Google Ads News
New in PMax: “Apply Theme to Asset Group”
New in PMax: “Apply Theme to Asset Group” 👀 Google now lets you apply seasonal themes like Black Friday, Christmas, summer sale, back to school, Valentine’s Day, and more.
Thanks for sharing Thomas Eccel.
Shopping checkout
Emmanuel Flossie discovered that Google Shopping Checkout Links are now available in the the following additional countries: Indonesia, France, Mexico, Argentina, Israel and Australia.
New CTA Test
Arpan Banerjee discovered these new CTA buttons for Google Ads!
60 Seconds
Emirhan Bayutmuş discovered that Google Ads has added a new option under Premier reach (video reservation). Now, non-skippable in-stream ads can be up to 60 seconds long. This feature is currently in beta.
New window
Khushal Bherwani discovered that Google is testing a New Window Icon for Search Ads.
Text disclaimer
Google Ads has introduced Text Disclaimer assets for Search campaigns, allowing mandatory legal or compliance text of up to 90 characters to appear consistently in responsive ads.
The asset does not affect Ad Strength, works with AI Max, and is especially useful for regulated industries such as finance, healthcare, insurance, and legal services.
Thanks for sharing Yash Mandlesha!
Pmax credit
VIVEK GUPTA discovered that Google is again promoting Pmax with Ad credit!
20k credit
Anthony Higman discovered that Google is now show 20k in ad credit!
Audience reporting
Thomas Eccel & Yash Mandlesha discovered that audience reporting in Pmax is now live!
AI Summary
Google is testing the placement of AI-generated summaries in Google Ads sponsored results, positioned just below the description. Thanks for sharing Hana Kobzová, Barry Schwartz & Darcy Burk.
Top Insights
Google Fully Launched the “Top Insights” Open Beta. Thanks for sharing Aleksejus Podpruginas!
Changes to Target-Based Bid Strategies
Starting August 17, 2026, Google Ads will update target-based bidding so campaigns optimize more closely to the set Target CPA or Target ROAS, even when budgets change.
Campaigns that are limited by budget and currently perform better than their targets may see efficiency decline unless targets are adjusted. For example, a campaign with a $10 Target CPA currently achieving $5 CPA may move closer to $10 CPA after the update.
Advertisers should review campaigns that use target-based bidding, are or were budget-limited, and outperform their targets. Google will not automatically change budgets or targets.
From July 6, 2026, the Bid Target Adjustment Tool will help advertisers review recent performance and update targets.
Advertisers can keep current targets, match recent performance, set custom targets, change bidding strategies, or increase budgets. Google recommends allowing enough budget to scale and waiting one to two conversion cycles after budget changes before evaluating results.
App campaigns, Video Reach, and Video View campaigns will keep the previous behavior. Hotel and Display campaigns already use the updated behavior.
New Banner
Arpan Banerjee discovered that Google is now showing that starting on 17 August 2026, campaigns with bid targets (e.g. a CPA or ROAS target) will provide more consistent performance when limited by budget, even after budget adjustments.
Unsubscribe
Emmanuel Flossie & Hana Kobzová discovered that Google Ads Users Can Now Unsubscribe From Reps.
New Google Tag Manager Version 🚨
It looks like Google is rolling out the new Google Tag Manager version; this could be the reason why it’s super slow today!
Serp correction
It looks like Google is testing the “Included Or Missing Words” Organic SERP Feature Now Directly In Paid Ads. Thanks for sharing Anthony Higman.
Merchant Center Change
Merchant Center for Agencies is introducing simpler, more secure account management. Agencies can now link client accounts in a few clicks, manage access from one centralized view, and assign Admin or Standard user roles to better protect client data.
ABS
Google Ads’ Attributed Brand Search (ABS) conversions show when users search for a brand after seeing an ad, even without clicking.
They currently work across Demand Gen and YouTube placements, including YouTube, Discover, and Gmail, and must be enabled through a Google rep.
Credit to Dario Zannoni for sharing the breakdown.
Remove shocking Ads
Barry Schwartz discovered that Google Removes Shocking Content From Ads Not Allowed For Young Users.
Customer match MC
Emmanuel Flossie & Barry Schwartz discovered that Google Ads now allows you to upload your customer loyalty data, i.e. Customer Match data, via the Google Merchant API.
New YouTube campaign features
New YouTube campaign features provide deeper brand insights by tracking Shorts engagement and ad-driven branded searches. These metrics help advertisers measure brand impact, purchase intent, and potential sales growth more effectively.
Deprecating
Arpan Banerjee just send me a message that Google is deprecating Structured Data Files (SDF) versions 9, 9.1, and 9.2 on January 28, 2027.
Users should migrate to SDF v10 or later before that date using the SDF v10 Migration Guide.After the sunset date:Partners and advertisers still using the deprecated versions will default to v10.API requests using SDF_VERSION_9, SDF_VERSION_9_1, or SDF_VERSION_9_2 will return a 400 error.
Bigger Font
Arpan Banerjee discovered that google is testing with a bigger font for sitelinks!
Renaming
Google Ads has renamed its Default Ads Treatment policy to clarify how age estimation affects ad delivery.While Google estimates a user’s age, ads for adult content, alcohol and gambling remain temporarily restricted. No advertiser action is required.
Inventory
Google Ads’ Inventory Type rebrand is now appearing in accounts.Expanded is now Maximum Inventory, Standard is now Moderate Inventory, while Limited remains unchanged. The screening parameters are unchanged.
Spotted by Aleksejus Podpruginas.
New design
Google Ads is rolling out a redesigned All Campaigns selector with expandable campaign hierarchies and built-in search.The update should make navigation easier for advertisers managing large or complex accounts. Rollout is ongoing.
Discovered by VIVEK GUPTA.
Google Tag Manager update
Google Tag Manager is getting a cleaner, more beginner-friendly interface.
The bigger story, however, is what these updates are preparing for: a deeper integration between Google Tag and GTM.The new UI includes a simplified Overview dashboard, collapsible navigation, and a visual event builder for Google Ads purchase conversions.
That builder makes setup easier by letting users select transaction data directly from the website.Useful for beginners, but potentially risky for performance.
Because it relies on CSS selectors, tracking can break when page layouts change.
For reliable purchase data, a proper Data Layer implementation is still the better option.And reliable purchase data matters far beyond tracking.
Thanks for sharing Simo Ahava .
New Performance Max Channel Diagnostics
Google Ads has introduced a useful diagnostics feature within Channel Performance, found under Insights & Reports.Advertisers can now review diagnostics across all channels or examine a specific channel to identify
:✅ Missing assets
✅ Assets that were not accepted
✅ Opportunities to improve campaign performance directly from the reportThis should make troubleshooting Performance Max campaigns faster and help advertisers take action without jumping between multiple reports.
Credit to Aleksejus Podpruginas for spotting and sharing this update.
Vehicle Ads Japan
Vehicle ads are now available for all vehicle advertisers in Japan!
France Crypto
Starting July 1, 2026, Google will require crypto exchange and wallet advertisers in France to be authorized as CASPs under MiCA. Google will no longer accept France’s AMF DASP registration because the country’s transitional period has expired.