Google has released an important new update for Performance Max campaigns, called “Your Data Exclusions”.With this new campaign-level setting, advertisers gain more control over how first-party data is used in PMax.
What is “Your Data Exclusions”?This is not the same as Data Exclusions used for conversion tracking issues.
This new feature allows you to exclude your own data sources from Performance Max campaigns.
Specifically, you can now exclude:
- Remarketing lists
- Customer Match lists
These exclusions can be applied directly at the campaign level.
Why this matters
Until now, Performance Max automatically used all available first-party data.
That often meant:
- Limited control over audience usage
- Difficulty separating prospecting from remarketing
- Less clarity in campaign intent
With “Your Data Exclusions”, advertisers can now:
- Run cleaner prospecting-focused PMax campaigns
- Prevent overlap with remarketing strategies
- Test different growth strategies more clearly
What this signals from Google
This update suggests that Google is slowly responding to long-standing requests for:
- More transparency
- More control
- Better campaign separation within PMax
- While PMax remains highly automated, this is a step toward more intentional use of first-party data.
Final thoughts
Performance Max is still an AI-driven campaign type, but features like this show that control and automation don’t have to be opposites.
For advertisers who want clearer structure and strategy, “Your Data Exclusions” is a meaningful improvement.
This update was first spotted by Satoshi Ando, shared by Dario Zannoni, and later confirmed in English by Callie Kessler.
Thanks to Thomas Eccel for helping surface and distribute this update more broadly. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/thomaseccel_ppc-googleads-activity-7421454485505593344-MIS-?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAADgO2Z4B89w25NEtrI9ZRlfnlTSIa6grYEE