS campaigns on YouTube whose conversions fall below predictions during the learning phase. Adjustments activate within 5 days of launch and last up to 3 weeks.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"About YouTube performance-based cost adjustment for Demand Gen Target CPA campaigns (Beta)","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16581886?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-11-14"},{"title":"YouTube Introduces Performance-Based Cost Adjustments for Demand Gen tCPA Campaigns (Beta)","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-11/youtube-introduces-performance-based-cost-adjustments-for-demand-gen-tcpa-campaigns-beta/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-11-14"}],"id":"2025-11-14-demand-gen-performance-based-cost-adjustment-beta"},{"date":"2025-11-13","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"PMax suggested importing high-performing X/social videos to YouTube; Liaison confirmed an experiment","summary":"Francesco Cifardi spotted Performance Max offering to pull video assets from an advertiser's X account and upload them to the linked YouTube channel. Ginny Marvin confirmed it as an experiment to reuse existing social video.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-11-13); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-11-13). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads experiment taps social creatives for PMax campaigns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-experiment-taps-twitter-creatives-for-pmax-campaigns-464652","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-11-13"},{"title":"Google Ads Tests Importing X Ads & Other Social Campaigns","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-import-x-social-campaigns-40429.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-11-13"}],"id":"2025-11-13-social-video-import-for-pmax-experiment"},{"date":"2025-11-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Shipping and return policies can now be set in Search Console or organization markup without Merchant Center","summary":"Google expanded the Search Console \"Shipping and returns\" settings to all sites it classifies as online merchants and added organization-level structured data for shipping and return policies, so merchants without a Merchant Center account can surface policies in Search. Search Console settings take precedence over markup.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google expands shipping policy options for online merchants","url":"https://ppc.land/google-expands-shipping-policy-options-for-online-merchants/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-11-12"}],"id":"2025-11-12-shipping-returns-via-search-console-and-markup"},{"date":"2025-11-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Policy disapproval screens gained an AI 'Guide me' button","summary":"Anthony Higman shared a screenshot of a Guide me button on ad disapproval notices that opens the embedded AI assistant. Google did not announce it.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Gains AI Guide Me Button In Policy Disapprovals","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-ai-guide-me-button-40407.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-11-12"}],"id":"2025-11-12-guide-me-ai-button-on-policy-disapprovals"},{"date":"2025-11-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Brand inclusions appeared in a standard Shopping campaign; Google said they are not supported","summary":"Ryan Parkes shared brand inclusion controls showing in a Standard Shopping campaign. Google told Search Engine Roundtable that brand inclusions are not currently supported in Standard Shopping or PMax campaigns.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-11-12); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-11-14). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google quietly adds brand inclusions to standard Shopping campaigns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-quietly-adds-brand-inclusions-to-standard-shopping-campaigns-464576","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-11-12"},{"title":"Google Ads Brings Brand Inclusions To Standard Shopping Campaigns (NOPE)","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-shopping-brand-inclusions-40418.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-11-14"}],"id":"2025-11-12-brand-inclusions-standard-shopping-sighting-denied"},{"date":"2025-11-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Announced","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Google announced Analytics Advisor, a Gemini-powered conversational agent, for early December","summary":"Google announced Analytics Advisor (alongside Ads Advisor): an in-product conversational AI that answers questions about property performance, runs key-driver analysis on changes, and gives step-by-step guidance, launching in early December 2025 for English-language GA Standard and 360 properties.","details":"See the December 12, 2025 entry for the launch in the GA release notes.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google's AI advisors: agentic tools to drive impact and insights","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/ads-advisor-and-analytics-advisor/","publisher":"Google Blog","date":"2025-11-12"},{"title":"Google Launches Ads Advisor & Analytics Advisor Globally","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-launches-ads-advisor-analytics-advisor-globally/560656/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2025-11-12"}],"id":"2025-11-12-analytics-advisor-announced"},{"date":"2025-11-12","effective_date":"2025-12-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Ads Advisor to roll out to all English-language Google Ads accounts in early December 2025","summary":"Google announced Ads Advisor, its Gemini-powered agent that optimizes campaigns, generates keywords and assets, explains performance and troubleshoots policy disapprovals with user approval, would reach all English-language Google Ads accounts globally in early December 2025. Analytics Advisor launches in parallel in Google Analytics.","details":"Ads Advisor can apply suggested changes such as sitelinks directly and learns from prior interactions. PPC Land reported the rollout completing across English accounts in December 2025.","regions":"Global (English)","sources":[{"title":"Google's AI advisors: agentic tools to drive impact and insights","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/ads-advisor-and-analytics-advisor/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-11-12"},{"title":"Ask Advisor in Google Ads","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16574983?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-11-12"},{"title":"Google's AI advisors: agentic tools to drive impact and insights","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/google-ai-advisors-agentic-tools-to-drive-impact-and-insights/","publisher":"Google Business (Accelerate with Google)","date":"2025-11-12"}],"id":"2025-11-12-ads-advisor-english-accounts-december"},{"date":"2025-11-11","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Conversion Lift minimum spend cut from about $100,000 to $5,000 per experiment","summary":"Google lowered the spend threshold for incrementality experiments to $5,000, improved the statistical methodology so results are available up to 50% more often, added custom test sizes and confidence levels, and sped up result delivery.","details":"Announced at Think Week in September and formalised in the November 11 Google Ads Help announcement. Tests can run 7 to 56 days with 28 days recommended.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Strengthen media measurement and ROI clarity with incrementality testing improvements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16719772?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-11-11"},{"title":"Google unveils comprehensive AI advertising suite at Think Week 2025","url":"https://ppc.land/google-unveils-comprehensive-ai-advertising-suite-at-think-week-2025/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-09-10"}],"id":"2025-11-11-incrementality-testing-5000-minimum"},{"date":"2025-11-11","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Budget and bidding optimisation settings gained inline budget summaries","summary":"Vijay Kumar found, and Adriaan Dekker shared, summaries of budget settings shown within the budget and bidding optimisation panel. Google did not announce it.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Summaries In Budget Optimization Settings","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-budget-summaries-40398.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-11-11"}],"id":"2025-11-11-budget-setting-summaries-in-optimization-panel"},{"date":"2025-11-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Server-side Tag Manager image 4.0.0 upgraded runtime to Node.js 24","summary":"The sGTM container image moved to gcr.io/distroless/nodejs24-debian13; subsequent 4.x releases (Feb, Apr, Jul 2026) were security base-image updates.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Server-side tagging release notes","url":"https://developers.google.com/tag-platform/tag-manager/server-side/release-notes","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-11-10"}],"id":"2025-11-10-sgtm-4-0-node-24"},{"date":"2025-11-10","effective_date":"2025-12-10","product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Destination requirements policy blocked phone numbers linked to fraud or prior violations","summary":"Google added a rule that phone numbers associated with fraudulent activity or a history of policy violations are unacceptable in ads and assets, effective December 10, 2025 with enforcement ramping over about 8 weeks.","details":"Affects call assets, call-only ads, location assets and message assets. Google positioned this as an anti-scam measure; advertisers were advised to audit every phone number in their accounts because numbers with a violation history can trigger disapprovals even for new advertisers.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to the Unacceptable Phone Number Policy (November 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16712877","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-11-10"},{"title":"Google tightens rules on fraud-linked phone numbers in ads","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-tightens-rules-on-fraud-linked-phone-numbers-in-ads-464508","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-11-11"}],"id":"2025-11-10-destination-requirements-policy-blocked-phone-numbers"},{"date":"2025-11-09","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads Editor 2.11 released with PMax negative keyword lists and a PMax search term report","summary":"Editor 2.11 added campaign-level negative keyword lists and a search term report for Performance Max, scheduled link checks, account-level placement and IP exclusions, Smart Bidding Exploration opt-in, editable lead forms, asset group URL settings, an Agency/Provider user list type, NCA high-LTV for Search, on-brand video generation and a Search campaign construction flow, while removing legacy App install, Image app install and Display ad types and manual CPV campaign creation.","details":"Date is from PPC News Feed's coverage (November 9, 2025); Google's help page describes 2.11 as a 2025 release without a specific day. Deprecated in 2.11: creation of App install ads, Image app install ads and Display ads (existing ads can only be paused, unpaused or deleted) and manual CPV campaigns, with a conversion tool to Video view campaigns with Target CPV.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Editor version 2.11","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/editor/answer/16663512?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Editor Help","date":"2025-11-09"},{"title":"Google Ads Editor v2.11 Introduces AI Video Tools and New Controls","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-11/google-ads-editor-v2-11-introduces-ai-video-tools-and-new-controls/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-11-09"}],"id":"2025-11-09-google-ads-editor-2-11"},{"date":"2025-11-08","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Display","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Asset-level performance reporting rolled out to Display campaigns","summary":"Display campaigns gained an Assets page with per-asset performance metrics and a Last updated column, bringing Display in line with Performance Max asset reporting for uploaded and text-customized assets.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"About asset reporting for Display campaigns","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16713821?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-11-08"},{"title":"Asset-Level Reporting Coming To Display Campaigns","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-11/asset-level-reporting-coming-to-display-campaigns/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-11-08"}],"id":"2025-11-08-display-campaigns-asset-level-reporting"},{"date":"2025-11-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"\"Creative Content\" navigation section added to group Product Studio and video assets","summary":"Merchant Center gained a Creative Content section in the navigation that houses Product Studio and the video/asset tools used across free listings, ads and brand profiles.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Merchant Center Adds Creative Content Section","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-merchant-center-creative-content-section-40383.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-11-07"}],"id":"2025-11-07-creative-content-section"},{"date":"2025-11-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Brand suitability inventory types extended to YouTube Home feed, Watch Next feed and Discover","summary":"Inventory type controls (Expanded, Standard, Limited) now apply to YouTube Home and Watch Next feed and Discover placements, and excluded content themes went live on Discover with YouTube feed support to follow, giving one unified suitability setting across YouTube, Discover and Display.","details":"Applies to Video Reach, Video View, Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns in Google Ads and Display & Video 360; existing settings carry over automatically.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"New Brand Suitability Controls For YouTube Feed & Discover","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16713852?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-11-07"},{"title":"Google launches four new Demand Gen features for holiday campaigns","url":"https://ppc.land/google-launches-four-new-demand-gen-features-for-holiday-campaigns/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-11-17"}],"id":"2025-11-07-brand-suitability-controls-youtube-feed-discover"},{"date":"2025-11-06","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Waze 'Promoted Places in Navigation' inventory added to Performance Max for store goals (US)","summary":"Performance Max campaigns with store goals now automatically serve Promoted Places pins in Waze navigation for US advertisers, using existing assets with no additional setup, optimizing toward store visits, store sales or local actions.","details":"Additional markets planned for 2026.","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Access new inventory and channel performance reporting in Performance Max campaigns","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16710258?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-11-06"},{"title":"Access new inventory and channel performance reporting in Performance Max campaigns","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/access-new-inventory-and-channel-performance-reporting-in-performance-max-campaigns/","publisher":"Google Business (Accelerate with Google)","date":"2025-11-06"}],"id":"2025-11-06-pmax-waze-promoted-places"},{"date":"2025-11-06","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Search partners channel and manager-account access coming to the Performance Max channel report","summary":"Google confirmed channel performance reporting is available for all Performance Max campaigns and announced a separate search partners channel plus manager (MCC) account access to the report in the coming weeks. MCC-level reporting was seen live on December 23, 2025.","details":"The channel report now lists Google Search, Display, YouTube, Discover, Maps, Gmail and Search partners.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Access new inventory and channel performance reporting in Performance Max campaigns","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16710258?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-11-06"},{"title":"PMAX Channel Reporting Now Visible at MCC Level","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-12/pmax-channel-reporting-now-visible-at-mcc-level/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-12-23"}],"id":"2025-11-06-pmax-channel-report-search-partners-mcc"},{"date":"2025-11-06","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Merchant Center promotions gained a 'preferred audience' option to target new customers or a location","summary":"Promotion setup now includes a preferred audience control: 'New customers' (Shopping ads only) limits the offer to shoppers with no prior brand interaction, while location targeting by presence or interest applies to organic listings only.","details":"- Spotted by Emmanuel Flossie, who noted the two options apply to different listing types (ads vs organic).\n- Complements first-order promotions launched in June 2025.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Merchant Center adds audience targeting for Shopping promotions","url":"https://ppc.land/google-merchant-center-adds-audience-targeting-for-shopping-promotions/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-11-06"},{"title":"Google Merchant Center New Preferred Audience Targeting For Promotions","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-merchant-center-audience-targeting-40390.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-11-07"}],"id":"2025-11-06-merchant-center-promotions-preferred-audience"},{"date":"2025-11-05","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 user-provided data refocused on activation; no longer used as a reporting identity identifier","summary":"User-provided data (UPD) now focuses on activation and Google Ads conversions, improving enhanced conversions and Customer Match audiences, and is no longer used as an identifier for reporting identity.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-11-05"},{"title":"[GA4] User-provided data collection","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/14077171","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-11-05"}],"id":"2025-11-05-ga4-upd-no-longer-reporting-identity"},{"date":"2025-11-05","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 launched new user-provided data infrastructure; early adopters migrate by Q2 2026","summary":"New UPD infrastructure is live for new customers without feature degradation; early adopters on the old infrastructure may see degradation until they are migrated in Q2 2026.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-11-05"},{"title":"[GA4] User-provided data collection","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/14077171","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-11-05"}],"id":"2025-11-05-ga4-upd-new-infrastructure"},{"date":"2025-11-04","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"Merchant Center 'Smart cropping' was found auto-zooming Shopping ad images with no UI opt-out","summary":"Kirk Williams traced awkwardly cropped Shopping ad images to a default-on Smart Cropping feature. Google confirmed by email that it is enabled by default and can only be disabled by contacting support.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-11-04); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-11-04). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google's \"Smart Cropping\" may be trimming your Shopping Ad images","url":"https://searchengineland.com/googles-smart-cropping-may-be-trimming-your-shopping-ad-images-464207","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-11-04"},{"title":"Google Merchant Center Smart Cropping - You Can Opt Out","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-merchant-center-opt-out-smart-cropping-40366.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-11-04"}],"id":"2025-11-04-smart-cropping-shopping-images-default-on"},{"date":"2025-11-04","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Circumventing systems policy clarified that false verification information is a violation","summary":"Google added an example stating that submitting false or fraudulent information through verification programs (including Advertiser Verification) violates the Circumventing systems policy and leads to suspension. No enforcement change.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Updates to policy information related to Circumventing systems (November 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16698137","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-11-04"}],"id":"2025-11-04-circumventing-systems-policy-clarified-that-false"},{"date":"2025-11-01","effective_date":"2025-11-01","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Melatonin dietary supplements allowed in Shopping for Germany, France and Spain","summary":"Merchant Center's Unapproved pharmaceuticals and supplements policy was updated to permit compliant melatonin dietary supplements in Germany, France and Spain; prescription melatonin remains prohibited.","details":"Google's announcement log dates this to November 2025.","regions":"Germany; France; Spain","sources":[{"title":"Melatonin policy update: Expanded availability for dietary supplements","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16580917","publisher":"Google Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-11-01"}],"id":"2025-11-01-melatonin-dietary-supplements-allowed-in-shopping"},{"date":"2025-11-01","effective_date":"2025-12-04","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Gambling ads opened in Entre Rios, Mendoza and Santa Fe provinces, Argentina","summary":"From December 4, 2025, operators licensed by each province's regulator may be certified to advertise lotteries, sports betting and casino games in three additional Argentine provinces.","details":"Google's change log dates this entry to November 2025.","regions":"Argentina","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy (November 2025)- Argentina","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16708238","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-11-01"}],"id":"2025-11-01-gambling-ads-opened-in-entre-rios"},{"date":"2025-10-31","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Overview tab gained a cross-campaign reach chart (saw awareness / saw action / saw both)","summary":"Anthony Higman shared a new Overview chart showing unique users reached by awareness and action campaigns and their overlap. Google did not announce it.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2025-10-31); PPC News Feed (2025-10-31). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Cross Campaign Metrics In Google Ads Overview Tab","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-overview-cross-campaign-metrics-40352.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-10-31"},{"title":"Cross Campaign Metrics Appear in Google Ads Overview","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-10/cross-campaign-metrics-appear-in-google-ads-overview/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-10-31"}],"id":"2025-10-31-overview-cross-campaign-metrics-chart"},{"date":"2025-10-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Merchant Center Promotions tab gained 'at a glance' and 'last 28 days' performance analytics cards","summary":"The Promotions section of Merchant Center now shows two analytics summaries, 'Your promotions at a glance' and 'Performance in the last 28 days', so merchants can see how promotions perform on Google Search alongside their status.","details":"- Reported via SERP Alerts; the promotions tab had gone through several layout iterations in preceding months.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Merchant Center Next Adds Promotion Analytics","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-merchant-center-promotion-analytics-40341.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-10-30"}],"id":"2025-10-30-merchant-center-promotion-analytics"},{"date":"2025-10-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Demand Gen 'Where ads showed' report began listing Gmail and Discover separately instead of under 'Other'","summary":"Gmail and Discover placements in Demand Gen placement reporting are now broken out as their own categories. 'Other' continues to hold YouTube channels and placements below reporting thresholds.","details":"- Spotted by Hana Kobzová.\n- Reporting help: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/13695597.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Demand Gen Placement Report Now Shows Gmail and Discover Separately","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-10/demand-gen-placement-report-now-shows-gmail-and-discover-separately/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-10-30"}],"id":"2025-10-30-demand-gen-placement-report-gmail-discover-split"},{"date":"2025-10-29","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Bid caps and floors added to Maximize conversion value portfolio strategies","summary":"New portfolio Maximize conversion value strategies with a Target ROAS now expose advanced options to set minimum and maximum CPC bid limits, giving advertisers a control previously unavailable for value-based Smart Bidding.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Bid Limits Quietly Added to Max Conversion Value Strategies","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-10/bid-limits-quietly-added-to-max-conversion-value-strategies/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-10-29"}],"id":"2025-10-29-max-conversion-value-bid-caps-floors"},{"date":"2025-10-29","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Portfolio Maximise conversion value strategies with tROAS gained min/max CPC bid limits","summary":"Brian O'Neil found that new portfolio Maximise conversion value strategies with a target ROAS now allow bid floors and caps. Google did not announce the option.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Bid Limits Quietly Added to Max Conversion Value Strategies","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-10/bid-limits-quietly-added-to-max-conversion-value-strategies/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-10-29"}],"id":"2025-10-29-bid-limits-max-conversion-value-portfolios"},{"date":"2025-10-28","effective_date":"2025-10-28","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Social casino games policy clarified: sweepstakes casinos ineligible for certification","summary":"Google clarified that sweepstake casinos and other games offering real-world rewards fall outside the social casino certification and are governed by the online gambling rules instead.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Gambling and Games Social Casino Games Policy Clarification (October 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16641934","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-10-28"}],"id":"2025-10-28-social-casino-games-policy-clarified-sweepstakes"},{"date":"2025-10-28","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Local Services","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Click type segment gained 'Maps pin clicks' and 'Show nearby locations' rows","summary":"Red Lead Web Design first noticed, and Anthony Higman confirmed across accounts, two new click types in the Campaigns view segment menu. Google did not announce them.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Showing Maps Pin Clicks In Reports","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-maps-pin-clicks-data-40332.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-10-28"}],"id":"2025-10-28-maps-pin-clicks-click-type-segments"},{"date":"2025-10-28","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Local Services","type":"Measurement","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"A Google-created phone call conversion action for Local Services Ads leads appeared in Google Ads","summary":"Lori Gilstrap spotted a 'Phone call conversion action created by Google' counting LSA leads inside the main Google Ads interface. Google did not announce the integration.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Interface Gains Local Service Ads Phone Call Leads","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-gains-local-service-ads-phone-call-leads-40323.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-10-28"}],"id":"2025-10-28-lsa-phone-call-conversions-in-google-ads"},{"date":"2025-10-28","effective_date":"2025-11-13","product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Google TV Masthead opened to sports betting ads in the UK and Brazil","summary":"From November 13, 2025, compliant sports betting ads became eligible for the Google TV Masthead in the UK (excluding Northern Ireland) and Brazil.","details":"","regions":"UK; Brazil","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Google TV Masthead format requirements: United Kingdom and Brazil (November 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16559748","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-10-28"}],"id":"2025-10-28-google-tv-masthead-opened-to-sports"},{"date":"2025-10-28","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Explorer Access tier launched, giving new developer tokens immediate production-account access","summary":"Most new Google Ads API developers now receive Explorer Access on completing onboarding, allowing work with live accounts immediately (2,880 operations/day) with restrictions such as no account creation or keyword planning. Basic and Standard Access remain available by application; existing developers are unaffected.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Explorer access is now available for Google Ads API developers","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/10/explorer-access-is-now-available-for.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-10-28"},{"title":"Access Levels and Permissible Use","url":"https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/api-policy/access-levels","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-10-28"}],"id":"2025-10-28-explorer-access-tier"},{"date":"2025-10-27","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Campaign-level audience list exclusions ('Data exclusions') surfaced for Performance Max","summary":"Satoshi Ando found, and Dario Zannoni shared, a Data exclusions option letting PMax campaigns exclude audience lists such as existing customers, reportedly enabled by request via a Google rep. Google did not confirm broad rollout.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2025-10-27); PPC News Feed (2025-10-26). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Campaign Level Audience Exclusions To Performance Max","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-campaign-level-audience-exclusions-to-performance-max-40325.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-10-27"},{"title":"Performance Max May Soon Allow Campaign-Level Audience Exclusions","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-10/performance-max-may-soon-allow-campaign-level-audience-exclusions/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-10-26"}],"id":"2025-10-27-pmax-campaign-level-audience-exclusions"},{"date":"2025-10-27","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Search text ads tested a 'People also search for' block beneath the ad","summary":"Thomas Eccel spotted related-query suggestions appearing under sponsored text ads. Google did not confirm the test.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Search Ads Now Showing \"People Also Search For\"?","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-10/search-ads-now-showing-people-also-search-for/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-10-27"}],"id":"2025-10-27-people-also-search-for-under-text-ads-test"},{"date":"2025-10-27","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Merchant Center for Agencies launched in pilot as a successor to multi-client account management","summary":"Google introduced Merchant Center for Agencies, a dedicated agency account type with a single dashboard, diagnostics, client optimization and ads-opportunity pages across all client accounts. Existing agency users could access it at merchants.google.com and new agencies could request pilot access.","details":"Reported October 27, 2025; Google opened a pilot request form in November 2025. General availability followed in the US and Canada on March 11, 2026 and worldwide on May 11, 2026.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"About Merchant Center for Agencies","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16580507?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-10-27"},{"title":"Google Launching Merchant Center For Agencies","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-merchant-center-for-agencies-40322.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-10-27"},{"title":"Merchant Center for Agencies Simplifies Client Management","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-10/merchant-center-for-agencies-simplifies-client-management/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-10-27"}],"id":"2025-10-27-merchant-center-for-agencies-pilot"},{"date":"2025-10-27","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Recommendations page gained an 'Investment strategy' tab modelling budget-increase scenarios","summary":"Charlotte Osborne spotted a new Investment Strategy tab offering account-level projections of what extra budget could deliver. Google's support documentation was updated the same day.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2025-10-27); Search Engine Land (2025-11-06). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads New Investment Strategy Recommendation Page","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-investment-strategy-40324.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-10-27"},{"title":"Google Ads pushes 'Investment Strategy' planning for budget-limited campaigns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-pushes-investment-strategy-planning-for-budget-limited-campaigns-464336","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-11-06"}],"id":"2025-10-27-investment-strategy-recommendations-tab"},{"date":"2025-10-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Views column renamed TrueView views in video reporting","summary":"The Views metric in Google Ads video reporting was relabelled TrueView views to clarify that it counts engaged views (30 seconds for skippable in-stream, 10 seconds for in-feed and Shorts, or an interaction).","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Renames Views Metric to TrueView Views","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-10/google-renames-views-metric-to-trueview-views/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-10-21"}],"id":"2025-10-21-views-renamed-trueview-views"},{"date":"2025-10-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Beta","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"Google auto-populated 'New customer value' on NCA campaigns without notice; Liaison confirmed experiment","summary":"Bilal Yasin found new customer values set on campaigns with no change-history entry, inflating reported conversion value. Ginny Marvin confirmed it was an experiment aimed at helping advertisers use settings that improve results.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-10-21); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-10-21). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads quietly tests auto-setting \"New Customer Value\"","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-quietly-tests-auto-setting-new-customer-value-463615","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-10-21"},{"title":"Google Ads Experiments With Settings New Customer Value","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-tests-settings-new-customer-value-40294.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-10-21"}],"id":"2025-10-21-new-customer-value-auto-set-experiment"},{"date":"2025-10-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Centralized Issue Details Page added under the Needs attention tab","summary":"Merchant Center rolled out an Issue Details Page that consolidates account- and product-level issues with descriptions, suggested fixes (including one-click \"Turn on\" automations), business-impact metrics and sample affected products.","details":"Merchants reach the page by clicking an issue in the Needs attention tab; eligible issues can be resolved automatically from the fix dialog and reviews can be requested for applicable violations.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"About the Issue details page","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16431300?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-10-21"},{"title":"Google Merchant Center adds centralized Issue Details Page","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-merchant-center-adds-centralized-issue-details-page-463621","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-10-21"}],"id":"2025-10-21-issue-details-page"},{"date":"2025-10-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"New customer acquisition goals, including New Customer Only mode, rolled out to Demand Gen","summary":"Demand Gen campaigns can now use customer acquisition goals to bid higher for new customers or exclusively for new customers. Google says advertisers using New Customer Only mode improved their new customer ratio by 11.5% at 3% lower acquisition cost.","details":"Announced in the October Demand Gen Drop alongside iOS deep linking via Web to App Connect and product feed guidance.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Learn what's new in Demand Gen with October's Demand Gen Drop","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-october-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-10-21"},{"title":"About customer acquisition goals","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/12080169?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-10-21"}],"id":"2025-10-21-demand-gen-new-customer-acquisition-goals"},{"date":"2025-10-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"AI-generated video ads launched for Demand Gen, turning images into 10-second clips","summary":"Demand Gen can now automatically generate 10-second video ads from static image assets in horizontal, square and vertical orientations to extend reach on YouTube. Auto-generated videos are on by default and can be disabled per ad.","details":"Videos are hosted on a Google-owned channel, not the advertiser's. Practitioners saw image-to-video generation in Demand Gen in August and October 2025 before the formal announcement.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Learn what's new in Demand Gen with October's Demand Gen Drop","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-october-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-10-21"},{"title":"About auto-generated video ads","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16430641?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-10-21"}],"id":"2025-10-21-demand-gen-ai-generated-video"},{"date":"2025-10-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Text guidelines (term exclusions and messaging restrictions) began appearing in accounts","summary":"Arpan Banerjee spotted the campaign-level Text guidelines feature live in some accounts about five weeks after Google previewed it at Think Retail. Google did not announce the rollout timing.","details":"Coverage: PPC News Feed (2025-10-20); Search Engine Land (2025-10-20); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-10-20). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Text Guidelines Spotted Live","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-10/text-guidelines-spotted-live/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-10-20"},{"title":"Google Ads' new text guidelines feature begins rolling out","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-new-text-guidelines-feature-begins-rolling-out-463563","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-10-20"},{"title":"Google Ads Text Guidelines Now Rolling Out?","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-text-guidelines-beta-40288.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-10-20"}],"id":"2025-10-20-text-guidelines-spotted-live"},{"date":"2025-10-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Canceled Google Ads accounts to be permanently deleted six months after cancellation","summary":"Google updated its account retention rules so canceled accounts are permanently deleted six months after cancellation, with a 30-day email warning, and began cleaning up inactive accounts.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Will Permanently Delete Canceled Accounts After 6 Months","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-10/google-ads-will-permanently-delete-canceled-accounts-after-6-months/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-10-20"},{"title":"About Google Ads account deletion","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7619129","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-10-20"}],"id":"2025-10-20-canceled-google-ads-accounts-to-be"},{"date":"2025-10-17","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Handling cutoff time [handling_cutoff_time] attribute added for product-level order cutoffs","summary":"Google documented a new handling_cutoff_time attribute that lets merchants set a daily order-processing deadline (with timezone and country sub-attributes) at the product level so delivery estimates are faster and more accurate.","details":"First documented in October 2025 and formally included in the April 14, 2026 product data specification update.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Handling cutoff time [handling_cutoff_time]","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16543665?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-10-17"},{"title":"Google Adds Handling Cutoff Time Feed Attribute for Accurate Delivery Estimates","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-10/google-adds-handling-cutoff-time-feed-attribute-for-accurate-delivery-estimates/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-10-17"}],"id":"2025-10-17-handling-cutoff-time-attribute"},{"date":"2025-10-17","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"AI Max search term reports gained a 'Sources' column showing landing pages vs expanded matches","summary":"Thomas Eccel spotted a Sources column that attributes AI Max traffic to landing pages/URL inclusions or AI Max expanded matches. Google did not announce it.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-10-17); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-10-21). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google adds 'Sources' column to AI Max search term reports","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-sources-column-ai-max-search-term-reports-463464","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-10-17"},{"title":"Google Ads AI Max Adds Sources Column in Search Term Report","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-ai-max-sources-search-term-report-40284.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-10-21"}],"id":"2025-10-17-ai-max-search-terms-sources-column"},{"date":"2025-10-15","effective_date":"2025-10-15","product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Policy","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Canada cannabis pilot expanded to authorized government operators","summary":"Eligibility for the Canada cannabis Search pilot was widened to include provincially authorized government operators alongside federally licensed advertisers.","details":"","regions":"Canada","sources":[{"title":"Updated Cannabis-Related Content Policy (October 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16665329","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-10-15"}],"id":"2025-10-15-canada-cannabis-pilot-expanded-to-authorized"},{"date":"2025-10-15","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API v22 released with AssetGenerationService (beta) and Smart Bidding Exploration metrics","summary":"v22 added a generative-AI AssetGenerationService in beta, time-segmented diversity metrics for Smart Bidding Exploration on Target ROAS Search campaigns, new Demand Gen asset automation and bidding strategies (including Target CPC), campaign-level PMax image enhancement/extraction settings, new PMax reporting segments (ad_using_product_data, ad_using_video) and a feed_types field, and target-less bidding goals for App campaigns for installs.","details":"Also in v22 per secondary coverage: customer retention goals in Unified Goals and new asset automation types for generating design versions and videos. v22 sunset: October 7, 2026.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Announcing v22 of the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/10/announcing-v22-of-google-ads-api.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-10-15"},{"title":"Release notes (v22, 2025-10-15)","url":"https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/release-notes","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-10-15"},{"title":"Google Ads API Version 22 Now Available","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-api-version-22-40268.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-10-16"}],"id":"2025-10-15-ads-api-v22-released"},{"date":"2025-10-14","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Performance Max now accepts 9:16 vertical image assets","summary":"Performance Max asset groups can include 9:16 vertical images (minimum 600x1067, recommended 1080x1920), a format previously limited to Demand Gen, with expected serving on YouTube Shorts and other vertical placements.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Performance Max Now Supports 9:16 Vertical Images","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-10/performance-max-now-supports-916-vertical-images/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-10-14"}],"id":"2025-10-14-pmax-9-16-vertical-images"},{"date":"2025-10-14","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Recommendations tested an 'optimisation insights' layout grouping tips into three stages","summary":"Natasha Kaurra shared a new insights view organising recommendations under Build a Foundation, Drive Performance, and Expand and Grow. Google did not announce it.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"New Google Ads Optimization Insights Recommendations","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-new-optimization-insights-recommendations-40256.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-10-14"}],"id":"2025-10-14-optimization-insights-three-column-layout"},{"date":"2025-10-14","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Search results gained a 'Hide sponsored results' control and grouped sponsored ad blocks","summary":"Google changed the Search results layout so text ads appear in grouped blocks of up to four under a single sticky 'Sponsored results' header that users can collapse, with Shopping ads labelled 'Sponsored products'. The change affects ad visibility on desktop and mobile.","details":"PPC Land first documented the grouped header on September 24, 2025; Google announced the collapsible control with other Search updates on October 14, 2025.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google updates Search and Discover with collapsible ads, AI features, and more","url":"https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/14/google-updates-search-and-discover-with-collapsible-ads-ai-features-and-more/","publisher":"TechCrunch","date":"2025-10-14"},{"title":"Google groups sponsored ads under single header in search results","url":"https://ppc.land/google-groups-sponsored-ads-under-single-header-in-search-results/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-09-24"}],"id":"2025-10-14-hide-sponsored-results-grouped-ads"},{"date":"2025-10-14","effective_date":"2025-10-29","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Healthcare policy changed how prescription drug terms may be used in ads, landing pages and keywords","summary":"From October 29, 2025, advertisers in Canada, New Zealand and the US may use restricted prescription drug terms promotionally if compliant with local law, while keyword targeting still requires certification; non-promotional uses (e.g., public health) are allowed more broadly. Outside those countries promotional use remains prohibited.","details":"Full enforcement ramped over roughly 4-6 weeks after October 29, 2025.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Healthcare and Medicines Policy (October 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16606361","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-10-14"},{"title":"Google Ads Updates It Prescription Drug Terms Healthcare and Medicines Policy","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-prescription-drug-terms-policy-40272.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-10-17"}],"id":"2025-10-14-healthcare-policy-changed-how-prescription-drug"},{"date":"2025-10-13","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"View-through conversion optimization tested for Demand Gen bidding","summary":"A beta setting lets Demand Gen include view-through conversions in bidding decisions for YouTube image and video traffic, aimed at faster learning and smoother early-stage optimization.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Demand Gen Gets Smarter with View-Through Conversion Optimization","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-10/demand-gen-gets-smarter-with-view-through-conversion-optimization/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-10-13"},{"title":"Google Ads tests 'View-Through Conversion Optimization' for Demand Gen campaigns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-view-through-conversion-optimization-demand-gen-campaigns-test-463313","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-10-14"}],"id":"2025-10-13-demand-gen-view-through-conversion-optimization-beta"},{"date":"2025-10-13","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Auto-apply recommendations control moved to a more prominent spot above the recommendations list","summary":"Aleksejus Podpruginas noticed the Auto-apply button now sits above the regular recommendations section. Google did not announce the UI change.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Auto-Apply Recommendations Setting Updated","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-auto-apply-recommendations-update-40240.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-10-13"}],"id":"2025-10-13-auto-apply-recommendations-button-relocated"},{"date":"2025-10-13","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Announced","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"Google announced ads in AI Overviews would expand beyond the US by end of 2025","summary":"At a Google Access event Google said ads inside AI Overviews, live in the US since 2024, would roll out to additional English-speaking markets by the end of 2025.","details":"The expansion to 11 more countries was documented on December 19, 2025 (see separate entry).","regions":"English-speaking markets","sources":[{"title":"Google to expand ads in AI Overviews to more markets","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-expand-ads-ai-overviews-463273","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-10-13"}],"id":"2025-10-13-ads-in-ai-overviews-expansion-announced"},{"date":"2025-10-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"A 'Missed growth opportunities' section forecasting gains from bid/budget changes appeared","summary":"Maggie Humphrey spotted a new tab modelling performance the account could have achieved over the past year with different bids and budgets. Wider rollout was observed by late October.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Missed Growth Opportunities Tab","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-missed-growth-opportunities-report-40239.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-10-10"}],"id":"2025-10-10-missed-growth-opportunities-tab"},{"date":"2025-10-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Recommendations tab began flagging low-quality image assets with suggested fixes","summary":"Hana Kobzová spotted recommendations that scan uploaded images and suggest edits such as changing the background to white, with in-dashboard quick fixes. Google did not announce it.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads now flags low-quality images","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-flags-low-quality-images-463259","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-10-10"}],"id":"2025-10-10-low-quality-image-recommendations"},{"date":"2025-10-09","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"YouTube Masthead and Premier Reach became bookable directly in Google Ads awareness campaigns without a rep","summary":"Awareness and consideration campaigns in Google Ads gained self-serve reservation options: Premier Reach (bumper, skippable, non-skippable, Shorts and pause ads) and Masthead (top of YouTube and Google TV) with fixed CPMs and YouTube Select lineups. Advertisers no longer need a Google representative or the separate reservation process.","details":"- Options shown: Standard Reach, Premier Reach and Masthead.\n- Fixed CPM pricing and access to YouTube Select lineups.\n- Shared by Thomas Eccel on LinkedIn.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"YouTube Opens Up Masthead & Premier Reach Campaigns to Everyone","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-10/youtube-opens-up-masthead-premier-reach-campaigns-to-everyone/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-10-09"}],"id":"2025-10-09-masthead-premier-reach-self-serve-google-ads"},{"date":"2025-10-09","effective_date":"2026-01-28","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Search","type":"Deprecation","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Call-only ads deprecated: creation blocked from January 2026, serving ends February 2027","summary":"Google is retiring the call-only ad format (built on the legacy ETA framework). With v23 in January 2026, creating or duplicating call-only ads is blocked in all API versions, the UI, Editor and SA360; existing ads keep serving and remain editable until February 2027, when all call-only ads stop and API support is removed.","details":"Migration path: create responsive search ads and attach call assets (phone numbers as assets at customer, campaign or ad group level). Key dates: January 2026 creation blocked; until February 2027 existing ads serve and can be updated; February 2027 full removal.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Upgrade your Call-Only Ads to Responsive Search Ads with Call Assets in the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/10/upgrade-your-call-only-ads-to.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-10-09"}],"id":"2025-10-09-call-only-ads-deprecation"},{"date":"2025-10-08","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"ROAS, CPA and a campaign type column added to the channel performance report","summary":"The Performance Max channel performance report gained ROAS and CPA metrics plus a campaign type column, hinting at future support for other campaign types.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Campaign Type, ROAS & CPA Added to Channel Performance Report","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-10/campaign-type-roas-cpa-added-to-channel-performance-report/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-10-08"}],"id":"2025-10-08-pmax-channel-report-roas-cpa-columns"},{"date":"2025-10-08","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Channel performance report gained a 'Campaign type' attribute hinting at expansion beyond PMax","summary":"Mike Ryan spotted a new Campaign Type selector plus ROAS and CPA metrics in the Channel Performance report, suggesting the report would cover more campaign types. Google did not confirm.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-10-08); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-10-15). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Campaign Type added to Google Ads Channel Performance report","url":"https://searchengineland.com/campaign-type-google-ads-channel-performance-report-463152","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-10-08"},{"title":"Campaign Type Selection In Google Ads Channel Performance Report","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/campaign-type-google-ads-channel-performance-report-40242.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-10-15"}],"id":"2025-10-08-channel-performance-report-campaign-type-attribute"},{"date":"2025-10-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Google open-sourced a read-only Google Ads API MCP server for AI agents","summary":"Google released an open source Model Context Protocol server for the Google Ads API so MCP-compatible AI applications (such as Gemini) can query and analyze advertising accounts in natural language. The initial release is read-only for reporting and diagnostics.","details":"Google first surveyed developers about an MCP server on July 7, 2025. Third-party coverage describes the server's core tools as `list_accessible_customers` and a GAQL `search` tool with resource metadata discovery. A Google-maintained `google-ads-api-mcp-setup` agent skill was later published in June 2026.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Open Source Google Ads API MCP Server","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/10/open-source-google-ads-api-mcp-server.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-10-07"},{"title":"Google open-sources ads API MCP server for AI developers","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-open-sources-ads-api-mcp-server-463219","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-10-09"},{"title":"Help shape Google Ads API's future Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/07/help-shape-google-ads-apis-future-model.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-07-07"}],"id":"2025-10-07-open-source-mcp-server"},{"date":"2025-10-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 added native Meta Ads and TikTok Ads cost data import integrations","summary":"Advertisers can connect Meta and TikTok ad accounts to import cost automatically into GA4 cross-channel reporting, the two largest non-Google platforms added to the integration list.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-10-07"},{"title":"[GA4] Meta Ads","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/16536051","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-10-07"},{"title":"[GA4] TikTok Ads","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/16536156","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-10-07"}],"id":"2025-10-07-ga4-meta-tiktok-cost-data-import"},{"date":"2025-10-06","effective_date":"2025-10-06","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Political content policy added Chile election restrictions and verification guidance","summary":"Google added Chile to the Political content policy: election ads must pause during legally defined silence periods and advertisers must follow the clarified Chile election advertiser verification process.","details":"Two change-log entries were posted the same day: one adding the Chile restriction, one clarifying the verification application process.","regions":"Chile","sources":[{"title":"Update to Political Content policy (October 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16522620","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-10-06"},{"title":"Update to Political Content policy (October 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16630040","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-10-06"}],"id":"2025-10-06-political-content-policy-added-chile-election"},{"date":"2025-10-03","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"New compact navigation menu finished rolling out to all Merchant Center Next accounts","summary":"Google completed the phased rollout of a condensed, compact left-hand menu bar in Merchant Center Next across all accounts.","details":"The compact menu had been in phased rollout for several months; observers noted the completion coincided with a period of technical issues on the platform.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Merchant Center Next New Compact Menu Bar","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-merchant-center-next-new-menu-bar-40203.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-10-03"},{"title":"Google Merchant Center Rolls Out Condensed Navigation","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-10/google-merchant-center-rolls-out-condensed-navigation/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-10-01"}],"id":"2025-10-03-compact-menu-bar-rollout-completed"},{"date":"2025-10-03","effective_date":"2026-02-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Deprecation","status":"Announced","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Call-only ads to be retired: creation ends February 2026, serving ends February 2027","summary":"Google announced that call ads (call-only ads) are being deprecated in favour of responsive search ads with call assets. New call ads cannot be created from February 2026 and existing call ads stop receiving impressions from February 2027.","details":"Google recommends migrating now, enabling call reporting, setting call conversions as primary, and using Maximize conversion value. The Google Ads API blocked call-only ads from January 2026.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Action Required: Transition from call ads to call assets","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16598240","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-10-03"},{"title":"Get Ready for the Phase Out of Call-Only Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-10/get-ready-for-the-phase-out-of-call-only-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-10-03"},{"title":"Google phases out call-only ads by February 2027 in push toward automation","url":"https://ppc.land/google-phases-out-call-only-ads-by-february-2027-in-push-toward-automation/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-01-03"}],"id":"2025-10-03-call-ads-deprecation"},{"date":"2025-10-02","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 added diagnostic alerts for problematic User-ID implementations","summary":"A new diagnostic flags common User-ID implementation problems and provides guidance on fixes.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-10-02"},{"title":"[GA4] User-ID","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9213390","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-10-02"}],"id":"2025-10-02-ga4-user-id-diagnostics"},{"date":"2025-10-02","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 Benchmarking expanded to 20 unnormalized metrics such as New users and Total revenue","summary":"Benchmarking now supports about 20 additional absolute-number metrics, estimated by comparing active-user counts with peer groups, in addition to existing normalized rates.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-10-02"},{"title":"[GA4] Benchmarking","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/16388466","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-10-02"},{"title":"Google Analytics expands benchmarking with unnormalized metrics","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-analytics-expands-benchmarking-with-unnormalized-metrics-462981","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-10-03"}],"id":"2025-10-02-ga4-benchmarking-unnormalized-metrics"},{"date":"2025-10-02","effective_date":"2025-10-15","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Misspelled minimum_bugdet_amount_micros field corrected in v21 on October 15, 2025","summary":"The BudgetPerDayMinimumErrorDetails field released in v21 as minimum_bugdet_amount_micros was renamed to minimum_budget_amount_micros in v22 and retroactively in v21 from October 15, 2025; REST users and upgraded client library users must use the corrected name.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Correction of an error in the BudgetPerDayMinimumErrorDetails message","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/10/correction-of-error-in.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-10-02"}],"id":"2025-10-02-budget-error-field-rename"},{"date":"2025-10-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Shopping ads and free listings Misrepresentation policy clarified with examples and appeals guidance","summary":"Google added examples, compliance guidance and appeals information to the Merchant Center Misrepresentation policy, particularly around non-delivery and faulty refund processes. No enforcement change.","details":"Google's announcement log dates this to October 2025; Search Engine Land covered it on October 10, 2025.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Clarifying Misrepresentation policy for Shopping ads and free listings","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16608300","publisher":"Google Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-10-01"},{"title":"Google updates Misrepresentation policy for Shopping Ads and free listings","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-updates-misrepresentation-policy-for-shopping-ads-and-free-listings-463266","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-10-10"}],"id":"2025-10-01-shopping-ads-and-free-listings-misrepresentation"},{"date":"2025-10-01","effective_date":"2025-09-01","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Regional availability and pricing became generally available in 86 countries, 22 at postal-code level","summary":"Google announced that regional availability and pricing (RAAP) is generally available in 86 countries, with 22 countries supporting postal-code-level regions, letting merchants override national availability and price by region. RAAP set at the MCA level does not cascade to sub-accounts.","details":"Merchant Center Help Center announcement dated October 2025 (month only), stating GA \"as of September 2025\".","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Country and country code expansion to regional availability and pricing (RAAP)","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16558727?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-10-01"},{"title":"Merchant Center announcements change log","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/announcements/6192467?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-11"},{"title":"Merchant Center's RAAP Now Live in 86 Countries With Postal Code Support in 22","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-10/merchant-centers-raap-now-live-in-86-countries-with-postal-code-support-in-22/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-10-01"}],"id":"2025-10-01-raap-generally-available-86-countries"},{"date":"2025-10-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Physical goods subscriptions opened to all eligible US Shopping merchants in eight categories","summary":"Merchant Center formally allowed physical goods subscriptions for eligible US merchants across apparel, coffee, healthcare, home and garden, personal care, pet supplies, prepared foods and toys, provided subscription cost attributes are supplied in the feed.","details":"Google's announcement log dates this to October 2025.","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Policy update: Physical goods subscriptions","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16655415","publisher":"Google Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-10-01"}],"id":"2025-10-01-physical-goods-subscriptions-opened-to-all"},{"date":"2025-10-01","effective_date":"2025-10-16","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Gambling ads permitted in Cross River, Ekiti and Oyo states, Nigeria","summary":"From October 16, 2025, operators licensed by the relevant state regulators and certified by Google may advertise sports betting, lotteries, bingo and casino games in three additional Nigerian states.","details":"","regions":"Nigeria","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy: Nigeria (October 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16610070","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-10-01"}],"id":"2025-10-01-gambling-ads-permitted-in-cross-river"},{"date":"2025-09-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"YouTube and Discover Feed ad requirements reorganized for clarity","summary":"Google restructured the YouTube and Discover Feed ad requirements article for readability; no change to enforcement.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to YouTube and Discover Feed ad requirements (September 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16613291","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-09-30"}],"id":"2025-09-30-youtube-and-discover-feed-ad-requirements"},{"date":"2025-09-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Shopping ads carousel tested a blue progress bar showing remaining products","summary":"Sachin Patel shared videos of a progress indicator beneath the Shopping ads carousel. Google did not confirm the test.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Tests Progress Bar For Shopping Ads Carousel","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-progress-bar-for-shopping-ads-carousel-40185.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-09-30"}],"id":"2025-09-30-shopping-carousel-progress-bar-test"},{"date":"2025-09-30","effective_date":"2025-10-30","product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Message assets requirements policy launched with verification-based serving","summary":"Google introduced a Message assets requirements policy: message assets that do not comply or cannot be verified will not serve, with enforcement from October 30, 2025 ramping over about 4 weeks.","details":"Builds on the July 2025 destination-requirements change that extended phone verification to message assets. Message assets that cannot be verified or that violate the policy simply do not serve; enforcement ramped over about 4 weeks from October 30, 2025.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Message assets requirements (September 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16578433","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-09-30"}],"id":"2025-09-30-message-assets-requirements-policy-launched-with"},{"date":"2025-09-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"New Labs section in the Google Ads menu, with a Missed growth opportunities view","summary":"Google began testing a Labs section at the bottom of the Google Ads navigation that groups early-stage experimental features, including a Missed growth opportunities tab estimating potential clicks, conversions and value per campaign from recommended bid and budget changes.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Tests New Labs Section in Interface","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-09/google-ads-tests-new-labs-section-in-interface/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-09-30"},{"title":"New \"Missed Growth Opportunities\" Tab in Google Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-10/new-missed-growth-opportunities-tab-in-google-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-10-09"}],"id":"2025-09-30-labs-section-and-missed-growth-opportunities"},{"date":"2025-09-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"A 'Labs' section centralising pilot features appeared in some accounts","summary":"Vojtěch Audy spotted a Labs hub in Google Ads offering early access to experimental tools such as missed growth opportunities. Google did not announce it.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads tests new Labs hub for experimental features","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-labs-hub-test-462822","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-09-30"}],"id":"2025-09-30-labs-hub-for-experimental-features"},{"date":"2025-09-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GTM now displays the active status of a Google tag gateway setup regardless of configuration method","summary":"Tag Manager shows whether Google tag gateway for advertisers is active for the container even when it was configured outside GTM (for example via a CDN dashboard or manual setup).","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Release notes - Tag Manager Help","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/4620708","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2025-09-30"}],"id":"2025-09-30-gtm-shows-gateway-active-status"},{"date":"2025-09-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 added a native Pinterest Ads cost data import integration","summary":"Pinterest advertising cost can now be imported automatically into GA4 cross-channel reporting.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-09-26"},{"title":"[GA4] Pinterest Ads","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/16537263","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-09-26"}],"id":"2025-09-26-ga4-pinterest-cost-data-import"},{"date":"2025-09-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"New-campaign setup changed to pick 'All' (PMax) or a specific type first, folding Shopping under Search","summary":"Riley Slater noticed the campaign creation screen now asks for All or a specific campaign type instead of ad formats, and standard Shopping must be reached via Search. Google did not announce the flow change.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads New Campaign Set Up Screen Updated","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-new-campaign-set-up-screen-change-40165.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-09-26"}],"id":"2025-09-26-campaign-setup-flow-requires-campaign-type-first"},{"date":"2025-09-25","effective_date":"2025-11-17","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Automatically created customer conversion goals stopped defaulting to account-default from November 17, 2025","summary":"When a new conversion action creates a customer conversion goal via the API, the goal is only set as account-default if all other goals in the same category are account-default; otherwise developers must set CustomerConversionGoal.biddable = true explicitly.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Streamlined Account-Default CustomerConversionGoal Behavior in Google Ads","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/09/streamlined-account-default.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-09-25"}],"id":"2025-09-25-account-default-conversion-goal-behavior"},{"date":"2025-09-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"Individual 'Sponsored' labels were replaced by one 'Sponsored results' header over grouped ads","summary":"Multiple marketers (Harpreet, Ross Stevens, John Reinesch, Lily Ray) reported on September 24 that text ads were now grouped under a single Sponsored results header. Google confirmed the new design on October 13, 2025, including a Hide sponsored results control.","details":"Google's confirmation: text ads are now grouped with a single 'Sponsored results' label to help people navigate the top of the page. Search Engine Roundtable later reported the layout was causing accidental clicks (Nov 3).","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google groups sponsored ads under single header in search results","url":"https://ppc.land/google-groups-sponsored-ads-under-single-header-in-search-results/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-09-24"},{"title":"Google Large Sponsored Results Grouping Label Rolling Out To More","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-large-sponsored-results-grouping-label-40164.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-09-26"},{"title":"Google Ads Officially Launches Grouped Ad Label For Search Ads","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-launches-grouped-ad-label-for-search-ads-40265.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-10-13"}],"id":"2025-09-24-sponsored-results-single-header-rollout"},{"date":"2025-09-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads began recommending one-click linking of unlinked Google Analytics properties","summary":"A recommendation on the Google Ads Campaigns page identifies unlinked Analytics properties and offers one-click linking; Google says linked advertisers see on average a 23% increase in conversions and 10% reduction in cost.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-09-24"},{"title":"Link Google Analytics and Google Ads","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/3448398","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-09-24"},{"title":"Google Ads will recommend you link to your Google Analytics account","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-will-recommend-you-link-to-your-google-analytics-account-with-one-click-462559","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-09-25"}],"id":"2025-09-24-google-ads-ga-linking-recommendation"},{"date":"2025-09-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Search tested a sponsored 'Featured stores' section separate from organic store listings","summary":"Sachin Patel spotted a Featured stores sponsored block in search results, with a 'Sponsored shops' variation later seen by Khushal Bherwani. Google did not confirm the test.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Search Tests Featured Stores Sponsored Ads Section","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-featured-stores-ads-40153.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-09-24"}],"id":"2025-09-24-featured-stores-sponsored-section-test"},{"date":"2025-09-24","effective_date":"2025-10-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Cross-border certification for UK online pharmacies advertising in Germany and Austria ended","summary":"Google terminated the program that let UK-based online pharmacies advertise to Germany and Austria, effective October 2025. The equivalent Shopping change was announced in Merchant Center in March 2026.","details":"","regions":"UK; Germany; Austria","sources":[{"title":"Update to Healthcare and Medicines Policy (October 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16574440","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-09-24"}],"id":"2025-09-24-cross-border-certification-for-uk-online"},{"date":"2025-09-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Brand Profiles began appearing in Merchant Center Next for select accounts","summary":"Google started piloting Brand Profiles in Merchant Center Next, letting retailers highlight brand values, categories, descriptions, images, videos and offers that appear with product listings in Search. Early access was limited, with editing reserved for super admins; Google emailed additional brands early-access invitations in October 2025.","details":"Follows the brand-profile management announcement at Google Marketing Live 2025. In January 2026 the logo upload location moved to Settings > Marketing > Brand.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google tests Brand Profiles in Merchant Center Next","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-tests-brand-profiles-in-merchant-center-next-462504","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-09-24"},{"title":"Brand Profiles Spotted Live in Merchant Center Next","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-09/brand-profiles-spotted-live-in-merchant-center-next/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-09-01"},{"title":"Google Emails Brands Early Access to Brand Profile","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-10/google-emails-brands-early-access-to-brand-profile/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-10-01"}],"id":"2025-09-24-brand-profiles-pilot-in-merchant-center-next"},{"date":"2025-09-23","effective_date":"2025-10-08","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Singapore public health certification allowed prescription drug terms for health advocacy bodies","summary":"Government and well-established non-profit health advocacy organizations in Singapore can apply (from October 8, 2025) for a certification permitting prescription drug and opioid terms in ads, landing pages and keywords for public health campaigns.","details":"","regions":"Singapore","sources":[{"title":"Update to Healthcare and Medicines Policy (October 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16551459","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-09-23"}],"id":"2025-09-23-singapore-public-health-certification-allowed-prescription"},{"date":"2025-09-23","effective_date":"2025-10-28","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Misrepresentation policy expanded to prohibit dishonest pricing practices","summary":"Google added bait-and-switch, price exploitation and misleading free app/trial promotions to the Misrepresentation policy and requires advertisers to clearly disclose the payment model or full cost before and after purchase. Enforcement began October 28, 2025 and ramped over about 4 weeks.","details":"Applies to all advertisers promoting products or services with a cost, with particular emphasis on subscriptions and free-trial offers with hidden fees.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Misrepresentation policy (September 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16502634","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-09-23"},{"title":"Google Ads updated policies to target dishonest pricing practices","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-updated-policies-to-target-dishonest-pricing-practices-462555","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-09-25"}],"id":"2025-09-23-misrepresentation-policy-expanded-to-prohibit-dishonest"},{"date":"2025-09-22","effective_date":"2025-10-22","product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"'Not a government website' disclosure auto-added to Search ads for government documents and services","summary":"From October 22, 2025, Google automatically shows a 'Not a government website' disclosure on Search ads promoting government documents and services unless the advertiser holds government provider certification. Enforcement ramped over about 4 weeks.","details":"The disclosure is applied automatically by Google to all Search ad formats in the restricted category; advertisers with government provider certification are exempt. Tightened further by the October 5, 2026 update limiting this category to authorized providers.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to the 'Other restricted businesses: Government documents and services' policy (September 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16561193","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-09-22"}],"id":"2025-09-22-not-a-government-website-disclosure-auto"},{"date":"2025-09-22","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Negative keyword lists were seen exceeding the documented 5,000 limit; Liaison said limit unchanged","summary":"Stan Oppenheimer found a list well above the 5,000-keyword cap. Ginny Marvin said the threshold remains 5,000 but some lists slightly over the limit may be accepted.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads doubles negative keyword list limit: Glitch or quiet policy change?","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-doubles-negative-keyword-list-limit-glitch-or-quiet-policy-change-462361","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-09-22"}],"id":"2025-09-22-negative-keyword-list-limit-exceeded"},{"date":"2025-09-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"New \"Hidden\" status shown for approved products that are not eligible to serve","summary":"Merchant Center began displaying a \"Hidden\" status for products that are approved but not eligible to show in ads or listings, distinct from the existing Visible / Not visible states.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Hidden Approved Products Shown in Google Merchant","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-09/hidden-approved-products-shown-in-google-merchant/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-09-20"}],"id":"2025-09-20-hidden-status-for-approved-products"},{"date":"2025-09-18","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"google-ads-bom Bill of Materials introduced for the Java client library (v40.0.0)","summary":"The Google Ads API client library for Java v40.0.0 added a Maven/Gradle BOM that pins compatible versions of Guava, Protobuf, GAX and gRPC to reduce dependency conflicts.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Introducing the google-ads-bom to the Google Ads API client library for Java","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/09/introducing-google-ads-bom-to-google.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-09-18"}],"id":"2025-09-18-java-google-ads-bom"},{"date":"2025-09-18","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Conversions (platform comparable) column launched for Demand Gen reporting","summary":"A new reporting-only Conversions (platform comparable) column measures Demand Gen using last-Demand-Gen-touch attribution and includes view-through conversions, so results can be compared with the default attribution used by other ad platforms.","details":"Values are only available from the column's launch in each account and do not affect bidding. Announced in the first monthly Demand Gen Drop.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Introducing Demand Gen Drops to help you stay on top of what's new and drive results","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-september-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-09-18"},{"title":"About the Conversions (platform comparable) column","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/15299024?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-09-18"}],"id":"2025-09-18-demand-gen-platform-comparable-conversions-column"},{"date":"2025-09-18","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Omni-channel bidding launched in Demand Gen to optimize for online and in-store sales","summary":"Demand Gen campaigns can now bid toward total sales across online, in-app and in-store conversions (store visits and store sales) rather than online only.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Introducing Demand Gen Drops to help you stay on top of what's new and drive results","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-september-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-09-18"},{"title":"About store visit conversions","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/9462119","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-09-18"}],"id":"2025-09-18-demand-gen-omnichannel-bidding"},{"date":"2025-09-18","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Local offers and promotion assets became available in Demand Gen on YouTube","summary":"Demand Gen ads on YouTube can now surface in-store local offers to nearby shoppers and highlight sales with promotion assets.","details":"","regions":"Global (English)","sources":[{"title":"Introducing Demand Gen Drops to help you stay on top of what's new and drive results","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-september-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-09-18"},{"title":"Introducing Demand Gen Drops","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcement/introducing-demand-gen-drops-to-help-you-stay-on-top-of-what-new-and-drive-results/","publisher":"Google Business (Accelerate with Google)","date":"2025-09-18"}],"id":"2025-09-18-demand-gen-local-offers-promotion-assets"},{"date":"2025-09-18","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Conversion Lift studies can now run across manager accounts at lower spend and conversion volumes","summary":"Conversion Lift testing now works at lower spend levels and conversion volumes and can be set up for an entire manager account or selected campaigns, so advertisers can measure the incrementality of running multiple campaign types together.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Introducing Demand Gen Drops to help you stay on top of what's new and drive results","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-september-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-09-18"},{"title":"About Conversion Lift","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/12003020?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-09-18"}],"id":"2025-09-18-conversion-lift-manager-account-level"},{"date":"2025-09-17","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 added a native Snap Ads cost data import integration","summary":"Snapchat advertising cost can now be imported automatically into GA4 cross-channel reporting.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-09-17"},{"title":"[GA4] Snap Ads","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/16489820","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-09-17"}],"id":"2025-09-17-ga4-snap-cost-data-import"},{"date":"2025-09-15","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Video assets page launched globally in Merchant Center to aggregate, map and distribute product videos","summary":"The new Video assets page pulls videos from a merchant's website, YouTube and social channels, uses AI to map products to videos, lets merchants generate new videos with Product Studio, and syncs videos to Google Ads while controlling placement in free listings and brand profiles.","details":"Announced as a video content hub at Google Marketing Live 2025 (May 21), reported live globally in Merchant Center Next on September 15, 2025, and confirmed by a Merchant Center Help Center announcement in October 2025. Help pages for video assets followed in November 2025.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Video assets page is now available","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16508204?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-10-01"},{"title":"Merchant Center announcements change log","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/announcements/6192467?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-11"},{"title":"Video Assets Section Now Live Globally in Merchant Center","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-09/video-assets-section-now-live-globally-in-merchant-center/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-09-15"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"}],"id":"2025-09-15-video-assets-page-launched"},{"date":"2025-09-15","effective_date":"2025-10-08","product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"Google emailed a pilot that auto-adds Store Visits as a primary conversion with a preset value from Oct 8","summary":"Kim Petersen shared a notification saying Store Visits would be added as a primary conversion with an estimated value (about $220) and used in bidding from October 8 unless advertisers opt out. Google said it was a pilot affecting a small number of advertisers.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-09-15). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads auto-enables 'Store Visits' conversions, sparking concerns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-auto-enables-store-visits-conversions-461998","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-09-15"}],"id":"2025-09-15-store-visits-auto-enabled-as-primary-conversion"},{"date":"2025-09-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"App","type":"Measurement","status":"Retired","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Deadline for the conversion_environment parameter in app offline conversion imports removed","summary":"Google updated its February 2025 'action required' notice to remove the deadline for including the conversion_environment parameter in offline conversion imports for apps; the parameter remains strongly recommended for accurate cross-environment attribution but is no longer enforced for bidding.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Action Required: Offline Conversion Import (OCI) for Apps","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/15907017","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-09-12"},{"title":"Google Rolls Back Bidding Enforcement for In-App Conversions","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-10/google-rolls-back-bidding-enforcement-for-in-app-conversions/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-10-14"}],"id":"2025-09-12-oci-apps-conversion-environment-deadline-removed"},{"date":"2025-09-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"App","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Seasonality adjustments extended to App campaigns in beta","summary":"The Adjustments tool used to signal expected conversion rate changes during sales or promotions, previously limited to Search, Display and Performance Max, became available for App campaigns in beta.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"App Install & Engagement Campaigns Get Adjustment Feature","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-09/app-install-engagement-campaigns-get-adjustment-feature/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-09-12"}],"id":"2025-09-12-app-campaigns-seasonality-adjustments-beta"},{"date":"2025-09-11","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Promotion Mode alpha spotted for layering short sales boosts on campaign total budgets","summary":"An alpha Promotion Mode lets advertisers with a campaign total budget add a 3 to 14 day promotion window that raises volume and loosens ROAS/CPA tolerance during sales, across Performance Max, Search and Shopping.","details":"Google later announced Promotion Mode in beta for Search and Performance Max in 2026.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Promotion Mode Available for Total Budgets in Google Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-09/promotion-mode-available-for-total-budgets-in-google-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-09-11"}],"id":"2025-09-11-promotion-mode-alpha"},{"date":"2025-09-11","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Lead form assets gained qualifying questions and conditional responses","summary":"Lead form ads now support qualifying and conditional questions so advertisers collect better lead data and filter out unqualified submissions before they reach the CRM.","details":"Announced as part of Google's Think Leads recap of AI Essentials for lead generation.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"See what's new in Google Ads for Lead Gen","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/leads-recap/","publisher":"Google Business (Accelerate with Google)","date":"2025-09-11"}],"id":"2025-09-11-lead-form-qualifying-questions"},{"date":"2025-09-11","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Demand Gen network segment now splits YouTube into In-Stream, In-Feed and Shorts","summary":"The network segment in Demand Gen reporting now breaks YouTube performance out by In-Stream, In-Feed and Shorts placements, so advertisers can see which format drives results and tailor creative accordingly.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Smarter Creative Insights with Demand Gen's New Segmentation","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-09/smarter-creative-insights-with-demand-gens-new-segmentation/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-09-11"}],"id":"2025-09-11-demand-gen-youtube-format-segmentation"},{"date":"2025-09-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Text guidelines announced for AI Max and Performance Max to constrain AI-generated text","summary":"Text guidelines let advertisers set campaign-level term exclusions (up to 25) and natural-language messaging restrictions (up to 40) that Google AI must follow when generating text assets via text customization in AI Max for Search and Performance Max. Announced for fall 2025, it began appearing in accounts in October and expanded to all advertisers globally in February 2026.","details":"Google-optimized assets that do not comply with newly added guidelines stop serving. Google's Highlights of 2025 page noted text customization rolling out to all languages and verticals before year end.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"About text guidelines","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16489313?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-09-10"},{"title":"Get greater control and smarter optimization with AI Max as it expands globally","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-ai-max-expands-globally/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-09-10"},{"title":"Google Ads Text Guidelines Rolling Out Globally In AI Max","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-text-guidelines-global-40997.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2026-02-27"}],"id":"2025-09-10-text-guidelines-ai-max-pmax-beta"},{"date":"2025-09-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Shoppable YouTube Masthead launched on mobile","summary":"The YouTube Masthead can now feature products directly in the placement on mobile, letting retailers drive product discovery and site traffic from YouTube's premium home-feed unit.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Think Retail 2025: News and Updates","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/think-retail-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-09-10"},{"title":"See what's new in Google Ads for Retail","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/retail-recap/","publisher":"Google Business (Accelerate with Google)","date":"2025-09-10"}],"id":"2025-09-10-shoppable-youtube-masthead"},{"date":"2025-09-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Prospective customer controls launched to exclude users with recent brand interactions","summary":"Google introduced controls that let campaigns focus on prospective customers by excluding people who recently interacted with the brand, as well as other cohorts, so acquisition budgets reach new users.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"See what's new in Google Ads for Retail","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/retail-recap/","publisher":"Google Business (Accelerate with Google)","date":"2025-09-10"},{"title":"Google Think Retail 2025: News and Updates","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/think-retail-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-09-10"}],"id":"2025-09-10-prospective-customer-controls"},{"date":"2025-09-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Performance Max channel performance report gained bulk reporting, download and segmentation","summary":"Google expanded the Performance Max channel performance report globally with bulk reporting and download, the ability to segment results, and channel-level diagnostics, building on the report's general availability in June 2025.","details":"Google's November 6 announcement referred back to these September enhancements. Cost per channel and account-level channel reporting were reported in August, and ROAS and CPA columns were spotted in October.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Access new inventory and channel performance reporting in Performance Max campaigns","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16710258?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-11-06"},{"title":"Google unveils comprehensive AI advertising suite at Think Week 2025","url":"https://ppc.land/google-unveils-comprehensive-ai-advertising-suite-at-think-week-2025/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-09-10"}],"id":"2025-09-10-pmax-channel-performance-reporting-bulk-segmentation"},{"date":"2025-09-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Announced","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Journey-aware bidding announced as a closed pilot for lead generation","summary":"Google previewed journey-aware bidding, a strategy that reflects where each customer is in their journey so lead-gen advertisers can bid toward the eventual sale rather than the first form fill. It entered closed pilot testing later in 2025.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google unveils comprehensive AI advertising suite at Think Week 2025","url":"https://ppc.land/google-unveils-comprehensive-ai-advertising-suite-at-think-week-2025/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-09-10"},{"title":"See what's new in Google Ads for Lead Gen","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/leads-recap/","publisher":"Google Business (Accelerate with Google)","date":"2025-09-11"}],"id":"2025-09-10-journey-aware-bidding-pilot"},{"date":"2025-09-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Data Manager added connectors for HubSpot, Salesforce, Shopify, BigQuery, Zoho and more","summary":"Google Ads Data Manager expanded the first-party data sources it can connect for conversions and Customer Match, adding ActiveCampaign, BigQuery, HubSpot, Salesforce, Shopify, Google Sheets, Zoho and Zapier.","details":"Zoho CRM integration for offline conversions and Customer Match was reported in July 2025.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google unveils comprehensive AI advertising suite at Think Week 2025","url":"https://ppc.land/google-unveils-comprehensive-ai-advertising-suite-at-think-week-2025/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-09-10"},{"title":"See what's new in Google Ads for Lead Gen","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/leads-recap/","publisher":"Google Business (Accelerate with Google)","date":"2025-09-11"}],"id":"2025-09-10-data-manager-new-connectors"},{"date":"2025-09-10","effective_date":"2025-09-10","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Crypto exchange and wallet ads allowed in Argentina for VASP-registered advertisers","summary":"Advertisers registered with Argentina's Virtual Asset Service Providers registry and certified by Google may promote crypto exchanges and software wallets; hardware wallet promotion is also permitted.","details":"","regions":"Argentina","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Cryptocurrencies and related products policy (September 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16560115","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-09-10"}],"id":"2025-09-10-crypto-exchange-and-wallet-ads-allowed"},{"date":"2025-09-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Campaign total budgets announced for Search, Performance Max and Shopping campaigns","summary":"Google announced at Think Retail that campaign total budgets, previously limited to Demand Gen and YouTube, would extend to Search, Performance Max and Shopping, letting advertisers set a fixed spend over 3 to 90 days that Google AI paces toward peak demand.","details":"Announced as 'coming in the coming weeks'; practitioners saw it in accounts in September 2025 and Google published the open beta announcement on January 15, 2026. A related Promotion Mode alpha (3-14 day boosts layered on a total budget) was spotted in September 2025.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Think Retail 2025: News and Updates","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/think-retail-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-09-10"},{"title":"Campaign total budgets are now available in Search, Performance Max and Shopping campaigns","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/campaign-total-budgets/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2026-01-15"},{"title":"Google unveils comprehensive AI advertising suite at Think Week 2025","url":"https://ppc.land/google-unveils-comprehensive-ai-advertising-suite-at-think-week-2025/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-09-10"}],"id":"2025-09-10-campaign-total-budgets-search-pmax-shopping-announced"},{"date":"2025-09-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Asset Studio launched as the central AI creative hub in Google Ads with new generative tools","summary":"Google announced Asset Studio, a single destination in Google Ads to generate, edit and scale creative, adding product-to-lifestyle image generation, bulk editing of up to 100 images, style references, image-to-video, shareable asset links and an upgraded ad preview, powered by Imagen 4 and Veo.","details":"Launched globally in English with German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Japanese and Italian to follow. Asset Studio had begun appearing in accounts in beta in August 2025. All tools are free to Google Ads users.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Generate creative assets with Google AI in Asset Studio","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/generate-creative-assets-google-ai-asset-studio/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-09-10"},{"title":"Google launches Asset Studio for advertising creative production","url":"https://ppc.land/google-launches-asset-studio-for-advertising-creative-production/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-09-10"}],"id":"2025-09-10-asset-studio-generative-ai-tools"},{"date":"2025-09-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"AI Max for Search campaigns expanded to a global beta for all advertisers","summary":"AI Max for Search, the one-click suite of search term matching, text customization and final URL expansion, became available in beta worldwide across Google Ads, Google Ads Editor, Search Ads 360 and the Google Ads API. Google cites an average 14% lift in conversions or conversion value at similar CPA/ROAS.","details":"PPC Land reported the open beta reaching full rollout by late August 2025 before the formal global announcement on September 10 at Think Week. The announcement also previewed text guidelines and one-click experiments.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Get greater control and smarter optimization with AI Max as it expands globally","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-ai-max-expands-globally/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-09-10"},{"title":"Google AI Max For Search Goes Global In Beta","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-ai-max-for-search-goes-global-in-beta/555683/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2025-09-10"},{"title":"Google unveils comprehensive AI advertising suite at Think Week 2025","url":"https://ppc.land/google-unveils-comprehensive-ai-advertising-suite-at-think-week-2025/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-09-10"}],"id":"2025-09-10-ai-max-for-search-global-beta"},{"date":"2025-09-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Ads Advisor agent beta expanded to half of eligible English-language accounts","summary":"Google's agentic Ads Advisor, which learns account structure, suggests optimizations, drafts assets and explains performance, was expanded in beta to 50% of eligible English-speaking Google Ads users worldwide.","details":"Ads Advisor appears as an 'Ask Advisor - Beta' icon and is not available in manager accounts. It later rolled out to all English-language accounts in December 2025.","regions":"Global (English)","sources":[{"title":"Ask Advisor in Google Ads","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16574983?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-09-10"},{"title":"Google unveils comprehensive AI advertising suite at Think Week 2025","url":"https://ppc.land/google-unveils-comprehensive-ai-advertising-suite-at-think-week-2025/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-09-10"}],"id":"2025-09-10-ads-advisor-beta-expansion"},{"date":"2025-09-05","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"App","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Web to App Connect expanded to YouTube, Hotel and Demand Gen campaigns","summary":"Web to App Connect, which deep-links ad clicks into an installed app on iOS and Android, now works for YouTube ads, Hotel ads and Demand Gen campaigns in addition to Performance Max, Search and Shopping. Google reports a 2x higher conversion rate for advertisers using it on YouTube.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"New Features to Connect Your Web and App Advertising in Google Ads","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16501674?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-09-05"},{"title":"How Google is bringing Web & App advertising together in Google Ads","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/new-features-to-connect-your-web-and-app-advertising-in-google-ads/","publisher":"Google Business (Accelerate with Google)","date":"2025-08-20"},{"title":"Google Ads links web + app campaigns with new features","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-links-web-app-campaigns-461743","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-09-09"}],"id":"2025-09-05-web-to-app-connect-youtube-hotel-demand-gen"},{"date":"2025-09-05","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Search and Shopping campaigns can now be credited with app installs and first in-app conversions","summary":"New web-to-app acquisition measurement attributes app installs and first in-app conversions to web campaigns such as Search and Shopping, with new web-to-app first conversion metrics on the campaign reporting page.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"New Features to Connect Your Web and App Advertising in Google Ads","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16501674?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-09-05"},{"title":"Google Ads links web + app campaigns with new features","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-links-web-app-campaigns-461743","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-09-09"}],"id":"2025-09-05-web-to-app-acquisition-measurement"},{"date":"2025-09-05","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Unified web and app conversions, in-product nudges and a combined overview card added","summary":"The conversion setup page now automatically groups app events with their corresponding web events, in-product nudges suggest optimizing toward in-app events during campaign creation, and a new overview card on the Google Ads home page shows web and app performance side by side.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"New Features to Connect Your Web and App Advertising in Google Ads","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16501674?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-09-05"},{"title":"Google Ads links web + app campaigns with new features","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-links-web-app-campaigns-461743","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-09-09"}],"id":"2025-09-05-unified-web-app-conversions-overview-card"},{"date":"2025-09-04","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"API & Tools","status":"Announced","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API moved to monthly releases from 2026 with four major versions per year and one-year support","summary":"Google announced monthly Google Ads API releases starting January 2026 (except the year-end holiday period): four major releases per year plus minor, non-breaking releases, with each major version supported for one year after release. The 2026 plan listed v23 (Jan), v24 (Apr), v25 (Jul) and v26 (Oct) with minors in between.","details":"Tentative 2026 schedule from the post: v23 Jan 2026 (sunset Feb 2027), v23.1 Feb, v23.2 Mar 25, v24 Apr (sunset May 2027), v24.1 May, v24.2 Jun, v25 Jul (sunset Aug 2027), v25.1 Aug, v25.2 Sep, v26 Oct (sunset Nov 2027), v26.1 Nov (optional). Projected 2026 sunsets: v19 Feb, v20 Jun, v21 Aug, v22 Oct. The sunset page states major versions live around 12 months and minor versions 10 months, with at most two upgrades per year.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"More frequent releases coming for the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/09/more-frequent-releases-coming-for.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-09-04"},{"title":"Google Ads API Updates Expected Monthly In 2026","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-api-2026-releases-40059.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-09-05"},{"title":"Deprecation and sunset dates","url":"https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/sunset-dates","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-09-04"}],"id":"2025-09-04-monthly-release-cadence"},{"date":"2025-09-04","effective_date":"2025-09-22","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Mature cosmetic procedures removed from the Sexual content policy","summary":"Google deprecated the Mature Cosmetic Procedures restriction within the Sexual content policy from September 22, 2025 (rolling over ~4 weeks). Such ads remain subject to other policies, including sexually suggestive content and minor protections.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Sexual Content Policy (September 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16423831","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-09-04"}],"id":"2025-09-04-mature-cosmetic-procedures-removed-from-the"},{"date":"2025-09-03","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Performance graphs gained Conversion Delay, Performance Anomaly Insights and Notes overlays","summary":"Anthony Higman spotted new graph customisation options including conversion delay, anomaly insights and notes, with updated notification icons. Google did not announce them.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Gains Customization Graphs Options","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-customization-graphs-options-40035.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-09-03"}],"id":"2025-09-03-graph-customisation-options-added"},{"date":"2025-09-02","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Campaign selector gained checkboxes to filter multiple campaigns at once","summary":"Thomas Eccel shared that the campaign picker now offers checkboxes for multi-select filtering instead of a single-choice dropdown. Google did not announce it.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-09-02); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-09-02). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads enhances campaign filters with new checkboxes","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-enhances-campaign-filters-with-new-checkboxes-461446","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-09-02"},{"title":"New Google Ads Checkboxes To Filter Campaigns","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-checkboxes-to-filter-campaigns-40031.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-09-02"}],"id":"2025-09-02-campaign-selector-checkbox-filters"},{"date":"2025-09-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Merchant API introduced its first MCP service and region batch methods","summary":"September 2025 updates added the first Model Context Protocol service for the Merchant API, which surfaces authoritative API documentation inside IDE coding assistants to speed migrations, plus getAccountForGcpRegistration, batchCreate/batchUpdate/batchDelete for Regions and carrier-based shipping attributes on products.","details":"Month-level date from Google's latest-updates page.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Merchant API latest updates (September 2025)","url":"https://developers.google.com/merchant/api/latest-updates","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-09-01"}],"id":"2025-09-01-merchant-api-mcp-docs-service"},{"date":"2025-08-31","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Message assets added Facebook Messenger and Zalo alongside SMS and WhatsApp","summary":"Message assets in Google Ads can now start conversations on Facebook Messenger and Zalo in addition to SMS and WhatsApp, using a username URL rather than a phone number.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"About message assets","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/14888522?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-08-31"},{"title":"Message Extension Gets Facebook and Zalo Support","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-08/message-extension-gets-facebook-and-zalo-support/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-08-31"}],"id":"2025-08-31-message-assets-facebook-messenger-zalo"},{"date":"2025-08-28","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Audience exclusions now supported in Standard Shopping campaigns","summary":"Standard Shopping campaigns, which previously allowed audiences only in observation mode, can now exclude audience segments such as past converters or low-intent lists from the Audiences tab.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Audience Exclusions Now Supported in Shopping Campaigns","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-08/audience-exclusions-now-supported-in-shopping-campaigns/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-08-28"},{"title":"Google Ads Gets Audience Exclusions For Shopping Campaigns","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-audience-exclusions-shopping-campaigns-40012.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-08-28"}],"id":"2025-08-28-shopping-campaigns-audience-exclusions"},{"date":"2025-08-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Loyalty program features launched: member pricing and shipping benefits shown in ads and free listings","summary":"Google launched a loyalty add-on in Merchant Center that shows member-only pricing and shipping benefits across free listings and Shopping ads, with personalized annotations for signed-in loyalty members, alongside a new loyalty goal in Google Ads.","details":"Announced on the Google Ads & Commerce blog on August 26, 2025, with more detail promised at Think Retail on September 10, 2025. Google cited Sephora US seeing a 20% CTR lift for personalized ads shown to loyal customers. Member prices must be submitted through the [loyalty_program] attribute and are shown only when the discount is at least 5% or 5 currency units.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Unlock new loyalty features in Google Ads & Merchant Center","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/new-loyalty-offerings-retailers/","publisher":"Google Keyword Blog","date":"2025-08-26"},{"title":"Loyalty Tools in Google Ads and Merchant Center Coming Soon","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-08/loyalty-tools-in-google-ads-and-merchant-center-coming-soon/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-08-01"}],"id":"2025-08-26-loyalty-program-features-launched"},{"date":"2025-08-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Retention goal for loyalty mode and member-only pricing launched for Shopping and Performance Max","summary":"Retailers can show loyalty-tier member pricing and shipping benefits to signed-in shoppers in Shopping ads and free listings, and a new retention goal in loyalty mode lets Performance Max and Standard Shopping campaigns bid more for high-value or lapsed loyalty members.","details":"Announced ahead of Think Retail. Google cited Sephora's 20% CTR lift for personalised ads to loyal customers.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"New loyalty offerings help retailers win over strategic consumers","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/new-loyalty-offerings-retailers/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-08-26"},{"title":"Google Think Retail 2025: News and Updates","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/think-retail-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-09-10"}],"id":"2025-08-26-loyalty-member-pricing-retention-goal"},{"date":"2025-08-25","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Performance Max channel reporting became available at the account level across campaigns","summary":"Thomas Eccel found the channel performance report now available at account level so multiple PMax campaigns can be compared together. Google did not announce the expansion.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-08-25); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-08-25). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads expands PMax Channel Reporting to account level","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-expands-pmax-channel-reporting-to-account-level-461218","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-08-25"},{"title":"Google Ads PMax Channel Reporting On Account Level","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-pmax-channel-reporting-on-account-level-39991.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-08-25"}],"id":"2025-08-25-pmax-channel-reporting-account-level"},{"date":"2025-08-25","effective_date":"2025-08-25","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"New gambling certification applications for Australia paused","summary":"Google temporarily stopped reviewing and accepting new certification applications from online gambling providers targeting Australia, pending policy clarification. Applications reopened April 21, 2026.","details":"","regions":"Australia","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy: Australia (August 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16510158","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-08-25"}],"id":"2025-08-25-new-gambling-certification-applications-for-australia"},{"date":"2025-08-25","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 made item-scoped ecommerce dimensions available as secondary dimensions, filters and comparisons","summary":"Ecommerce dimensions and metrics are now available in report secondary dimensions, filters, comparisons and customization, with fuller match-type support in ecommerce filters.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-08-25"}],"id":"2025-08-25-ga4-ecommerce-dimensions-in-reports"},{"date":"2025-08-25","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Brand guidelines (colours and fonts) extended to Demand Gen campaigns","summary":"The campaign-level brand guidelines feature from Performance Max, which sets primary colour, accent colour and font for generated creatives, became available in Demand Gen campaigns.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Brand Guidelines Now Available in Demand Gen","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-08/brand-guidelines-available-in-demand-gen/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-08-25"}],"id":"2025-08-25-demand-gen-brand-guidelines"},{"date":"2025-08-25","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"In-product Chat assistant renamed Ads Advisor","summary":"The conversational support tool in the Google Ads sidebar previously labelled Chat began appearing as Ads Advisor, ahead of Google's agentic Ads Advisor launch.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Renames \"Chat\" to \"Ads Advisor\"","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-08/google-renames-chat-to-ads-advisor/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-08-25"},{"title":"Google Ads Renamed Chat To Ads Advisor","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-chat-to-ads-advisor-40001.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-08-27"}],"id":"2025-08-25-chat-renamed-ads-advisor"},{"date":"2025-08-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Demand Gen now warns that videos under 10 seconds are ineligible for YouTube in-stream","summary":"Google Ads added a warning in Demand Gen when video assets are shorter than 10 seconds, which makes them ineligible for YouTube in-stream placements, and recommends assets over 15 seconds.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Minimum Video Length For In-Stream in Demand Gen","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-08/minimum-video-length-for-in-stream-demand-gen/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-08-23"}],"id":"2025-08-23-demand-gen-in-stream-minimum-video-length"},{"date":"2025-08-22","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Search ads tested an 'X visits in the past month' engagement label","summary":"Thomas Eccel and Khushal Bherwani spotted ads carrying a label showing how many visits the site received in the past month. Google did not confirm the test.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Continues Testing X Visits In Past Month Label","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-visits-in-past-month-39986.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-08-22"}],"id":"2025-08-22-visits-in-past-month-label-test"},{"date":"2025-08-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Full placement reporting launched for the Search Partner Network in Search, Shopping and App campaigns","summary":"Advertisers can now see site-level placement data for ads served on the Search Partner Network in Search, Shopping and App campaigns, matching the transparency already available in Performance Max.","details":"Listed on Google's Search Partner Network announcements page under August 2025. Earlier in 2025 Google added third-party exclusion lists (DoubleVerify, IAS, Zefr) and geo-targeting improvements for SPN.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Search Partner Network (SPN) announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16286960?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-08-21"},{"title":"Full Placement Reporting Announced for Search Partner Network","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-08/full-placement-reporting-announced-for-search-partner-network/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-08-21"},{"title":"Google finally gives visibility into Search Partner Network placements","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-search-partner-network-placements-visibility-460946","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-08-19"},{"title":"Google Ads Search Partner Network Full Placement Reporting Is Finally Here","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-full-placement-reporting-spn-39965.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-08-20"}],"id":"2025-08-21-search-partner-network-full-placement-reporting"},{"date":"2025-08-20","effective_date":"2025-08-25","product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Policy","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Canada cannabis Search ads pilot launched for federally licensed producers and retailers","summary":"Google began a pilot allowing legally permitted cannabis products and services to be advertised on Search in Canada by holders of federal Health Canada licences and authorized retailers, with users able to opt out via ad settings. The pilot was later extended through December 31, 2026.","details":"","regions":"Canada","sources":[{"title":"Updated Cannabis-Related Content Policy (August 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16430457","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-08-20"}],"id":"2025-08-20-canada-cannabis-search-ads-pilot-launched"},{"date":"2025-08-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Admin API added GetReportingIdentitySettings and removed legacy Universal Analytics methods","summary":"Admin API v1alpha gained GetReportingIdentitySettings for reading a property's reporting identity, and removed deprecated UA-era methods such as account configuration and connected site tag operations.","details":"Other 2025-2026 Admin API additions: user data retention in DataRetentionSettings (2025-01-20), reporting data annotation methods (2025-04-16), subproperty sync configuration (2025-06-12), GetUserProvidedDataSettings (2026-04-14) and UpdateReportingIdentitySettings plus a can_edit field on PropertySummary (2026-06-18).","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Analytics Admin API changelog","url":"https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/config/admin/v1/changelog","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-08-20"}],"id":"2025-08-20-admin-api-reporting-identity-ua-methods-removed"},{"date":"2025-08-19","effective_date":"2025-10-22","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"CSAI policy renamed Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (CSAE) and made an egregious violation","summary":"Google renamed and expanded its child sexual abuse imagery policy to CSAE, covering all formats including AI-generated and fictional material. From October 22, 2025 violations are treated as egregious, leading to immediate account suspension and possible reporting to NCMEC.","details":"Announced August 19, 2025; a second change-log entry on October 22, 2025 confirmed full enforcement had begun.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to the Inappropriate Content: Child Sexual Abuse Imagery policy (CSAI) (October 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16493211","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-08-19"},{"title":"Update to the Inappropriate Content: Child Sexual Abuse Imagery policy (CSAI) (October 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16657047","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-10-22"}],"id":"2025-08-19-csai-policy-renamed-child-sexual-abuse"},{"date":"2025-08-18","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Preview ad option added next to View asset details","summary":"A new Preview ad button in the Google Ads console opens a modal showing how a responsive search ad renders without leaving the asset details screen.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads New Preview Ad Option In View Asset Details","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-preview-ad-view-asset-details-39953.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-08-18"}],"id":"2025-08-18-preview-ad-in-view-asset-details"},{"date":"2025-08-18","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Announced","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Google briefly announced removal of manual language targeting from Search campaigns by end of 2025","summary":"Google's language targeting help page stated that manual language targeting would be removed from Search campaigns by the end of 2025 in favour of AI language detection, but the notice was removed within days and the change's status is unclear.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"About language targeting","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/1722078","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-08-18"},{"title":"Google Replaces Language Targeting With AI in Search... Or Not?","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-08/language-targeting-replaced-by-ai-detection/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-08-18"}],"id":"2025-08-18-language-targeting-removal-announced-withdrawn"},{"date":"2025-08-18","effective_date":"2026-08-18","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Deprecation","status":"Announced","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Content API for Shopping sunset announced for August 18, 2026","summary":"Alongside Merchant API general availability, Google announced that the Content API for Shopping would be shut down on August 18, 2026, giving merchants and platforms one year to migrate product, account, inventory and reporting integrations to the Merchant API.","details":"PPC Land reports the deprecation was announced on August 18, 2025, exactly one year before shutdown; Google's Help Center page is dated only 'August 2025'. Manual uploads, scheduled fetches and Google Sheets feeds are not affected; only API-based integrations must migrate. Merchant API v1beta users had a separate deadline of February 28, 2026 to move to v1.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Introducing Merchant API","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16493611?hl=en","publisher":"Google Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-08-18"},{"title":"Merchant API comes to Google Ads scripts April 22 as Content API nears its end","url":"https://ppc.land/merchant-api-comes-to-google-ads-scripts-april-22-as-content-api-nears-its-end/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2026-04-09"},{"title":"Google's Content API for Shopping sunsets in August 2026","url":"https://www.pinmeto.com/news/google-content-api-shopping-sunset-2026/","publisher":"PinMeTo","date":"2026-04-09"}],"id":"2025-08-18-content-api-for-shopping-sunset-announced"},{"date":"2025-08-15","effective_date":"2025-08-15","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Sports betting ads opened in Missouri for state-licensed certified operators","summary":"Google began accepting certification applications from Missouri-licensed sports betting operators immediately.","details":"","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Gambling and games policy: Missouri, USA (August 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16499547","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-08-15"}],"id":"2025-08-15-sports-betting-ads-opened-in-missouri"},{"date":"2025-08-14","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"PMax channel reporting gained a 'share of cost' toggle showing each channel's spend share","summary":"Thomas Eccel found a slider in Performance Max reporting that calculates and displays each channel's share of total cost. Google did not formally announce it.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2025-08-14); Search Engine Land (2025-08-14). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads PMax Cost Toggle For Share Of Cost","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-cost-toggle-39936.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-08-14"},{"title":"Google Ads adds 'Share of Cost' toggle to PMax reporting","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-pmax-share-of-cost-toggle-460758","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-08-14"}],"id":"2025-08-14-pmax-share-of-cost-toggle"},{"date":"2025-08-14","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Enabling dishonest behavior policy article reorganized","summary":"Google rewrote the Enabling dishonest behavior policy article for clarity; enforcement is unchanged.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Ads Policy Help Center articles (August 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16504593","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-08-14"}],"id":"2025-08-14-enabling-dishonest-behavior-policy-article-reorganized"},{"date":"2025-08-14","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API documentation reorganized with merged reporting/reference docs and a gRPC/REST toggle","summary":"Google restructured the API developer site: clearer campaign-type discovery, Reporting and Reference merged into one section, a one-button gRPC/REST toggle with Try-it, and regrouped guides. A similar refresh of the Google Ads scripts documentation followed on September 22, 2025.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads API documentation gets a major upgrade!","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/08/google-ads-api-documentation-gets-major.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-08-14"},{"title":"Google Ads scripts documentation upgrade","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/09/google-ads-scripts-documentation-upgrade.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-09-22"}],"id":"2025-08-14-api-documentation-upgrade"},{"date":"2025-08-13","effective_date":"2025-08-13","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Syria removed from OFAC sanctions references in Legal requirements policy and country restrictions","summary":"Google updated the Legal requirements policy and the Understanding country restrictions page to reflect Syria's removal from the US OFAC sanctions list.","details":"","regions":"Syria","sources":[{"title":"Update to United States Office of Foreign Asset Control Sanctions list (August 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16489352","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-08-13"}],"id":"2025-08-13-syria-removed-from-ofac-sanctions-references"},{"date":"2025-08-13","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Gender exclusions appeared in Performance Max campaign settings","summary":"Aleksejus Podpruginas spotted gender exclusion controls live in Performance Max, following Google's mention of a beta the prior week. Rollout was not otherwise announced.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Performance Max Campaigns Gain Gender Exclusion","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-gender-exclusion-pmax-39925.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-08-13"}],"id":"2025-08-13-pmax-gender-exclusions-appear"},{"date":"2025-08-12","effective_date":"2025-08-12","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Dating and Companionship ads restricted from serving in 18 listed countries","summary":"Google narrowed the geographic restriction on dating and companionship ads to a specific list of countries and territories (Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Yemen) beginning August 2025.","details":"","regions":"Middle East; South Asia; North Africa","sources":[{"title":"Updates to the Google Ads Dating and Companionship policy (August 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16473212","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-08-12"}],"id":"2025-08-12-dating-and-companionship-ads-restricted-from"},{"date":"2025-08-11","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Google tested a horizontal divider line above sponsored results","summary":"Brodie Clark (via SERP Alerts) and Sachin Patel spotted a horizontal separator placed above sponsored results to distinguish ads from organic listings. Google did not confirm the test.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Tests Horizontal Line Above Sponsored Results","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-horizontal-line-39911.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-08-11"}],"id":"2025-08-11-horizontal-line-above-sponsored-results-test"},{"date":"2025-08-11","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Fourteen policy help articles (alcohol, counterfeit, healthcare, trademarks, etc.) rewritten for clarity","summary":"Google reorganized 14 policy help center articles for readability without changing enforcement.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Ads Policy Help Center articles (August 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16478785","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-08-11"}],"id":"2025-08-11-fourteen-policy-help-articles-alcohol-counterfeit"},{"date":"2025-08-11","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"\"Automatic improvements\" page renamed \"Automations\" with a redesigned layout","summary":"Merchant Center Next renamed the Automatic improvements page to Automations and redesigned it to show how many items have each automatic improvement applied.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Automatic Improvements Page Renamed to Automations","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-08/automatic-improvements-page-renamed-to-automations/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-08-11"}],"id":"2025-08-11-automatic-improvements-renamed-automations"},{"date":"2025-08-09","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"$0.01 placeholder value for new customer acquisition no longer supported","summary":"Google Ads stopped accepting the common $0.01 workaround as the additional conversion value for new customers in customer acquisition goals; advertisers must set a realistic value or use their own data.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"$0.01 Value for New Customers No Longer Supported","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-08/0-01-value-for-new-customers-no-longer-supported/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-08-09"}],"id":"2025-08-09-new-customer-value-001-removed"},{"date":"2025-08-08","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Demand Gen channel controls gained a Google Maps-only option in beta","summary":"A beta lets Demand Gen campaigns serve exclusively on Google Maps (promoted pins) through channel controls, the first way to isolate Maps spend outside Performance Max.","details":"Google later listed Maps as a standard channel in Demand Gen channel controls; wider rollout was reported in December 2025.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Demand Gen Supports Google Maps-Only Targeting in Beta","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-08/demand-gen-supports-google-maps-only-targeting-in-beta/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-08-08"}],"id":"2025-08-08-demand-gen-maps-only-channel-beta"},{"date":"2025-08-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Performance Max search themes limit raised from 25 to 50 per asset group","summary":"Advertisers can now add up to 50 search themes per Performance Max asset group, double the previous limit, to steer Search inventory matching.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Unlock more visibility and control in Performance Max","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16451273?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-08-07"}],"id":"2025-08-07-pmax-search-themes-limit-50"},{"date":"2025-08-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Full search terms reporting rolled out to all Performance Max campaigns","summary":"Search terms reporting with the same granularity as Search and Shopping campaigns is now available for every Performance Max campaign, and also through the Google Ads API.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Unlock more visibility and control in Performance Max","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16451273?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-08-07"}],"id":"2025-08-07-pmax-search-terms-report-all-campaigns"},{"date":"2025-08-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Performance Max new customer acquisition reporting improved and goal diagnostics added","summary":"Google improved new versus returning customer estimation so 'Unknown' conversion labels are eliminated, added a new customer acquisition parameter to the conversion tag, and introduced goal-related diagnostics that flag issues such as missing tags or broken conversions.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Unlock more visibility and control in Performance Max","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16451273?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-08-07"}],"id":"2025-08-07-pmax-new-customer-reporting-diagnostics"},{"date":"2025-08-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Device targeting and age exclusions fully launched in Performance Max; gender controls entered beta","summary":"Device targeting (mobile, desktop, tablet) and age-based demographic targeting are now fully available in Performance Max campaigns, and gender-based demographic controls launched in beta.","details":"Earlier in July practitioners spotted gender exclusions live in some accounts; the UI later combined age and gender exclusions in one panel.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Unlock more visibility and control in Performance Max","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16451273?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-08-07"}],"id":"2025-08-07-pmax-device-age-gender-targeting"},{"date":"2025-08-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Campaign-level negative keyword lists made available to all Performance Max campaigns","summary":"All Performance Max campaigns can now apply shared negative keyword lists at the campaign level (up to 10,000 negatives), covering Search and Shopping inventory, making cross-campaign exclusions easier to manage.","details":"Part of Google's August 7 'Unlock more visibility and control in Performance Max' announcement.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Unlock more visibility and control in Performance Max","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16451273?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-08-07"},{"title":"Unlock more visibility and control in Performance Max","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/unlock-more-visibility-and-control-in-performance-max/","publisher":"Google Business (Accelerate with Google)","date":"2025-08-07"}],"id":"2025-08-07-pmax-campaign-level-negative-keyword-lists"},{"date":"2025-08-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Full asset-level stats and Final URL expansion asset reporting added to Performance Max","summary":"All Performance Max campaigns now show conversions, cost and clicks per asset, and a new report exposes the text assets Google generates through Final URL expansion so advertisers can review and remove unwanted ones. AI-powered creative recommendations were added alongside.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Unlock more visibility and control in Performance Max","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16451273?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-08-07"}],"id":"2025-08-07-pmax-asset-stats-final-url-expansion-assets"},{"date":"2025-08-07","effective_date":"2025-09-03","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"EU political ads self-declaration enforced in the Google Ads API and scripts from September 3, 2025","summary":"From September 3, 2025, creating a campaign without Campaign.contains_eu_political_advertising fails with FieldError.REQUIRED in v19/v20 (already enforced in v21), and changing proximity, location or location_group targeting on undeclared campaigns fails with MISSING_EU_POLITICAL_ADVERTISING_SELF_DECLARATION errors. Campaigns declared as containing EU political ads stopped serving in the EU on September 22, 2025.","details":"The field was made available in v19.2, v20.1 and v21. Google Ads scripts enforce the same checks in `AdsApp.mutate`, `AdsApp.mutateAll`, `addProximity` and `addLocation`, and the bulk upload spreadsheet template changed. `ExperimentService.ScheduleExperiment` fails with `ExperimentError.MISSING_EU_POLITICAL_ADVERTISING_SELF_DECLARATION` if treatment drafts lack the declaration.","regions":"European Union","sources":[{"title":"Changes for supporting European Union Political Ads Regulation in Google Ads API and Google Ads scripts","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/08/eu-par-google-ads-api-scripts.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-08-07"}],"id":"2025-08-07-eu-political-ads-enforcement"},{"date":"2025-08-06","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 fixed conversion under-reporting for properties sharing web conversions with multiple Ads accounts","summary":"A data-quality improvement prevents conversions from being under-reported when a property has multiple linked Google Ads accounts that share web conversions.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-08-06"},{"title":"[GA4] Google Ads conversions","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/12922540","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-08-06"}],"id":"2025-08-06-ga4-conversion-completeness-multiple-ads-accounts"},{"date":"2025-08-06","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Side-by-side creative A/B experiments launched in beta for Demand Gen","summary":"Demand Gen gained a beta experiment flow that duplicates a campaign to test image or video variants head to head, with configurable budget, traffic split and duration. Google made asset uplift experiments generally available on November 17, 2025 with 70/80/95% confidence thresholds.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Lets You A/B Test Demand Gen Creatives","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-08/google-ads-lets-you-a-b-test-demand-gen-creatives/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-08-06"},{"title":"Google launches four new Demand Gen features for holiday campaigns","url":"https://ppc.land/google-launches-four-new-demand-gen-features-for-holiday-campaigns/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-11-17"}],"id":"2025-08-06-demand-gen-creative-ab-experiments-beta"},{"date":"2025-08-06","effective_date":"2025-09-04","product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"AI asset optimization enabled by default for Demand Gen image and video ads from September 4, 2025","summary":"Google notified advertisers that asset enhancements (auto-generated aspect ratios, shorter video cuts, image variations, text suggestions and an AI image editor) would be switched on by default for new and existing Demand Gen ads from September 4, 2025, with per-ad opt-out.","details":"Covers YouTube, Discover, Gmail and video partners. Google later added animated image enhancements and generative video frame extension in November 2025.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google rolls out AI-powered asset optimization for Demand Gen ads","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ai-powered-asset-optimization-demand-gen-ads-460024","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-08-06"}],"id":"2025-08-06-demand-gen-asset-optimization-default"},{"date":"2025-08-06","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API v21 released with AI Max for Search, PMax search terms and EU political ads declaration","summary":"v21 (released alongside minor versions v20.1 and v19.2) added Campaign.contains_eu_political_advertising, the campaign_search_term_view exposing Performance Max search terms, ai_max_setting.enable_ai_max plus the ai_max_search_term_ad_combination_view, brand guidelines on by default for new PMax campaigns, and QR codes, barcodes and terms in PromotionAssets.","details":"Other v21 changes covered in related posts: `debug_enabled` removed from `UploadClickConversionsRequest`; campaign-level API support for PMax image enhancement / landing page image settings; brand guidelines enabled by default for API-created PMax campaigns. Note the blog post URL slug says `v19-release` but the post announces v21. v21 sunset: August 5, 2026.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Announcing v21 of the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/08/google-ads-api-v19-release.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-08-06"},{"title":"Archived release notes (v21, 2025-08-06)","url":"https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/archived-release-notes","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-08-06"}],"id":"2025-08-06-ads-api-v21-released"},{"date":"2025-08-05","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Sitelinks began factoring into Performance Max ad strength","summary":"Vojtěch Audy and PPC News Feed shared screenshots of sitelinks listed in the PMax ad strength widget. Google's ad strength help page was updated to include sitelinks without a broader announcement.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2025-08-05); Search Engine Land (2025-08-06). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Sitelinks Impact Performance Max Ad Strength","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-sitelinks-impact-ad-strength-39883.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-08-05"},{"title":"Sitelinks now factor into Google Performance Max ad strength","url":"https://searchengineland.com/sitelinks-factor-google-pmax-ad-strength-460052","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-08-06"},{"title":"Sitelinks Now Influence Ad Strength in PMAX Campaigns","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-08/sitelinks-now-influence-ad-strength-in-pmax-campaigns/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-08-05"}],"id":"2025-08-05-sitelinks-count-toward-pmax-ad-strength"},{"date":"2025-08-05","effective_date":"2025-09-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Political content policy restricted EU political advertising under Regulation 2024/900","summary":"From September 2025 Google restricts political advertising in the EU as defined by the TTPA regulation, including ads by or for political actors and ads intended to influence elections or referendums. Advertisers were asked to self-declare political ad intent from mid-August 2025; the EU Political Ads Transparency Report was discontinued.","details":"Exemptions are available for qualifying official government communications. Suspensions carry a 7-day warning. The same restriction was applied to Shopping ads via Merchant Center, and later to the Google Ads API. Historical EU election ads remain viewable in the Ads Transparency Center.","regions":"EU","sources":[{"title":"Update to Political Content policy (September 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16409999","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-08-05"},{"title":"Policy update: European Union political content","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16474343","publisher":"Google Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-09-01"}],"id":"2025-08-05-political-content-policy-restricted-eu-political"},{"date":"2025-08-04","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Performance Max device targeting, negative keyword lists and age exclusions launched across all API versions","summary":"Google added three PMax controls to every supported Google Ads API version: campaign-level DeviceInfo criteria, campaign-level negative keyword lists via CampaignSharedSetService (SharedSet type NEGATIVE_KEYWORDS), and AgeRangeInfo negative criteria for age exclusions.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Unlocking enhanced Performance Max targeting in the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/08/unlocking-enhanced-performance-max.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-08-04"}],"id":"2025-08-04-pmax-targeting-controls-api"},{"date":"2025-08-04","effective_date":"2025-08-19","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Online gambling ads opened in Cameroon and Namibia for licensed operators","summary":"From August 19, 2025, operators licensed by Cameroon's Agence de Régulation des Jeux or Namibia's Gambling Board / Lotteries Board and certified by Google may advertise gambling.","details":"","regions":"Cameroon; Namibia","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy: Cameroon and Namibia (August 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16412044","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-08-04"}],"id":"2025-08-04-online-gambling-ads-opened-in-cameroon"},{"date":"2025-08-02","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"One-click AI Max experiments introduced for Search campaigns","summary":"A dedicated AI Max experiment type lets advertisers test AI Max within a single Search campaign using a 50/50 traffic split between a control arm (AI Max off) and a trial arm (AI Max on), with results that can auto-apply.","details":"Experiments enable search term matching and asset optimization by default and cannot be created for campaigns targeting Display, using shared budgets, portfolio bid strategies or existing text customization. Google formally announced the feature with the global AI Max beta on September 10, 2025.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"About AI Max experiments","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16450159?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-08-02"},{"title":"AI Max Experiments Introduced in Google Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-08/ai-max-experiments-introduced-in-google-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-08-02"},{"title":"Get greater control and smarter optimization with AI Max as it expands globally","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-ai-max-expands-globally/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-09-10"}],"id":"2025-08-02-ai-max-experiments"},{"date":"2025-08-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GTM custom templates gained readAnalyticsStorage API to read GA client and session cookie IDs","summary":"A new sandboxed JavaScript API lets custom template developers safely read Google Analytics client ID and session ID values in the web container.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Release notes - Tag Manager Help","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/4620708","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2025-08-01"},{"title":"Custom template APIs","url":"https://developers.google.com/tag-platform/tag-manager/templates/api","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-08-01"}],"id":"2025-08-01-gtm-readanalyticsstorage-template-api"},{"date":"2025-08-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Locations of interest targeting added to AI Max for Search ad groups","summary":"AI Max for Search ad groups can now target users who show interest in specific locations even when they are not physically there, with multiple locations per ad group and settings that can differ from campaign-level location targeting.","details":"The location filter applies across all AI Max triggering signals (keywords, landing pages and assets).","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Locations of interest in AI Max for Search campaigns","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/1722043","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-08-01"},{"title":"Locations of Interest Targeting for AI Max for Search Campaigns","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-08/locations-of-interest-targeting-for-ai-max-for-search-campaigns/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-08-01"}],"id":"2025-08-01-ai-max-locations-of-interest"},{"date":"2025-07-31","effective_date":"2025-08-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Deprecation","status":"Retired","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Restricted Medical Content label deprecated; certified prescription-drug keyword access unchanged","summary":"Google retired the Restricted Medical Content label that flagged certified advertisers eligible to target prescription drug keywords. Eligibility for certified advertisers is unchanged; this simplified enforcement mechanics.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Healthcare and Medicines Policy (August 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16421477","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-07-31"}],"id":"2025-07-31-restricted-medical-content-label-deprecated-certified"},{"date":"2025-07-31","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Shopping","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Floodlight Sales tags gained Merchant ID, feed label and feed language cart-data parameters","summary":"Conversions with cart data for Floodlight now support mid, fcntr and flng parameters so SA360 and DV360 advertisers can match cart items to Merchant Center feeds.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Release notes - Tag Manager Help","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/4620708","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2025-07-31"},{"title":"Set up conversions with cart data","url":"https://support.google.com/sa360/answer/9455407","publisher":"Search Ads 360 Help","date":"2025-07-31"}],"id":"2025-07-31-floodlight-cart-data-parameters"},{"date":"2025-07-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"App","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"On-device conversion measurement and integrated conversion measurement launched for iOS App campaigns","summary":"iOS App campaigns can now use on-device conversion measurement, which optimizes with de-identified app event data that never leaves the device, and Integrated Conversion Measurement, which surfaces real-time iOS attribution inside third-party App Attribution Partner reporting.","details":"Requires Google Analytics for Firebase SDK 11.14.0 or later and the latest AAP SDK for ICM.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"3 new ways to unlock your iOS App campaign performance","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/3-new-ways-to-unlock-ios-app-campaign-performance/","publisher":"Google Business (Accelerate with Google)","date":"2025-07-30"}],"id":"2025-07-30-ios-on-device-conversion-measurement-icm"},{"date":"2025-07-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"App","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Target ROAS bidding launched for iOS App campaigns; Maximize conversions extended to App campaigns","summary":"Google made value-based Target ROAS bidding available for iOS App campaigns and extended Maximize conversions / Maximize conversion value bidding to App campaigns optimizing for in-app actions.","details":"Announced in Google's '3 new ways to unlock your iOS App campaign performance' post. Google cited Uatas achieving 7% higher ROAS versus historical iOS performance.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"3 new ways to unlock your iOS App campaign performance","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/3-new-ways-to-unlock-ios-app-campaign-performance/","publisher":"Google Business (Accelerate with Google)","date":"2025-07-30"}],"id":"2025-07-30-ios-app-campaigns-troas-maximize-conversions"},{"date":"2025-07-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Search ads tested pill-shaped and square asset buttons in blue and grey variants","summary":"Anthony Higman spotted asset buttons in different shapes and colours on the same results page. Google did not confirm the test.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Tests Different Colored & Shaped Asset Buttons","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-different-colored-shaped-assets-39845.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-07-30"}],"id":"2025-07-30-asset-button-shape-and-colour-tests"},{"date":"2025-07-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"App","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Creator partnership ads, playable end cards and video enhancements added to App campaigns","summary":"App campaigns gained co-branded creator partnership ads for YouTube in-feed and Shorts, playable ads as end cards on select AdMob inventory, and an automatic video enhancement tool that adapts videos to different screen sizes and orientations.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"3 new ways to unlock your iOS App campaign performance","url":"https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/3-new-ways-to-unlock-ios-app-campaign-performance/","publisher":"Google Business (Accelerate with Google)","date":"2025-07-30"}],"id":"2025-07-30-app-campaigns-creator-partnership-ads-playable-end-cards"},{"date":"2025-07-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"AI Max ads with unusually long headlines and auto-generated sitelinks from blog pages were spotted","summary":"Nikki Kuhlman shared search ads pulling long, article-derived headlines and dynamically created sitelinks; Google suggested it might be an experiment showing descriptions as headlines, but Kuhlman confirmed the ads came from AI Max.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-07-30); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-07-30). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"New Google AI Max ads spotted – here's how they're different","url":"https://searchengineland.com/new-google-ai-max-search-ad-spotted-different-459753","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-07-30"},{"title":"Google Ads AI Max Search Ads In The Wild (Or Not)","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-ai-max-search-ads-wild-39846.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-07-30"}],"id":"2025-07-30-ai-max-long-headline-ads-spotted"},{"date":"2025-07-29","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Search term categories (intent-grouped query insights) began appearing for responsive search ads","summary":"Georgi Zayakov spotted a search terms insights report that groups RSA queries into intent-based categories with conversions, CTR and volume trends, previously only available for PMax. Google published support documentation after the sighting.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-07-29); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-07-31). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads rolls out Search Term categories for RSAs","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-rolls-out-search-term-categories-for-rsas-459615","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-07-29"},{"title":"Google Tests Search Term Insights For Responsive Search Ads","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-term-insights-rsa-39850.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-07-31"}],"id":"2025-07-29-search-term-categories-for-rsas"},{"date":"2025-07-29","effective_date":"2025-07-21","product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"EU tracking and ads disabled for advertisers without Consent Mode as of July 21, 2025","summary":"Google began enforcing its EU User Consent Policy by disabling conversion tracking, remarketing and ad serving for advertisers that had not implemented Consent Mode v2. From July 21, 2025 EU traffic is not tracked unless valid consent is passed via Consent Mode.","details":"Affected advertisers received notices and must update their implementation and submit Google's compliance form. Reported from advertiser notifications shared on LinkedIn.","regions":"EU/EEA/UK","sources":[{"title":"Tracking and Ads Disabled for EU Sites Without Consent Mode","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-07/tracking-and-ads-disabled-for-eu-sites-without-consent-mode/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-07-29"}],"id":"2025-07-29-eu-consent-mode-enforcement"},{"date":"2025-07-29","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Beta","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"An ad-group-level AI Max 'search term matching' toggle surfaced in some accounts","summary":"Thomas Eccel found ad group settings for AI Max letting advertisers toggle search term matching (keyword expansion) per ad group, with in-product warnings that disabling it limits the AI Max boost. Google did not announce the beta control.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-07-29); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-07-31). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google tests AI Max ad group setting in keyword-less shift","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ai-max-ad-group-setting-test-459678","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-07-29"},{"title":"Google Ads Ad Group Settings For Al Max","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-al-max-ad-groups-39851.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-07-31"}],"id":"2025-07-29-ai-max-ad-group-search-term-matching-setting"},{"date":"2025-07-28","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Floodlight tags in server-side Tag Manager began sending unconsented requests server-to-server","summary":"To improve modeled conversions, Floodlight tags in sGTM now transmit unconsented (consent-mode denied) pings server-to-server rather than dropping them, affecting Campaign Manager 360 and DV360 advertisers using server-side tagging with consent mode.","details":"","regions":"Global (consent-mode markets)","sources":[{"title":"Release notes - Tag Manager Help","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/4620708","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2025-07-28"}],"id":"2025-07-28-sgtm-floodlight-unconsented-server-to-server"},{"date":"2025-07-28","effective_date":"2025-08-08","product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Announced","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Beta-period Performance Max channel performance data to be deleted after August 8, 2025","summary":"Google told advertisers that channel performance data collected during the Performance Max beta (November 17, 2024 to June 5, 2025) would be removed, and to download it from the UI before August 8, 2025. The generally available channel report keeps data from June 6, 2025 onward.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google to Wipe PMax Historical Channel Data","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-07/google-to-wipe-pmax-historical-channel-data/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-07-28"},{"title":"About the channel performance report","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16260130?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-07-28"}],"id":"2025-07-28-pmax-beta-channel-data-deletion"},{"date":"2025-07-28","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Local Services","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Local Services Ads message-lead pricing moved from a fixed 50% of call price to variable pricing","summary":"Anthony Higman compared archived and current help pages and found message leads are no longer fixed at half the phone-lead price but are 'typically' lower, not always. Google did not announce the pricing change.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Local Service Ads Message Leads Now More Expensive?","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-local-service-ads-message-leads-price-change-39831.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-07-28"}],"id":"2025-07-28-lsa-message-lead-pricing-changed"},{"date":"2025-07-27","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Responsive search ads gained asset-level impressions, clicks and conversions in place of Good/Best labels","summary":"Google began replacing the Low/Good/Best performance labels on RSA headlines and descriptions with actual metrics such as impressions, clicks and conversions per asset, available under Campaigns > Assets > Performance.","details":"Rollout was partial at the time of the report. This restores the ability to evaluate individual ad copy assets quantitatively.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Rolls Out Asset-Level Performance Data for RSAs","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-07/google-ads-rolls-out-asset-level-performance-data-for-rsas/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-07-27"}],"id":"2025-07-27-rsa-asset-level-performance-metrics"},{"date":"2025-07-25","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Target CPC bidding rolled out for Demand Gen campaigns","summary":"A Target CPC bid strategy for Demand Gen campaigns began appearing in accounts, letting advertisers set an average cost-per-click target at the campaign or ad group level for traffic-focused campaigns. Google formally announced it in the October Demand Gen Drop.","details":"Ad group-level targets override campaign-level targets. Google positions tCPC as a way to compare Demand Gen with other platforms using the same settings.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"About Target CPC bidding for Demand Gen campaigns","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16262529?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-07-25"},{"title":"Target CPC Live in Demand Gen","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-07/target-cpc-live-in-demand-gen/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-07-25"},{"title":"Learn what's new in Demand Gen with October's Demand Gen Drop","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/demand-gen-drop-october-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-10-21"}],"id":"2025-07-25-target-cpc-bidding-demand-gen"},{"date":"2025-07-25","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"RSA asset reports began showing clicks and conversions per headline instead of only performance labels","summary":"Miles McNair and Bob Meijer found per-asset click and conversion metrics rolling out in responsive search ad reporting, replacing reliance on Low/Good/Best labels. Google did not formally announce it.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2025-07-25). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads RSAs Adding Click & Conversion Data","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-rsas-click-conversion-data-39827.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-07-25"}],"id":"2025-07-25-rsa-headline-click-and-conversion-data"},{"date":"2025-07-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"Deprecation","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API Python client library dropped Python 3.9 support; 3.8 users lose access at v19 sunset","summary":"Google announced a Q4 2025 major version of google-ads-python incompatible with Python 3.9 (adding Python 3.14 support), warning that Python 3.8 users lose API access when v19 sunsets in Q1 2026 and Python 3.9 users when v22 sunsets in late 2026.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Version Support Changes for the Google Ads API Python Library","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/07/version-support-changes-for-google-ads.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-07-24"}],"id":"2025-07-24-python-library-version-support"},{"date":"2025-07-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Maximum retail price [maximum_retail_price] attribute added for free listings in India","summary":"Google added an India-only maximum retail price attribute so free listings can show the manufacturer's MRP alongside the selling price. The value must match the landing and checkout pages.","details":"Optional, free-listings-only attribute submitted as a price with INR currency code; it must exclude shipping, use at most two decimals and cannot vary by user location.","regions":"India only","sources":[{"title":"Maximum retail price [maximum_retail_price]","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/15972291?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-07-24"},{"title":"\"Maximum Retail Price\" Attribute for Product Feeds in India","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-07/maximum-retail-price-attribute-for-product-feeds-in-india/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-07-24"}],"id":"2025-07-24-maximum-retail-price-attribute-india"},{"date":"2025-07-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Lookalike segments expanded with new seed sources, creator video audiences and reach settings","summary":"Lookalike segments can now be built from Android device IDs, Google Analytics audiences and YouTube users, can combine up to 10 seed lists, and offer narrow, balanced or broad reach settings. Audiences from creators' videos can also be used as seeds.","details":"YouTube-based seeds require 1,000 matches versus 100 for other sources.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Enhances Lookalike Targeting With New Options","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-07/google-ads-enhances-lookalike-targeting-with-new-options/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-07-24"}],"id":"2025-07-24-lookalike-segments-new-seed-sources"},{"date":"2025-07-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Product Studio moved to a dedicated left-nav tab with themes and an Explore section","summary":"Google began moving Product Studio out of the Products section into its own sidebar entry in Merchant Center, adding themes and an Explore tab, initially for select accounts.","details":"Product Studio remains the free suite of AI tools for generating scenes, upscaling, editing backgrounds and creating videos; in November 2025 it was grouped under a new Creative Content navigation section.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Merchant Center Adds Product Studio Tab For Some","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-merchant-center-adds-product-studio-tab-39787.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-07-23"},{"title":"Product Studio Gets New Location and Features in GMC","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-07/product-studio-gets-new-location-and-features-in-merchant-center-next/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-07-01"}],"id":"2025-07-23-product-studio-dedicated-tab"},{"date":"2025-07-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"'Found by Google' section under Data sources redesigned from plain text into a structured table","summary":"Merchant Center's Found by Google area, which lists products discovered by crawling the merchant's site, was rebuilt as a structured table with an action button in place of the earlier plain-text layout.","details":"- Located under Data sources > Product sources > Found by Google.\n- Spotted by Hana Kobzová.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Updates \"Found by Google\" Section in GMC","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-07/google-updates-found-by-google-section-in-gmc/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-07-23"}],"id":"2025-07-23-found-by-google-section-redesigned"},{"date":"2025-07-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Branded searches added as an always-on reporting metric for YouTube and Demand Gen campaigns","summary":"Google Ads now reports branded searches, the number of searches for your brand on Google and YouTube after users see your ads, for YouTube and Demand Gen campaigns. The metric appears in All conversions and is reporting-only, not usable for bidding.","details":"Requires brand mapping. Attribution lookback is adjustable from 1 to 30 days and data can take up to 7 days to appear. Announced at Google Marketing Live 2025 and highlighted again at Think Week in September as attributed branded searches.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"About measuring branded searches","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16212033?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-07-23"},{"title":"Google Adds Branded Searches as New Conversion Metric","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-07/google-adds-branded-searches-as-new-conversion-metric/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-07-23"}],"id":"2025-07-23-branded-searches-conversion-metric"},{"date":"2025-07-22","effective_date":"2025-10-03","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Click conversion imports allowed both gclid and gbraid on the same ClickConversion from October 3, 2025","summary":"UploadClickConversions no longer returns FieldError.VALUE_MUST_BE_UNSET when both gclid and gbraid are set on a ClickConversion, giving advertisers more flexibility in offline conversion imports.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Increased flexibility for Google Ads API conversion imports","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/07/increased-flexibility-for-google-ads.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-07-22"}],"id":"2025-07-22-gclid-gbraid-both-allowed"},{"date":"2025-07-22","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Recommendations began citing competitor impression-share gains to justify bid changes","summary":"Emirhan Bayutmuş shared a recommendation that proposed a higher target CPA after noting a 26% impression share drop versus a competitor's 11% gain. Google did not announce competitor-aware recommendations.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Competitive-Aware Recommendations","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-recommendation-competition-39801.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-07-22"}],"id":"2025-07-22-competitor-aware-recommendations"},{"date":"2025-07-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Optimisation score column gained a tips icon that surfaces recommendations inline","summary":"Govind Singh Panwar and Hana Kobzová spotted a tips icon in the optimisation score column that reveals suggestions such as adding sitelinks. Google did not announce it.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-07-21); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-07-21). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads quietly surfaces recommendation tips in Optimization Score column","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-recommendation-tips-optimization-score-column-459111","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-07-21"},{"title":"Google Ads Optimization Score Column Tips","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-optimization-score-column-tips-39791.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-07-21"}],"id":"2025-07-21-optimization-score-column-tips-icon"},{"date":"2025-07-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Beta","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"Some accounts could attach negative keyword lists to Performance Max despite docs saying otherwise","summary":"Jeremy Young and Alyssa Knab found, and Adriaan Dekker shared, the option to apply shared negative keyword lists to Performance Max campaigns while Google's documentation still said lists were unsupported. Google did not confirm the test.","details":"Campaign-level negative keyword lists for PMax later shipped in Google Ads Editor 2.11 (November 2025).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Negative Keyword Lists For Performance Max Campaigns - Maybe?","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-negative-keyword-lists-pmax-campaigns-39789.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-07-21"},{"title":"Google tests negative keyword lists in PMax, despite its own rules","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-tests-negative-keyword-lists-pmax-459116","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-07-21"}],"id":"2025-07-21-negative-keyword-lists-in-pmax-spotted"},{"date":"2025-07-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 added a native Reddit Ads cost data import integration","summary":"Advertisers can connect Reddit Ads so cost, clicks and impressions are imported automatically into GA4 cross-channel reporting.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-07-21"},{"title":"[GA4] Reddit Ads","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/16217130","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-07-21"},{"title":"Google Analytics adds Reddit Ads integration, lead gen tools","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-analytics-reddit-ads-integration-lead-gen-tools-459363","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-07-23"}],"id":"2025-07-21-ga4-reddit-cost-data-import"},{"date":"2025-07-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 launched Lead acquisition and Lead disqualification/loss reports plus 8 lead-gen audience templates","summary":"New default reports for lead generation (Lead acquisition, Lead disqualification/loss) and eight audience templates for funnel stages such as New Leads, Qualified Leads and Converted Leads help lead-gen advertisers report and build remarketing audiences.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-07-21"},{"title":"[GA4] Lead generation","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/12924488","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-07-21"},{"title":"Google Analytics adds Reddit Ads integration, lead gen tools","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-analytics-reddit-ads-integration-lead-gen-tools-459363","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-07-23"}],"id":"2025-07-21-ga4-lead-generation-reports-audiences"},{"date":"2025-07-18","effective_date":"2025-07-18","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Daily fantasy sports ads prohibited in California","summary":"Google added a California-specific restriction disallowing promotion of Daily Fantasy Sports, effective immediately.","details":"","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Gambling and games policy (July 2025): California, USA","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16415060","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-07-18"}],"id":"2025-07-18-daily-fantasy-sports-ads-prohibited-in"},{"date":"2025-07-17","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Ads Liaison confirmed QR-code scans and 'send to email' actions on call assets are tracked as conversions","summary":"Drew Cannon asked on X whether the new QR code and send-to-email options on call assets were tracked; Ginny Marvin confirmed conversions from those actions are tracked and reported.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Tracks Call Assets QR Codes Or Send Email","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-call-assets-qr-codes-send-email-39764.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-07-17"}],"id":"2025-07-17-call-asset-qr-code-email-conversions-tracked"},{"date":"2025-07-17","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Brand inclusions and exclusions for new Search campaigns now require AI Max to be enabled","summary":"For new Search campaigns, adding brand inclusion or exclusion lists now requires enabling AI Max in the campaign. Existing brand lists on older campaigns keep working and can still be removed.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-07-18); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-07-22). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Brand Inclusions and Exclusions Moving into AI Max","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-07/brand-inclusions-and-exclusions-moving-into-ai-max/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-07-17"},{"title":"Google Ads moves brand controls under AI Max in new search campaigns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-brand-controls-ai-max-new-search-campaigns-458954","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-07-18"},{"title":"Google Ads Brand Inclusions & Exclusions In AI Max","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-brand-inclusions-exclusions-ai-max-39795.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-07-22"}],"id":"2025-07-17-brand-inclusions-exclusions-require-ai-max"},{"date":"2025-07-16","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Smart Bidding Exploration went live for Target ROAS campaigns in all accounts","summary":"Smart Bidding Exploration, which lets Target ROAS strategies bid on queries that fall outside the strict target but are likely to convert, became available for tROAS campaigns and portfolios in all Google Ads accounts.","details":"Announced at Google Marketing Live in May 2025 alongside AI Max. Google's Highlights of 2025 page cites an 18% increase in unique converting search query categories and 19% more conversions for campaigns using the feature.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Set up Smart Bidding Exploration","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16294612?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-07-16"},{"title":"Smart Bidding Exploration Now Live for tROAS Campaigns","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-07/smart-bidding-exploration-now-live-for-troas-campaigns/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-07-16"}],"id":"2025-07-16-smart-bidding-exploration-troas-all-accounts"},{"date":"2025-07-16","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"PMax channel performance report gained an expandable row splitting feed-based vs asset-based metrics","summary":"Mike Ryan noticed an expandable summary row in the beta Channel Performance report separating feed and asset metrics. Google did not announce it.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Expandable Summary Row (Feed vs Asset Metrics)","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-expandable-summary-row-39771.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-07-16"}],"id":"2025-07-16-channel-performance-feed-vs-asset-summary-row"},{"date":"2025-07-15","effective_date":"2025-10-30","product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Brand guidelines made default in new Performance Max campaigns; business name and logo now campaign-level","summary":"Google completed the rollout of brand guidelines as the default for all new Performance Max campaigns created in the Google Ads UI. Business name and logo assets are now managed at the campaign level instead of per asset group.","details":"Existing campaigns were scheduled to migrate by October 30, 2025. Brand guidelines also let advertisers set primary and accent colours and fonts that Google AI must respect when generating assets.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Brand Guidelines Now Default in New PMax Campaigns","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-07/brand-guidelines-now-default-in-new-pmax-campaigns/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-07-15"}],"id":"2025-07-15-pmax-brand-guidelines-default-campaign-level"},{"date":"2025-07-15","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Gmail Promotions tab tested an expandable Demand Gen product ad with prices and ratings","summary":"Thomas Eccel shared screenshots of a Gmail ad unit showing featured products with images, prices and promo labels that expands into a multi-product comparison. Google did not confirm the test.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Gmail tests Demand Gen ecommerce ads in promotions tab","url":"https://searchengineland.com/gmail-demand-gen-ecommerce-ads-promotions-tab-test-458674","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-07-15"}],"id":"2025-07-15-gmail-demand-gen-product-ad-format-test"},{"date":"2025-07-14","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Feeds","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 item data import now accepts item-scoped custom dimensions without requiring item IDs","summary":"Item data import can import item-scoped custom dimensions keyed on other fields, which helps retailers with large catalogs enrich ecommerce reporting.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-07-14"},{"title":"[GA4] Item data import","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/10071144","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-07-14"}],"id":"2025-07-14-ga4-item-data-import-without-item-id"},{"date":"2025-07-14","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Recommendation emails gained one-click 'apply' buttons that push changes without opening Google Ads","summary":"Jyll Saskin Gales shared that Google Ads recommendation emails in Gmail now include buttons to apply the change directly, raising concerns about accidental changes. Google did not announce the feature.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-07-14); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-07-14). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google advertisers can now push campaign changes via Gmail","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-gmail-enable-your-recommendations-458626","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-07-14"},{"title":"Google Ads Apply Recommendations Within Gmail Can Be Dangerous","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-apply-recommendations-within-gmail-39756.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-07-14"}],"id":"2025-07-14-apply-recommendations-directly-from-gmail"},{"date":"2025-07-11","effective_date":"2025-07-11","product":"Google Ads","area":"Local Services","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Local Services Ads reviews moved to Google Business Profile management","summary":"From July 11, 2025 customer reviews for Local Services Ads are fully managed through Google Business Profile rather than the LSA account. Existing LSA reviews were re-checked against Google Maps review policies, so some providers saw review counts and ratings change.","details":"Google notified LSA advertisers by email. Old LSA-specific review links no longer work; the Business Profile review link should be used. Star ratings and review volume continue to influence LSA ranking.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Local Service Ads Reviews Managed By Business Profiles","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-local-service-ads-reviews-managed-business-profiles-39751.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-07-14"},{"title":"Google shifts Local Service Ads reviews to Business Profiles management","url":"https://ppc.land/google-shifts-local-service-ads-reviews-to-business-profiles-management/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-07-11"}],"id":"2025-07-11-lsa-reviews-managed-in-business-profile"},{"date":"2025-07-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"'People also consider' sponsored unit tested a swipeable carousel on mobile","summary":"Sachin Patel shared a mobile test in which the People also consider ad unit became a swipeable carousel instead of a list. Google did not confirm the test.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Search Ads People Also Consider Carousel Format","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-people-also-consider-carousel-39726.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-07-10"}],"id":"2025-07-10-people-also-consider-carousel-test"},{"date":"2025-07-10","effective_date":"2025-08-20","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"Deprecation","status":"Retired","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API v18 sunset confirmed for August 20, 2025","summary":"All Google Ads API v18 requests began failing on August 20, 2025.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads API v18 Sunset Reminder","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/07/google-ads-api-v18-sunset-reminder.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-07-10"},{"title":"Deprecation and sunset dates","url":"https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/sunset-dates","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-07-10"}],"id":"2025-07-10-ads-api-v18-sunset"},{"date":"2025-07-09","effective_date":"2025-07-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Deprecation","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Automatic upgrade of remaining Video Action Campaigns to Demand Gen began","summary":"Starting July 2025 Google began automatically converting existing Video Action Campaigns into Demand Gen campaigns, after removing the option to create new VACs in April 2025. Advertisers running YouTube conversion campaigns are moved to Demand Gen's multi-format inventory.","details":"Google's help page timeline: April 2025 creation of new VACs removed; July 2025 automatic upgrades begin; December 2025 end dates cannot be extended beyond January 31, 2026; April 2026 final migration with any campaigns that cannot upgrade being deleted and recreated paused. Google claims Demand Gen delivers up to 20% more conversions at the same CPA.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Video Action Campaigns are being upgraded to Demand Gen","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/15110871?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-07-09"},{"title":"Google now auto-upgrades Video Action Campaigns to Demand Gen","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-auto-upgrades-video-action-campaigns-demand-gen-458325","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-07-09"}],"id":"2025-07-09-video-action-campaigns-auto-upgrade-demand-gen"},{"date":"2025-07-09","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"Study put hidden search terms at ~$0.85 per dollar of spend; Google said thresholds are privacy-driven","summary":"Collin Slattery analysed roughly $20 million in spend and found most spend fell on search terms Google does not disclose. Ginny Marvin responded that the search term reporting threshold is solely privacy-driven.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-07-09); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-07-09). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads hidden search terms cost advertisers – big time","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-hidden-search-terms-cost-advertisers-458306","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-07-09"},{"title":"Google Ads Defends Hidden Search Terms As Solely Privacy Driven","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-hidden-search-terms-privacy-driven-39731.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-07-09"}],"id":"2025-07-09-hidden-search-terms-study-liaison-response"},{"date":"2025-07-09","effective_date":"2026-01-28","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Search","type":"Deprecation","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Ad sharing across ad groups deprecated; creation removed from all API versions on January 28, 2026","summary":"The ability to link one Ad to multiple ad groups was removed from all supported API versions with the v23 release on January 28, 2026; shared ads stop serving in Q2 2026 and Google automatically creates individual copies. Developers must create a distinct ad per ad group and migrate shared ETAs to responsive search ads.","details":"New per-ad-group ads start with zero performance history; Google recommended exporting historical stats of shared ads before migrating. The post includes a GAQL query on `ad_group_ad` to detect ads whose `ad_group_ad.ad.id` appears under multiple `ad_group.id` values.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Ad Sharing Functionality Will Be Deprecated in Google Ads API in January 2026","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/07/ad-sharing-functionality-will-be.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-07-09"}],"id":"2025-07-09-ad-sharing-deprecated"},{"date":"2025-07-08","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads Editor 2.10 released with AI Max for Search controls, PMax negative keywords and a Link Checker","summary":"Editor 2.10 added an AI Max toggle with final URL expansion, search term matching, brand inclusions and ad group location controls for Search; campaign-level negative keywords and platform (device) opt-outs for Performance Max; 9:16 images and Target CPC for Demand Gen; desktop OS targeting; Target Frequency 2.0 video campaigns; barcodes and QR codes in promotion assets; partial extension downloads; a Link Checker tool; and an AI-assisted PMax construction flow.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Editor version 2.10","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/editor/answer/16320144?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Editor Help","date":"2025-07-08"},{"title":"Google Ads Editor 2.10 drops","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-editor-2-10-458182","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-07-08"},{"title":"Google Ads Editor v2.10 Now Available","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-07/google-ads-editor-v2-10-now-available/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-07-10"}],"id":"2025-07-08-google-ads-editor-2-10"},{"date":"2025-07-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Political content and election ads verification pages revised (formats, disclosures, documents)","summary":"Google updated ad-format eligibility, election ad disclosure guidance, and added verification document and revocation-request options across the Political content policy and Election ads verification pages.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Political Content policy (July 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16289331","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-07-07"}],"id":"2025-07-07-political-content-and-election-ads-verification"},{"date":"2025-07-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Keyword Planner forecasts gained breakdowns by city, region and device","summary":"Saved keyword plans in Keyword Planner can now segment forecast volumes by city, region and device type, with filters by state, DMA or municipality, to help local budgeting.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Keyword Planner Now Shows Forecasts by City and Device","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-07/keyword-planner-now-shows-forecasts-by-city-and-device/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-07-07"},{"title":"Google Keyword Planner Update Gives Breakdown By By City, Region & Device/Platform","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-keyword-planner-update-39717.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-07-07"}],"id":"2025-07-07-keyword-planner-forecasts-city-device"},{"date":"2025-07-05","effective_date":"2025-08-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Phone number verification made mandatory for message assets from August 1, 2025","summary":"Google told advertisers that phone numbers used in message assets must be verified by Google. New message assets needed verification from August 1, 2025 and existing ones from September 1, 2025; unverified numbers stop the asset from serving.","details":"Reported from Google's advertiser email shared on LinkedIn. Google later published broader message asset requirements (enforced from October 30, 2025) that also require verified message IDs and usernames.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Phone Number Verification Becomes Mandatory for Message Assets","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-07/phone-number-verification-becomes-mandatory-for-message-assets/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-07-05"},{"title":"Google Ads New Message Assets Requirements","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-message-assets-requirements-40199.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-10-01"}],"id":"2025-07-05-message-assets-phone-verification"},{"date":"2025-07-03","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"'AI Max' appeared as a value in the search terms match type segment alongside exact, phrase and broad","summary":"Aleksejus Podpruginas and Thomas Eccel noticed an AI Max option when segmenting the Keywords tab by search terms match type. Google did not announce the reporting change.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"New Google Ads AI Max Search Match Type","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-ai-max-search-match-type-39695.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-07-03"}],"id":"2025-07-03-ai-max-search-terms-match-type-segment"},{"date":"2025-07-01","effective_date":"2025-08-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Unverified phone number requirement extended to message assets","summary":"The Destination requirements policy's unverified phone number rule now applies to message assets as well as call-only ads, call assets and location assets. Enforcement began August 1, 2025 for new message assets and September 1, 2025 for existing ones.","details":"Message assets with unverified numbers stop serving rather than causing account-level action. Advertisers using message assets should verify numbers before August 1, 2025 (new assets) and September 1, 2025 (existing assets).","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Destination Requirements Policy (July 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16333090","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-07-01"}],"id":"2025-07-01-unverified-phone-number-requirement-extended-to"},{"date":"2025-07-01","effective_date":"2025-08-04","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Reporting","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Search and SearchStream began returning query_resource_consumption and field_mask for empty results","summary":"Starting the week of August 4, 2025, GoogleAdsService.Search and SearchStream in all API versions return the query_resource_consumption metric and field_mask even when a query returns no rows, changing the shape of empty responses (SearchStream returns an object instead of an empty array).","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Upcoming changes to Search and SearchStream responses in Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/07/upcoming-changes-to-search-and.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-07-01"}],"id":"2025-07-01-search-empty-response-change"},{"date":"2025-07-01","effective_date":"2025-07-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Restricted Drug Term Personalization certification introduced for US, Canada and New Zealand","summary":"Advertisers promoting products with restricted drug terms to healthcare professionals in the US, Canada and New Zealand must obtain a new certification to use personalization tools; without it personalization is unavailable. Advertisers elsewhere cannot apply.","details":"","regions":"US; Canada; New Zealand","sources":[{"title":"Restricted Drug Term Personalization Certification Application (July 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16356807","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-07-01"}],"id":"2025-07-01-restricted-drug-term-personalization-certification-introduced"},{"date":"2025-07-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Merchant API v1 reached general availability as the successor to the Content API for Shopping","summary":"Google's Merchant API release notes for July 2025 announced that Merchant API v1 is generally available, with most v1beta sub-APIs graduating to v1 (leaving only v1 and v1alpha), plus a Product Studio Image resource, Checkout settings, Online Return Policy migration, AccountIdAlias for account relationships, Apps Script access and an AggregateProductStatuses method.","details":"The developer release notes list the GA under July 2025 without a specific day; the Merchant Center Help announcement 'Introducing Merchant API' is dated August 2025 and pairs the GA with the Content API for Shopping sunset date of August 18, 2026. Merchant API uses per-sub-API versioning (vX stable, vXalpha experimental) with a 12-month deprecation window for stable major versions.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Merchant API latest updates (July 2025)","url":"https://developers.google.com/merchant/api/latest-updates","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-07-01"},{"title":"Introducing Merchant API","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16493611?hl=en","publisher":"Google Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-08-01"},{"title":"Merchant API versioning","url":"https://developers.google.com/merchant/api/guides/versioning","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-07-01"}],"id":"2025-07-01-merchant-api-v1-general-availability"},{"date":"2025-07-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 extended annotation create/edit/delete rights to users with Analyst role and above","summary":"Users with the Analyst role or higher can now create, edit and delete report annotations, rather than only editors and admins.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-07-01"},{"title":"[GA4] Annotations","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/15884203","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-07-01"}],"id":"2025-07-01-ga4-annotations-analyst-permission"},{"date":"2025-07-01","effective_date":"2025-09-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Dangerous products policy restricted pill presses and encapsulating machines in Ads and Shopping","summary":"From September 1, 2025, ads and Shopping listings for pill presses, tableting machines, encapsulating machines, dies, molds, stamps and punches are restricted, with full enforcement ramping over about 6 weeks.","details":"Published simultaneously in the Google Ads policy change log and the Merchant Center announcements; applies to Shopping ads and free listings as well as Google Ads.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to the Dangerous products or services policy (July 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16328882","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-07-01"},{"title":"Update to the Dangerous products or services policy","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16341193","publisher":"Google Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-07-01"}],"id":"2025-07-01-dangerous-products-policy-restricted-pill-presses"},{"date":"2025-07-01","effective_date":"2025-07-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Crypto exchange and wallet ads in Canada required FINTRAC registration and certification","summary":"Advertisers targeting Canada with cryptocurrency exchanges or software wallets must be registered with FINTRAC as a money services business and certified by Google from July 2025.","details":"","regions":"Canada","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Cryptocurrencies and related products policy (July 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16345928","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-07-01"}],"id":"2025-07-01-crypto-exchange-and-wallet-ads-in"},{"date":"2025-06-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Built-in video analytics launched as a 'Videos' tab under Assets covering PMax, Demand Gen, Display and Video","summary":"A native video analytics view now sits under Assets > Videos and brings together every video asset across campaign types. It offers filters by format (Shorts, in-stream), breakdowns by age, gender and device, and per-asset engagement metrics such as views, audience retention and drop-off points.","details":"- Covers Performance Max, Demand Gen, Display campaigns with video assets and Video campaigns.\n- Help doc: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6086441.\n- First shared by Aleksejus Podpruginas via PPC News Feed.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads rolls out built-in video analytics","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-rolls-out-built-in-video-analytics-457742","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-06-30"}],"id":"2025-06-30-video-analytics-videos-tab-assets"},{"date":"2025-06-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"Deprecation","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"sGTM web container client now serves all Google scripts; GA client dropped dependency serving","summary":"Server-side Tag Manager's web container client can now serve gtag.js, gtm.js and other Google scripts from the server domain, and the Google Analytics client no longer supports dependency serving. Server-side users who relied on the GA client to serve scripts should switch to the web container client.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Release notes - Tag Manager Help","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/4620708","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2025-06-30"},{"title":"Dependency serving","url":"https://developers.google.com/tag-platform/tag-manager/server-side/dependency-serving","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-06-30"}],"id":"2025-06-30-sgtm-web-container-client-serves-all-scripts"},{"date":"2025-06-30","effective_date":"2025-07-14","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Online gambling ads opened in Ukraine for state-licensed operators and aggregators","summary":"From July 14, 2025, appropriately licensed Ukrainian operators and aggregators may advertise poker, sports betting, casino games and state lotteries after Google certification.","details":"","regions":"Ukraine","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy: Ukraine (June 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16345571","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-06-30"}],"id":"2025-06-30-online-gambling-ads-opened-in-ukraine"},{"date":"2025-06-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Broad match experiments changed to split traffic within one campaign instead of duplicating it","summary":"Hana Kobzová reported that broad match experiments now divert traffic between control and treatment inside a single Smart Bidding campaign rather than requiring a duplicate. Google's documentation was updated to reflect it.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"New Google Ads Broad Match Experiments Testing","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-broad-match-experiments-update-39670.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-06-30"}],"id":"2025-06-30-broad-match-experiments-single-campaign"},{"date":"2025-06-27","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Ad Preview tool began requiring missing assets to be added before showing a preview","summary":"Govind Singh Panwar noticed the Ad Preview tool now prompts users to add missing assets before rendering the preview. Google did not announce the change.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Ad Preview Tool Update","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-ad-preview-tool-update-39663.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-06-27"}],"id":"2025-06-27-ad-preview-tool-prompts-for-missing-assets"},{"date":"2025-06-26","effective_date":"2025-08-06","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Measurement","type":"Deprecation","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"debug_enabled removed from UploadClickConversions in v21; ignored in v18-v20 from August 6, 2025","summary":"The UploadClickConversionsRequest.debug_enabled field was removed in v21 and became non-functional in v18, v19 and v20 on August 6, 2025, so ConversionUploadError.CLICK_NOT_FOUND is no longer returned.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Upcoming Removal of debug_enabled in Google Ads API Offline Conversion Imports","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/06/upcoming-removal-of-debugenabled-in.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-06-26"},{"title":"Introducing improved diagnostics for enhanced conversions for leads imports","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/09/introducing-improved-diagnostics-for.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-09-23"}],"id":"2025-06-26-debug-enabled-removed"},{"date":"2025-06-25","effective_date":"2025-07-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Telemedicine prescription-drug service ads allowed in the UK and Singapore","summary":"Certified telemedicine providers (LegitScript plus Google certification; HCSA licence in Singapore) may promote prescription drug services in the UK and Singapore from July 2025.","details":"","regions":"UK; Singapore","sources":[{"title":"Update to Healthcare and Medicines Policy (July 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16328091","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-06-25"}],"id":"2025-06-25-telemedicine-prescription-drug-service-ads-allowed"},{"date":"2025-06-25","effective_date":"2025-07-14","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Search","type":"Deprecation","status":"Retired","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads scripts sunset expanded text ad customizers and legacy feed-based extensions on July 14, 2025","summary":"From July 14, 2025, Google Ads scripts throws sunset errors for AdCustomizerSource and related builders and for withOnlyLegacy() extension selectors; withOnlyUpgraded() now only logs a warning since asset-based extensions are the only option.","details":"Ad customizer entities had been read-only since 2022, stopped serving in May 2024, and were removed from the Google Ads API in v19. Feed-based extensions were sunset in 2022 in favor of asset-based extensions.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Scripts Sunsetting Ad Customizers for Expanded Text Ads and Legacy Ad Extension Entities Starting July 14, 2025","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/06/google-ads-scripts-sunsetting-ad.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-06-25"}],"id":"2025-06-25-scripts-sunset-ad-customizers-legacy-extensions"},{"date":"2025-06-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"URL inclusions and exclusions tested for Search campaigns using AI-generated ads","summary":"Search campaigns gained campaign-level URL exclusions to block site sections from being used for final URL expansion and generated ad content, alongside a URL inclusions control to prioritise pages. Inclusions were not yet functioning as expected at launch.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-06-24 (Search Engine Land); also covered by PPC News Feed.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads tests URL inclusions and exclusions for search","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-test-url-inclusions-exclusions-search-457481","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-06-24"},{"title":"URL Inclusions & URL Exclusions for Search Campaigns","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-06/url-inclusions-url-exclusions-for-search-campaigns/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-06-24"}],"id":"2025-06-24-search-url-inclusions-exclusions"},{"date":"2025-06-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Google tag gateway pause and delete merged; Cloudflare setups can now be rolled back","summary":"The pause and delete buttons were merged into a single delete action that fully rolls back a Cloudflare-based Google tag gateway configuration.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Release notes - Tag Manager Help","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/4620708","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2025-06-24"},{"title":"Set up Google tag gateway for advertisers in Google Tag Manager with Cloudflare","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/16061641","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2025-06-24"}],"id":"2025-06-24-google-tag-gateway-rollback-cloudflare"},{"date":"2025-06-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 cost data import beta expanded to Sheets, BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift, S3, MySQL and more","summary":"The cost data import open beta added connections to Google Sheets, Amazon Redshift and S3, BigQuery, Cloud Storage, HTTPS, MySQL, PostgreSQL and Snowflake so non-Google campaign cost can flow into cross-channel reports without manual CSV uploads.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-06-24"},{"title":"[GA4] Connect data sources","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/16308752","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-06-24"}],"id":"2025-06-24-ga4-cost-data-import-new-sources-beta"},{"date":"2025-06-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"GA4 Consent settings began showing consent signal ratings (Excellent to Urgent) per data stream","summary":"Search Engine Land reported that GA4's consent settings now rate each data stream's consent mode implementation from Excellent to Urgent, acting as a compliance scorecard as Google tightens consent-mode enforcement for EU/UK advertisers.","details":"","regions":"Global (most relevant EU/UK)","sources":[{"title":"New in Google Analytics: Consent Signal Ratings","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-analytics-consent-signal-ratings-457396","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-06-23"},{"title":"[GA4] Consent settings","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/14275483","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-06-23"}],"id":"2025-06-23-ga4-consent-signal-ratings"},{"date":"2025-06-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Segment dropdown tested a more compact layout showing more options at once","summary":"Saquib Syed shared screenshots of a condensed segment menu that takes less space. Google did not confirm the test.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Tests Compact Segment Dropdown Menu","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-compact-segment-dropdown-menu-39630.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-06-23"}],"id":"2025-06-23-compact-segment-dropdown-test"},{"date":"2025-06-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Automatic shipping updates launched in Merchant Center using tracking data and StoreBot crawling","summary":"Merchants can opt in to automatic shipping updates, which refine delivery-time estimates using historical tracking data from linked partner accounts, StoreBot crawling or data submitted via the Merchant API. The feature is off by default and initially limited to the US.","details":"Enabled from the Automatic improvements (later Automations) page or by linking a partner account. Google notes updates can take hours to days to take effect depending on data volume; merchants outside the US may voluntarily participate.","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"About automatic shipping updates","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16371720?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-06-23"},{"title":"Google Merchant Center Adds Automatic Shipping Updates","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-06/google-merchant-center-adds-automatic-shipping-updates/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-06-23"}],"id":"2025-06-23-automatic-shipping-updates"},{"date":"2025-06-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"All ad groups overview rolled out with a card view showing ads and keywords together","summary":"An updated ad group dashboard displays each ad group's ads and keywords side by side in a card layout, so coverage can be assessed without switching tabs.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Introduces \"All Ad Groups\" Overview","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-06/google-ads-introduces-all-ad-groups-overview/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-06-23"}],"id":"2025-06-23-all-ad-groups-card-view"},{"date":"2025-06-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"First-order (new customer) promotions launched for Shopping ads","summary":"Merchants can submit promotions flagged with audience: new_users so Google shows a first-order discount to shoppers it identifies as new to the business. It requires a Performance Max or Standard Shopping campaign with the new customer acquisition goal and supports only percentage or amount discounts.","details":"Initially available to allowlisted US merchants in June 2025; Google's help page now lists 13 eligible countries (US, AU, BR, CA, FR, DE, IN, IT, NL, KR, ES, JP, UK). Shows only on Shopping ads, not free listings.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"New customer / 1st order promotions","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16310477?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-06-21"},{"title":"Google Launches 1st Order Promotions for Shopping Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-06/google-launches-1st-order-promotions-for-shopping-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-06-21"}],"id":"2025-06-21-first-order-promotions"},{"date":"2025-06-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"\"Conv. value (incl. predicted)\" metric quietly added to reporting","summary":"A new column combining recorded conversion value with predicted (modelled) value appeared in Google Ads reporting without an announcement, following the pattern of Google's other predicted-conversion metrics.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Conv. Value (incl. predicted) Quietly Added to Google Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-06/conv-value-incl-predicted-quietly-added-to-google-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-06-20"},{"title":"Google Ads adds new \"Conv. value (incl. predicted)\" metric","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-adds-new-conv-value-incl-predicted-metric-457292","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-06-20"}],"id":"2025-06-20-conv-value-incl-predicted-metric"},{"date":"2025-06-19","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Local Services","type":"Launch","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Local Services Ads priced message leads separately, added GBP booking links and automated lead credits","summary":"Local Services Ads began charging message leads separately (roughly half the cost of calls), automatically showing booking links pulled from Google Business Profile, replacing manual lead disputes with automated crediting, and surfacing LSAs inside Google Maps. The standalone LSA mobile app was retired in favour of ads.google.com/localservices.","details":"Reported by agency partners in June 2025; Google did not publish a dated announcement page. LSA reviews moved fully to Google Business Profile on July 11, 2025.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Rolls Out Major Updates To Local Services Ads Messaging & Visibility","url":"https://digimatiq.com/google-rolls-out-major-updates-to-local-services-ads-messaging-visibility/","publisher":"Digimatiq","date":"2025-06-19"}],"id":"2025-06-19-local-services-ads-message-pricing-booking"},{"date":"2025-06-19","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"New Search campaigns stopped pre-selecting the Display Network 'Recommended' checkbox","summary":"Jyll Saskin Gales noticed that the Display Network option is now unchecked by default when creating a Search campaign, whereas it was previously pre-selected and labelled Recommended. Google did not confirm whether all accounts were affected.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads stops auto-opting search campaigns into Display Network","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-stops-auto-opting-search-campaigns-into-display-network-457274","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-06-19"}],"id":"2025-06-19-display-network-unchecked-by-default-search"},{"date":"2025-06-19","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Display Network no longer pre-selected when creating new Search campaigns","summary":"The Display Network checkbox in new Search campaign setup now defaults to unchecked with a Recommended tag, reversing the August 2024 change that auto-enabled Display expansion.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Might Finally Stop Auto-Enabling GDN in Search Campaigns","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-06/google-might-finally-stop-auto-enabling-gdn-in-search-campaigns/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-06-19"}],"id":"2025-06-19-display-network-no-longer-default-search"},{"date":"2025-06-19","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Simplified step-by-step conversion action setup flow tested","summary":"Google began testing a guided conversion setup titled Simpler conversion measurement setup, letting advertisers pick what to measure and choose codeless or manual event creation with gtag, Tag Manager or emailed instructions.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Conversion Setup Simplified with Step-by-Step Flow","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-06/conversion-setup-simplified-with-step-by-step-flow/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-06-19"}],"id":"2025-06-19-conversion-setup-step-by-step-flow"},{"date":"2025-06-18","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Website-reported autofeeds let merchants sync local inventory via Google Tag Manager without a local feed","summary":"Merchant Center added website-reported autofeeds: when a shopper checks in-store availability on a product page, a GTM tag captures availability, store code and price and syncs it to Merchant Center. It works for local inventory ads and free local listings without a dedicated local product inventory feed.","details":"- Requirements: a working Google Tag Manager setup, product pages with store selection, and the ability to pass inventory data through GTM.\n- Removes the need for a separate local product inventory feed for retailers with physical stores and an active e-commerce site.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Merchant Center Now Supports Website-Based Local Inventory Feeds","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-06/merchant-center-now-supports-website-based-local-inventory-feeds/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-06-18"}],"id":"2025-06-18-website-reported-autofeeds-local-inventory"},{"date":"2025-06-17","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Conversion action setup switched to a step-by-step wizard in some accounts","summary":"Saquib Syed shared the new guided conversion setup that replaces the single all-fields form. It had not rolled out to all accounts and was not announced.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads New Step-By-Step Conversion Setup","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-new-conversion-setup-39602.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-06-17"}],"id":"2025-06-17-step-by-step-conversion-setup-flow"},{"date":"2025-06-17","effective_date":"2025-06-18","product":"Google Ads","area":"App","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Licensed Brazilian gambling operators allowed to advertise their apps","summary":"Operators licensed by Brazil's gambling authority may promote gambling apps for lotteries, horse racing, fixed-quota betting and DFS if their official domain prominently links to the App Store or Play Store listing.","details":"","regions":"Brazil","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy: Brazil (June 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16344493","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-06-17"}],"id":"2025-06-17-licensed-brazilian-gambling-operators-allowed-to"},{"date":"2025-06-17","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Target CPC bidding introduced for Demand Gen campaigns","summary":"Demand Gen campaigns with the Clicks goal can set a target average cost per click at the campaign or ad group level; Google adjusts bids using auction-time signals to drive as many clicks as possible at that efficiency. Rolled out quietly with a help article rather than a formal announcement.","details":"Reported as beta on June 19, 2025. Google later required Demand Gen advertisers to review bid targets by August 17, 2026 as part of a bidding overhaul.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"About Target CPC bidding for Demand Gen","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16262529","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-06-17"},{"title":"Target CPC bidding comes to Google Ads Demand Gen","url":"https://searchengineland.com/target-cpc-bidding-google-demand-gen-457151","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-06-17"},{"title":"Target CPC Bidding Now Available in Demand Gen (Beta)","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-06/target-cpc-bidding-now-available-in-demand-gen-beta/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-06-19"}],"id":"2025-06-17-demand-gen-target-cpc-bidding"},{"date":"2025-06-16","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Merchant Center replaced the gear icon with a labeled Settings section and collapsible sidebar menus","summary":"Google moved account settings from a gear icon to a clearly labeled \"Settings\" entry and added collapsible dropdown groups to the Merchant Center sidebar to reduce clutter.","details":"Reported June 16, 2025 from merchant screenshots; part of a series of navigation changes that ended with the compact menu rollout completing in October 2025.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Merchant Center Updates User Interface Elements","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-merchant-center-updates-ui-39595.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-06-16"},{"title":"Google Merchant Center Moves Settings to Sidebar","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-06/google-merchant-center-moves-settings-to-sidebar/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-06-01"}],"id":"2025-06-16-settings-menu-and-sidebar-redesign"},{"date":"2025-06-16","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Remarketing tag data-source stats moved from Audience manager to Data Manager > Connected products","summary":"The 'Your data sources' view in Shared library > Audience manager no longer holds remarketing tag diagnostics. Tag status now lives in Data Manager: open the Connected products tab, select Google tag and click View stats.","details":"- Old path: Shared library > Audience manager > Your data sources.\n- New path: Tools > Data manager > Connected products > Google tag > View stats.\n- Part of the consolidation of first-party data connections into Data Manager.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Remarketing Tag Data Source Now Managed in Data Manager","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-06/google-moves-remarketing-tag-reporting-to-data-manager/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-06-16"}],"id":"2025-06-16-remarketing-tag-stats-moved-to-data-manager"},{"date":"2025-06-16","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Campaigns tab tested large metric boxes above the graph with new 'Adjust' chart options","summary":"Melissa Mackey shared screenshots of a redesigned charts area with big metric tiles and an Adjust menu offering chart types plus conversion delay and anomaly overlays. Google did not confirm the test.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Tests New Charts Interface For Campaigns","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-tests-new-charts-interface-39589.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-06-16"}],"id":"2025-06-16-campaigns-tab-charts-interface-test"},{"date":"2025-06-13","effective_date":"2025-07-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Deprecation","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Maximum CPV bidding deprecated for new video ad sequencing campaigns from July 2025","summary":"New video ad sequencing campaigns must use Target CPM instead of Maximum CPV from July 2025. Existing MaxCPV sequences continue temporarily, with full removal scheduled for the end of 2025.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"MaxCPV Bidding Being Phased Out in Video Ad Sequencing","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-06/maxcpv-bidding-being-phased-out-in-video-ad-sequencing/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-06-13"}],"id":"2025-06-13-maxcpv-video-ad-sequencing-deprecated"},{"date":"2025-06-13","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Custom segment builder began showing estimated audience size per segment","summary":"Thomas Eccel noticed estimated audience sizes displayed beside each custom segment when building keyword, URL or app-based segments. Google did not announce it.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Shows Audience Size For Custom Segments","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-custom-segments-audience-size-39534.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-06-13"}],"id":"2025-06-13-custom-segments-estimated-audience-size"},{"date":"2025-06-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Cost and cost-per-conversion metrics started appearing for individual PMax assets","summary":"Darcy Burk spotted cost and cost/conv. columns for Performance Max assets, which previously only carried Low/Good/Best labels; Menachem Ani noted it matched an earlier Google announcement. Rollout scope was unclear.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Asset-Level PMax Reporting Rolling Out To Some","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-asset-level-pmax-reporting-rolling-out-39580.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-06-12"}],"id":"2025-06-12-pmax-asset-cost-and-cpa-metrics"},{"date":"2025-06-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Hotel & Travel","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Itinerary conversion value rules launched for Hotel campaigns and Performance Max for travel goals","summary":"Travel advertisers can now adjust conversion values by advance booking window, length of travel and travel start day. Rules can be set at account or campaign level (campaign overrides account) and are not supported for standard Travel campaigns.","details":"- Conditions: Advanced booking window (0-1095 days), Length of travel (up to 360 nights), Travel start day (day of week, multi-select).\n- Applies to Hotel campaigns and Performance Max for travel goals.\n- Help docs: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16030752 (about), https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16031850 (setup), https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16031751 (reporting).\n- First flagged by Dario Zannoni.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Itinerary Conversion Value Rules Introduced for Travel Campaigns","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-06/itinerary-conversion-value-rules-introduced-for-travel-campaigns/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-06-12"}],"id":"2025-06-12-itinerary-conversion-value-rules-travel"},{"date":"2025-06-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 auto-marks qualified_lead and converted lead events as key events for lead-gen objective","summary":"When the business objective for lead generation is selected, Analytics now automatically configures qualified and converted lead events as key events, streamlining setup for lead-gen advertisers.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-06-12"},{"title":"[GA4] Lead generation key events","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/16109068","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-06-12"}],"id":"2025-06-12-ga4-auto-key-events-lead-generation"},{"date":"2025-06-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"YouTube follow-on views optimisation launched in Demand Gen","summary":"Demand Gen campaigns using the YouTube engagements goal can now optimise for follow-on views: viewers likely to keep watching the channel's content organically after seeing an ad. Requires a linked YouTube channel and setting the action as primary in Conversions summary.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"YouTube follow-on views optimization now available in Demand Gen campaigns","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16323381","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-06-12"}],"id":"2025-06-12-demand-gen-youtube-follow-on-views"},{"date":"2025-06-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Search campaigns tested URL inclusion and exclusion tabs for controlling landing pages","summary":"Natasha Kaurra shared screenshots of new URL inclusions and URL exclusions tabs in Search campaigns. Google did not confirm the limited test at the time; the controls later shipped as part of AI Max.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2025-06-10); Search Engine Land (2025-06-24). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Tests URL Inclusions & Exclusions For Search Campaigns","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-url-inclusions-exclusions-for-search-campaigns-39559.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-06-10"},{"title":"Google Ads tests URL inclusions and exclusions for search","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-test-url-inclusions-exclusions-search-457481","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-06-24"}],"id":"2025-06-10-url-inclusions-exclusions-search-test"},{"date":"2025-06-10","effective_date":"2025-07-15","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Debt services ads permitted in Ireland subject to Financial Services verification","summary":"Google's Financial products and services policy was updated to allow debt service advertising in Ireland; all such advertisers had to complete Financial Services verification by July 15, 2025 to keep serving.","details":"","regions":"Ireland","sources":[{"title":"New Requirements for Debt Service Advertisers in Ireland (June 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16341313","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-06-10"}],"id":"2025-06-10-debt-services-ads-permitted-in-ireland"},{"date":"2025-06-09","effective_date":"2025-06-25","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"UAE gambling policy expanded to GCGRA-authorized state-run lotteries","summary":"From June 25, 2025, state-run lotteries licensed by the UAE General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority and certified by Google may advertise in the UAE.","details":"","regions":"UAE","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and games policy: United Arab Emirates (UAE) (June 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16293881","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-06-09"}],"id":"2025-06-09-uae-gambling-policy-expanded-to-gcgra"},{"date":"2025-06-09","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Business email enforcement went live, letting admins require work-domain sign-ins","summary":"Administrators can now require users to access Google Ads with business-managed email domains; security alerts prompt domain verification and migration away from personal addresses. First announced in April 2024.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Business Email Enforce Live","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-06/business-email-enforce-live/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-06-09"}],"id":"2025-06-09-business-email-enforcement"},{"date":"2025-06-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Merchant Center began auto-enabling conversion tracking for ads and free listings via the existing Google tag","summary":"Merchants with linked Google Ads and Merchant Center accounts were notified that conversion tracking for ads and free product listings would be turned on automatically 14 days after the notice using their existing Google tag, with an opt-out available.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Merchant Center Conversion Tracking Will Be Enabled Automatically Soon","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-06/merchant-center-conversion-tracking-will-be-enabled-automatically-soon/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-06-07"}],"id":"2025-06-07-conversion-tracking-auto-enabled"},{"date":"2025-06-06","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 integrated Google Tag Diagnostics into the Consent settings hub","summary":"Tag Diagnostics is now surfaced inside the GA4 consent settings hub so admins can detect and fix end-user consent and data-collection errors from one place.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-06-06"},{"title":"[GA4] Consent settings","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/14275483","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-06-06"}],"id":"2025-06-06-ga4-tag-diagnostics-in-consent-hub"},{"date":"2025-06-06","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Accounts linked to manager accounts violating the third-party policy may be paused","summary":"Google updated the account pausing article: individual Google Ads accounts linked to a manager account that violates the third-party policy can be paused, and must unlink from the manager account to resume serving.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Google third-party policy (June 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16328191","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-06-06"}],"id":"2025-06-06-accounts-linked-to-manager-accounts-violating"},{"date":"2025-06-04","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Display","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"De-identified anonymous.google placements deprecated in Display placement reports","summary":"Display campaign placement reports will show actual publisher domains instead of de-identified URLs such as xyz.anonymous.google.com, aligned with ads.txt transparency. Targeting, bidding and conversion tracking are unchanged.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"No More Anonymous URLs in Display Reports","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-06/no-more-anonymous-urls-in-display-reports/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-06-04"}],"id":"2025-06-04-display-anonymous-urls-deprecated"},{"date":"2025-06-04","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API v20 released with Performance Max campaign-level negative keywords","summary":"v20 added campaign-level negative keywords for Performance Max, split Demand Gen ad_network_type reporting into YOUTUBE, MAPS, DISCOVER and GMAIL, added platform comparable conversions for Demand Gen, and expanded allowlisted planning and audience insights features (YouTube Select Lineups, first-party list reach forecasts, device segmentation).","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Announcing v20 of the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/06/announcing-v20-of-google-ads-api.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-06-04"},{"title":"Archived release notes (v20, 2025-06-04)","url":"https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/archived-release-notes","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-06-04"}],"id":"2025-06-04-ads-api-v20-released"},{"date":"2025-06-03","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Conversion goals page was redesigned with a dropdown and grouped metrics","summary":"Saquib Syed first shared the refreshed conversion goals layout, which uses a dropdown and visually segmented metric groups. Google did not announce the redesign.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Testing New Conversion Goals Interface","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-new-conversion-goals-interface-39522.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-06-03"}],"id":"2025-06-03-conversion-goals-interface-redesign"},{"date":"2025-06-02","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GA360 added syncing of custom dimensions and metrics from source properties to subproperties","summary":"Google Analytics 360 customers can sync all custom dimensions and metrics from a source property to its subproperties, with later changes propagating automatically.","details":"The Admin API v1alpha added get/list/update SubpropertySyncConfig methods on June 12, 2025 to manage the same setting programmatically.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-06-02"},{"title":"[GA4] Sync custom definitions to subproperties","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/16176212","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-06-02"},{"title":"Google Analytics Admin API changelog","url":"https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/config/admin/v1/changelog","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-06-12"}],"id":"2025-06-02-ga360-subproperty-sync-custom-definitions"},{"date":"2025-05-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Beta","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"The Performance Max channel performance beta report began appearing in advertiser accounts","summary":"Aleksejus Podpruginas shared screenshots of the long-awaited channel reporting beta live in his account, showing spend and results by Search, YouTube, Display and other channels. Google had announced the report a month earlier without a rollout date.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2025-05-30); Search Engine Land (2025-05-30). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Some Seeing Google Ads Channel Reporting For Performance Max","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-channel-reporting-for-pmax-in-the-wild-39515.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-05-30"},{"title":"Google begins rolling out Performance Max channel performance reporting","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-begins-rolling-out-performance-max-channel-performance-reporting-456251","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-05-30"}],"id":"2025-05-30-pmax-channel-performance-report-live-in-accounts"},{"date":"2025-05-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Redesigned conversion goals summary page rolled out","summary":"The conversions Summary page gained a refreshed layout with key metrics visually segmented and a dropdown to reveal conversion action details, replacing the older table view.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Redesigned Conversion Goals Interface Now Rolling Out","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-05/redesigned-conversion-goals-interface-now-rolling-out/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-05-30"}],"id":"2025-05-30-conversion-goals-interface-redesign"},{"date":"2025-05-29","effective_date":"2025-07-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Personalized ads policy excluded healthcare-professional content from Health sensitive category","summary":"Google clarified that content directed at healthcare professionals in their professional capacity is excluded from the Health sensitive interest category immediately, and from the Restricted Drug Terms category from July 1, 2025.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to the Personalized advertising policy (May 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16258024","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-05-29"}],"id":"2025-05-29-personalized-ads-policy-excluded-healthcare-professional"},{"date":"2025-05-29","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Launch","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"'AI Max for Search campaigns' replaced the Search Max toggle in campaign settings","summary":"Jerome Fleck, Hana Kobzová and Adriaan Dekker noticed the campaign creation flow now labels the beta toggle 'Optimise your campaign with AI Max', replacing the earlier Search Max branding. Google had announced AI Max on May 6 but the interface change was spotted by advertisers.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-05-29); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-05-30). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads begins rolling out AI Max for Search","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-ai-max-search-spotted-456195","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-05-29"},{"title":"Google Ads AI Max Replaces Search Max In Google Ads","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-al-max-ads-interface-39513.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-05-30"}],"id":"2025-05-29-ai-max-branding-appears-in-campaign-setup"},{"date":"2025-05-27","effective_date":"2025-06-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Melatonin promotion restriction removed outside the US and Canada","summary":"The Unapproved Substances section of the Healthcare and medicines policy no longer prohibits melatonin products outside the United States and Canada; advertisers must follow local law.","details":"","regions":"Global (ex-US/Canada)","sources":[{"title":"Update to Healthcare and Medicines Policy (June 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16257516","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-05-27"}],"id":"2025-05-27-melatonin-promotion-restriction-removed-outside-the"},{"date":"2025-05-27","effective_date":"2025-06-25","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Deprecation","status":"Retired","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Merchant Center Email archive feature discontinued after June 25, 2025","summary":"Google retired the Email archive in Merchant Center. Account-specific messages and alerts are now shown only in the Notifications section of Merchant Center Next.","details":"Announced May 27, 2025. The Email archive had stored past policy notices, account alerts and tips sent by email; those messages are now surfaced in-product under Notifications.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Email archive feature will be discontinued","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16301922?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-05-27"},{"title":"Merchant Center announcements change log","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/announcements/6192467?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-11"},{"title":"Email Archive Going Away in Merchant Center","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-05/email-archive-going-away-in-merchant-center/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-05-01"}],"id":"2025-05-27-email-archive-discontinued"},{"date":"2025-05-27","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Retired","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"conversion_environment requirement for in-app conversion imports dropped, then bidding change cancelled","summary":"Google dropped the June 30, 2025 hard requirement for ClickConversion.conversion_environment on in-app conversions, instead planning (from September 30, 2025) to have bidding models rely on the field's presence. That bidding change was itself cancelled in October 2025.","details":"Timeline: originally a required field from June 30, 2025; changed on May 27, 2025 to a gradual bidding-model change from September 30, 2025; the June 30 update removed that deadline; on October 8, 2025 Google confirmed the bidding enforcement would not be implemented. Setting `conversion_environment` remains recommended for cross-environment attribution and ad destination reporting.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Add Conversion Environment to Google Ads Conversion Imports","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/05/add-conversion-environment-to-google.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-05-27"},{"title":"[Update] Add Conversion Environment to Google Ads Conversion Imports","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/06/update-add-conversion-environment-to.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-06-30"},{"title":"Bidding enforcement for conversion environment in in-app conversions no longer planned","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/10/bidding-enforcement-for-conversion.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-10-08"}],"id":"2025-05-27-conversion-environment-requirement-changed"},{"date":"2025-05-27","effective_date":"2025-05-27","product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Brand inclusions and exclusions moved into the AI Max settings panel for new Search campaigns","summary":"Starting May 27, 2025, brand settings in new Search campaigns live inside the AI Max panel, so advertisers must enable AI Max to add new brand inclusion or exclusion lists. Existing brand lists on legacy campaigns can still be kept or removed.","details":"Google's help article states \"An update starting 27 May 2025 will move brand settings to the AI Max settings panel.\" Brand inclusions for broad match began upgrading into AI Max on the same date.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Apply brand inclusions to Search campaigns","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/14453047","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-27"},{"title":"Google Ads moves brand controls under AI Max in new search campaigns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-brand-controls-ai-max-new-search-campaigns-458954","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-07-18"}],"id":"2025-05-27-brand-controls-moved-into-ai-max"},{"date":"2025-05-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Customer Match lists could target Search with only 100 active visitors instead of 1,000","summary":"Navah Hopkins highlighted that the minimum list size for Customer Match targeting on the Search Network had dropped to 100 active users, with the help doc updated to match. Google did not announce the change.","details":"Google later lowered the minimum to 100 across Search, YouTube and Display for remarketing lists as well (see December 24 entry).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Lowers Customer Lists To 100 Visitors For Targeting On Search Campaigns","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-100-customer-lists-39472.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-05-26"}],"id":"2025-05-26-customer-lists-minimum-100-search"},{"date":"2025-05-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Price benchmark coverage in Merchant Center expanded to 34x more products","summary":"Google expanded the price benchmarks report in Merchant Center to cover roughly 34 times more products and reach about four times as many merchants, giving retailers more pricing comparison data.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Improved Price Benchmarks in Google Merchant Center","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-05/improved-price-benchmark-in-google-merchant-center/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-05-23"}],"id":"2025-05-23-improved-price-benchmarks"},{"date":"2025-05-23","effective_date":"2025-06-03","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Debt services verification folded into Financial Services verification in six countries","summary":"Advertisers offering debt services targeting Australia, Brazil, Germany, Ireland, South Korea and Spain must complete the Financial Services verification from June 3, 2025. Already-certified advertisers did not need to re-verify.","details":"","regions":"Australia; Brazil; Germany; Ireland; South Korea; Spain","sources":[{"title":"Update to Verification Process for Debt Services (June 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16292878","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-05-23"}],"id":"2025-05-23-debt-services-verification-folded-into-financial"},{"date":"2025-05-22","effective_date":"2025-07-21","product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"EU User Consent Policy compliance deadline set for July 21, 2025 with suspension of ad features","summary":"Google emailed advertisers with violating sites that they must comply with the EU User Consent Policy by July 21, 2025 or lose personalized and non-personalized ads, remarketing and conversion tracking on those sites. Affects advertisers with EEA/UK traffic.","details":"Google's notice ('[Action Required] Compliance with Google's EU User Consent Policy') listed violating sites and asked advertisers to submit a compliance plan. Non-compliant sites lose personalized and non-personalized ads, remarketing and conversion tracking after July 21, 2025. The policy underpins Consent Mode requirements for EEA/UK traffic.","regions":"EU/UK","sources":[{"title":"Google Sets July Deadline for EU Consent Compliance or Face Suspension","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-05/google-sets-july-deadline-for-eu-consent-compliance-or-face-suspension/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-05-22"}],"id":"2025-05-22-eu-user-consent-policy-compliance-deadline"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Shoppable YouTube Masthead launched globally on mobile","summary":"The YouTube Masthead can now feature a product carousel on mobile, letting retailers showcase products on the YouTube homepage placement. Available globally.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-05-21 (Google Ads Help); also covered by Search Engine Journal.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Here's Everything That Was Announced At Google Marketing Live 2025","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-marketing-live-2025/548096/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2025-06-05"}],"id":"2025-05-21-youtube-masthead-shopping"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"App","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Web and app integrations launched in Google Ads, with web-to-app install measurement coming","summary":"Google Ads now offers unified conversion tracking and bidding across web and app, and announced upcoming measurement of app installs driven by web campaigns. Web to App Connect expanded to YouTube, Hotel Ads and Demand Gen.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-05-21 (Google Ads Help); also covered by Search Engine Journal.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Here's Everything That Was Announced At Google Marketing Live 2025","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-marketing-live-2025/548096/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2025-06-05"},{"title":"Google Ads Highlights of 2025","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16756291","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-12-08"}],"id":"2025-05-21-web-and-app-integrations"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Video ads rolling out on Search, Image Search and Shopping results in the US and Canada","summary":"Advertisers can supply high-quality video assets that Google surfaces as video ads within Search, Image Search and Shopping results. Rolling out soon in the US and Canada.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-05-21 (Google Ads Help); also covered by Search Engine Journal, PPC News Feed.","regions":"US, Canada","sources":[{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Here's Everything That Was Announced At Google Marketing Live 2025","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-marketing-live-2025/548096/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2025-06-05"},{"title":"GML 2025: Google Tests Video Ads in Search and Shopping Results","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-05/gml-2025-google-tests-video-ads-in-search-and-shopping-results/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-05-21"}],"id":"2025-05-21-video-ads-on-search-shopping"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"App","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Target ROAS bidding launched globally for iOS App campaigns","summary":"iOS App campaigns can now use Target ROAS bidding, using AI to predict conversion value from privacy-preserving signals. Available globally.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-05-21 (Google Ads Help); also covered by Search Engine Journal.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Here's Everything That Was Announced At Google Marketing Live 2025","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-marketing-live-2025/548096/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2025-06-05"}],"id":"2025-05-21-troas-ios-app-campaigns"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Beta","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Smart Bidding Exploration launched in global beta for Search campaigns","summary":"Smart Bidding Exploration is a campaign setting that gives Target ROAS bidding flexibility to pursue conversions from a wider range of search query categories, including lower-volume queries Smart Bidding would otherwise underbid. Google called it its biggest bidding update in over a decade and reported 18% more unique converting query categories and 19% more conversions.","details":"Available globally in beta at launch. It builds on AI Max for Search and applies flexible ROAS targets; Google's internal data covers March 11 to April 11, 2025.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Expand your universe of conversions with Smart Bidding Exploration","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/smart-bidding-exploration-ai/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Here's Everything That Was Announced At Google Marketing Live 2025","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-marketing-live-2025/548096/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2025-06-05"}],"id":"2025-05-21-smart-bidding-exploration-beta"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Product Studio \"Generated for you\" launched with one-click publishing of AI images and videos","summary":"Product Studio's \"Generated for you\" feature proactively creates brand and product images and videos (powered by Imagen and Veo) that merchants can accept, download or publish across Google in one click. It launched for eligible merchants in the US, UK, Canada, India and Japan.","details":"Announced at Google Marketing Live on May 21, 2025. By July 2025 merchants reported seeing AI-generated image proposals with custom backgrounds and improved resolution in Merchant Center, with proposals expiring if not reviewed.","regions":"US, UK, Canada, India, Japan","sources":[{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"AI-Generated Product Images \"Generated for You\" in Google Merchant Center","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-07/ai-generated-product-images-generated-for-you-in-google-merchant-center/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-07-14"}],"id":"2025-05-21-product-studio-generated-for-you"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Launch","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"A/B testing of product titles, images and descriptions announced for Merchant Center","summary":"Google said Merchant Center would let merchants test alternative product titles, images and descriptions to find the best-performing content, alongside reviewing content suggestions and promotion recommendations.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Here's Everything That Was Announced At Google Marketing Live 2025","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-marketing-live-2025/548096/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2025-06-05"}],"id":"2025-05-21-product-data-ab-testing-announced"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Product-centric image generation rolled out in Google Ads and Merchant Center","summary":"Advertisers can generate lifestyle imagery that shows their actual products in new scenes using Google AI, rolling out in Google Ads and Merchant Center and coming to Asset Studio.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-05-21 (Google Ads Help); also covered by Google Ads & Commerce Blog.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"4 new ways Google AI powers creativity","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-ai-ads-creative/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-05-21"}],"id":"2025-05-21-product-centric-image-generation"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"One-click exclusion of users who recently interacted with your brand announced for Performance Max","summary":"Google announced a Performance Max beta, coming later in 2025, that excludes users who recently searched for or interacted with the advertiser's brand so budget focuses on prospecting.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-05-21 (Google Ads Help); also covered by Search Engine Journal.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Here's Everything That Was Announced At Google Marketing Live 2025","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-marketing-live-2025/548096/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2025-06-05"}],"id":"2025-05-21-pmax-exclude-recent-brand-interactions"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Announced","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Marketing Advisor browser agent announced for later in 2025","summary":"Marketing Advisor is a Chrome-based AI agent that gives step-by-step guidance across Google properties, identifies missing tags, and offers proactive assessments with voice interaction. Announced as coming later in 2025.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-05-21 (Google Ads & Commerce Blog); also covered by Google Ads Help.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Drive peak campaign performance with new agentic capabilities","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/ai-agents-marketing-advisor/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"}],"id":"2025-05-21-marketing-advisor-announced"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Insights Finder expanded to surface top and trending YouTube creators for a topic or audience","summary":"Insights Finder now recommends creators by topic, category or audience with engagement metrics and content deep dives, to help advertisers activate creator partnerships. Available in 20+ markets.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-05-21 (Google Ads Help); also covered by Search Engine Journal.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Here's Everything That Was Announced At Google Marketing Live 2025","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-marketing-live-2025/548096/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2025-06-05"}],"id":"2025-05-21-insights-finder-creators"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Incrementality testing thresholds lowered with improved Bayesian methodology","summary":"Google reduced the spend and conversion minimums for conversion lift and incrementality tests and improved the statistical methodology, making experiments viable at around $5,000 instead of roughly $100,000. Google cited lower thresholds in place from February-March 2025.","details":"Further reductions and faster results were announced November 11, 2025.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Get more from your ads with the latest AI measurement tools","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-ai-ad-campaign-measurement-update/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Here's Everything That Was Announced At Google Marketing Live 2025","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-marketing-live-2025/548096/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2025-06-05"}],"id":"2025-05-21-incrementality-testing-lower-thresholds"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Agentic Google Ads expert launched in beta to build campaigns and apply recommendations","summary":"An AI agent inside Google Ads can suggest keywords and creative, build themed ad groups with assets and implement recommendations in conversation. Available in beta; later rebranded Ads Advisor.","details":"A companion Google Analytics expert entered limited beta and a cross-website Marketing Advisor Chrome extension was announced for later in 2025.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Drive peak campaign performance with new agentic capabilities","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/ai-agents-marketing-advisor/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Here's Everything That Was Announced At Google Marketing Live 2025","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-marketing-live-2025/548096/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2025-06-05"}],"id":"2025-05-21-google-ads-expert-agent-beta"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Generative video extension launched to reformat videos into all aspect ratios","summary":"Google AI can now automatically extend and resize a video asset into every required aspect ratio (outpainting), starting with App campaigns and expanding to more campaign types later in 2025. Available globally.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-05-21 (Google Ads Help); also covered by Google Ads & Commerce Blog.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"4 new ways Google AI powers creativity","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-ai-ads-creative/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-05-21"}],"id":"2025-05-21-generative-video-extension"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"New customer acquisition goal announced for Demand Gen campaigns","summary":"Demand Gen will support a new customer acquisition goal so advertisers can bid higher for, or only for, new customers, matching the option already available in Search, Shopping and Performance Max. Announced as coming soon globally.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-05-21 (Google Ads Help); also covered by Google Ads & Commerce Blog.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Get more from your ads with the latest AI measurement tools","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-ai-ad-campaign-measurement-update/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-05-21"}],"id":"2025-05-21-demand-gen-new-customer-acquisition-goal"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Maps inventory (Promoted Pins) announced for Demand Gen campaigns","summary":"Demand Gen will be able to reach customers on Google Maps through Promoted Pins, adding Maps to its YouTube, Discover, Gmail and Display inventory. Announced as coming soon.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-05-21 (Google Ads Help); also covered by Search Engine Journal, PPC News Feed.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Here's Everything That Was Announced At Google Marketing Live 2025","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-marketing-live-2025/548096/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2025-06-05"},{"title":"Promoted Pins Open Up for Demand Gen Campaigns","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-05/promoted-pins-open-up-for-demand-gen-campaigns/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-05-21"}],"id":"2025-05-21-demand-gen-maps-promoted-pins"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Data Manager confirmed globally available in Google Ads with new connectors and an API on the way","summary":"Data Manager, the hub for connecting first-party data sources such as BigQuery, HubSpot, Salesforce, Shopify, Sheets and Zoho to Google Ads, is now available globally, with Data Manager recommendations and a Data Manager API announced as coming soon.","details":"Remarketing tag data reporting also moved into Data Manager in June 2025. The Data Manager API launched December 9, 2025.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Get more from your ads with the latest AI measurement tools","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-ai-ad-campaign-measurement-update/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"}],"id":"2025-05-21-data-manager-globally-available"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Creator partnerships hub launched in Google Ads in 20+ markets","summary":"A creator partnerships hub inside Google Ads lets advertisers manage YouTube creator collaborations, link creator content and run partnership ads directly. Available in more than 20 markets at launch.","details":"A first look at the Creator Partnerships section had been reported in March 2025.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Here's Everything That Was Announced At Google Marketing Live 2025","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-marketing-live-2025/548096/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2025-06-05"}],"id":"2025-05-21-creator-partnerships-hub"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Brand profile management on Search announced for Merchant Center","summary":"Google announced that brands could manage their Search brand profile (story, visuals, videos and offerings) from Merchant Center, in addition to Google Business Profile. Availability was described as coming soon globally.","details":"Announced at Google Marketing Live on May 21, 2025. Brand Profiles began appearing in Merchant Center Next for select accounts in September 2025 (see separate entry).","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Here's Everything That Was Announced At Google Marketing Live 2025","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-marketing-live-2025/548096/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2025-06-05"}],"id":"2025-05-21-brand-profile-management-in-merchant-center"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Attributed branded searches metric introduced to quantify brand search lift from video ads","summary":"A new attributed branded searches metric shows how many branded searches on Google and YouTube resulted from video ad exposure, giving upper-funnel campaigns a measurable outcome. Available shortly, globally.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-05-21 (Google Ads Help); also covered by Search Engine Journal.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Here's Everything That Was Announced At Google Marketing Live 2025","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-marketing-live-2025/548096/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2025-06-05"}],"id":"2025-05-21-attributed-branded-searches"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Asset Studio announced as a single creative workspace in Google Ads","summary":"Asset Studio brings image and video generation (Imagen and Veo), editing, variations and asset management into one destination inside Google Ads. Announced as launching soon globally.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-05-21 (Google Ads Help); also covered by Google Ads & Commerce Blog, Search Engine Journal.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"4 new ways Google AI powers creativity","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-ai-ads-creative/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Here's Everything That Was Announced At Google Marketing Live 2025","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-marketing-live-2025/548096/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2025-06-05"}],"id":"2025-05-21-asset-studio-announced"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"AI Mode shopping experience and virtual try-on announced, powered by Merchant Center product data","summary":"Google announced a new shopping experience in AI Mode that combines Gemini with the Shopping Graph, plus virtual try-on for apparel listings in Search Labs. Both draw on merchants' Merchant Center product data, making feed quality the entry point to AI shopping surfaces.","details":"Announced at Google I/O and recapped in the Google Marketing Live 2025 roundup on May 21, 2025. AI Mode shopping was described as coming soon in the US; virtual try-on rolled out in Search Labs in the US.","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"}],"id":"2025-05-21-ai-mode-shopping-and-virtual-try-on"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"AI-powered growth insights and recommendations announced for Merchant Center","summary":"At Google Marketing Live 2025 Google said Merchant Center would soon surface personalized, AI-generated growth insights, such as seasonal moments, trending products, discount suggestions with forecasted impact and pre-filled promotions, with merchants keeping control to review or approve changes.","details":"The announcement described three phases: seasonal preparation insights, easy-to-apply recommendations, and improved discovery via search, filtering and AI-generated images and videos.","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Enable AI-powered growth and insights","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16291351?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Merchant Center announcements change log","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/announcements/6192467?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-11"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"}],"id":"2025-05-21-ai-growth-insights-announced"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"AI Essentials 2.0 assessment added to Google Ads","summary":"AI Essentials 2.0 scores accounts on data strength, content strength, performance strength and agentic readiness, and is available in Google Ads.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"}],"id":"2025-05-21-ai-essentials-2"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Search and Shopping ads in AI Overviews expanded to desktop in the US","summary":"Ads inside AI Overviews, previously mobile-only in the US, launched on desktop for US users, with expansion to select countries on mobile and desktop in English planned later in 2025. Advertisers running Performance Max, Shopping, Search with broad match and AI Max are eligible automatically.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-05-22); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-05-22). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"More opportunities for your business on Google Search","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-search-ai-brand-discovery/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Google expands ads in AI Overviews, AI Mode to desktop","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-ai-overviews-ai-mode-desktop-455733","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Ads arrive in Google AI Overviews – here's what they look like","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-ai-overviews-spotted-455889","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-05-22"},{"title":"Google Ads Come To AI Mode & AI Overviews Desktop","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-mode-ai-overviews-desktop-ads-39449.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-05-22"}],"id":"2025-05-21-ads-in-ai-overviews-desktop"},{"date":"2025-05-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Ads began testing in AI Mode in the US","summary":"Google started testing Search and Shopping ads within AI Mode responses, appearing below or integrated into the AI answer where relevant. Available in English in the US to eligible Performance Max, Shopping, broad match Search and AI Max campaigns.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-05-21 (Google Ads & Commerce Blog); also covered by Google Ads Help, Search Engine Land.","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"More opportunities for your business on Google Search","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-search-ai-brand-discovery/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Google expands ads in AI Overviews, AI Mode to desktop","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-ai-overviews-ai-mode-desktop-455733","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-05-21"}],"id":"2025-05-21-ads-in-ai-mode-testing"},{"date":"2025-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Performance Max","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"PMax image enhancement and landing page image settings launched UI-only; API control deferred to v21","summary":"New PMax image optimization settings (Image Enhancements enabled by default; Landing Page Images tied to the account-level Dynamic Image setting) could initially only be managed in the Google Ads UI; API control arrived in v21.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"New UI-Only Image Optimization Features for Performance Max Campaigns","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/05/new-ui-only-image-optimization-features.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-05-20"}],"id":"2025-05-20-pmax-image-optimization-ui-only"},{"date":"2025-05-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Performance graphs gained clickable highlighted sections with contextual explanations","summary":"Thomas Eccel showed that highlighted areas on performance charts can now be clicked to get explanations of cost spikes or conversion drops. Google did not announce the feature.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Graphs Gain Embedded Performance Explanations","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-graphs-performance-explanations-39436.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-05-20"}],"id":"2025-05-20-performance-graph-embedded-explanations"},{"date":"2025-05-19","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"A bug halted spend for campaigns using 'new customers only' bidding; Ads Liaison confirmed and fixed","summary":"Benoit Legendre flagged that campaigns set to bid only for new customers stopped spending from May 15. Google confirmed the bug, suggested temporarily switching to 'new and existing customers', and Ginny Marvin confirmed the fix on May 19.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-05-19); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-05-19). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads bug stalls spending for New Customer Acquisition","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-bug-new-customer-acquisition-455656","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-05-19"},{"title":"Google Ads Spending Bug With New Customer Acquisition Since May 15","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-spending-bug-may-15-39437.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-05-19"}],"id":"2025-05-19-new-customer-acquisition-only-spend-bug"},{"date":"2025-05-18","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"In-graph insights added to Overview charts to explain performance spikes and drops","summary":"Overview graphs now highlight notable changes in cost, clicks or conversions; clicking a highlighted section shows automatic explanations including search interest shifts and ad group or keyword drivers.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"In-Graph Insights Now Live in Google Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-05/in-graph-insights-now-live-in-google-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-05-18"}],"id":"2025-05-18-in-graph-insights"},{"date":"2025-05-16","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Device targeting rolled out in Performance Max campaign settings","summary":"Performance Max campaigns can now be limited to computers, mobile phones, tablets or TV screens, enabling use cases such as excluding TV traffic for B2B advertisers. Follows the beta announced in January.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-05-16 (PPC News Feed); also covered by Google Ads & Commerce Blog.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Performance Max Gets Device Targeting Control","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-05/performance-max-gets-device-targeting-control/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-05-16"},{"title":"Kick off 2025 with new Performance Max features","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/new-performance-max-features-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-01-23"}],"id":"2025-05-16-pmax-device-targeting-rolling-out"},{"date":"2025-05-15","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Peak Points ad format launched in beta, using Gemini to place ads at high-engagement moments on YouTube","summary":"Peak Points uses Gemini to identify the most engaging moments in YouTube videos and place ads immediately after them. Announced at Brandcast in beta, with Google Marketing Live listing availability in English in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-05-15 (Google Keyword Blog); also covered by Google Ads Help, Social Media Today.","regions":"US, UK, Canada, Australia","sources":[{"title":"YouTube's Brandcast 2025 recap: News and announcements","url":"https://blog.google/products/youtube/brandcast-2025-recap/","publisher":"Google Keyword Blog","date":"2025-05-15"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"YouTube Outlines New Ad Options and Usage Stats at BrandCast 2025","url":"https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/youtube-brandcast-2025-peak-points-connected-tv-updates/748300/","publisher":"Social Media Today","date":"2025-05-15"}],"id":"2025-05-15-youtube-peak-points"},{"date":"2025-05-15","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Launch","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Shoppable CTV launched for Demand Gen and Performance Max ads on YouTube connected TV","summary":"Shoppable CTV lets viewers browse and engage with products from the big screen, including via QR codes, for Demand Gen and Performance Max campaigns serving on YouTube CTV. Announced at Brandcast and listed as rolling out globally within a few months at Google Marketing Live.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-05-15 (Google Keyword Blog); also covered by Google Ads Help, Social Media Today.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"YouTube's Brandcast 2025 recap: News and announcements","url":"https://blog.google/products/youtube/brandcast-2025-recap/","publisher":"Google Keyword Blog","date":"2025-05-15"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"YouTube Outlines New Ad Options and Usage Stats at BrandCast 2025","url":"https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/youtube-brandcast-2025-peak-points-connected-tv-updates/748300/","publisher":"Social Media Today","date":"2025-05-15"}],"id":"2025-05-15-shoppable-ctv"},{"date":"2025-05-15","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Server-side Tag Manager image 3.0.0 upgraded runtime to Node.js 22","summary":"The server-side tagging container image moved to gcr.io/distroless/nodejs22-debian12; operators of self-hosted server containers should redeploy to pick up the new base image.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Server-side tagging release notes","url":"https://developers.google.com/tag-platform/tag-manager/server-side/release-notes","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-05-15"}],"id":"2025-05-15-sgtm-3-0-node-22"},{"date":"2025-05-15","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Immersive edge-to-edge Masthead on CTV introduced for the YouTube homepage","summary":"The YouTube Masthead gained an immersive, animated edge-to-edge canvas on connected TV, alongside Cultural Moments sponsorship packages announced at Brandcast 2025.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-05-15 (Google Keyword Blog); also covered by Social Media Today.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"YouTube's Brandcast 2025 recap: News and announcements","url":"https://blog.google/products/youtube/brandcast-2025-recap/","publisher":"Google Keyword Blog","date":"2025-05-15"},{"title":"YouTube Outlines New Ad Options and Usage Stats at BrandCast 2025","url":"https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/youtube-brandcast-2025-peak-points-connected-tv-updates/748300/","publisher":"Social Media Today","date":"2025-05-15"}],"id":"2025-05-15-masthead-on-ctv"},{"date":"2025-05-14","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"A new 'Audience Builder' workflow replaced the audience UI for Demand Gen, Video and PMax","summary":"Jyll Saskin Gales documented the new Audience Builder flow, noting limits such as one audience per ad group and restrictions on combined segments and non-remarketing exclusions. Advertisers noticed the interface change without an announcement.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Audience Builder: What the heck is that?","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-audience-builder-455351","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-05-14"}],"id":"2025-05-14-audience-builder-workflow-appears"},{"date":"2025-05-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Google Business Profile calls added as a hosted conversion action","summary":"A new hosted conversion action tracks completed calls from Google Business Profile listings rather than call clicks, giving local advertisers a more accurate call conversion.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Business Profile Calls Now Tracked as Real Conversions","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-05/google-business-profile-calls-now-tracked-as-real-conversions/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-05-10"}],"id":"2025-05-10-gbp-calls-conversion-action"},{"date":"2025-05-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Retired","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Asset performance labels (Best, Good, Low) dropped in favour of full asset metrics","summary":"Google stopped showing performance labels on ad assets, directing advertisers to the expanded asset-level metrics such as impressions, clicks, cost and conversions instead.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Drops Performance Labels in Favor of Full Metric Analysis","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-05/google-drops-performance-labels-in-favor-of-full-metric-analysis/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-05-10"}],"id":"2025-05-10-asset-performance-labels-removed"},{"date":"2025-05-09","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Search ads tested showing Facebook and TikTok follower counts beneath the ad","summary":"Anthony Higman spotted sponsored listings displaying an advertiser's social follower counts, and Sachin Patel later found a design variation. Google did not confirm the test.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads With Number Of Followers","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-with-follower-counts-39375.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-05-09"}],"id":"2025-05-09-social-follower-counts-in-search-ads-test"},{"date":"2025-05-08","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Google Ads charts gained stacked bar, stacked column, combo and stacked-area options","summary":"Thomas Eccel posted screenshots of new chart types (stacked bar/column, combo, stacked area, 100% stacked area) available in the interface. Google did not announce them.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Launches New Charts: Bar, Column and Time-Series","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-launches-new-charts-39366.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-05-08"}],"id":"2025-05-08-new-chart-types-stacked-combo"},{"date":"2025-05-08","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"First-party mode renamed Google tag gateway for advertisers and opened to everyone with Cloudflare","summary":"Google tag gateway for advertisers (formerly first-party mode) became generally available, supporting both client-side and server-side tags and letting advertisers select a domain alongside the tag ID; Cloudflare shipped a one-click integration free on all plans, with early testers reporting an average 11% uplift in data signals.","details":"The gateway serves gtag.js/gtm.js and measurement requests from the advertiser's own domain via a reverse proxy, improving durability against browser restrictions and ad blockers without maintaining a server-side container. Later integrations: Akamai (Jan 2026), Google Cloud (beta Jan 2026, GA Jun 2026), Fastly and automated Akamai (May 2026), Amazon CloudFront (Jun 2026).","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Release notes - Tag Manager Help","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/4620708","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2025-05-08"},{"title":"Set up Google tag gateway for advertisers in the Google tag with Cloudflare","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16061406","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-08"},{"title":"First-party tags in seconds: Cloudflare integrates Google tag gateway for advertisers","url":"https://blog.cloudflare.com/google-tag-gateway-for-advertisers/","publisher":"Cloudflare Blog","date":"2025-05-08"}],"id":"2025-05-08-google-tag-gateway-for-advertisers-ga"},{"date":"2025-05-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Tag coverage report dropped the 'Suggested' label and auto-removes pages idle for 60 days","summary":"Detected pages are included in the Tag coverage summary without a 'Suggested' label, and pages with no tagging signals for 60 days are removed automatically.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Release notes - Tag Manager Help","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/4620708","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2025-05-07"}],"id":"2025-05-07-tag-coverage-suggested-label-removed"},{"date":"2025-05-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Google tested a large 'Sponsored results' header grouping text ads together on the SERP","summary":"Ian Atkins, then Jamie Press and Brodie Clark, shared screenshots of ads grouped under a single prominent Sponsored results header with an expand option. Google later rolled this layout out broadly in September and confirmed it in October.","details":"See the September 24 entry for the wide rollout and Google's October 13 confirmation.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Search Results Page With Large Sponsored Results Ad Grouping","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-sponsored-results-ad-grouping-39377.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-05-07"}],"id":"2025-05-07-sponsored-results-grouping-header-test"},{"date":"2025-05-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Search ads tested sitelink carousels that include images","summary":"Arpan Banerjee shared screenshots of sitelinks displayed as an image carousel beneath a search ad. It was unclear whether the format was new or a revived test.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Tests Sitelinks Carousels With Images","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-sitelinks-carousels-with-images-39356.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-05-07"}],"id":"2025-05-07-sitelinks-carousel-with-images-test"},{"date":"2025-05-06","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Search campaigns tested a simplified ad-group creation screen modelled on Demand Gen","summary":"Zeeshan Ali shared screenshots of a revamped ad group creation flow in Search campaigns that mirrors the Demand Gen layout. Google did not comment.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Tests New Ad Group Interface For Search Campaigns","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-new-ad-group-interface-39359.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-05-06"}],"id":"2025-05-06-search-ad-group-creation-interface-test"},{"date":"2025-05-06","effective_date":"2025-05-27","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Search","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"AI Max for Search open beta flagged as affecting legacy API controls ahead of full v21 support","summary":"With the AI Max for Search open beta starting May 27, 2025 in the UI, Google warned that enabling then disabling AI Max in the UI could break API management of automatically created assets, campaign-level broad match and brand lists on older versions; full API support was scheduled for v21 in August 2025.","details":"Legacy fields for ACA, campaign-level broad match and standalone brand inclusions/exclusions were slated for removal from the API after v21 adoption. Ad group-level brand inclusions and Locations of Interest pilots outside AI Max ended.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads AI Max for Search campaigns Open Beta","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/05/google-ads-ai-max-for-search-campaigns-open-beta.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-05-06"}],"id":"2025-05-06-ai-max-open-beta-api-impact"},{"date":"2025-05-06","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"AI Max for Search campaigns announced as a global beta rolling out later in May","summary":"AI Max is a one-click setting for existing Search campaigns that bundles search term matching (broad match plus keywordless targeting), text customisation and final URL expansion, with controls for locations of interest, brand inclusions and exclusions, URL parameters and asset removal. Google claims a typical 14% lift in conversions or value at similar CPA/ROAS.","details":"Rollout to accounts began in late May 2025 with completion targeted for early Q3. Search term reports gained headline and URL columns for AI Max traffic, and locations of interest can be set at the ad group level.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Unlock next-level performance with AI Max for Search campaigns","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/google-ai-max-for-search-campaigns/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-05-06"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Google Ads begins rolling out AI Max for Search","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-ai-max-search-spotted-456195","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-05-29"}],"id":"2025-05-06-ai-max-for-search-beta"},{"date":"2025-05-05","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Shopping ads tested a green 'Lowest in 30 days' price label","summary":"Sachin Patel spotted a green label in Shopping carousels indicating a product is at its lowest price of the past 30 days. Google did not confirm the test.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Shopping Ads Tests Label For Lowest In 30 Days","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-shopping-ads-with-lowest-in-30-days-label-39349.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-05-05"}],"id":"2025-05-05-shopping-ads-lowest-in-30-days-label-test"},{"date":"2025-05-05","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"API & Tools","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"2025 Google Ads API release schedule revised: v20_1 promoted to major v21, v21 renamed v22","summary":"Google changed its 2025 plan so that the planned v20_1 minor release became major version v21 (Aug/Sep 2025), the planned v21 became v22 (Oct/Nov 2025), and minor releases v19_2 and v20_1 were added alongside v21. Projected sunsets: v20 June 2026, v21 August 2026, v22 October 2026.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to the 2025 Google Ads API release schedule","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/05/update-to-2025-google-ads-api-release.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-05-05"}],"id":"2025-05-05-release-schedule-update"},{"date":"2025-05-02","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Performance Max search themes limit doubled from 25 to 50 per asset group","summary":"The maximum number of search themes per Performance Max asset group increased from 25 to 50, rolling out gradually across accounts. Google's 2025 highlights page later confirmed the new limit.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-05-02); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-05-05). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads expands Search Themes limit in Performance Max","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-expands-search-themes-limit-in-performance-max-454925","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-05-02"},{"title":"Google doubles search themes limit for performance max campaigns","url":"https://ppc.land/google-doubles-search-themes-limit-for-performance-max-campaigns/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-05-02"},{"title":"Google Ads Highlights of 2025","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16756291","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-12-08"},{"title":"Google Ads PMax Search Themes Tests 50 Limit (Up From 25)","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-pmax-search-themes-50-limit-39348.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-05-05"}],"id":"2025-05-02-pmax-search-themes-limit-50"},{"date":"2025-05-02","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Measurement and data source diagnostics made available across Google ad products","summary":"Google introduced diagnostics that check whether tags and data sources are set up correctly across several Google ads solutions, surfacing issues that weaken conversion measurement.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Four new ways we're helping marketers improve data strategies and app management","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/marketers-data-strategy-app-management/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-05-02"}],"id":"2025-05-02-measurement-diagnostics"},{"date":"2025-05-02","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"App","type":"Measurement","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"On-device conversion measurement expanded to use de-identified app event data for iOS App campaigns","summary":"Google extended on-device conversion measurement for iOS App campaigns to use de-identified, temporary app event data, improving optimisation and reporting without sending granular data off device. Announced May 2 as coming soon and confirmed rolling out in beta at Google Marketing Live; SDK support arrived in June 2025.","details":"Inactive for users in the EEA, UK and Switzerland. Requires Google Analytics for Firebase iOS SDK 11.14.0+ or the GoogleAdsOnDeviceConversion SDK.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Four new ways we're helping marketers improve data strategies and app management","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/marketers-data-strategy-app-management/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-05-02"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"}],"id":"2025-05-02-ios-on-device-conversion-event-data"},{"date":"2025-05-02","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"App","type":"Measurement","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Integrated Conversion Measurement announced for App campaigns with third-party attribution partners","summary":"Integrated Conversion Measurement (ICM) is a new protocol for App campaigns that delivers more real-time, comprehensive reporting by aligning Google Ads with third-party app attribution partners. Announced as coming soon.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-05-02 (Google Ads & Commerce Blog); also covered by Google Ads Help.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Four new ways we're helping marketers improve data strategies and app management","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/marketers-data-strategy-app-management/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-05-02"},{"title":"About Integrated Conversion Measurement for App Campaigns","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16203286","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-02"}],"id":"2025-05-02-integrated-conversion-measurement-apps"},{"date":"2025-05-02","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google tag gateway for advertisers launched to serve Google tags through the advertiser's own infrastructure","summary":"Google tag gateway lets advertisers route Google tags through their own CDN, load balancer or web server without re-tagging, improving measurement resilience. Launched with a one-click Cloudflare integration; Fastly and Google Cloud CDN to follow. Google reported an 11% uplift in signals.","details":"Announced May 2 on the Google Ads Help announcements page and blog, and highlighted at Google Marketing Live as globally available.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Enhance your conversion measurement and ad performance with Google tag gateway for advertisers","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16214371","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-02"},{"title":"Four new ways we're helping marketers improve data strategies and app management","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/marketers-data-strategy-app-management/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-05-02"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"}],"id":"2025-05-02-google-tag-gateway-advertisers"},{"date":"2025-05-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Shopping ads started showing merchant favicons; Ads Liaison confirmed an experiment","summary":"Sachin Patel shared screenshots of favicons next to products in Shopping ads. Ginny Marvin confirmed it was an experiment to show favicons in Shopping ads.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Testing Shopping Ads With Favicons","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-shopping-ads-with-favicons-39338.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-05-01"}],"id":"2025-05-01-shopping-ads-favicons-experiment"},{"date":"2025-05-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"API & Tools","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Merchant API launched Order Tracking and Issue Resolution sub-APIs and raised page size to 1,000","summary":"May 2025 updates added the Order tracking sub-API (shipping estimates and fast-shipping listings), the Issue resolution sub-API (diagnostics and support actions as in the Merchant Center UI), OmnichannelSettings, LfpProviders, GbpAccounts and OnlineReturnPolicy resources, a ProductsUpdate method for partial product updates, and increased maximum pageSize from 250 to 1,000.","details":"Month-level date from Google's latest-updates page. Also announced: future deprecation of the `channel` field for data sources and products, and a normalized `clickPotentialRank` (1-1000) in the productView report from around July 1, 2025.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Merchant API latest updates (May 2025)","url":"https://developers.google.com/merchant/api/latest-updates","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-05-01"}],"id":"2025-05-01-merchant-api-order-tracking-issue-resolution"},{"date":"2025-04-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Beta","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Channel performance reporting announced for Performance Max, in open beta globally by Google Marketing Live","summary":"Performance Max gained a channel performance report showing how the campaign delivers across Search, YouTube, Discover, Gmail, Display, Search partners and Maps, with a campaign-level summary and channel diagnostics. Announced April 30 as coming in a few weeks and confirmed in global beta on May 21.","details":"Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin later named channel performance reporting the top Google Ads launch of 2025. Channel data in the API is available for dates from June 1, 2025.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Channel performance and more reporting coming to Performance Max","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/channel-performance-reporting-coming-to-performance-max/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-04-30"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"},{"title":"Here's Everything That Was Announced At Google Marketing Live 2025","url":"https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-marketing-live-2025/548096/","publisher":"Search Engine Journal","date":"2025-06-05"}],"id":"2025-04-30-pmax-channel-performance-report-beta"},{"date":"2025-04-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Industry-specific verification help articles reorganized","summary":"Google restructured its industry-specific verification articles for organization and readability. No change to verification requirements.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Industry-specific verification articles (April 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16248575","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-04-30"}],"id":"2025-04-30-industry-specific-verification-help-articles-reorganized"},{"date":"2025-04-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Demand Gen review page gained automatic video generation in horizontal, vertical and square formats","summary":"A new section on the Review page of Demand Gen campaign creation offers to generate videos when none has been added. Google builds horizontal, vertical and square versions using the first three headlines as on-screen text, with adjustable brand colours and font plus crop and trim controls.","details":"- Appears on the Review step when a Demand Gen campaign has no video asset.\n- Generated videos use the campaign's first three headlines as on-screen text; brand colours and font can be changed.\n- Videos can be cropped and trimmed via timeline controls.\n- Spotted by Hana Kobzová.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Adds Video Generation to Demand Gen","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-04/google-adds-video-generation-to-demand-gen/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-04-30"}],"id":"2025-04-30-demand-gen-auto-video-generation-review-page"},{"date":"2025-04-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Asset-level reporting expanded to impressions, clicks and cost across Performance Max, Search and Display","summary":"Asset reports, previously limited to conversion metrics, now include impressions, clicks and cost, and the enhanced reporting extends to Search and Display campaigns in addition to Performance Max.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-04-30 (Google Ads & Commerce Blog); also covered by PPC News Feed.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Channel performance and more reporting coming to Performance Max","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/channel-performance-reporting-coming-to-performance-max/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-04-30"},{"title":"Detailed Asset Reporting Rolling Out to PMax, Search and Display","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-05/detailed-asset-reporting-rolling-out-to-pmax-search-and-display/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-05-01"}],"id":"2025-04-30-asset-level-reporting-search-display"},{"date":"2025-04-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"AI-powered natural-language product filtering rolled out on the Merchant Center Products page","summary":"Merchant Center Next gained a \"Search for products\" box that turns plain-language queries (for example, \"Nike products not approved\") into filter chips on the Products page. Filtered views also export correctly when downloaded.","details":"First spotted in April 2025 and reported by Search Engine Land on April 30, 2025; Google published help documentation for the feature in September 2025, when it was still described as available in select accounts.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Merchant Center adds AI-powered product filtering","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-merchant-center-ai-powered-product-filtering-454864","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-04-30"},{"title":"AI-Powered Product Filtering Rolls Out in Merchant Center","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-09/ai-powered-product-filtering-rolls-out-in-merchant-center/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-09-25"}],"id":"2025-04-30-ai-product-filtering-search-for-products"},{"date":"2025-04-30","effective_date":"2025-05-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Ads Transparency policy updated to show payer name alongside advertiser name","summary":"Google began displaying the payment profile name as the payer name for verified advertisers in My Ad Center and the Ads Transparency Center in May 2025; from June 2025 advertisers could edit the displayed payer name from the advertiser verification page under Billing.","details":"Phase 1 (May 2025): payment profile name shown as payer. Phase 2 (June 2025): advertisers can override the displayed payer name.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Ads Transparency Policy (April 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16189141","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-04-30"}],"id":"2025-04-30-ads-transparency-policy-updated-to-show"},{"date":"2025-04-29","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Google tested a Shopping ads layout resembling an image pack instead of the carousel","summary":"Sachin Patel spotted, and Brodie Clark documented, a desktop Shopping ads design that looks like an image pack and expands to reveal more ads. Google did not comment.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Tests New Shopping Ads Design","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-test-new-shopping-ads-design-39326.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-04-29"}],"id":"2025-04-29-shopping-ads-image-pack-layout-test"},{"date":"2025-04-28","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Display","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"View-through conversion weighting control added for Display and Video campaigns","summary":"Advertisers can set the weight of view-through conversions between 1% and 100% for Display and Video campaigns. The setting mainly affects All conversions reporting, though viewable-impression Display campaigns can optimise toward them.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Adjust View-Through Conversion Weight for Display and Video","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-04/adjust-view-through-conversion-weight-for-display-and-video/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-04-28"}],"id":"2025-04-28-view-through-conversion-weighting"},{"date":"2025-04-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 Reports snapshot gained templates (User behavior, Sales and revenue, Marketing performance)","summary":"The Reports snapshot now supports predefined templates and an updated card library so users can quickly configure an overview tailored to their objective.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-04-24"},{"title":"GA4 updates: Snapshot templates added, Aggregate Identifiers improved","url":"https://searchengineland.com/ga4-snapshot-templates-aggregate-identifiers-454640","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-04-25"}],"id":"2025-04-24-ga4-report-snapshot-templates"},{"date":"2025-04-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 began using aggregate identifiers to attribute Google Ads traffic when GCLID is unavailable","summary":"Google Analytics now leverages aggregate identifiers (e.g. gbraid, gad_ parameters) as a fallback so paid Google Ads traffic is attributed to source, medium, campaign and channel even when the click ID cannot be used, such as when users deny ad_user_data consent. Advertisers should keep auto-tagging on and link Ads to Analytics.","details":"Part of a broader April 2025 data-quality push Google described in its help center: aggregate identifiers and smart fallbacks (including manual UTMs) for data completeness, clearer '(data not available)' / '(not set)' labels, a data quality indicator menu, and system-generated annotations when attribution changes shift reported data. Traffic previously mis-labelled as organic can now show as paid Google Ads traffic, so expect step changes in channel reports.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-04-24"},{"title":"[GA4] Aggregate identifiers","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/15612152","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-04-24"},{"title":"Strengthen your marketing strategy with high quality data","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/16182084","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-04-17"},{"title":"Google Analytics 4 fixes data gaps, now flags issues early","url":"https://searchengineland.com/ga4-data-data-completeness-issue-detection-454366","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-04-17"}],"id":"2025-04-24-ga4-aggregate-identifiers-attribution"},{"date":"2025-04-24","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Accelerated checkout launched for Demand Gen campaigns with product feeds in the US","summary":"Demand Gen ads on YouTube in-stream inventory can now send shoppers straight to a merchant checkout page. Merchants supply a checkout URL template in Merchant Center or per-product checkout link attributes. Google cited an 11% lift in conversion value at similar CPA.","details":"","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"A new accelerated checkout experience is now available for Demand Gen Campaigns in the US","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16218300","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-04-24"}],"id":"2025-04-24-demand-gen-accelerated-checkout"},{"date":"2025-04-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Reports gained a hierarchical 'tree table' view showing campaign, ad group and asset relationships","summary":"Thomas Eccel shared the new tree table option that nests campaign, ad group and lower-level rows in a hierarchy instead of a flat table. Google did not announce the rollout, which reached accounts gradually.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-04-23); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-04-24). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads introduces tree table views for enhanced reporting","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-tree-table-views-454535","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-04-23"},{"title":"Google Ads Tree Table Reports View","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-reports-tree-table-view-39300.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-04-24"}],"id":"2025-04-23-tree-table-report-views"},{"date":"2025-04-23","effective_date":"2025-06-04","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"Deprecation","status":"Retired","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API v17 sunset confirmed for June 4, 2025","summary":"Google Ads API v17 requests began failing on June 4, 2025; developers had to upgrade to v18 or later.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads API v17 sunset reminder","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/04/google-ads-api-v17-sunset-reminder.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-04-23"},{"title":"Deprecation and sunset dates","url":"https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/sunset-dates","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-04-23"}],"id":"2025-04-23-ads-api-v17-sunset"},{"date":"2025-04-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Search ads shown at the top of the page became eligible to also compete in bottom-of-page auctions","summary":"Google lifted the restriction limiting an advertiser to a single ad location per results page: relevant ads already appearing at the top can now also compete for bottom positions. Google reported roughly 10% more highly relevant ads and 14% more conversions from bottom ads in testing.","details":"Rolled out after several months of testing. Advertisers should monitor the Top vs. Other segment. A related Unfair Advantage policy clarification took effect April 14, 2025 (covered by the policy changelog).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Improving Search ads relevance lower down the page","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16206862","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-04-21"},{"title":"Search Ads Eligible to Appear at Top and Bottom of Search Results","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-04/search-ads-eligible-to-appear-at-top-and-bottom-of-search-results/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-04-21"}],"id":"2025-04-21-search-ads-top-and-bottom-auctions"},{"date":"2025-04-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"All five Performance Max description slots standardised to a 90-character limit","summary":"Performance Max asset groups no longer have a 60-character short description slot; all five descriptions now allow up to 90 characters.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"PMax Descriptions Now All Have 90 Character Limit","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-04/pmax-descriptions-now-all-have-90-character-limit/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-04-21"},{"title":"Google Ads PMax Campaigns 90 Characters Of Text For All Descriptions","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-pmax-90-characters-39274.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-04-22"}],"id":"2025-04-21-pmax-descriptions-90-chars"},{"date":"2025-04-18","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Campaign-level age exclusions began appearing in Performance Max settings","summary":"Thomas Eccel showed age-bracket exclusion options now visible in Performance Max campaign settings in the web UI. Google had said in January the control was coming and it had appeared in Ads Editor 2.9 first.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-04-21 (PPC News Feed); also covered by Google Ads & Commerce Blog.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads PMax Age Exclusions Rolling Out","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-pmax-age-exclusions-rolling-out-39257.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-04-18"},{"title":"Age Exclusions Now Available in PMAX Campaigns","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-04/age-exclusions-now-available-in-pmax-campaigns/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-04-21"},{"title":"Kick off 2025 with new Performance Max features","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/new-performance-max-features-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-01-23"}],"id":"2025-04-18-pmax-campaign-level-age-exclusions-live"},{"date":"2025-04-16","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API v19.1 released with Demand Gen channel controls and Local Services lead feedback","summary":"The non-breaking v19.1 minor release added ad group-level channel controls for Demand Gen, LocalServicesLeadService.ProvideLeadFeedback(), demo-adjusted reach metrics and Audio Ads retrieval for Video campaigns, Shopping ad overrides for brand exclusions in Performance Max, and google_ads_conversion_customer on account creation.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Announcing v19.1 of the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/04/announcing-v191-of-google-ads-api.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-04-16"},{"title":"Archived release notes (v19.1, 2025-04-16)","url":"https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/archived-release-notes","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-04-16"}],"id":"2025-04-16-ads-api-v19-1-released"},{"date":"2025-04-16","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Admin API added create/get/list/update/delete methods for Reporting Data Annotations","summary":"Five new Admin API v1alpha methods let developers manage report annotations programmatically, matching the annotations feature launched in the GA4 UI in March 2025.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Analytics Admin API changelog","url":"https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/config/admin/v1/changelog","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-04-16"}],"id":"2025-04-16-admin-api-reporting-data-annotations"},{"date":"2025-04-15","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Google began emailing advertisers three-month 'personalised growth plans' pushing broad match and PMax","summary":"Govind Singh Panwar posted an email in which Google promised weekly guidance for three months steering the account toward AI-driven products like broad match and Performance Max. The outreach was not publicly announced.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-04-15); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-04-17). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google sends personalized growth plans to advertisers, pushing AI-driven solutions","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-personalized-growth-plans-454295","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-04-15"},{"title":"Google Ads Personalized Boost Ad Performance Email","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-personalized-ad-boost-emails-39240.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-04-17"}],"id":"2025-04-15-personalized-growth-plan-emails"},{"date":"2025-04-15","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Campaign type picker now shows Performance Max, Shopping and Demand Gen by default; others behind See more","summary":"The campaign type picker was reorganised so Performance Max, Shopping and Demand Gen appear first, while Search, Video, Display, App and other types sit behind a See more link.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Most Campaign Types Hidden Behind \"See More\" Link","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-04/most-campaign-types-hidden-behind-see-more-link/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-04-15"}],"id":"2025-04-15-campaign-types-see-more"},{"date":"2025-04-14","effective_date":"2025-04-30","product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Google TV Masthead opened to US daily fantasy sports and sports betting ads","summary":"From April 30, 2025, DFS and sports betting ads that comply with the gambling policy became eligible for the Google TV Masthead format in the US.","details":"","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Google TV Masthead (format requirements) (April 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16146765","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-04-14"}],"id":"2025-04-14-google-tv-masthead-opened-to-us"},{"date":"2025-04-14","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"YouTube subscriptions and engagements available as Demand Gen campaign goals","summary":"Advertisers whose Google Ads account is linked to a YouTube channel can set YouTube subscriptions or post-view engagements as primary or secondary conversion goals in Demand Gen.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"YouTube Subscriptions as Campaign Goal for Demand Gen","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-04/youtube-subscriptions-as-campaign-goal-for-demand-gen/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-04-14"}],"id":"2025-04-14-demand-gen-youtube-subscriptions-goal"},{"date":"2025-04-11","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Demand Gen performance can now be segmented by network (YouTube, Discover, Gmail, Display)","summary":"A network segment in Demand Gen reporting breaks down results across YouTube, Discover, Gmail, the Display Network and other channels, giving visibility into which surfaces drive performance.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Segment Demand Gen Performance by Network","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-04/segment-demand-gen-performance-by-network/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-04-11"}],"id":"2025-04-11-demand-gen-segment-by-network"},{"date":"2025-04-09","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Video assets for Search ads spotted live on the results page","summary":"Video assets attached to Search campaigns, first seen in the interface in December 2024, began appearing in live Search results. Google later confirmed at Google Marketing Live that video ads on Search, Image Search and Shopping were rolling out in the US and Canada.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-04-09 (PPC News Feed); also covered by Google Ads Help.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Video Assets for Search Spotted Live","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-04/video-assets-for-search-spotted-live/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-04-09"},{"title":"Google Marketing Live 2025: Your roundup of announcements","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16290177","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-05-21"}],"id":"2025-04-09-video-assets-search-spotted"},{"date":"2025-04-09","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Retention goals (win-back and high-value win-back modes) became fully available in Performance Max","summary":"Retention goals, which let advertisers bid more for lapsed customers, graduated from beta to all Performance Max advertisers. Advertisers define what counts as lapsed and can prioritise high-value former customers.","details":"PPC Land documented the full set of customer lifecycle modes on April 8: new customer value, new customer only, high value new customer (beta), win-back and high value win-back.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"More goals and image controls coming to Performance Max","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16127398","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-04-09"},{"title":"Google Performance Max gets new customer goals, image controls","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-performance-max-new-customer-goals-image-controls-454209","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-04-10"},{"title":"Google adds new customer lifecycle targeting options for advertisers","url":"https://ppc.land/google-adds-new-customer-lifecycle-targeting-options-for-advertisers/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-04-14"}],"id":"2025-04-09-pmax-retention-goals-live"},{"date":"2025-04-09","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Performance Max began automatically sourcing images from landing pages, with opt-out controls","summary":"Performance Max now pulls images from the advertiser's landing page to increase ad variety. Advertisers can remove individual assets or opt out entirely at the campaign level.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-04-09 (Google Ads Help); also covered by Search Engine Land.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"More goals and image controls coming to Performance Max","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16127398","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-04-09"},{"title":"Google Performance Max gets new customer goals, image controls","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-performance-max-new-customer-goals-image-controls-454209","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-04-10"}],"id":"2025-04-09-pmax-landing-page-images"},{"date":"2025-04-09","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Image enhancements introduced in Performance Max to auto-crop images for more inventory","summary":"Performance Max can automatically crop existing images to fit additional placements, with uncropping and animation enhancements planned. Advertisers can control the setting.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-04-09 (Google Ads Help); also covered by Search Engine Land.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"More goals and image controls coming to Performance Max","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16127398","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-04-09"},{"title":"Google Performance Max gets new customer goals, image controls","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-performance-max-new-customer-goals-image-controls-454209","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-04-10"}],"id":"2025-04-09-pmax-image-enhancements"},{"date":"2025-04-09","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Customer acquisition cost column added to campaign reporting for new customer goals","summary":"Campaigns using new customer only or new customer value modes now show a dedicated reporting column with customer acquisition cost.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"More goals and image controls coming to Performance Max","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16127398","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-04-09"}],"id":"2025-04-09-pmax-customer-acquisition-cost-column"},{"date":"2025-04-08","effective_date":"2025-07-01","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Deprecation","status":"Retired","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"US sales tax attributes and Merchant Center tax settings retired from July 1, 2025","summary":"Google stopped requiring US merchants to submit sales tax via the tax [tax] and tax category [tax_category] attributes or the Merchant Center tax settings. Google now estimates tax automatically, and offers previously disapproved for tax issues may begin serving.","details":"Announced April 8, 2025 as part of the product data specification update; the requirement ended July 1, 2025. Merchants had to keep submitting tax data until that date. The tax settings section was removed from the Merchant Center UI.","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Merchant Center product data specification update 2025","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16098264?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-04-08"},{"title":"Google Merchant Center unveils key product data specification changes for 2025","url":"https://ppc.land/google-merchant-center-unveils-key-product-data-specification-changes-for-2025/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-04-08"},{"title":"Tax Settings No Longer Needed in U.S. Product Feeds","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-07/tax-settings-no-longer-needed-in-u-s-product-feeds/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-07-01"}],"id":"2025-04-08-us-sales-tax-no-longer-required"},{"date":"2025-04-08","effective_date":"2025-07-01","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Deprecation","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Member prices no longer allowed in price or sale_price; loyalty_program attribute required from July 1, 2025","summary":"From July 1, 2025, Google stopped allowing loyalty member prices in the price [price] or sale price [sale_price] attributes. Merchants must submit member pricing through the loyalty program [loyalty_program] attribute where available.","details":"Announced April 8, 2025 in the annual product data specification update with a July 1, 2025 enforcement date.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Merchant Center product data specification update 2025","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16098264?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-04-08"},{"title":"Google Merchant Center unveils key product data specification changes for 2025","url":"https://ppc.land/google-merchant-center-unveils-key-product-data-specification-changes-for-2025/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-04-08"}],"id":"2025-04-08-member-prices-banned-from-price-attributes"},{"date":"2025-04-08","effective_date":"2025-04-08","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Deprecation","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Price attribute no longer accepted for installment down payments; downpayment sub-attribute required","summary":"As part of the 2025 product data specification update, Google stopped supporting the price [price] attribute for down payments on installment offers. Merchants must use the down payment [downpayment] sub-attribute of installment [installment], with price reflecting the full up-front price.","details":"Effective immediately on April 8, 2025 as part of the annual specification update.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Merchant Center product data specification update 2025","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16098264?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-04-08"},{"title":"Google Merchant Center unveils key product data specification changes for 2025","url":"https://ppc.land/google-merchant-center-unveils-key-product-data-specification-changes-for-2025/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-04-08"}],"id":"2025-04-08-installment-downpayment-subattribute-required"},{"date":"2025-04-08","effective_date":"2025-04-08","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Deprecation","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Certification attribute replaced energy efficiency class attributes for EU-targeted products","summary":"For products targeting EU countries, the certification [certification] attribute replaced the energy efficiency class attributes so both rescaled and non-rescaled EU energy labels can be shown. The older attributes remain valid for Norway, Switzerland and the UK.","details":"Announced in the 2025 product data specification update on April 8, 2025. The product data specification notes that starting April 2025, products required to show graphical energy efficiency labels in the EU should use [certification].","regions":"EU","sources":[{"title":"Merchant Center product data specification update 2025","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16098264?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-04-08"},{"title":"Google Merchant Center Updates EU Energy Labeling Requirements","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-03/google-merchant-center-updates-eu-energy-labeling-requirements/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-03-01"}],"id":"2025-04-08-certification-replaces-energy-efficiency-class-eu"},{"date":"2025-04-08","effective_date":"2025-04-08","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Product-level carrier_shipping and handling/transit business-day attributes added","summary":"Google added carrier shipping [carrier_shipping], shipping handling business days [shipping_handling_business_days] and shipping transit business days [shipping_transit_business_days] so merchants can give more accurate product-level delivery estimates.","details":"Part of the April 8, 2025 product data specification update.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Merchant Center product data specification update 2025","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16098264?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-04-08"},{"title":"Google Merchant Center unveils key product data specification changes for 2025","url":"https://ppc.land/google-merchant-center-unveils-key-product-data-specification-changes-for-2025/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-04-08"}],"id":"2025-04-08-carrier-shipping-and-business-days-attributes"},{"date":"2025-04-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Disclaimer assets beta launched in Performance Max for regulated verticals","summary":"A beta disclaimer asset for Performance Max ensures required legal disclaimers always appear and ads only serve on compatible formats, aimed at finance, health, gambling and similar verticals.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Disclaimers in Performance Max for Sensitive Verticals","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-04/disclaimers-in-performance-max-for-sensitive-verticals/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-04-07"}],"id":"2025-04-07-pmax-disclaimer-assets-beta"},{"date":"2025-04-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 Explore added all filter match types for item-scoped dimensions and more for Audience","summary":"Exploration filters now support all match types for item-scoped dimensions and additional match types for the Audience dimension.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-04-07"},{"title":"[GA4] Exploration filters","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13012015","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-04-07"}],"id":"2025-04-07-ga4-explore-match-types-item-scoped"},{"date":"2025-04-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Account suspension, billing suspension, misrepresentation and ad-network abuse articles clarified","summary":"Google reorganized four policy articles and added examples for readability. No change to enforcement.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Updates to policy information related to account suspension (April 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/15985992","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-04-07"}],"id":"2025-04-07-account-suspension-billing-suspension-misrepresentation-and"},{"date":"2025-04-04","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Tag Diagnostics added 'tag data may be restricted', missing gtag config and missing Google tag alerts","summary":"New diagnostics flag when a CDN such as Cloudflare is detected without first-party mode, when the gtag config command is missing, and when pages have no Google tag; some alerts can now be dismissed.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Release notes - Tag Manager Help","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/4620708","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2025-04-04"},{"title":"Troubleshoot tag issues with Tag Diagnostics","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/14681508","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2025-04-04"}],"id":"2025-04-04-tag-diagnostics-new-alerts"},{"date":"2025-04-03","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Google tested a 'Show more' overlay that loads extra Shopping ads without leaving the SERP","summary":"Sachin Patel captured a test in which a button on the second row of Shopping ads opens an overlay with additional products. A related 'More' button overlaying products from the same site was spotted by Khushal Bherwani days later.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Roundtable (2025-04-03); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-04-11). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Tests Show More Overlay To Load More Ads","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-with-show-more-overlay-39175.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-04-03"},{"title":"Google Ads More Button Overlays More Products In Hover","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-more-button-overlays-more-products-39223.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-04-11"}],"id":"2025-04-03-shopping-ads-show-more-overlay-test"},{"date":"2025-04-02","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Location Manager added to the Shared Library for managing business locations and location groups","summary":"A new Location Manager under Tools > Shared library consolidates business locations, location groups and related settings in one place.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Location Manager Coming to Google Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-04/location-manager-coming-to-google-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-04-02"}],"id":"2025-04-02-location-manager-shared-library"},{"date":"2025-04-02","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 Generated insights (AI explanations of data changes) rolled out inside detailed reports","summary":"AI-powered Generated insights now appear directly in detailed reports, explaining spikes and dips in plain language so users can understand why metrics moved without manual segmentation.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-04-02"},{"title":"[GA4] Generated insights","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/15598263","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-04-02"}],"id":"2025-04-02-ga4-generated-insights-detailed-reports"},{"date":"2025-04-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"API & Tools","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Merchant API added Product Studio (alpha) sub-API and automatic improvements controls","summary":"In April 2025 the Merchant API (then in beta) gained a Product Studio alpha sub-API using generative AI to create and optimize titles and descriptions, AutomaticImprovements and AccountService/AccountRelationship resources in the Accounts sub-API, AutomatedDiscounts price fields on products, and deprecated the taxes and tax_category product fields.","details":"Google's latest-updates page lists changes by month without a specific day; the date above is the first of the month.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Merchant API latest updates (April 2025)","url":"https://developers.google.com/merchant/api/latest-updates","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-04-01"}],"id":"2025-04-01-merchant-api-product-studio-alpha"},{"date":"2025-03-31","effective_date":"2025-04-14","product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"Unfair Advantage policy doc changed to allow one advertiser in both top and bottom ad auctions from April 14","summary":"Navah Hopkins highlighted a support-doc update stating that from April 14, 2025 an advertiser can occupy more than one ad location on a SERP, and Search Engine Land later reported Google would let top-ads advertisers also enter the bottom-ads auction. Google framed it as not violating double-serving rules since restrictions apply within a single ad location.","details":"First reported via the policy document change on March 31; Search Engine Land covered the top-and-bottom auction participation on April 21 and Search Engine Roundtable on April 22.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google To Allow Double Serving Ads In Different Locations On Same Page","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-to-allow-double-serving-ads-39150.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-03-31"},{"title":"Google Ads to show ads in the top ads position, also in the bottom ads position","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-to-show-ads-in-the-top-ads-position-also-in-the-bottom-ads-position-454447","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-04-21"},{"title":"Google To Allow Same Advertiser To Show Ads In Top Ads & Bottom Ads","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-top-bottom-ads-allowed-39276.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-04-22"}],"id":"2025-03-31-same-advertiser-top-and-bottom-ads-allowed"},{"date":"2025-03-31","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 introduced '(data not available)' source/medium value to replace '(not set)' for Cross-network","summary":"A new '(data not available)' value appears when source and medium cannot be determined, improving attribution of Direct-vs-Cross-network traffic; reports show a warning icon when the rate is high.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-03-31"},{"title":"[GA4] (data not available)","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/15509398","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-03-31"}],"id":"2025-03-31-ga4-data-not-available-value"},{"date":"2025-03-31","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Deprecation","status":"Retired","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Enhanced CPC removed from Search and Display campaigns; remaining campaigns moved to Manual CPC","summary":"Effective the week of March 31, 2025, Enhanced CPC is no longer available for Search and Display campaigns. Campaigns not migrated beforehand now run on Manual CPC. Google recommends Maximize conversions, Maximize conversion value or Maximize clicks instead.","details":"Announced in September 2024: new campaigns lost the ECPC option in October 2024 and existing campaigns were migrated in March 2025. ECPC continued to appear in the UI through May 2025 while the transition completed.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"About Enhanced CPC (ECPC)","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2464964","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-03-31"},{"title":"Google Ads To Sunset Enhanced CPC In March 2025","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-to-sunset-enhanced-cpc-38033.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2024-09-09"}],"id":"2025-03-31-enhanced-cpc-removed"},{"date":"2025-03-31","effective_date":"2025-04-28","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Account & Billing","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"New DEVELOPER_TOKEN_INVALID error code introduced for invalid developer tokens from April 28, 2025","summary":"Requests with an invalid developer token return DEVELOPER_TOKEN_INVALID in v19.1 (instead of the generic OAUTH_TOKEN_HEADER_INVALID); versions before v19 return DEVELOPER_TOKEN_NOT_APPROVED. Existing working integrations are unaffected.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads API Introducing New Error Codes for Invalid Developer Tokens Starting April 28, 2025","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/03/google-ads-api-introducing-new-error.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-03-31"}],"id":"2025-03-31-developer-token-invalid-error"},{"date":"2025-03-29","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Campaign diagnostics panel added to the Overview page for Search and Performance Max","summary":"A diagnostics feature in the Overview page flags issues such as limited budget, limited audience reach, poor Ad Strength or suboptimal bidding for Search and Performance Max campaigns and links to recommendations.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Performance Diagnostics Tool Helps Advertisers Optimize Google Search Campaigns","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-03/performance-diagnostics-tool-helps-advertisers-optimize-google-search-campaigns/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-03-29"}],"id":"2025-03-29-campaign-diagnostics-overview"},{"date":"2025-03-28","effective_date":"2025-04-14","product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Unfair advantage policy narrowed to a single ad location, allowing multiple ads per SERP","summary":"Google clarified that the ban on showing more than one ad at a time for the same business applies only within a single ad location. From April 14, 2025 an advertiser could have ads in more than one location on the same results page. Affects all Search advertisers.","details":"Industry coverage noted this could raise competition and costs for smaller advertisers as larger brands occupy multiple SERP positions.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to the Unfair advantage policy (April 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16083544","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-03-28"},{"title":"Google Ads policy update: More ads, new rules","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-policy-update-more-ads-new-rules-453762","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-03-31"}],"id":"2025-03-28-unfair-advantage-policy-narrowed-to-a"},{"date":"2025-03-28","effective_date":"2025-06-01","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Performance Max","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Performance Max campaigns auto-migrated to brand guidelines from May 1, 2025 (API accounts from June 1)","summary":"Google began automatically enabling brand guidelines on Performance Max campaigns using consistent business name and logo assets across asset groups; UI-managed accounts from May 1, 2025, API users from June 1, 2025. Brand assets move from AssetGroupAsset to campaign-level CampaignAsset, so integrations must check Campaign.brand_guidelines_enabled.","details":"The July 14, 2025 follow-up confirmed brand guidelines are enabled by default for new UI-created PMax campaigns, and that from **v21** brand guidelines are enabled by default for API-created campaigns (opt out with `Campaign.brand_guidelines_enabled = false` on creation). `CampaignService.EnablePMaxBrandGuidelines` (max 10 operations per request) migrates existing campaigns manually; the automatic migration was expected to finish by October 30, 2025.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Upcoming Performance Max campaign migration to enable brand guidelines","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/03/upcoming-performance-max-campaign.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-03-28"},{"title":"What you need to know about the business name and logo asset migration in PMax Campaigns","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/07/what-you-need-to-know-about-business.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-07-14"}],"id":"2025-03-28-pmax-brand-guidelines-auto-migration"},{"date":"2025-03-27","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Demand Gen gained platform-comparable conversion columns that isolate view-through attribution","summary":"Hana Kobzová identified new conversion columns for Demand Gen campaigns designed to make results comparable with social platforms by including view-through conversions. Google had not announced the columns.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Demand Gen get new conversion tracking columns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-demand-gen-platform-comparable-453666","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-03-27"}],"id":"2025-03-27-demand-gen-platform-comparable-conversion-columns"},{"date":"2025-03-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Same-day shipping enabled by allowing a minimum handling time of 0 in Merchant Center","summary":"Merchants can now set the minimum handling time to 0 days for orders placed before a cutoff time, so Merchant Center can show same-day shipping estimates in Shopping listings.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Same-Day Shipping Introduced to Merchant Center","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-03/same-day-shipping-just-got-easier-in-gmc/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-03-26"}],"id":"2025-03-26-same-day-shipping-zero-handling-time"},{"date":"2025-03-26","effective_date":"2025-04-23","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Search","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"LOWER_TARGET_ROAS recommendation field corrected to return micros on April 23, 2025","summary":"Since v17, current_average_target_micros on LOWER_TARGET_ROAS recommendations returned whole currency units; from April 23, 2025 it returns true micros in both the Google Ads API and Google Ads scripts, so applications multiplying by 1,000,000 had to be updated.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Upcoming change to LowerTargetRoas recommendations in the Google Ads API and Google Ads scripts","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/03/upcoming-change-to-lowertargetroas.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-03-26"}],"id":"2025-03-26-lower-target-roas-micros-fix"},{"date":"2025-03-26","effective_date":"2025-03-26","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Lottery courier ads prohibited in Texas and New Mexico","summary":"Google's gambling policy was updated to disallow promotion of lottery courier services in Texas and New Mexico, effective immediately.","details":"","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Gambling and games policy (March 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16090550","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-03-26"}],"id":"2025-03-26-lottery-courier-ads-prohibited-in-texas"},{"date":"2025-03-25","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"REST (cURL) code examples added to Google Ads API documentation","summary":"Google added REST examples alongside client-library examples in the API docs for common operations such as creating accounts, listing accessible accounts, managing recommendations and generating keyword ideas, with a public GitHub repo for requests and contributions.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"REST code examples now available for the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/03/rest-code-examples-now-available-for.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-03-25"}],"id":"2025-03-25-rest-code-examples"},{"date":"2025-03-24","effective_date":"2025-04-23","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"EU crypto ads required MiCA CASP licence and Google certification from April 23, 2025","summary":"Crypto exchange and software wallet advertisers targeting any of the 27 EU member states must be licensed as a Crypto-Asset Service Provider under MiCA and certified by Google. National licences in Finland, France and Germany were accepted through country-specific transition periods.","details":"Transition periods for legacy national licences expired on different dates by country; France's DASP transition was closed on July 1, 2026 (see separate entry).","regions":"EU","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Cryptocurrency Advertising Policy in the EU (April 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16089943","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-03-24"}],"id":"2025-03-24-eu-crypto-ads-required-mica-casp"},{"date":"2025-03-24","effective_date":"2025-04-21","product":"Merchant Center","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Merchant Center product click reporting aligned with Google Ads definitions from April 21, 2025","summary":"Google changed Merchant Center to report product clicks using the same definition as Google Ads, reporting interactions separately from clicks. Both current and historical click data in Merchant Center changed; Google Ads reporting was unaffected.","details":"Google notified merchants in March 2025 that the change reflected newer ad formats with different interaction types (clicks for text and Shopping ads, views for video, calls for call assets). The new definitions applied from April 21, 2025.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Merchant Center to align click reporting with Google Ads","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-merchant-center-to-align-click-reporting-with-google-ads-453524","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-03-24"},{"title":"Product Click Reporting in GMC Will Match Google Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-03/product-click-reporting-in-gmc-will-match-google-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-03-01"}],"id":"2025-03-24-click-reporting-aligned-google-ads"},{"date":"2025-03-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Feeds","type":"Deprecation","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Condition attribute restricted: used/refurbished excluded from YouTube, refurbished dropped for Vehicle ads","summary":"Google updated the condition [condition] attribute documentation so that used and refurbished products are excluded from YouTube surfaces (in addition to the existing Demand Gen exclusion), and the refurbished value is no longer supported for Vehicle ads.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"New Limitations for the Condition Feed Attribute in GMC","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-03/new-limitations-for-the-condition-feed-attribute-in-gmc/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-03-23"}],"id":"2025-03-23-condition-attribute-limitations"},{"date":"2025-03-22","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Sitelinks began showing on YouTube in-stream ads on desktop","summary":"YouTube in-stream ads now display sitelinks below the companion banner on desktop, a placement previously limited to mobile.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"YouTube Ads Now Support Sitelinks on Desktop","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-03/youtube-ads-now-support-sitelinks-on-desktop/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-03-22"}],"id":"2025-03-22-youtube-sitelinks-desktop"},{"date":"2025-03-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"Standard search terms report began including Performance Max queries with cost and conversion data","summary":"Hana Kobzová spotted Performance Max search terms appearing in the regular Search terms report with metrics such as cost and conversions, and the ability to add negatives directly. The rollout was gradual and unannounced.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-03-21); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-03-24). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google adds Search Terms visibility to Performance Max campaigns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-adds-search-terms-visibility-to-performance-max-campaigns-453489","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-03-21"},{"title":"Google Ads Search Terms Report Gets PMax Terms","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-search-terms-report-pmax-terms-39108.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-03-24"}],"id":"2025-03-21-search-terms-report-shows-pmax-terms"},{"date":"2025-03-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Performance Max search terms added to the search terms report with negative keywords addable inline","summary":"Performance Max queries began appearing in the standard search terms report with cost and conversion metrics, and negative keywords can be added directly from the report. Google described the rollout as bringing Search-campaign-level granularity to Performance Max.","details":"Spotted rolling out in March 2025; Google confirmed search terms reporting was rolling out in its April 30 Performance Max reporting post and again at Google Marketing Live.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Channel performance and more reporting coming to Performance Max","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/channel-performance-reporting-coming-to-performance-max/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-04-30"},{"title":"Google adds Search Terms visibility to Performance Max campaigns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-adds-search-terms-visibility-to-performance-max-campaigns-453489","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-03-21"},{"title":"Google Ads Search Terms Report Gains Performance Max Terms","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-search-terms-report-pmax-terms-39108.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-03-24"}],"id":"2025-03-21-pmax-search-terms-report"},{"date":"2025-03-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Recommendations page gained a 'Hide all' button to dismiss every recommendation at once","summary":"Boris Beceric noticed a new Hide all control on the Recommendations page, replacing the one-by-one dismissal workflow. Google did not announce it.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Now Lets You Quickly Hide All Recommendations","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-hide-all-recommendations-39102.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-03-21"}],"id":"2025-03-21-hide-all-recommendations-button"},{"date":"2025-03-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 launched annotations on report line graphs, creatable in the UI or Admin API","summary":"Annotations can now be added to line charts in overview, detailed and Advertising reports so teams can mark campaign launches, site changes and other events; they can be created in Google Analytics or via the Admin API.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-03-20"},{"title":"[GA4] Annotations","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/15884203","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-03-20"}],"id":"2025-03-20-ga4-annotations"},{"date":"2025-03-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Reporting","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"ChangeStatus change tracking expanded with new resource types, surfacing as UNKNOWN on older versions","summary":"Google began adding new trackable resource types to the ChangeStatus feature across upcoming API releases; apps on older versions must handle entries with resource type UNKNOWN.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Improved Change Tracking in Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/03/improved-change-tracking-in-google-ads.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-03-20"}],"id":"2025-03-20-changestatus-new-resource-types"},{"date":"2025-03-19","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"First-party mode setup via Cloudflare launched in beta inside Google tag and GTM","summary":"Advertisers can configure first-party mode (later renamed Google tag gateway for advertisers) by connecting a Cloudflare account directly from Google tag or Tag Manager settings, routing tag traffic through their own domain.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Release notes - Tag Manager Help","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/4620708","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2025-03-19"},{"title":"Set up Google tag gateway for advertisers in Google Tag Manager with Cloudflare","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/16061641","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2025-03-19"}],"id":"2025-03-19-first-party-mode-cloudflare-beta"},{"date":"2025-03-19","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Call bid adjustment moved from campaign settings to the call asset level","summary":"The call bid adjustment (interactions bid adjustment) was relocated from the campaign-level Advanced bid adjustments section to the call asset configuration under assets.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Call Bid Adjustment Moves from Campaign Level to Call Asset Level","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-03/call-bid-adjustment-moves-from-campaign-level-to-call-asset-level/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-03-19"}],"id":"2025-03-19-call-bid-adjustment-asset-level"},{"date":"2025-03-14","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Russia ad-suspension language moved into new 'Regional Restrictions' section","summary":"Google relocated the notice about ad suspension in Russia (related to the war in Ukraine) from banner notifications to a new Regional Restrictions section of the Other restricted businesses page. The suspension itself is unchanged.","details":"","regions":"Russia","sources":[{"title":"Update to Regional Restriction Policies (March 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16045360","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-03-14"}],"id":"2025-03-14-russia-ad-suspension-language-moved-into"},{"date":"2025-03-14","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads Editor 2.9 released with MCC-owned labels, PMax age exclusions and Masthead ads","summary":"Editor 2.9 added support for manager-account labels on child-account entities, campaign-level age exclusions and Shopping brand-exclusion overrides for Performance Max, responsive video ad generation and a VRC 1.0 to 2.0 conversion tool, Masthead ad management, multi-tab Google Sheets export, and required macOS 12 or later on Mac.","details":"Date is from PPC News Feed's coverage; the Google Ads Editor help page for 2.9 now redirects to the 'Recent releases' index. Support for Editor 2.9 and earlier ended on March 30, 2026.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Editor version 2.9","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/editor/answer/15965490?hl=en","publisher":"Google Ads Editor Help","date":"2025-03-14"},{"title":"Release of Google Ads Editor 2.9","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-03/release-of-google-ads-editor-2-9/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-03-14"}],"id":"2025-03-14-google-ads-editor-2-9"},{"date":"2025-03-14","effective_date":"2025-03-31","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Gambling ads permitted in Lagos State, Nigeria for operators licensed by the state authority","summary":"From March 31, 2025, operators licensed by the Lagos State Lotteries & Gaming Authority and certified by Google may advertise bingo, lotteries, sports betting, casino and online games in Lagos State.","details":"","regions":"Nigeria (Lagos State)","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy (March 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16054896","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-03-14"}],"id":"2025-03-14-gambling-ads-permitted-in-lagos-state"},{"date":"2025-03-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"\"Search Max\" beta toggle spotted in Search campaign settings ahead of AI Max launch","summary":"A Search Max setting appeared in some Search campaign settings, combining expanded search term matching, text customisation and final URL expansion. Google later announced the feature as AI Max for Search campaigns in May 2025.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-03-12); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-03-13). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Search Max Configuration Spotted Live","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-03/search-max-configuration-spotted-live/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-03-12"},{"title":"Google Ads begins rolling out AI Max for Search","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-ai-max-search-spotted-456195","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-05-29"},{"title":"Google expands Search Max beta to more accounts","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-search-max-beta-expands-453195","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-03-12"},{"title":"Google Ads Search Max Spotted Again","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-search-max-spotted-39050.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-03-13"}],"id":"2025-03-12-search-max-spotted-beta"},{"date":"2025-03-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Performance Max campaign-level negative keyword limit raised from 100 to 10,000","summary":"The cap on campaign-level negative keywords in Performance Max increased from 100 to 10,000, matching Search campaigns. Google confirmed on April 9 that the rollout had begun weeks earlier and was available in all campaigns.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-04-09 (Google Ads Help); also covered by PPC News Feed.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"More goals and image controls coming to Performance Max","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16127398","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-04-09"},{"title":"PMax Negative Keyword Limit Increased from 100 to 10,000","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-03/pmax-negative-keyword-limit-increased-from-100-to-10000/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-03-12"}],"id":"2025-03-12-pmax-negative-keyword-limit-10000"},{"date":"2025-03-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 detailed report tables now show each row's percentage of the total","summary":"Detailed reports display a percentage value on every row indicating its share of the column total, making it easier to see the weight of a channel, campaign or page.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-03-12"},{"title":"Google Analytics adds percentages in reports, issue notifications","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-analytics-percentages-reports-issue-notifications-453234","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-03-13"}],"id":"2025-03-12-ga4-percentage-values-report-tables"},{"date":"2025-03-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 reports flag high rates of missing session_start events with a diagnostic icon","summary":"When a report shows a high rate of missing session_start events, GA4 now displays an icon explaining the issue and linking to resolution guidance.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-03-12"}],"id":"2025-03-12-ga4-missing-session-start-notification"},{"date":"2025-03-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 reports flag high '(not set)' rates with an explanatory diagnostic icon","summary":"Reports with elevated '(not set)' values now show an icon with an explanation of the cause and links to fixes, helping advertisers diagnose tagging or attribution gaps.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-03-12"}],"id":"2025-03-12-ga4-high-not-set-notification"},{"date":"2025-03-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Dismissing a recommendation now prompts advertisers to run it as an experiment instead","summary":"Govind Singh Panwar shared a screenshot showing that when a recommendation such as adding broad match keywords is dismissed, Google Ads now suggests running it as an experiment. No announcement accompanied the change.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Now Suggests Experiments When Dismissing Recommendations","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-experiments-dismiss-recommendations-39042.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-03-12"}],"id":"2025-03-12-dismissed-recommendations-suggest-experiment"},{"date":"2025-03-11","effective_date":"2025-04-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Telemedicine prescription-drug service ads allowed in Indonesia and the Philippines","summary":"Telemedicine providers holding LegitScript Healthcare Merchant Certification and Google certification may promote prescription drug services in Indonesia and the Philippines from April 2025; prescription drugs themselves may not appear in ads or landing pages.","details":"","regions":"Indonesia; Philippines","sources":[{"title":"Update to Healthcare and Medicines Policy (April 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/15957878","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-03-11"}],"id":"2025-03-11-telemedicine-prescription-drug-service-ads-allowed"},{"date":"2025-03-11","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Ad review process clarified to describe AI plus human evaluation and signals used","summary":"Google clarified that policy violations are detected through a combination of AI and human evaluation using signals from ads, accounts, websites, user complaints and third-party data. No enforcement change, but it documents how reviews work for all advertisers.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Clarification of Google Ads Review Process (March 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/15975022","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-03-11"}],"id":"2025-03-11-ad-review-process-clarified-to-describe"},{"date":"2025-03-10","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Message assets (WhatsApp) became available in Performance Max campaigns","summary":"Message assets, previously limited to Search campaigns, appeared in Performance Max, letting advertisers add a WhatsApp number, starter message and call-to-action.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Message Assets Available in Performance Max","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-03/message-assets-available-in-performance-max/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-03-10"}],"id":"2025-03-10-message-assets-performance-max"},{"date":"2025-03-10","effective_date":"2025-04-10","product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"GTM containers automatically load a full Google tag before Ads and Floodlight events from April 10, 2025","summary":"Containers with Google Ads or Floodlight tags load a Google tag first (with the tag's full configured settings) before sending events. Because the auto-loaded tag inherits settings, user-provided data collection can activate where the Google tag allows it and enhanced conversions are on.","details":"GTM already auto-loaded a minimal gtag.js for orphaned Ads/Floodlight events; the change is that from April 10, 2025 the auto-loaded tag carries all settings enabled in the Google tag configuration. GA4 tags are not affected. Advertisers should check user-provided data settings in the Google tag and in Ads/Floodlight before the effective date.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Release notes - Tag Manager Help","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/4620708","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2025-03-10"},{"title":"Clarification On GTM Auto-Loading Google Tag For Ads And Floodlight Events","url":"https://www.simoahava.com/analytics/clarification-on-google-tag-manager-google-tag-update/","publisher":"Simo Ahava","date":"2025-03-12"},{"title":"Google Tag Manager: Auto-Load Google Tag & Enable User-Provided Data","url":"https://stape.io/news/google-tag-manager-update-april-2025","publisher":"Stape","date":"2025-03-13"}],"id":"2025-03-10-gtm-auto-load-google-tag-april-2025"},{"date":"2025-03-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"YouTube Shopping affiliate program dashboards added to Merchant Center Next","summary":"Merchant Center Next gained dedicated YouTube Shopping affiliate dashboards for Analytics, a Creators list and Commissions, letting merchants manage creator partnerships and track affiliate performance inside Merchant Center.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"YouTube Shopping Affiliate Program Live in GMC","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-03/youtube-shopping-affiliate-program-live-in-gmc/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-03-07"}],"id":"2025-03-07-youtube-shopping-affiliate-dashboards"},{"date":"2025-03-07","effective_date":"2025-06-01","product":"Google Analytics","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Deprecation","status":"Retired","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Admin API deprecated sharingWithGoogleAnySalesEnabled; removed from v1beta in June 2025","summary":"The sharingWithGoogleAnySalesEnabled parameter of getDataSharingSettings was deprecated, now always returns false, and was scheduled for removal from Admin API v1beta in June 2025.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Analytics Admin API changelog","url":"https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/config/admin/v1/changelog","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-03-07"}],"id":"2025-03-07-admin-api-sales-sharing-deprecated"},{"date":"2025-03-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Location targeting gained an 'Add locations in bulk' button in the campaign settings UI","summary":"Natasha Kaurra shared before-and-after screenshots of a new bulk-add button in the location targeting interface. Google did not announce the UI change.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Location Targeting New Add Locations In Bulk","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-location-targeting-add-location-in-bulk-39017.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-03-07"}],"id":"2025-03-07-add-locations-in-bulk-button"},{"date":"2025-03-06","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Beta","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"Channel-level PMax reporting surfaced in documentation and event screenshots before Google announced it","summary":"Kirk Williams found documentation for Performance Max channel reporting and Arjan Schoorl shared screenshots from a Google Think event in Amsterdam showing spend split by Search, Display, YouTube and other channels. Google formally announced the report on May 1, 2025.","details":"Google's official launch came in the May 2025 Performance Max update; the beta report began appearing in accounts at the end of May (see separate entry).","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google testing channel reporting for Performance Max campaigns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-testing-channel-reporting-performance-max-453043","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-03-06"},{"title":"Google Ads May Get Channel Reporting For PMax Campaigns","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-pmax-channel-reporting-39021.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-03-07"}],"id":"2025-03-06-pmax-channel-reporting-spotted-in-docs"},{"date":"2025-03-04","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Tag & Tag Manager","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Google tag began using service workers to send data to server-side Tag Manager","summary":"Where available, the Google tag now uses service workers to transmit data to server-side Tag Manager endpoints, improving performance and measurement reliability.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Release notes - Tag Manager Help","url":"https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/4620708","publisher":"Tag Manager Help","date":"2025-03-04"}],"id":"2025-03-04-google-tag-service-workers-sgtm"},{"date":"2025-03-03","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"The same advertiser was seen three times on one SERP (top, local pack, bottom) after policy wording changed","summary":"Anthony Higman documented one advertiser's ad appearing at the top, in the local pack and at the bottom of a single results page, with over 100% top-of-page rate. It followed Google's updated wording that ads can show more than once across different ad locations.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Triple Serving Ads On Same Search Results Page","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-triple-serving-ads-38987.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-03-03"}],"id":"2025-03-03-triple-serving-same-ad-spotted"},{"date":"2025-03-03","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Measurement","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Merchant Center renamed 'Conversion settings' to 'Key event setup'","summary":"Emmanuel Flossie spotted that Merchant Center's Conversion settings page had been renamed Key event setup, matching Google Analytics 4 terminology. Google did not announce the rename.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Merchant Center renames Conversion Settings as Key Event Setup","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-merchant-center-conversion-settings-key-event-setup-452913","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-03-03"}],"id":"2025-03-03-merchant-center-key-event-setup-rename"},{"date":"2025-02-28","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Shopping","type":"Launch","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Vehicle ads expanded to accept RVs and campers","summary":"Google expanded Vehicle ads in Merchant Center to include recreational vehicles and campers. Dealers must hold a valid dealership license in the state, territory or province where the vehicles are located or offered.","details":"Listed in the Merchant Center announcements change log as a Vehicle ads policy update dated February 28, 2025. Eligibility follows the standard Vehicle ads policies; a further US expansion to ATVs, UTVs and non-motorized trailers followed in May 2026.","regions":"US/Canada","sources":[{"title":"Policy update: Vehicle ads will now accept RVs and Campers","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/15989647?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-02-28"},{"title":"Merchant Center announcements change log","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/announcements/6192467?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-11"}],"id":"2025-02-28-vehicle-ads-rvs-campers"},{"date":"2025-02-28","effective_date":"2025-03-14","product":"Google Ads","area":"App","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Personalized ads policy allowed personalization for skill-game, DFS and Rummy App campaigns in India","summary":"Certified advertisers could use ad personalization for App campaigns promoting games of skill, Daily Fantasy Sports and Rummy apps targeting India from March 14, 2025, with full availability by June 2025. This exempted those categories from the gambling sensitive-interest restriction. Reversed in February 2026.","details":"","regions":"India","sources":[{"title":"Update to the Personalized ads policy (March 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/15986478","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-02-28"}],"id":"2025-02-28-personalized-ads-policy-allowed-personalization-for"},{"date":"2025-02-27","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"A 'high value new customer' bidding mode appeared in some PMax accounts ahead of any announcement","summary":"Thomas Eccel found a new option letting advertisers set different bid priorities for high-value new prospects, regular new customers and existing customers in Performance Max. Google had not publicly announced it at the time.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads High Value New Customer Mode Live For Some","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-high-value-new-customer-mode-38970.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-02-27"}],"id":"2025-02-27-high-value-new-customer-mode-live"},{"date":"2025-02-27","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Help doc was updated to say Google runs separate auctions for each ad location; Liaison confirmed","summary":"Anthony Higman spotted a documentation change stating that top ads compete in a separate auction from other placements, so the same advertiser can appear in more than one position. Ginny Marvin said Google has run different auctions for different placements for years and updated the doc for clarity amid ongoing layout experiments.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-02-27); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-02-27). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads run different auctions for each ad location","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-srun-different-auctions-for-each-ad-location-452749","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-02-27"},{"title":"Google Ads Runs Different Auctions For Each Ad Location, Doc Update Says","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-different-auctions-location-38978.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-02-27"}],"id":"2025-02-27-different-auctions-per-ad-location-doc-update"},{"date":"2025-02-27","effective_date":"2025-03-17","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Account creation via CustomerService gained policy error codes and quota limits from March 17, 2025","summary":"Manager accounts below spend or active-child thresholds, or flagged for account-creation policy violations, can no longer create child accounts through CustomerService.CreateCustomerClient; v19 returns dedicated CustomerError codes while older versions return ContextError.OPERATION_NOT_PERMITTED_FOR_CONTEXT, and QuotaError.RESOURCE_EXHAUSTED enforces account creation limits.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Upcoming changes to CustomerService in Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/02/upcoming-changes-to-customerservice-in.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-02-27"}],"id":"2025-02-27-createcustomerclient-policy-errors"},{"date":"2025-02-26","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API v19 released, removing all Feed entities and adding Demand Gen 9:16 images","summary":"v19 removed Feed, FeedMapping, FeedService, AdGroupFeed and feed_placeholder_view in favor of assets, added 9:16 portrait images for Demand Gen, auto-generated enhanced video assets for Performance Max, new DataLinkService methods, and brand guidelines controls for allowlisted accounts.","details":"Highlights from the announcement:\n- Removed all feed-related entities (`Feed`, `FeedMapping`, `FeedService`, `AdGroupFeed`, `feed_placeholder_view`); use assets instead.\n- `DemandGenMultiAssetAdInfo.tall_portrait_marketing_images` for 9:16 images.\n- Automatic generation of enhanced video assets for Performance Max.\n- New `DataLinkService` methods to update/remove YouTube DataLinks.\n- `ValueRuleItineraryAdvanceBookingWindow` supports same-day travel searches.\n- Removed `VIDEO_OUTSTREAM` support.\n- Allowlisted: `CampaignService.EnablePMaxBrandGuidelines`, `Campaign.brand_guidelines`, `Asset.business_message_asset`.\n- New error codes `CustomerError.CREATION_DENIED_INELIGIBLE_MCC` and `CREATION_DENIED_FOR_POLICY_VIOLATION` for account creation policy enforcement.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Announcing v19 of the Google Ads API","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/02/announcing-v19-of-google-ads-api.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-02-26"},{"title":"Archived release notes (v19, 2025-02-26)","url":"https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/archived-release-notes","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-02-26"}],"id":"2025-02-26-ads-api-v19-released"},{"date":"2025-02-25","effective_date":"2025-03-11","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Online horse racing ads opened in six additional US states","summary":"State-authorized entities may apply from March 11, 2025 to promote online horse racing in Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, North Carolina, Vermont and Washington.","details":"","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Gambling and games policy (February 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/15928219","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-02-25"}],"id":"2025-02-25-online-horse-racing-ads-opened-in"},{"date":"2025-02-21","effective_date":"2025-03-19","product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Google emailed advertisers that ads would stop serving on parked domains by default from March 19","summary":"Kirk Williams shared a Google email on LinkedIn stating all accounts would be opted out of parked-domain placements starting March 19, 2025, reversing the previous opt-in default. Advertisers can re-enable them under content suitability settings.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-02-21); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-02-21). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads to remove parked domain placements by default","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-parked-domain-placements-default-452361","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-02-21"},{"title":"Google Ads To Stop Placing Your Ads On Parked Domains By Default","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-parked-domains-38943.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-02-21"}],"id":"2025-02-21-parked-domains-opted-out-by-default"},{"date":"2025-02-21","effective_date":"2025-05-05","product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"All accounts opted out of parked domain placements by default in the Search Partner Network","summary":"Google emailed advertisers that existing accounts would be automatically opted out of serving on parked domains, matching the default already applied to new accounts. Advertisers who want the traffic must re-enable it under Content suitability. Initially set for March 19, 2025 and later pushed to May 5.","details":"The change rolled out over several months. Parked domains were removed from the Search Partner Network entirely on February 10, 2026.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads to remove parked domain placements by default","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-parked-domain-placements-default-452361","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-02-21"},{"title":"Google Ads To Stop Showing Your Ads On Parked Domains By Default","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-parked-domains-38943.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-02-21"}],"id":"2025-02-21-parked-domains-opt-out-default"},{"date":"2025-02-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Responsive search ads gained asset flexibility: headlines may serve as sitelinks, descriptions may be omitted","summary":"Starting February 20, 2025, up to two RSA headlines can serve in the space previously reserved for sitelinks when predicted to improve performance, and Google AI may omit description lines when doing so improves engagement. Pinned assets still respect their positions. Global, all languages.","details":"This builds on the earlier change allowing a headline to appear at the start of the description line. Google cited internal January 2025 data showing higher engagement with text ads. Advertisers should review headline assets since any of the 15 headlines may now render as a link.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Driving better performance from AI-powered Search ads with increased asset flexibility","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/15967262","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-02-20"},{"title":"Google gives Responsive Search Ads more flexibility","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-responsive-search-ads-flexibility-452264","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-02-20"}],"id":"2025-02-20-rsa-asset-flexibility"},{"date":"2025-02-20","effective_date":"2025-05-01","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"OAuth consent unbundling rolled out to pre-2019 Cloud projects using Ads APIs from May 1, 2025","summary":"Google Cloud projects created before 2019 that use Ads-related APIs (including the Google Ads API scope) gained granular OAuth consent starting the week of May 1, 2025, so apps requesting multiple scopes must handle partial user consent.","details":"Not affected: existing refresh tokens, single-scope apps, manually authenticated apps, and service accounts. Developers were told to use `include_granted_scopes` and implement incremental authorization.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Consent unbundling in Ads APIs","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/02/consent-unbundling-in-ads-apis.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-02-20"}],"id":"2025-02-20-oauth-consent-unbundling"},{"date":"2025-02-18","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Reach Planner tested an 'Advanced Plans' section that suggests ad-type mixes and budget splits","summary":"Brent Neale discovered an Advanced Plans feature in Reach Planner that automatically proposes optimal ad-type combinations and budget allocation. Google had not confirmed the test.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-02-18); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-02-18). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads tests 'Advanced Plans' feature for budget optimization","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-tests-new-advanced-plans-feature-for-budget-optimization-452041","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-02-18"},{"title":"Google Ads Advanced Plans","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-advanced-plans-section-38919.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-02-18"}],"id":"2025-02-18-advanced-plans-reach-planner-test"},{"date":"2025-02-14","effective_date":"2025-02-26","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Crypto exchange and software wallet ads allowed in UAE with FSRA, VARA or DFSA licence","summary":"Advertisers licensed by the UAE's FSRA, VARA or DFSA and certified by Google may promote crypto exchanges and software wallets targeting the UAE from February 26, 2025.","details":"","regions":"UAE","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Cryptocurrencies and related products policy (February 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/15937830","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-02-14"}],"id":"2025-02-14-crypto-exchange-and-software-wallet-ads"},{"date":"2025-02-13","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"PMax began showing a search-themes usefulness indicator flagging themes that add no new traffic","summary":"Natasha Kaurra spotted an in-account alert that evaluates whether Performance Max search themes generate incremental traffic or overlap with existing signals. Google did not announce the indicator.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-02-13); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-02-14). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads releases Performance Max usefulness indicator","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-performance-max-usefulness-indicator-451873","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-02-13"},{"title":"Google Ads New Performance Max Search Themes Indicator","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-performance-max-search-themes-indicator-38905.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-02-14"}],"id":"2025-02-13-pmax-search-themes-usefulness-indicator"},{"date":"2025-02-12","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"GA4 report collections gained new linked templates and Transaction ID in custom report builder","summary":"Search Engine Land reported on updated GA4 report collections: up to seven collections per property, predefined templates (App Developer, Business Objectives, Games, Life Cycle, Search Console, User) that stay linked to Google updates, and a new Transaction ID dimension in the custom report builder.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"[GA4] Create, edit, and share collections","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/10460557","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-02-12"},{"title":"Google Analytics Report Collections: What you need to know","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-analytics-report-collections-what-you-need-to-know-451848","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-02-12"}],"id":"2025-02-12-ga4-report-collections-templates"},{"date":"2025-02-12","effective_date":"2025-04-07","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Announced","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Customer Match lists capped at a 540-day maximum membership duration from April 7, 2025","summary":"Google set a maximum membership duration of 540 days for Customer Match lists in Google Ads and Display & Video 360. Lists with no expiration or longer durations were reduced to 540 days retroactively, so advertisers must refresh uploads regularly or lists shrink and campaigns may pause.","details":"Effective April 7, 2025. API attempts to set membership_life_span above 540 return an error. Lists need at least 100 members added or updated within the last 540 days to remain eligible.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Customer Match membership expiration starting April 7, 2025","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/02/update-to-customer-match-membership.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developer Blog","date":"2025-02-12"},{"title":"Google Ads Customer Match Lists To Expire After 540 Days","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-customer-match-lists-expire-38904.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-02-13"},{"title":"Google sets new 540-day limit for Customer Match data retention","url":"https://ppc.land/google-sets-new-540-day-limit-for-customer-match-data-retention/","publisher":"PPC Land","date":"2025-02-12"}],"id":"2025-02-12-customer-match-540-day-limit"},{"date":"2025-02-12","effective_date":"2025-04-07","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Customer Match lists capped at a 540-day maximum membership duration via the API from April 7, 2025","summary":"Requests setting UserList.membership_life_span above 540 days return RangeError.TOO_HIGH from April 7, 2025, and existing lists with longer or unlimited durations were migrated to 540 days. Advertisers must refresh Customer Match lists regularly to keep audiences from shrinking.","details":"The same 540-day cap applied to Display & Video 360 API `firstAndThirdPartyAudiences` (membershipDurationDays). Leaving the field unset in the Google Ads API is equivalent to the 540-day maximum.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Customer Match membership expiration starting April 7, 2025","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/02/update-to-customer-match-membership.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-02-12"}],"id":"2025-02-12-customer-match-540-day-cap"},{"date":"2025-02-12","effective_date":"2025-03-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Business name and logo moved into brand guidelines; unset campaigns auto-filled from March 2025","summary":"Google notified advertisers that from March 2025 business names and logos are managed through brand guidelines. If an advertiser did not set them, the top-performing business name and logo associated with the campaign would be applied automatically.","details":"The deadline had been postponed several times before the March 2025 date. The notice appeared in the Google Ads interface and was surfaced by Arpan Banerjee; PPC News Feed also reported Google standardising brand assets in Performance Max in March.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Notice For Brand Guidelines March 2025 Update","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-brand-guidelines-march-2025-update-38890.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-02-12"},{"title":"Google Ads tightens brand guidelines","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-tightens-brand-guidelines-451834","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-02-12"}],"id":"2025-02-12-brand-guidelines-business-name-logo"},{"date":"2025-02-10","effective_date":"2025-04-14","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Gambling and games policy rewritten with revised country guidelines and category definitions","summary":"Google published a revised Gambling and games policy, effective April 14, 2025, with more detailed explanations of gambling categories and updated country-specific guidelines. A preview version was made available in advance. Affects all gambling, games and social casino advertisers.","details":"This rewrite was the base for the many country-specific gambling updates that followed through 2025 and 2026. The revised policy explicitly covers games using virtual currencies or items with real-world value.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Gambling and Games Policy (February 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/15828027","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-02-10"}],"id":"2025-02-10-gambling-and-games-policy-rewritten-with"},{"date":"2025-02-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Keyword Planner gained an auto-organise option that sorts new keywords into ad groups","summary":"Selina Naomi Patel noticed a new auto-organise function in Keyword Planner that groups newly added keywords into ad groups automatically. No Google announcement was made.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Keyword Planner New Auto-Organize Keywords To Ad Groups","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-keyword-planner-auto-organize-new-keywords-38862.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-02-07"}],"id":"2025-02-07-keyword-planner-auto-organize-ad-groups"},{"date":"2025-02-06","effective_date":"2025-09-30","product":"Google Ads","area":"App","type":"Measurement","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Action required: conversion_environment parameter mandated for Offline Conversion Import for apps","summary":"Advertisers importing in-app conversions via Offline Conversion Import were told to add the conversion_environment parameter by September 30, 2025 so app conversions attribute correctly and app signals stay enabled in Smart Bidding for web campaigns.","details":"On September 12, 2025 Google updated the page to remove the hard deadline; the parameter is now optional but strongly recommended.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Action Required for Offline Conversion Import (OCI) for Apps","url":"https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/15907017","publisher":"Google Ads Help","date":"2025-02-06"}],"id":"2025-02-06-oci-apps-conversion-environment"},{"date":"2025-02-05","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"New prediction model reduced Search ads leading to hard-to-navigate landing pages","summary":"Google introduced an improved ad quality prediction model that evaluates whether a landing page offers clear navigation to what the user wanted. Ads pointing to pages without an easy path to the relevant content are now less likely to show.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-02-05 (Google Ads & Commerce Blog); also covered by Search Engine Land.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Search ads and the importance of landing page navigation","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/search-ads-and-the-importance-of-landing-page-navigation/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-02-05"},{"title":"New Google Ads prediction model scores landing page navigation","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ad-quality-systems-user-navigation-451643","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-02-06"}],"id":"2025-02-05-landing-page-navigation-model"},{"date":"2025-02-03","effective_date":"2025-02-17","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Philippines gambling policy expanded to state-licensed operators","summary":"Certified state-licensed entities, not only state-run organizations, may advertise online casino games, lotteries, bingo and sports betting in the Philippines from February 17, 2025.","details":"","regions":"Philippines","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy (February 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/15834333","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-02-03"}],"id":"2025-02-03-philippines-gambling-policy-expanded-to-state"},{"date":"2025-02-03","effective_date":"2025-03-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Healthcare policy allowed certified substance use disorder treatment ads in Canada","summary":"Advertisers holding LegitScript Addiction Treatment Certification and Google certification may promote recovery-oriented substance use disorder treatment services in Canada from March 2025.","details":"","regions":"Canada","sources":[{"title":"Update to Healthcare and Medicines Policy (March 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/15857948","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-02-03"}],"id":"2025-02-03-healthcare-policy-allowed-certified-substance-use"},{"date":"2025-02-03","effective_date":"2025-02-18","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Gambling ads permitted in Angola for operators licensed by Instituto de Supervisão de Jogos","summary":"Google began accepting sports betting, online game and lottery ads from Angola-licensed operators that complete Google certification, effective February 18, 2025.","details":"","regions":"Angola","sources":[{"title":"Update to Gambling and Games Policy (February 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/15832217","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-02-03"}],"id":"2025-02-03-gambling-ads-permitted-in-angola-for"},{"date":"2025-02-03","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 cost data import simplified to require only source, medium and date","summary":"Cost data import now requires only source, medium and date; campaign_name and campaign_id became optional (but recommended for granular cross-channel reporting). Affects advertisers importing non-Google ad spend.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-02-03"},{"title":"[GA4] Campaign data import","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/10071305","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-02-03"},{"title":"Google Analytics simplifies cost data import","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-analytics-simplifies-cost-data-import-451495","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-02-04"}],"id":"2025-02-03-ga4-cost-data-import-required-fields"},{"date":"2025-02-03","effective_date":"2025-04-09","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Dating and Companionship certification deadline delayed to April 9, 2025; aggregators made eligible","summary":"Google pushed the date after which uncertified dating and companionship advertisers cannot serve ads from March 4 to April 9, 2025, and opened certification to content aggregators from February 25, 2025. Affects all dating and companionship advertisers globally.","details":"The certification program was first announced in late 2024; this update adjusted the enforcement date and added aggregator eligibility.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Updates to the Dating and Companionship Ads policy and advertiser certification program (March 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/15890359","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-02-03"}],"id":"2025-02-03-dating-and-companionship-certification-deadline-delayed"},{"date":"2025-02-01","effective_date":null,"product":"Merchant Center","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Free-listing conversion tracking in Merchant Center renamed to \"key events\"","summary":"Google renamed free-listing conversion experiences in Merchant Center from \"conversions\" to \"key events\" to align with Google Analytics and Google Ads terminology. Setup flows and Analytics tabs were relabeled; no merchant action was required.","details":"Announced in the Merchant Center Help Center in February 2025 (Google dates the notice by month only). \"Conversion tracking setup\" became \"Key event setup\", purchases were added as a metric on the Products and Online store tabs, and insight cards were consolidated into a single view with a selectable metric. Existing tag-based setups continued to work unchanged.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Conversion tracking is now renamed to key events","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/15967934?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2025-02-01"},{"title":"Merchant Center announcements change log","url":"https://support.google.com/merchants/announcements/6192467?hl=en","publisher":"Merchant Center Help","date":"2026-08-11"}],"id":"2025-02-01-free-listing-conversions-renamed-key-events"},{"date":"2025-01-30","effective_date":"2025-07-01","product":"Google Ads","area":"Video","type":"Deprecation","status":"Announced","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Video Action Campaigns sunset set: no new VACs from April 2025, auto-upgrade to Demand Gen from July 2025","summary":"Google confirmed that new Video Action Campaigns could no longer be created from April 2025, an upgrade tool would be available in March, and remaining VACs would be automatically upgraded to Demand Gen starting July 2025. Affects every advertiser still running VACs.","details":"By March 20, duplicating a VAC in Google Ads defaulted to creating a Demand Gen campaign and prompted for business name and logo. The automatic upgrade was described as a multi-month process.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"New ways to help you drive performance with Demand Gen","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/new-demand-gen-features-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-01-30"},{"title":"Google expands Demand Gen ad tools ahead of Video Action Campaigns sunset","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-expands-demand-gen-ad-tools-phasing-out-video-action-campaigns-sunset-451339","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-01-30"},{"title":"VAC Duplication Now Defaults to Demand Gen","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-03/vac-duplication-now-defaults-to-demand-gen/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-03-20"}],"id":"2025-01-30-video-action-campaigns-sunset-timeline"},{"date":"2025-01-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Announced","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"AI video shortening tool announced for Demand Gen along with improved ad creation flow","summary":"Google announced a tool to generate shorter versions of video assets at scale, plus an improved Demand Gen ad creation flow with video enhancement selection and shareable ad previews.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"New ways to help you drive performance with Demand Gen","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/new-demand-gen-features-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-01-30"}],"id":"2025-01-30-demand-gen-video-shortening"},{"date":"2025-01-30","effective_date":"2025-02-28","product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Announced","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Vertical 9:16 image ads announced for YouTube Shorts in Demand Gen","summary":"Demand Gen gained a 9:16 vertical image format so image ads render full screen on YouTube Shorts. Rolling out from late February 2025.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-01-30 (Google Ads & Commerce Blog); also covered by Search Engine Land.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"New ways to help you drive performance with Demand Gen","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/new-demand-gen-features-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-01-30"},{"title":"Google expands Demand Gen ad tools ahead of Video Action Campaigns sunset","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-expands-demand-gen-ad-tools-phasing-out-video-action-campaigns-sunset-451339","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-01-30"}],"id":"2025-01-30-demand-gen-vertical-image-ads"},{"date":"2025-01-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"New Demand Gen reporting columns including view-through and platform-comparable conversions rolled out","summary":"Demand Gen gained reporting columns that include view-through conversions and isolate Demand Gen performance in a way comparable to paid social platforms. Rolling out globally from January 2025; the \"Conversions (Platform Comparable)\" columns were live in accounts by late March.","details":"The platform-comparable columns attribute 100% credit to the last Demand Gen touchpoint and are available at campaign and ad group level.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"New ways to help you drive performance with Demand Gen","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/new-demand-gen-features-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-01-30"},{"title":"Demand Gen Conversion Columns Live in Google Ads","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-03/demand-gen-conversion-columns-live-in-google-ads/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-03-26"}],"id":"2025-01-30-demand-gen-reporting-columns"},{"date":"2025-01-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Launch","status":"Beta","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Local offers with product feeds beta and richer product feed experience announced for Demand Gen","summary":"Retailers with Merchant Center feeds can show real-time local product availability in Demand Gen ads (beta) and a richer product feed ad experience surfaces full product details. Aimed at connecting online shoppers with physical stores.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-01-30 (Google Ads & Commerce Blog); also covered by Search Engine Land.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"New ways to help you drive performance with Demand Gen","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/new-demand-gen-features-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-01-30"},{"title":"Google expands Demand Gen ad tools ahead of Video Action Campaigns sunset","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-expands-demand-gen-ad-tools-phasing-out-video-action-campaigns-sunset-451339","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-01-30"}],"id":"2025-01-30-demand-gen-local-offers-feeds"},{"date":"2025-01-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Display Network inventory added to Demand Gen campaigns","summary":"Demand Gen campaigns can now extend to Google Display inventory, which Google says reaches over 90% of the global internet population across more than 3 million sites and apps. Advertisers can control this via channel controls.","details":"Announced by Google on 2025-01-30 (Google Ads & Commerce Blog); also covered by Search Engine Land.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"New ways to help you drive performance with Demand Gen","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/new-demand-gen-features-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-01-30"},{"title":"Google expands Demand Gen ad tools ahead of Video Action Campaigns sunset","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-expands-demand-gen-ad-tools-phasing-out-video-action-campaigns-sunset-451339","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-01-30"}],"id":"2025-01-30-demand-gen-display-inventory"},{"date":"2025-01-30","effective_date":"2025-03-20","product":"Google Ads","area":"Demand Gen","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Beta","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Channel controls beta announced for Demand Gen to choose YouTube, Discover, Gmail or Shorts placements","summary":"Demand Gen gained ad-group-level channel controls so advertisers can choose exactly where ads serve across YouTube (including a Shorts-only option), Discover and Gmail. Announced January 30 as a global beta starting March 2025; the controls were seen live in accounts by March 20.","details":"Google framed channel controls as part of the Video Action Campaign upgrade path, since VACs allowed YouTube-only serving. PPC News Feed reported the controls rolling out at the ad group level on March 20, 2025.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"New ways to help you drive performance with Demand Gen","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/new-demand-gen-features-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-01-30"},{"title":"Google expands Demand Gen ad tools ahead of Video Action Campaigns sunset","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-expands-demand-gen-ad-tools-phasing-out-video-action-campaigns-sunset-451339","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-01-30"},{"title":"Channel Controls for Demand Gen Live","url":"https://ppcnewsfeed.com/ppc-news/2025-03/channel-controls-for-demand-gen-live/","publisher":"PPC News Feed","date":"2025-03-20"}],"id":"2025-01-30-demand-gen-channel-controls"},{"date":"2025-01-30","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Shopping","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Google began a limited test of AI-generated backgrounds on Shopping ad product images","summary":"Samantha Noble shared a Google notification on LinkedIn about a test that swaps product-image backgrounds for AI-generated scenes, with an opt-out. The test was only communicated to selected advertisers.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-01-30); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-02-03). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google tests AI-generated backgrounds for Shopping Ads","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-tests-ai-generated-backgrounds-for-shopping-ads-451347","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-01-30"},{"title":"Google To Test AI Generated Background Images For Your Shopping Ads","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-shopping-ads-toai-generate-background-images-38834.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-02-03"}],"id":"2025-01-30-ai-generated-backgrounds-shopping-ads-test"},{"date":"2025-01-28","effective_date":"2025-03-03","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"Reporting","type":"Deprecation","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Search term insight reports began returning empty search subcategories in the API and scripts","summary":"Starting March 3, 2025, segments.search_subcategory in campaign_search_term_insight and customer_search_term_insight reports returns empty values in both the Google Ads API and Google Ads scripts, matching the UI which had already removed the field.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads API and Google Ads scripts search term insight report update starting March 3, 2025","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/01/google-ads-api-and-google-ads-scripts.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-01-28"}],"id":"2025-01-28-search-subcategory-empty"},{"date":"2025-01-24","effective_date":"2025-02-12","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Crypto exchange and software wallet ads allowed in South Africa with FSCA registration","summary":"Advertisers registered with South Africa's FSCA and certified by Google may promote crypto exchanges and software wallets targeting South Africa from February 12, 2025. Hardware wallet promotion is also allowed.","details":"","regions":"South Africa","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Cryptocurrencies and related products policy (January 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/15858352","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-01-24"}],"id":"2025-01-24-crypto-exchange-and-software-wallet-ads"},{"date":"2025-01-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Announced","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"\"URL contains\" rules announced for Performance Max campaigns with product feeds","summary":"URL contains rules, which restrict final URL expansion to pages matching a string, were announced as expanding soon to Performance Max campaigns that use product feeds.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Kick off 2025 with new Performance Max features","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/new-performance-max-features-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-01-23"}],"id":"2025-01-23-pmax-url-contains-feeds"},{"date":"2025-01-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Search themes officially launched in Performance Max with source column and usefulness indicator","summary":"Search themes graduated from beta in Performance Max. Search terms insights gained a source column showing whether a term came from a search theme, the landing page or assets, and a usefulness indicator flags which themes are adding incremental value.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Kick off 2025 with new Performance Max features","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/new-performance-max-features-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-01-23"}],"id":"2025-01-23-pmax-search-themes-launched"},{"date":"2025-01-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"High value new customer mode for the new customer acquisition goal rolled out to all advertisers","summary":"The high value mode of the new customer acquisition goal, introduced in beta in 2024, rolled out to all Performance Max advertisers. It lets advertisers specify high-value customers and their long-term value through Customer Match so bidding can prioritise them.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Kick off 2025 with new Performance Max features","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/new-performance-max-features-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-01-23"}],"id":"2025-01-23-pmax-high-value-new-customer-mode"},{"date":"2025-01-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Device targeting beta announced for Performance Max","summary":"Google announced a Performance Max beta allowing advertisers to customise targeting to computer, mobile or tablet traffic. Device targeting reached accounts in May 2025.","details":"See the May 16, 2025 entry for the rollout sighting.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Kick off 2025 with new Performance Max features","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/new-performance-max-features-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-01-23"}],"id":"2025-01-23-pmax-device-targeting-beta-announced"},{"date":"2025-01-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Rolling out","impact":"High","kind":"Official","title":"Campaign-level negative keywords rolled out to all Performance Max advertisers","summary":"Campaign-level negative keywords, previously in beta since DMEXCO 2024, began rolling out to all Performance Max advertisers over the following weeks. Advertisers can now exclude specific queries for brand suitability or other reasons.","details":"Initially capped at 100 negatives per campaign; the limit was raised to 10,000 in March 2025 (see separate entry). Announced in the January 23, 2025 Performance Max roundup on the Google Ads & Commerce Blog.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Kick off 2025 with new Performance Max features","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/new-performance-max-features-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-01-23"}],"id":"2025-01-23-pmax-campaign-negative-keywords-all"},{"date":"2025-01-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Brand exclusions by format announced for retail Performance Max campaigns","summary":"Retail advertisers with product feeds will be able to apply brand exclusions to Search text ads only while continuing to capture branded traffic on Shopping ads. Announced as coming soon.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Kick off 2025 with new Performance Max features","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/new-performance-max-features-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-01-23"}],"id":"2025-01-23-pmax-brand-exclusions-by-format"},{"date":"2025-01-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Asset group performance segmentation and downloads rolled out in Performance Max","summary":"Advertisers can segment asset group performance by device, time, conversions and other dimensions, and download asset group data from the Google Ads interface. Rolling out to all Performance Max campaigns.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Kick off 2025 with new Performance Max features","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/new-performance-max-features-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-01-23"}],"id":"2025-01-23-pmax-asset-group-segmentation"},{"date":"2025-01-23","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Announced","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Age-based demographic exclusions beta announced for Performance Max","summary":"Google announced a beta letting advertisers exclude specific age brackets from Performance Max campaigns, with sign-up required. The control started appearing in accounts in April 2025.","details":"See the April 21, 2025 entry for the rollout sighting.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Kick off 2025 with new Performance Max features","url":"https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/new-performance-max-features-2025/","publisher":"Google Ads & Commerce Blog","date":"2025-01-23"}],"id":"2025-01-23-pmax-age-exclusions-beta-announced"},{"date":"2025-01-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"PMax search term reports began labelling low-volume queries as 'Private'","summary":"Arpan Banerjee spotted queries in Performance Max reports grouped under a 'Private' label for terms with fewer than 50 unique searches over 90 days. The change was not announced.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-01-21); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-01-21). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads revealing low-volume search terms as 'Private'","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-low-volume-search-terms-private-451002","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-01-21"},{"title":"Google Ads PMax Reports With Private Search Term Category","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-private-search-term-category-38765.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-01-21"}],"id":"2025-01-21-pmax-private-search-term-category"},{"date":"2025-01-21","effective_date":"2025-02-05","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Government documents policy dropped certification for European vignettes and French business IDs","summary":"Google removed the certification requirement for advertisers promoting European vignettes/e-vignettes, and advertisers promoting business identifiers only in France no longer need government authorization (a policy exclusion application is still required). Enforcement began February 5, 2025 and ramped over about 8 weeks.","details":"","regions":"Europe; France","sources":[{"title":"Update to Other restricted businesses: Government documents and services policy (February 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/15751624","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-01-21"}],"id":"2025-01-21-government-documents-policy-dropped-certification-for"},{"date":"2025-01-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Reporting","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 added copying of custom reports and explorations between properties","summary":"Users can now copy a custom detail report or exploration configuration from one property to another, saving setup time and avoiding configuration drift across properties.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-01-21"},{"title":"[GA4] Copy reports and explorations","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/15401228","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-01-21"},{"title":"Google Analytics 4 rolls out cross-property report copying","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-analytics-4-cross-property-report-copying-451100","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-01-23"}],"id":"2025-01-21-ga4-copy-reports-explorations"},{"date":"2025-01-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Assets reporting gained a 'Used since' column showing when each asset was added","summary":"PPC News Feed first spotted a new 'Used since' column in asset reporting that reveals when creative elements were added to an account. Search Engine Roundtable documented the same column for Performance Max a week later.","details":"Coverage: Search Engine Land (2025-01-21); Search Engine Roundtable (2025-01-28). Google made no formal blog or help-center announcement at the time of the first report unless noted in the summary.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"New Google Ads feature spotted: Asset history","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-asset-history-450995","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-01-21"},{"title":"Google Ads New Used Since Column For PMax","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-new-used-since-column-for-performance-max-38785.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-01-28"}],"id":"2025-01-21-asset-used-since-column"},{"date":"2025-01-21","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Account & Billing","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Advertiser verification help articles reorganized for readability","summary":"Google restructured and clarified its Advertiser Verification help center articles. No change to verification requirements or enforcement.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Update to Advertiser Verification (January 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/15576964","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-01-21"}],"id":"2025-01-21-advertiser-verification-help-articles-reorganized-for"},{"date":"2025-01-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Rolling out","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"PMax search terms insights gained a 'Source' column showing which theme, URL or asset triggered the query","summary":"Natasha Kaurra and Hana Kobzová reported a new source column in Performance Max search terms insights that attributes queries to search themes, landing URLs or creative assets. No Google announcement accompanied it.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads PMax Search Terms Insights Gains Source Data","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-pmax-search-terms-insights-source-column-38761.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-01-20"}],"id":"2025-01-20-pmax-search-term-insights-source-column"},{"date":"2025-01-20","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"API & Tools","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Admin API added userDataRetention field to DataRetentionSettings (v1alpha/v1beta)","summary":"The Google Analytics Admin API gained a userDataRetention field so developers can read or change a property's user-level data retention separately from event data retention.","details":"User data retention (cookies, User-IDs, advertising identifiers) can be set to 2 or 14 months for standard and 360 properties; Google-signals data is retained at most 26 months regardless of setting.","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Analytics Admin API changelog","url":"https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/config/admin/v1/changelog","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-01-20"},{"title":"[GA4] Data retention","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/7667196","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-01-20"}],"id":"2025-01-20-admin-api-user-data-retention"},{"date":"2025-01-17","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Targeting & Audiences","status":"Beta","impact":"High","kind":"Reported","title":"A new 'Search Max' match type appeared in search-terms match-type reporting before any announcement","summary":"Lars Thoning Dybro spotted a 'Search Max' match type in Google Ads reports and Adriaan Dekker shared details on LinkedIn; it was described as combining search-term matching with text and URL optimisation. Google had not confirmed the feature at the time.","details":"Search Max was later rebranded as AI Max for Search campaigns (announced by Google in May 2025). This entry records the first community sighting.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Search Max Coming Soon?","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-search-max-38751.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-01-17"},{"title":"Google Ads Search Max – new match type spotted","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-search-max-match-type-450944","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-01-20"}],"id":"2025-01-17-search-max-match-type-spotted"},{"date":"2025-01-16","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Reporting & UI","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"A beta 'Chat' button appeared in the top navigation of the Google Ads console","summary":"Arpan Banerjee spotted a dedicated AI-chat support button labelled beta in the top-right of the Google Ads dashboard. Google did not comment on the test.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads Tests Chat Button In Top Nav Of Advertiser Console","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-top-chat-button-38714.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-01-16"}],"id":"2025-01-16-chat-button-top-nav-beta"},{"date":"2025-01-15","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Five child and teen ad policies consolidated into 'Ad protections for children and teens' hub","summary":"Google reorganized five separate child- and teen-related advertising policies into a single policy hub for transparency. No enforcement changes were made.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Updates to our child and teen ads policies (January 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/15416193","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-01-15"}],"id":"2025-01-15-five-child-and-teen-ad-policies"},{"date":"2025-01-13","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Barcode and QR code formats added to promotion assets","summary":"Promotion assets gained barcode (Aztec, Data Matrix, EAN-8 and other formats) and QR code options so offers can be redeemed in store as well as online. Affects advertisers using promotion assets on Search.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads launches new promo code formats for Promotion Assets","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ads-promotion-assets-new-promo-code-formats-450506","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-01-13"}],"id":"2025-01-13-promotion-assets-barcode-qr"},{"date":"2025-01-13","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Analytics","area":"Measurement","type":"Measurement","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"GA4 launched a Consent settings hub in Admin to manage and diagnose consent signals","summary":"Google Analytics added a centralized Consent settings hub under Admin where property admins can review how Analytics uses consent signals, see collection status, and address consent-related diagnostics. Relevant to any advertiser running consent mode for EU/UK traffic.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"What's new archive (2019-2025) - Google Analytics","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13420269","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-01-13"},{"title":"[GA4] Consent settings","url":"https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/14275483","publisher":"Google Analytics Help","date":"2025-01-13"}],"id":"2025-01-13-ga4-consent-settings-hub"},{"date":"2025-01-10","effective_date":"2025-02-05","product":"Google Ads API & Scripts","area":"General","type":"Deprecation","status":"Retired","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Google Ads API v16 sunset confirmed for February 5, 2025","summary":"Google reminded developers that Google Ads API v16 would stop serving requests on February 5, 2025. Integrations still on v16 had to migrate to v17 or later.","details":"","regions":"Global","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads API v16 sunset reminder","url":"https://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/01/google-ads-api-v16-sunset-reminder.html","publisher":"Google Ads Developers Blog","date":"2025-01-10"},{"title":"Deprecation and sunset dates","url":"https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/sunset-dates","publisher":"Google for Developers","date":"2025-01-10"}],"id":"2025-01-10-ads-api-v16-sunset"},{"date":"2025-01-09","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Low","kind":"Official","title":"Political content policy added California Elections Code reporting form","summary":"Google added a form allowing California residents to report ads that may violate California Elections Code Division 20, Chapter 7. Affects political advertisers targeting California.","details":"","regions":"US only","sources":[{"title":"Update to Political content policy (January 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/15758034","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-01-09"}],"id":"2025-01-09-political-content-policy-added-california-elections"},{"date":"2025-01-08","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Performance Max","type":"Measurement","status":"Retired","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"PMax briefly let advertisers pause/enable conversion actions per asset group; Google called it a bug","summary":"Some accounts showed controls to pause, enable or remove individual conversion actions at the Performance Max asset-group level. Thomas Eccel shared the sighting (credit Carolin Carvalho da Silva) and the Ads Liaison replied that it was a bug exposed by the rollout of an upcoming asset-group report segmentation feature.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Google Ads PMax Pause/Enable/Remove Conversion Actions On Asset Group Level","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-pmax-conversion-actions-asset-groups-38702.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-01-08"}],"id":"2025-01-08-pmax-conversion-actions-asset-group-level"},{"date":"2025-01-08","effective_date":"2025-01-08","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Official","title":"Gambling policy updated to disallow online gambling ads in Nigeria after court ruling","summary":"Google removed permission for internet-based real-money gambling ads and related promotional or informational content targeting Nigeria, effective immediately, following a Nigerian court ruling. Affects gambling operators and affiliates targeting Nigeria.","details":"","regions":"Nigeria","sources":[{"title":"Updates to Gambling and Games Policy (January 2025)","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/15782089","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-01-08"}],"id":"2025-01-08-gambling-policy-updated-to-disallow-online"},{"date":"2025-01-07","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"Search","type":"Bidding & Budget","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Help-doc wording implied ad scheduling was dropping for Smart Bidding; Ads Liaison said nothing changed","summary":"A Google Ads Help Center edit suggested ad scheduling would no longer work with Smart Bidding campaigns. Adriaan Dekker flagged the wording on LinkedIn, and Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin clarified on X that nothing had changed and ad scheduling still works with Smart Bidding.","details":"The Help Center wording was corrected after the community flagged it. Search Engine Roundtable covered the same confusion the following day.","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Confirmed: Google isn't dropping ad scheduling for Smart Bidding campaigns","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-ad-scheduling-smart-bidding-campaigns-450233","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-01-07"},{"title":"Google Ad Scheduling & Smart Bidding Campaigns Doc Update Confuses","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ad-scheduling-not-compatible-with-smart-bidding-campaigns-38700.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-01-08"}],"id":"2025-01-07-ad-scheduling-smart-bidding-doc-clarified"},{"date":"2025-01-06","effective_date":"2025-01-15","product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Policy","status":"Live","impact":"Medium","kind":"Reported","title":"Crypto exchange ads targeting the UK required FCA registration and Google certification","summary":"Advertisers promoting cryptocurrency exchanges to UK users must be registered with the Financial Conduct Authority and certified by Google from January 15, 2025. Affects crypto exchanges and wallet providers targeting the UK.","details":"Reported by Search Engine Land on January 6, 2025; Google's original notice predates the 2025 change log.","regions":"UK","sources":[{"title":"Google updates financial products policy for crypto ads","url":"https://searchengineland.com/google-financial-products-policy-crypto-ads-450198","publisher":"Search Engine Land","date":"2025-01-06"},{"title":"Cryptocurrencies and related products","url":"https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/14009787","publisher":"Google Ads Policy Help","date":"2025-01-06"}],"id":"2025-01-06-crypto-exchange-ads-targeting-the-uk"},{"date":"2025-01-02","effective_date":null,"product":"Google Ads","area":"General","type":"Creative & Assets","status":"Beta","impact":"Low","kind":"Reported","title":"Asset library gained beta AI image-editing tools for background replacement, object erasing and colour tweaks","summary":"Advertisers noticed a beta option to edit existing images inside the Google Ads asset library with AI tools such as background replacement, object erasure and colour adjustment. Menachem Ani shared screenshots on X.","details":"","regions":"","sources":[{"title":"Edit Images With AI In Google Ads Asset Library","url":"https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-asset-library-edit-images-ai-38667.html","publisher":"Search Engine Roundtable","date":"2025-01-02"}],"id":"2025-01-02-asset-library-ai-image-editing"}]}