Google Ads News
Policy update
Google has updated the misleading ads policy to provide additional examples and clearer information to advertisers!
Ad credit
Anthony Higman discovered that OpenAI now gives free ad credit!
7 days offline conversions
Google has clarified that offline conversions must be uploaded within 7 days to be included in data-driven attribution modeling. Conversions uploaded later will still appear in standard reports, but they will be ignored by the attribution engine.
Thanks for sharing Hana Kobzová.
New PMAX setting spotted: Only bid for new prospects
This is a pretty interesting one.
Google is testing a new “New prospects” option in Performance Max.
The idea is simple:→ Focus PMAX on new prospects→ Exclude existing customers→ Exclude people searching for specific brands
If this works as intended, it could make PMAX much more useful for actual new customer acquisition instead of spending budget on people who already know the brand.Still in Beta, so it’s not available in every account yet.
Credits to Emirhan Bayutmuş and Arpan Banerjee
500 X 500
Google is sending out emails announcing that, effective January 31, 2027, all product images in Google Merchant Center that are smaller than 500 × 500 pixels will be disapproved and will no longer be eligible to serve.
GTM Update
Google is rolling out updates across its tagging tools to make measurement easier. The idea is to build data strength without jumping through a ton of technical hoops. Here is what is new: Consolidated tagging.
Google Tag now integrates the advanced capabilities of Tag Manager, so you manage all your measurement settings for Google Ads and Google Analytics in one place.
Faster performance. Consolidating the tools simplifies data transmission, which can result in faster website performance. No-code event tracking.
Just walk through a purchase the way a customer would and the technical setup is handled automatically behind the scenes.
Visual tagging. A new map view shows which platforms (Google Ads or Google Analytics) are capturing your performance insights, so you can spot and fix errors at a glance. In-account update guide.
Soon you will be able to update and optimize your Tag Manager containers from the optimization banner in your account, with a preview of all changes before you publish to your workspace.
Why this matters: Clean measurement is the foundation of every profitable account. Less manual setup and clearer visibility into what is firing means fewer tracking errors and more trust in your data.
V25.1
Google has released Google Ads API v25.1, expanding access to lift measurement, category-level benchmarks, brand sentiment, loyalty reporting, and original conversion values before Google’s adjustments are applied.
New AI Max tools
Google is expanding AI Max testing and planning tools. Starting in September, advertisers will be able to A/B test different budgets and ROI targets across multiple Search campaigns, while AI Max experiments now support brand and location controls.
Performance Planner can also apply recommended bidding and budget changes directly to campaigns.
The core AI Max experiment feature itself isn’t new it was already reported in August 2025 and first surfaced by Dario Zannoni.
Native_commerce
Google has published a new help page for the native commerce [native_commerce] attribute in Merchant Center, enabling eligible products to support “Buy Now” flows in Gemini and AI Mode without sending users to an external site.
Credit to Hana Kobzová for finding the new help page.
Vehicles update
Google has tightened Vehicle Ads landing page requirements. Key details including dealership name, location, price, VIN, and availability must now be visible immediately, without extra clicks or scrolling. Credit to Hana Kobzová for spotting the update.
Watch-While Ads
YouTube has officially introduced Watch-While Ads, a non-disruptive image ad format that appears while videos keep playing. It’s supported across Demand Gen, Performance Max, and App Campaigns. Credit to Hana Kobzová for spotting the update in Google’s image asset specs.
Link
Arpan Banerjee just got the reminder that his account will be automatically linked with Merchant Center after September 19, 2026!
Limit
Arpan Banerjee discovered that in Google Merchant Center, you can now limit the maximum amount of money customers can receive.
Sitelinks
Arpan Banerjee discovered that Google Ads is now proactively surfacing sitelink suggestions for you.
Video update
Google Ads is making another big shift in video.TrueView in-stream and in-feed consideration campaigns are being upgraded to Video View Campaigns (VVC) and moving toward multi-format ads powered by Google AI.
One detail advertisers should pay close attention to: as part of the upgrade, campaigns that previously opted out of YouTube Search may be updated to include those networks.
The direction is becoming pretty clear: Google wants video campaigns to run across more placements and formats, with AI taking a bigger role in distribution and optimization.
Worth checking your existing video campaigns before these changes roll through.
Credit to Thomas Eccel for spotting and sharing the update.
Asset panel
Arpan Banerjee discovered that Google Ads has redesigned the Asset Optimization panel.
OpenAI Ads
OpenAI is expanding ChatGPT Ads to 31 European countries, including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Austria. The rollout begins next week, following six months of ad testing and expansion beyond the U.S.
New promotion tool live
Julian Schreck discovered the new feature in Promotions in GMC! This feature has been spotted before, but I have not seen it live yet!
Pmax update
Arpan Banerjee discovered that he now has the option in Pmax to bid higher for loyalty members and that he can show members benefits.
Business logo to shopping
Arpan Banerjee discovered that you can now add a business logo to standard shopping!
CPA 10
Google has lowered the demand gen recommendation to 10 times the target CPA. Before it was 15. Thanks for spotting Hana Kobzová.
New placement
Arpan Banerjee discovered this new placement called sponsored placements with a map!
Blue hyperlinks
Sachin Patel & Barry Schwartz discovered that Google is testing with blue hyperlinks in Google Search Ad Descriptions!
Branded searches
Google Ads has added branded searches as a new conversion type for YouTube and Demand Gen campaigns. It tracks brand-related searches on Google and YouTube within seven days after users see an ad, with no additional setup required.
Thanks for sharing Hana Kobzová.
Postpone shopping
Google appears to have quietly reversed or postponed its planned Shopping expansion to 14 additional markets. The July 14 announcement has been removed, and countries including Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta and Serbia have disappeared from the supported countries table.
Thanks for sharing Hana Kobzová.
New function
New function spotted. By Joey Bidner!
Pmax video
Google Ads is upgrading Performance Max video ads with a new asset optimisation feature that uses generative AI to create missing video aspect ratios, helping ads appear across more placements and potentially improving reach and viewing experience.
The feature builds on existing automatic resizing of horizontal videos into vertical and square formats.
If you do not want Google to use the new generative-AI video optimisation, you need to contact your account team or submit the opt-out form by 4 September 2026.
You can also change video optimisation settings later in your Google Ads account.
