Google Ads News
Video asset section
Google has started automatically filling the Video assets section in Google Merchant Center Next, which previously appeared empty in many accounts despite launching in September 2025.
Videos are now being pulled in from external sources, primarily connected YouTube channels, confirming Google’s plan announced at Google Marketing Live 2025 to create a centralized video asset hub inside Merchant Center.
This signals Merchant Center’s evolution from a feed management tool into a unified creative library powering Shopping, Performance Max, and future AI-driven shopping experiences.
Advertiser takeaway: YouTube and website videos may now automatically become usable ad creatives, making video governance and channel strategy increasingly important.
Source: Hana Kobzová
Demand Gen Drops
Google’s latest Demand Gen insights show advertisers applying key best practices see 40%+ more conversions on average.
Here are practical tips you can apply today 👇
1. Let AI find your next customers Use optimized targeting, Lookalikes, and New Customer Acquisition goals instead of overly restricting audiences.
2. Use performance-focused bidding. Switch to tCPA or tROAS and plan budgets with Performance Planner to give campaigns room to learn and scale.
3. Strengthen your creatives. Aim for Excellent Ad Strength. Provide multiple images, videos, headlines, and descriptions so Google AI can optimize combinations.
4. Fix your data foundation. Implement sitewide tagging and connect offline conversions to improve signal quality and campaign optimization.
Apply for certification
Google Ads will begin rolling out a new feature in February 2026, allowing advertisers to apply for select policy certifications directly within their UI.
YOUR CONVERSION TRACKING STOPS?
Recently, Thomas Eccel highlighted that Google Ads has resumed auditing Cookie Banners and Consent Settings again.
If your consent setup isn’t compliant, your conversion tracking, remarketing audiences, and campaign optimization can suddenly stop working even if nothing else changed in your account.
What’s happening?
Google is actively checking whether websites properly collect and pass user consent signals.
No valid consent = limited tracking = broken performance data.✅ Easy fix: Make sure you’re using an official Google-certified CMP (Consent Management Platform).
A reliable option is Cookiebot Web CMP by Usercentrics, which integrates directly with Google Consent Mode and helps ensure compliance.
✔️ Certified by Google
✔️ Proper consent signaling
✔️ Restored conversion tracking
Don’t wait until your campaigns lose data audit your cookie banner and consent setup today.
Bug
There’s currently a UI bug in Google Tag Manager (GTM) Preview Mode affecting Consent Mode visibility.
When Consent Mode is implemented through GTM templates using GTM’s Consent Mode APIs (setDefaultConsentState, updateConsentState), the Preview Mode fails to display consent interactions or populate the Consent tab correctly.
👉 Important: Consent Mode itself still works properly only the Preview/Tag Assistant interface is glitching, making verification difficult.
The issue has been reported to Google. Direct gtag(‘consent’…) implementations still appear normally in Preview Mode.
Thanks for sharing Simo Ahava & Jim van der Zalm!
Creator
Google Ads’ Creator Partnerships section is now live with searchable creator profiles, effectively becoming a free influencer marketing platform.
Advertisers can find and contact creators, link approved YouTube videos to ads, run Partnership ads in Performance Max and Demand Gen, and track organic + paid performance in one dashboard.
The update was spotted by Adam Treboutat & Hana Kobzová.
Google launches Nano Banana 2
Pro-quality images at Flash speed
Google DeepMind has introduced Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) combining production-level image quality with ultra-fast generation.
Key upgrades:
– Real-time web grounding for more accurate visuals and infographics
– Cleaner text rendering + localization inside images
– Better handling of complex prompts
– Consistent characters and objects across workflows
– Production-ready outputs up to 4K
ChatGPT ad activity is accelerating
New monitoring from Adthena shows a clear ramp-up in advertiser participation inside ChatGPT responses.
Brands spotted so far:Best Buy, AT&T, Pottery Barn, Enterprise, Qualcomm, Expedia.
From 1,500+ prompts analyzed:Most ads trigger on the first prompt
High-intent words like “best” and “new” drive placements
Some ads appear after repeated queries
One example: Best Buy secured two placements in a single iPhone-related response early signs of share-of-voice testing.
Text Guidelines
Google is expanding Text Guidelines to all advertisers globally across AI Max for Search and Performance Max.
Advertisers can now set clear rules to control messaging, excluding specific terms or avoiding certain phrases (e.g., “don’t imply our products are cheap” or “avoid language like ‘only for’”).
The goal: keep creatives aligned with brand standards while matching user intent.
Circle
See the whole picture with Circle to Search
Google just upgraded Circle to Search and now you can search multiple objects in one image at the same time.
Spotted a full outfit you love?Redesigning a room?Curating a mood board?
On Samsung Galaxy S26 and Pixel 10 devices, you can now tap, scribble, or circle everything on your screen and Circle to Search will identify each item, surface visual matches, and help you explore or shop instantly.
– Deconstruct an entire look
– Identify multiple species in one photo
– Even “Try On” outfits virtually (where available)
Powered by Gemini 3’s advanced reasoning, the experience now runs multiple searches simultaneously delivering richer, more complete results.
Search isn’t just about one object anymore. It’s about understanding the whole scene.
If you’re running Demand Gen campaigns with tiny budgets…
There’s an important update coming.
Starting April 1, 2026, Google Ads will enforce a minimum daily budget of $5 (or local equivalent) for all Demand Gen campaigns via the API.
Why?
Because ultra-low budgets struggle in the “cold start” phase, and the system can’t learn or optimise properly.
Here’s what changes 👇
What’s new
Any Demand Gen campaign created or updated with a daily budget below $5 will trigger an error in the Google Ads API.v21+ → You’ll get a BUDGET_BELOW_DAILY_MINIMUM errorv20 → It shows as UNKNOWN, but the internal error will read CampaignBudgetError.BUDGET_BELOW_DAILY_MINIMUM
This applies when you modify:
– Daily budgets
– Flighted (custom) budgets
Start or end dates that affect daily spendWhat about existing campaigns?They’ll continue running even if they’re below $5/day.But the moment you edit the budget or duration, the new rule kicks in.
You’ll need to raise the budget to at least the minimum threshold.
Passkeys
Google Ads Strengthens Account Security With Passkeys.
Google Ads now supports passkeys a passwordless, phishing-resistant login method designed to improve account security.
Passkeys are required for sensitive actions like:• User access changes• Account linking updates
Supported on:Windows 10, macOS Ventura, ChromeOS 109, Android 9+, and iOS 16+(Apple users must enable iCloud Keychain; Bluetooth is required when signing in via phone on another device.)
Setup is simple start from the Google Ads login page and follow the verification steps.
Thanks for sharing Hana Kobzová
Google Ads Adds Direct Support Contact in Help Hub
Google has refreshed the Help Center homepage and advertisers can now see the contact details of their assigned support representative directly in the Help Hub.
✔️ Direct email access
✔️ Option to schedule a call
✔️ Faster, more personalized support
No more searching for the right contact point. A small UX update, but a meaningful shift toward streamlined advertiser support.Worth checking your Help Center to see the new experience.
Thanks for sharing Hana Kobzová.
Google Ads API Developer Assistant v2.0 is here
This major update transforms the Assistant from a code generator into a proactive troubleshooting and automation partner.
Key highlights:
• One-command setup & updates
• Dedicated conversion troubleshooting suite
• Full support for Google Ads API v23• Session hooks for automatic config & cleanup
• Smarter GAQL validation
v2.0 is all about reducing trial-and-error and speeding up API development. If you build with the Google Ads API, this upgrade is worth it.
Google Ads API Update: EU Political Ads Enforcement Coming April 1, 2026
Google has announced new enforcement changes to align with the EU Political Ads Regulation, which will directly impact advertisers managing campaigns through the Google Ads API and scripts.
What’s changing?
Starting April 1, 2026, new account-level restrictions will apply across API versions v20–v23.If a Google Ads account contains undeclared political campaigns, all campaign management mutate calls will fail with:
MutateError.EU_POLITICAL_ADVERTISING_DECLARATION_REQUIREDWhat still works?
✅ Reporting
✅ Account management
✅ Keyword Planner
What advertisers need to do now
• Identify undeclared campaigns using missing_eu_political_advertising_declaration
• Update campaign status via contains_eu_political_advertising
• Adjust automation, API workflows, and scripts before enforcement begins
Important: Campaigns declared as containing EU political advertising will stop serving ads within the EU.
If you manage Google Ads programmatically, this is not just a policy update, it’s an infrastructure update. Validate your systems early to avoid broken deployments on April 1.
Google Ads API v23.1 is now available
Google has announced the v23.1 release of the Google Ads API, with updates focused on regulatory compliance, YouTube workflows, AI asset controls, and improved measurement.
Key highlights:
EU Political Ads support: New fields allow querying and filtering campaigns missing EU political advertising declarations, along with retrieving account-level declaration status.
YouTubeVideoUploadService: Upload and manage YouTube videos directly through the API, including access to upload status and metadata.
Text guidelines for campaigns: Programmatically guide AI-generated text assets for Performance Max and Search campaigns.
New frequency metrics: Measure how many users saw your ad 2+, 3+, 4+, 5+, or 10+ times for stronger reach and frequency analysis.
New conversion category: YouTube Follow-On Views to track users who watch an ad and later view content from the same channel.
Minor version updates: v20.2, v21.1, and v22.1 add further support for EU Political Ads Regulation. If you’re using the API, make sure to upgrade your client libraries and client code to access these new capabilities.
Thanks for sharing Arpan Banerjee
Renaming
Anthony Higman discovered that Google has renamed the Google Ads Advertiser Verification page to “Account,” adding to the ongoing confusion caused by Google reusing the same terminology across different areas of Google Ads.
New?
Arpan Banerjee shared that the Google Ads support contact form is showing an insane policy that requires you to select it, which is crazy…
New form option
Arpan Banerjee discovered that Google Ads support form now gives 6 options of the issue to select from.
App update
Google now attributes app campaign conversions to the app install date instead of the original ad interaction.
This change reduces discrepancies with MMP reporting and gives Google’s machine learning faster, more stable signals, leading to improved data accuracy and quicker campaign optimization.The update was spotted by David Vargas & Hana Kobzová!
Sponsored places
Barry Schwartz discovered that Google is now testing with Sponsored places!
SDK 25.0.0
Google released Android Google Mobile Ads SDK 25.0.0, a major update introducing new banner sizing logic, breaking API changes, and important deprecations.
Key updates:
• New Large Anchored Adaptive Banner sizes A new API (getLargeAnchoredAdaptiveBannerAdSize) replaces the previous anchored adaptive banner sizing. Larger banner formats are designed to improve engagement and increase publisher revenue potential. Older anchored adaptive banner APIs are now deprecated.
• Breaking changes for developers Several deprecated mediation and custom event APIs have been removed. Developers must migrate to updated classes and callbacks using AdError handling and updated configuration methods to maintain compatibility.
• SDK deprecations and sunset timeline SDK versions 23.0.0–23.6.0 are now deprecated, while versions 22.x will stop working after June 30, 2026. Apps must upgrade to avoid ad serving disruptions.
What it means:
This is primarily a developer and publisher update. App publishers should upgrade quickly to maintain ad delivery, ensure mediation compatibility, and benefit from improved banner performance on modern mobile devices.
Data Manager API V1.5
Google released Data Manager API v1.5, expanding it into a full platform for automated audience management and first-party data activation.
Key updates:
• End-to-end user list management Advertisers can now create, update, retrieve, and delete Customer Match audiences directly via the API, enabling fully automated CRM → Google Ads audience syncing.
• Partner links A new PartnerLinkService allows secure connections between advertisers and data partners across Google Ads and Display & Video 360, improving data sharing and governance.
• User ID support for audience uploads Customer Match now supports User IDs as identifiers, alongside emails and phone numbers, with improved diagnostics to monitor ingestion issues.
What it means for advertisers: Google is moving toward centralized, privacy-safe, first-party audience infrastructure. Advanced advertisers should prepare for automated audience pipelines and stronger CRM integrations instead of manual list management.
Reddit update
Reddit is now testing AI shopping carousels in search results.
Crypto update
In February 2026, Google will gradually introduce the ability for some advertisers to apply for the following certifications in their Google Ads account:
– Cryptocurrency exchanges and software wallets
– Cryptocurrency hardware wallets
– Cryptocurrency coin trust
– Complex speculative financial products
Budget Pacing
Jordan Fry posted that Google just announced an important change to budget pacing when using ad scheduling in Google Ads and it’s easy to misunderstand what this actually means.
Short version:Ad scheduling still works. Your ads will NOT run outside the hours or days you set.
What is changing is how Google tries to spend your budget.
Until now, ad schedules have indirectly limited monthly spend. If you ran ads only during office hours or weekdays, Google often underdelivered because fewer serving hours existed.
Starting March 2026, Google will proactively try to spend up to your full monthly budget (30.4 × daily budget) regardless of your ad schedule.
So what happens in practice?If your ads only run when your sales team is available for example Monday to Friday, 9–5 Google will now concentrate spend more aggressively during those allowed hours to reach the monthly target.
– No weekend ads.
– No schedule overrides.
– No higher billing limits.
But potentially:
• higher auction participation during open hours
• faster daily pacing• more aggressive bidding
• increased CPC pressure in tightly scheduled campaigns
This mainly affects:
– call-driven businesses
– B2B advertisers
– lead gen accounts using office-hour schedules
The key takeaway: your daily budget is no longer spread across the calendar month, it’s effectively compressed into the hours your ads are eligible to run.
First look: Ads are now appearing inside ChatGPT
Adthena & Ashley Fletcher has identified the first sponsored placements showing for signed-in desktop users in the US, and the rollout already challenges many industry assumptions.
Early predictions suggested ads would only appear after a longer conversational journey. Instead, these ads are triggering immediately in the very first response.
Example:A user asks, “What’s the best way to book a weekend away?”→ Sponsored placements appear instantly within the answer.
A few notable observations so far:
• Ads show directly in the initial response, not after multiple prompts
• Clear “Sponsored” labeling is present
• Brand favicons are prominently displayed
• The UI differs slightly from OpenAI’s earlier conceptual mockups
This is an important signal for search marketers.We may be witnessing the transition from keyword search → conversational discovery → AI monetization.
If ads continue appearing at the start of AI conversations, the implications for Google Ads, SEO, affiliate traffic, and discovery journeys could be massive.
Meridian
Google has introduced a new Scenario Planner interface for Meridian, making its open-source Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) solution significantly more accessible for marketers.
The update removes the need for technical or coding expertise by providing a user-friendly UI where advertisers can test different budget allocation scenarios directly within the platform. Marketers can now simulate investment changes across channels and immediately see projected performance outcomes.
The Scenario Planner delivers real-time ROI estimates supported by clear visualizations, helping teams understand not just what happened historically, but what future budget decisions are likely to drive the best results.
Another key improvement is collaboration. Marketing teams can work together inside the same environment, enabling shared planning, faster decision-making, and more aligned forecasting.
In practice, this lowers the barrier to adopting MMM: marketers can move from retrospective analysis toward forward-looking planning without needing data science expertise.
Text Guidelines
Thomas Eccel discovered that Text Guidelines is now rolling out to more accounts!
Shopee
Google partners with Shopee owner Sea to develop agentic AI for e-commerce and gaming what it means for advertisers.
Google and Southeast Asian tech company Sea Ltd announced a new partnership to build AI tools for Shopee and gaming platform Garena.
The collaboration will explore an agentic AI shopping prototype, designed to actively assist and potentially complete shopping tasks instead of just answering user queries.
Why this matters for PPC advertisersThis signals the next step in AI-driven commerce. Google is moving toward AI agents that can compare products, evaluate merchants, and guide purchase decisions automatically.
For advertisers, this means optimization will increasingly shift from winning clicks to being selected by AI systems. Product feed quality, pricing competitiveness, merchant trust signals, and strong conversion data will become even more important.
AI is moving from search assistance to transaction execution. Advertisers should start preparing for a future where visibility inside AI recommendations matters as much as traditional ad placements.
Projection Plans
Ivan Cicconi discovered that Google has just rolled out the Projection Plans (Beta) within the Cross-channel budgeting section!
Pmax Ads shown
Thomas Eccel is Finally seeing where Performance Max is showing !
Landing page images
Thomas Eccel discovered that Google ads added examples of how “landing page images” will be used for pmax campaigns.
Perplexity Ads
Perplexity just ditched ads, and that decision says a lot about where AI search is heading. Perplexity AI has officially stopped running ads on its platform.
The reason? User trust.According to statements shared with the Financial Times, the company believes that even clearly labeled sponsored content can make users question whether AI-generated answers are truly objective.
And in AI search, trust is the product. While companies like OpenAI and Google are actively exploring how to integrate ads into AI experiences, Perplexity is going in the opposite direction. Instead of monetizing through advertising, it’s doubling down on subscriptions and paid tiers.
Interestingly, Anthropic has taken a similar stance prioritizing credibility over ad revenue.As someone working in paid media, I find this fascinating.
Search has always been built on ads. But some AI search might not be.If users start associating AI answers with commercial bias, the long-term value of the platform erodes. Perplexity seems to be betting that protecting trust now is worth more than short-term ad revenue.
Demand Gen change
Google started to send email about: Update to Demand Gen Lookalike segments! Thanks for sharing Arpan Banerjee.
Low activity system bulk changes
Google Ads may be automatically re-enabling previously paused keywords through its “Low activity system bulk changes” tool.
Several advertisers have reported seeing activity log entries showing paused keywords being enabled via automated bulk updates something that historically only paused inactive elements rather than reactivating them.
This matters because unexpected keyword activation can impact budgets, pacing, and overall campaign performance particularly in tightly managed accounts where paused keywords are deliberate. Agencies and in-house teams are concerned that automation may be overriding manual controls.
Advertisers are advised to closely monitor change history logs, watch for unexpected activations, and quickly use the undo function if needed.
The issue was first flagged on LinkedIn by Francesco Cifardi.
Results tab
Google Ads has launched a new Results tab in Recommendations, showing the actual performance impact after applying bid or budget changes.
It compares results one week post-change against an estimated “no-change” scenario, using a 7-day rolling average over 28 days and focusing on the primary bidding metric (clicks, conversions, or conversion value).
Available for Budget and Target recommendations across Search, Shopping, Performance Max, and Demand Gen campaigns.Thanks for sharing Hana Kobzová.
Demand Gen Change
Starting March 2026, Lookalike audiences in Demand Gen will no longer act as strict targeting constraints.
Instead of targeting only users within the selected similarity threshold (narrow, balanced, broad), Google will use Lookalike as a signal. The system can expand beyond the defined audience if it predicts better conversion performance or lower CPA.
This is similar to Optimized Targeting, but it does not replace it. When combined, expansion can go even further.
Advertisers who want to keep legacy Lookalike as a hard constraint will need to request it via a form.Another step toward AI-led targeting similar to Meta’s direction in recent years.
Thanks for sharing Dario Zannoni.
Recommends customer behavior
Arpan Banerjee discovered that Google now recommends Customers’ behavior to improve measurement (beta) in conversion action.
600 dollar for conversion tracking?
Natasha Kaurra discovered that Google is now giving 600 dollars for some customers if they activate conversion tracking!
US Shopify store owners are being sued not for what they sell, but for how their websites are built.
Law firms are using automated tools to scan stores for ADA accessibility and data privacy violations, then pushing fast settlements often ranging from $15,000–$75,000.Many issues are quick fixes.
Check today:
• Add alt text to product images
• Ensure cookie consent loads before tracking pixels
• Make sure your store works without a mouse
Free tools like WAVE and Analytics Debugger can help you spot risks early.
Full breakdown: here
Thanks for sharing Emmanuel Flossie.
Renaming
Google Ads has renamed the YouTube campaign objective group from “Awareness and consideration” to “YouTube reach, views, and engagements”.
Thanks for sharing Aditya shrivastava.
Moving section
Google Ads is moving payment verification into the central “Account” section (previously Advertiser Verification).The “Confirm your payment method” step will now appear under Admin > Policy > Account, alongside other verification and compliance tasks.This consolidates where advertisers manage payment verification and related checks in the Google Ads interface.
Thanks for sharing Hana Kobzová & Aditya shrivastava.
IOS V13.0.0
Google has released Google Mobile Ads SDK for iOS v13.0.0, raising the minimum iOS target to iOS 13 and introducing the new large anchored adaptive banner API for improved banner performance.
Older anchored banner APIs are deprecated, Swift 6 concurrency support is improved, and stricter type checks are enforced. SDK 11.x is now deprecated and 10.x will sunset on 30 June 2026.
Thanks for sharing Arpan Banerjee.
Delay
Google confirms delays in Google Ads API developer token reviews due to high demand following the launch of Explorer Access and new API tools. Extra reviewers have been added, and some applications are being fast-tracked. Advertisers and developers are advised to stay on Explorer Access unless they are hitting quotas, missing features, or clearly planning scale.
ChatGPT has started testing ads inside ChatGPT
ChatGPT will show sponsored results for logged-in users on the Free and Go tiers in the US.
But:
• ads are clearly separated from answers
• ads do not influence the generated responses
• advertisers never see conversations, memory or personal data
• targeting is based on the topic of the conversation and past interactions only in aggregated form
• sensitive areas (health, mental health, politics) are excluded
• users can fully control, hide and delete ad data
From a performance marketing perspective, this is a very different surface than search or social.
The intent signal is not a keyword. It’s a live problem someone is trying to solve.
That makes this potentially one of the highest-intent environments we’ve seen so far if (and only if) relevance and trust are protected.
What’s also important for advertisers: This is clearly not a “paid answers” model.
It’s a parallel, labeled commercial layer next to organic assistance.
Strategically, this feels closer to:
→ discovery + consideration support than to classic demand capture.
If OpenAI gets the guardrails right, this could become a new category in the media mix:
– conversational intent media.
Very early days but one to watch closely if you work in PPC and growth.
AI Performance dashboard
Microsoft has introduced a new AI Performance report inside Bing Webmaster Tools.
This is the first official dashboard from a search platform that shows how your content is surfaced inside AI-powered answers, including Microsoft Copilot, AI summaries in Bing and selected partner experiences.
In the new report you can see:Total citationsThe total number of times your pages are cited as sources in AI-generated answers.
Average cited pages
The average number of unique URLs from your site that appear as sources per day.
Grounding queries
The queries and phrases the AI system used when retrieving and grounding your content.
Page-level citation activity
Citation counts per URL, so you can identify which specific pages are being referenced most often in AI answers.
What’s not included (yet):
No intent or sentiment classification
No visibility into the generated answers themselves
No competitive or cross-domain benchmarking, only your own site.
Experiments
Hana Kobzová discovered that Google Ads is now showing recommended experiments in the Experiments page, based on your account setup and performance data.
Product Eligibility
Hana Kobzová discovered that Product Eligibility Per Campaign is now Live in Products Sections!
Google just announced 7 real updates that will reshape how ads and commerce work in 2026
Short version ↓
Based on Google’s new roadmap, AI Mode gets its own native Shopping ad format.
Ads appear inside the AI shopping conversation, next to AI product recommendations.
AI Mode ads expand beyond retail (starting with travel)Same conversational ad format, now for services and complex decisions.
Direct Offers in AI Mode Brands can show tailored offers only when users are ready to buy → including bundles and loyalty benefits (not just discounts).
Native checkout inside AI experiences
Users can complete purchases directly in AI Mode and the Gemini app.
Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP)
New infrastructure that connects merchants to AI agents for product access, identity and payments.Automated creator–brand matching on YouTube
Google will match brands to creator communities using AI.
Gemini 3 becomes the engine behind AdsGemini 3 now powers creative, AI Max and Performance Max.
ROAS
According to Andrew Lolk you can now suggest a new-customer conversion value based on your chosen target ROAS, instead of requiring a manually set value.
He sees this as an improvement, but still believes the better way to prioritize new customers is by using a lower ROAS target for new-customer bidding, rather than relying on static value adjustments.
Policy change
Google will update its crypto advertising policy for Indonesia in February 2026: only licensed crypto exchanges and software wallets approved by Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK) and certified by Google will be allowed to run ads. Violations will first receive a warning at least seven days before any account suspension.
Looker Studio update – February 12, 2026
Two practical improvements rolled out:Pro users can now change the Google Cloud billing account linked to a Looker Studio Pro subscription without losing access to Pro assets.
No downtime, no migration headaches. Especially useful for agencies, restructures, or finance clean-ups.Improved search filters.
You can now filter reports and data sources by:
– Type
– Owner
– Location
– Date modified
Small update, big impact for teams managing dozens (or hundreds) of dashboards.
Policy update
Starting February 5, 2026, Google no longer allows personalized targeting for App campaigns promoting Rummy and Daily Fantasy Sports apps in India. Only non-personalized delivery is permitted for this vertical in that market.
Big Pmax Update
Matteo Braghetta discovered that Google is rolling out controlled A/B testing for creatives directly inside Performance Max!
New Banner
New banner about call-only ads being deprecated! Thanks for sharing Arpan Banerjee.
Merchant Center Change
Google Merchant Center is now surfacing recommendations specifically aimed at improving your product description field in the feed.
The idea is to push advertisers to use richer, more descriptive and query-aligned product text so Google can better understand, match, and rank products across Shopping and Performance Max placements.
For advertisers, this means feed optimisation is becoming more content-driven: weak or generic descriptions are now a measurable quality gap and should be treated as a performance lever, not just a compliance field.
Found by Petter Norlén.
Alphabet reaches 400 billion revenue (GOOGLE IS DEAD 🤣 )
Alphabet delivered a very strong Q4 and closed 2025 with several structurally important signals for the ads and AI ecosystem.
Annual revenue passed $400B for the first time, with FY revenue up 15% YoY and Q4 revenue up 18% YoY. Operating income also continued to scale, reaching $129.0B for FY 2025 (+15% YoY) while keeping operating margins broadly stable around 32%.
From a growth engine perspective:
Search still grows at scale (+17% YoY), confirming that core query-based monetisation is not being displaced yet.
YouTube generated more than $60B from ads and subscriptions in 2025, reinforcing its position as a full-funnel media channel, not just a branding platform.
Google Cloud is now the fastest-growing major segment: Q4 revenue grew +48% YoY to a $70B+ annualised run-rate, and more importantly operating margin jumped to 30.1%, up from 17.5% a year ago.
On the AI side, scale is already massive:The Gemini app has 750M+ monthly active users and Google processes 10B+ tokens per minute across its first-party models, including direct API usage.
The strategic signal for marketers and platforms is also in the investment numbers:Capex nearly doubled YoY in Q4 (+95%), reaching $27.9B, clearly pointing to sustained infrastructure and AI model investment rather than short-term cost optimisation.
Short version: Google is simultaneously scaling its core ads business, rapidly improving cloud profitability, and massively increasing AI infrastructure spend without sacrificing operating discipline.
Malicious Google Ads
More Malicious Google Ads are targeting Mac users by posing as legitimate tools (for example “Mac cleaner”) and then redirecting them to fake Apple-style support pages hosted on trusted Google domains.
These pages instruct users to run hidden Terminal commands, which can compromise the system. The campaigns appear to use hijacked, previously legitimate advertiser accounts, making the ads look trustworthy at first glance.
Thanks for sharing Hana Kobzová
Multi approval
Google Ads now has a “Multi-Party Approval” security feature: sensitive admin changes (like adding/removing users or changing roles) will require a second administrator’s approval before they go through.
If another admin doesn’t approve or deny the request within ~20 days, the change is blocked. This helps prevent account hijacking by making it harder for a single compromised admin to lock others out or grant themselves access.
Thanks for sharing Hana Kobzová.
Pmax update
Emil Emanuel Ankjær Nordahl discovered that Mixed campaign type experiments are now available in an early beta.
You can test different campaign types against each other (for example Search vs. Performance Max, Demand Gen vs. video, or feed-only PMax vs. Standard Shopping).
The main limitation is that both campaigns must already exist, so you can’t yet test small setting changes within a single campaign.
For now, the workaround is to duplicate a campaign and experiment with different structures or bidding. Despite the limits, this is one of the most promising experiment updates so far.
New diagnostics
Georgi Zayakov discovered that Google Ads has quietly added a new data source diagnostics view in Data Manager that shows clear connection health statuses and actionable error messages, so you can spot broken or degrading data connections before they affect reporting or bidding.
This is especially useful if you rely on offline conversions, CRM imports or complex tagging setups, for example integrations with Salesforce.
It’s a small update, but a meaningful step towards more reliable measurement in Google Ads.
Ads GPT
Early signs that ads are coming to ChatGPT: Glenn Gabe & Barry Schwartz have spotted references to “ads shown to the user” in the source code of ChatGPT responses, even though live ads aren’t widely visible yet.
This reinforces OpenAI’s recently announced plan to begin testing ads in the free and lower-cost Go tier, with ads clearly separated from answers and not influencing model outputs!