August 2026
Google Tag and Tag Manager become one measurement tool source ↗
Google has merged Google Tag into Tag Manager, putting the measurement settings for Google Ads and Google Analytics in one place. The announcement, dated 20 August, describes a map view showing which platforms are receiving performance data, previews before you publish, and automated event tracking that removes some manual setup. Google says it is already live, and names Akamai, Cloudflare, Duda, Fastly and Webflow as partners on data accuracy.
For your campaigns: No migration step is described, so this is one to look at rather than act on. If you have ever been unsure which of your tags is actually firing, the map view is the part worth opening first.
Merchant Center promotions get a dedicated event section source ↗
A new Event section in Merchant Center promotions lets you build a promotion around a sale or an occasion rather than a single product. You can add a dedicated event URL, upload up to three promotional images, and assign the promotion to specific product categories. Google says events can appear in search results and product listings independently of individual products.
For your campaigns: The category assignment is the useful part. Tying an event to the categories it actually covers means it surfaces on relevant searches instead of every product query you show up for.
You can now upload a business logo directly in Shopping and Performance Max source ↗
Google Ads now lets you upload a business logo while setting up Shopping and Performance Max campaigns, rather than relying on whatever sits in Merchant Center. The upload is optional, and if you skip it the campaign falls back to your Merchant Center logo automatically. The change was spotted on 23 August and Google has not published rollout details.
For your campaigns: Worth two minutes on your next build. The fallback means nothing breaks if you ignore it, but it also means a stale Merchant Center logo keeps showing until somebody replaces it.
Search campaigns get budget and bidding target experiments source ↗
Google announced on 23 August that Search campaigns will support experiments testing a budget increase or a change to a bidding target such as Target ROAS, with several eligible campaigns able to sit in a single experiment. Google places the rollout in September 2026. It extends the one click experiments introduced for AI Max in August 2025 beyond that single campaign type.
For your campaigns: This is the first straightforward way to answer "what happens if I raise the budget" without guessing. Worth waiting for rather than testing by hand, because a real split test tells you something a before and after comparison cannot.
Performance Planner can now test bid and budget changes before you make them source ↗
Performance Planner has been updated so you can examine how a change to a bidding or budget target might affect campaigns you already have running, then apply a recommended adjustment in one click. Google published it on 23 August alongside its AI Max testing and planning tools. The write-up does not say which campaign types are covered, or when it reaches every account.
For your campaigns: Treat the projections as a starting point rather than a forecast. Google has not published which campaign types are covered, so check it against a campaign you know well before trusting it on one you do not.
The asset optimization panel adds a text section source ↗
The asset optimization panel now shows three categories instead of two, adding Text alongside Image and Video, each with its own toggle for the matching enhancement. It follows an earlier layout change for Demand Gen campaigns. The redesign was spotted on 23 August, and Google has not confirmed which campaign types it covers or whether the toggles start switched on.
For your campaigns: Worth opening and reading before you assume your settings carried across. A new toggle in a redesigned panel is exactly where an automatic enhancement can end up switched on without anyone choosing it.
TrueView campaigns are being upgraded to Video View campaigns source ↗
Google is upgrading TrueView in-stream and in-feed consideration campaigns to Video View campaigns, which run multi-format ads selected by Google AI. The item, dated 22 August, notes that campaigns which had opted out of YouTube Search may now include it. No deadline is published, and the write-up does not say whether the upgrade happens automatically.
For your campaigns: The YouTube Search point is the one to check. If you deliberately excluded that placement, the upgrade can put it back, so confirm your placement settings once the change reaches your account rather than assuming they carried over.
Google is testing bigger star ratings in Search ads source ↗
Google is testing a more prominent star rating in Search ads, lifting the score and review count into their own block beside the ad copy rather than tucking them underneath. The example spotted on 16 August showed a 4.4 rating from 5,000 reviews sitting next to price and promotion details. This is a test rather than a rollout, with no eligibility rules or timeline published.
For your campaigns: Nothing to switch on. If you sell products and collect seller or product ratings, it is a reason to keep them healthy, because the format gives them far more room on the occasions it does appear.
Google Ads now asks you to declare EU political content source ↗
Account holders are being asked to declare whether their campaigns carry EU political content. Google states that failing to declare causes ads to be marked automatically as containing EU political content, which restricts where they can serve across EU countries. No deadline has been published.
For your campaigns: This one bites by omission rather than by mistake. If you advertise into the EU and skip the declaration, the restriction gets applied on your behalf, so it is worth completing even when the answer is obviously no.
Demand Gen changes how view-through conversions are optimized source ↗
From 15 August, view-through conversion optimization in Demand Gen applies to video assets only. Image view-through conversions stay visible in reporting but are no longer biddable. Coverage extends past YouTube and the Discover feed to Display placements, and video assets running on Display move from cost per click to cost per thousand impressions. New campaigns have the optimization enabled by default.
For your campaigns: Existing campaigns keep their current settings unless you opt in, so nothing shifts underneath you. New Demand Gen campaigns are the ones to watch: check the billing basis before setting a budget, because video on Display is now priced per thousand impressions rather than per click.
Financial services verification expands to 13 more EEA countries source ↗
Google extended its financial services verification requirement to thirteen further countries in the European Economic Area, following a similar expansion in June. It covers banking, loans, investments, trading and insurance. Applications opened on 11 August and enforcement begins on 15 September.
For your campaigns: If you advertise financial products into the EEA, 15 September is the date that matters. Verification takes time to clear, and leaving it until close to the deadline is how accounts end up sitting paused.
Google is removing language targeting from Search campaigns source ↗
Google announced on 14 August that from late September the campaign-level language setting disappears from Search campaigns, and stops applying to the Search Network part of Performance Max. In its place Google matches on the language of your ad and landing page, alongside what it already knows about the user. Language still applies to Performance Max on YouTube, Display, Discover and Gmail, and Shopping is unaffected.
For your campaigns: Google says no action is required, and single-language campaign structures keep working as they do now. The thing to absorb is that from late September the language you set on a Search campaign simply will not apply, so the real lever becomes the language of your copy and your landing page.
Merchant Center performance reporting changes on 24 August source ↗
From 24 August, YouTube affiliate traffic is reported as its own interaction type instead of sitting inside organic, and YouTube organic clicks and impressions are redefined to match YouTube’s own standards. Product-level ads reporting expands to cover every channel and format, including Performance Max, Video, App and Demand Gen, and a new Network dimension lets you segment performance by channel.
For your campaigns: Expect your numbers to move without anything changing in your account. The two YouTube changes are applied retroactively to 1 July, so organic can drop while ads metrics rise. Compare like for like before you read anything into it.
Text disclaimers get an official help page, with the rules spelled out source ↗
Google published a help page for the text disclaimer asset introduced in June, settling the details advertisers had been guessing at. Disclaimers run to 90 characters, are added from the Assets menu after the campaign exists, are available worldwide, and work with AI Max. A disclaimer overrides a description pinned to position 1, and if the asset is disapproved the ad keeps serving without it.
For your campaigns: Read it before you depend on one. The 90-character ceiling and the truncation risk at larger font sizes or in some languages mean a long legal line may not survive intact, and a disapproved disclaimer fails quietly instead of stopping the ad.
Data Manager API adds a one-call audience wipe source ↗
The latest Data Manager API release adds RemoveAllAudienceMembers, which clears every member from a given user list in one operation, with an optional removeAsOfTime so you can drop only members added before a chosen timestamp. The release also adds ingestion warnings for optional fields that fail validation, and more address fields for Google Analytics events.
For your campaigns: Only relevant if you manage audience lists through the API, but the timestamp option makes rebuilding a stale list far less painful than deleting and re-uploading it.
July 2026
Target CPA and Target ROAS are back as bidding strategies in their own right source ↗
Google Ads is showing Target CPA and Target ROAS as direct choices in campaign setup, rather than as optional targets tucked inside Maximize Conversions and Maximize Conversion Value. It restores the four-way layout that existed before the 2021 consolidation. Spotted on 30 July and rolling out.
For your campaigns: How the bidding works has not changed, only where you find it. If you have been setting a target inside Maximize Conversions, that is the same strategy you will now see named directly.
A Budget Panel suggests daily budgets for PMax and Demand Gen source ↗
Google Ads added a Budget Panel to the Performance Max and Demand Gen campaign review pages. It reads your campaign settings and account history and offers up to three daily budget suggestions, low, medium and high, each with a forecast of the reach and performance it expects at that level. It began appearing in accounts around 31 July.
For your campaigns: Treat the forecast as an estimate, not a promise. The range is a reasonable starting point for a new campaign, but it is built from account history, so a young account gives it very little to work from.
The Insights carousel replaces one-at-a-time recommendations source ↗
Google Ads is rolling out an Insights carousel of swipeable cards in place of a single surfaced recommendation. Seven card types cover urgent campaign issues, budget-limited campaigns, unusual spend changes, actual against target CPA, conversion changes by device, week-over-week conversion trends, and ads whose click-through rate has improved.
For your campaigns: Useful as a health check, and the budget-limited and target CPA cards are the two worth acting on. Read what a card proposes before accepting it, as with any guided action.
Demand Gen gets a holiday-season update source ↗
Google announced a set of Demand Gen changes ahead of the holiday season: checkout links extended to nine more markets, a Target ROAS upgrade meant to stop the strategy bidding over-cautiously so it reaches targets sooner, and the Universal Commerce Protocol for promoting creator content through YouTube ads and affiliate partnerships, currently US only. Google reports an average 6 percent conversion increase for advertisers using checkout URLs.
For your campaigns: That 6 percent is Google’s own figure, averaged across its advertisers. Treat it as a reason to test rather than a number to plan against.
Product reporting splits product clicks from everything else source ↗
Google added two metrics to product reporting: product clicks, meaning a click on the product itself, and non-product clicks, meaning a click on something else in the ad such as the store name or a call to action. There is a counting quirk worth knowing: one non-product click is attributed to every product in the ad, so an ad showing five products records five non-product clicks from a single interaction.
For your campaigns: Read non-product clicks as a signal, not a count. Summing them across products overstates real interactions, so compare products on product clicks when you are deciding what to keep.
Google documents offline conversion imports using GBRAID source ↗
Google published a help document covering offline conversion tracking with GBRAID, the identifier that ties a conversion happening away from your site back to the campaign that produced it. It is organized as getting started, updating your website and lead tracking system, importing conversions through Data Manager, and best practices.
For your campaigns: If you sell by phone or close deals offline, this is the official route for feeding those outcomes back into bidding. Smart Bidding can only optimize toward conversions it is told about.
Video campaigns upgrade to multiple formats in September source ↗
From September 2026, legacy Video Reach campaigns stop being in-stream only and start serving in-stream, Shorts and in-feed, while Video View campaigns on Maximum CPV move to a Target CPV strategy. The upgrade happens automatically. Campaign statistics carry over, but ad group and ad histories reset, and while company name and logo are filled in from the video, ad text and headlines need updating by hand at the next edit.
For your campaigns: Put September in the calendar if you run either type. Nothing is asked of you, but the history reset at ad group level will interrupt any reporting you keep at that grain.
Video assets can be labeled as AI-generated source ↗
Google Ads added an AI use section letting advertisers declare whether a video asset was created or edited with AI, with the declaration carried wherever the ad runs, including the EU, India and New York State. The timing follows an EU requirement taking effect on 2 August 2026.
For your campaigns: This is the disclosure side of the AI transparency work Google already labels automatically for its own tools. If you build video creative with outside AI tools, this is where you declare it.
YouTube audio ads get their first official guide source ↗
Google published a Create YouTube audio ads help page, its first for the format. Audio ads reach listeners on YouTube and YouTube Music, the creative is a video link carrying a static image or light animation, and the maximum length is 30 seconds, with anything up to 15 seconds non-skippable and 16 to 30 seconds skippable. They run as a Video campaign with the Audio subtype under brand awareness and reach, on Target CPM bidding.
For your campaigns: Google suggests 60 to 80 words of voiceover in a 30-second ad. Worth a look for upper-funnel reach if you already have audio creative, though it sits outside what AdPilot pushes, since Video campaigns are export only.
Google clarifies conversion tracking statuses in the interface source ↗
Google reworked how conversion health shows up in the interface. The conversion actions overview now uses five plain-language, colour-coded statuses (Active, Needs Attention, Misconfigured, Awaiting Conversions and Removed), and the status card renames “Last seen” to “Last Event Ping”, which reports when your tag last fired even if no conversion was recorded.
For your campaigns: Faster diagnosis when tracking breaks. Misconfigured means conversions have actually stopped, while Last Event Ping tells you whether the tag is firing at all before you start hunting for the cause.
Demand Gen drops the data threshold for Target ROAS bidding source ↗
Google removed the previous conversion-data requirement for Target ROAS and Maximize Conversion Value bidding in Demand Gen, so a campaign can start on value-based bidding without first building up a conversion history. The bidding section of the interface was redesigned alongside the change.
For your campaigns: New or low-volume Demand Gen campaigns can bid to value from the start. Handy, though a target set on thin data will swing around early, so keep conversion tracking clean and watch it closely in the first weeks.
Google adds a “How this ad was made” AI label source ↗
Google is rolling out a “How this ad was made” panel in My Ad Center across Search, YouTube and Discover, letting people see whether generative AI was used to create or edit an ad. Ads built with Google’s own AI tools are labeled automatically; if you use outside AI tools, you are expected to indicate that yourself.
For your campaigns: If you generate creative with third-party AI, plan to disclose it. Google’s automatic labeling only covers its own tools, so undisclosed external AI creative is a transparency gap worth closing.
SMS becomes a Message asset option in Google Ads source ↗
Google Ads added SMS as a channel inside Message assets, alongside WhatsApp, Messenger and Zalo. You set a 140-character starter message just as you would for the other channels, and SMS conversations feed into your existing account-level message asset goals. Setup is lighter than WhatsApp Business, which lowers the barrier to switching on a text-message lead path.
For your campaigns: If you run lead generation on Search, SMS is a quick messaging channel to test, and its conversions report alongside your other message assets rather than in a separate silo.
Ad preview lets you choose which assets to show source ↗
Google Ads added asset selection to the ad preview: a dialog groups your Images, Videos, Headlines and Descriptions and shows how many of each are selected, so you can preview specific combinations instead of a single fixed render. It is a preview and QA aid, not a change to how ads actually serve.
For your campaigns: Useful for checking how particular headline and image combinations look before launch, especially on asset-heavy Responsive Search and Demand Gen ads.
AI Max help docs updated, API and Editor warning removed source ↗
Google refreshed its AI Max help documentation with new FAQs on what the feature does and how it relates to Performance Max, and it removed the earlier note that AI Max was incompatible with the Google Ads API and Editor. AI Max remains an optimization layer on Search campaigns rather than a separate campaign type.
For your campaigns: If you manage Search at scale through the API or Editor, the dropped incompatibility warning is a signal that AI Max is becoming tool-friendly. Worth another look if you passed on it over tooling concerns.
Google confirms a fix for the Shopify product ID reset bug source ↗
Google confirmed it is rolling out a fix for a bug where uninstalling and reinstalling the Google & YouTube app on Shopify reset product IDs and wiped their historical performance data. No completion date has been given, and Google is advising merchants not to uninstall the app while the fix is deploying.
For your campaigns: If you run Shopping through Shopify, leave the Google & YouTube app in place for now. Reinstalling to fix something unrelated can throw away the performance history your bidding depends on.
Google Ads suggests conversions with AI in the Conversion Summary source ↗
Google Ads has started surfacing AI-generated conversion suggestions inside the Conversion Summary dashboard, flagging actions such as Page view and Engagement conversions under a “Recommended by Google AI” label with a one-click setup button. It is a prompt to finish your measurement setup, not a change to how conversions are counted.
For your campaigns: Read each suggestion before you accept it. A Page view or generic engagement conversion can dilute your Smart Bidding signal if it is not a real business outcome, so switch on only the ones that map to something you actually value.
Shopping ads and free listings open in 14 more countries source ↗
Google is making Shopping ads and free listings eligible in fourteen more European markets, among them Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Serbia, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Montenegro. Selling there needs standard Merchant Center onboarding and locally compliant product data.
For your campaigns: If your products already ship to these markets, a compliant Merchant Center feed is now the only thing between you and free listings plus Shopping reach there.
Shopping ads and free listings policies merge into one set source ↗
From September 2026 Google is combining its separate Shopping ads and free listings policies into a single unified Shopping policy set inside Merchant Center. Google describes the change as organisational: clearer guidance in one place, with no new restrictions on existing product listings.
For your campaigns: Nothing to do now. When it lands in September there is one policy page to check instead of two, which makes tracking down a feed disapproval quicker.
Google launches a NotebookLM tool for pitching Performance Max source ↗
Google released a dedicated NotebookLM workspace aimed at agencies that drafts client-facing pitch emails, discovery call scripts, campaign setup guidance and Performance Max recommendations from a set of prompts. It speeds up the first draft of a pitch rather than the strategy behind it.
For your campaigns: Handy for the busywork of a client pitch, but the PMax structure, budgets and targets still need someone who understands the business. Treat the output as a starting draft, not a finished plan.
Performance Max gets Asset Group Theming source ↗
Google Ads can now clone a Performance Max asset group into themed variations, using generative AI to restyle your existing product imagery with seasonal backgrounds such as Back to School or Halloween. Your original assets stay untouched; the themed copies run as variations you can test.
For your campaigns: Seasonal testing in PMax just got much cheaper. If your asset groups are well structured, cloning a Halloween or Back to School variant is now a few clicks rather than a rebuild.
PMax Channel Diagnostics flags missing assets per channel source ↗
The Channel Performance section of Performance Max now includes a diagnostics view, collectively or per channel (Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail, Maps), that identifies missing or unaccepted assets such as headlines, descriptions and images that are limiting where your campaign can serve.
For your campaigns: PMax underdelivery is very often an asset-completeness problem. Check the diagnostics before touching bids; a missing description or image can silently keep a whole channel dark. Campaigns generated with AdPilot ship with the full asset set for exactly this reason.
Demand Gen animates your static images (beta, on by default) source ↗
Demand Gen campaigns received an Animated Images beta that automatically adds motion effects to static image assets. Google’s goal is higher engagement from the same creative; the enhancement is enabled by default.
For your campaigns: Check how your images look animated: the feature is on by default, so your brand imagery may already be moving. Opt out per campaign if motion does not suit the creative.
Merchant Center Next is now just Merchant Center source ↗
From July 2026 Google is dropping the “Next” branding: the migrated platform is simply called Google Merchant Center again. No features, access or account settings change.
For your campaigns: Purely cosmetic; nothing to do. Your product feeds, links and Shopping campaigns are unaffected.
June 2026
Target CPA and Target ROAS behaviour changes from 17 August source ↗
Google announced (22 June) that target-based bid strategies are changing on 17 August 2026 so that budget-limited campaigns deliver more consistently toward their set targets. From 6 July a Bid Target Adjustment Tool lets you review and modify campaign targets ahead of the change.
For your campaigns: If you run budget-capped campaigns on target-based bidding, put 17 August in your calendar and review your targets with the adjustment tool before the switch, so the new behaviour starts from numbers you actually mean.
Gemini-powered Overview page (beta) source ↗
Google Ads unveiled (30 June) a redesigned Overview page built on Gemini: a full-page AI canvas that summarizes account performance, surfaces insights and offers guided actions. It is in beta for English-language accounts, with early access via Google account teams.
For your campaigns: Expect the Google Ads home screen to start proposing actions, not just charts. As always with guided actions: read what it wants to change before accepting.
Max Conversion Value arrives in Standard Shopping source ↗
The Max Conversion Value bidding strategy became available (26 June) in Standard Shopping campaigns, directly from the bidding dropdown in campaign settings. Previously revenue-maximising bidding of this kind was associated with Performance Max.
For your campaigns: Standard Shopping advertisers can now bid toward revenue rather than clicks or conversions without moving to PMax. Worth testing if your products vary widely in value.
PMax Products report can filter by asset group source ↗
Performance Max’s Products report gained an asset-group filter (25 June), so product-level performance can be analyzed per asset group instead of only at campaign level.
For your campaigns: You can finally see which asset group is doing the selling for each product, which makes restructuring decisions (split, merge, retheme) evidence-based instead of guesswork.
Text Disclaimer asset for regulated industries source ↗
A Text Disclaimer asset went live (22 June) in the Assets section for regulated industries. Advertisers pick a disclaimer type and text, preview how it renders on Responsive Search Ads, and it works with AI Max features including Final URL Expansion.
For your campaigns: If you advertise in a regulated category (finance, health, legal), this replaces awkward workarounds: the disclaimer lives as an asset with a live preview, and it overrides a description pinned to position 1.
Measurement: extra data sources for the Google tag (beta) source ↗
Google introduced (18 June) a beta that lets the Google tag ingest additional data sources, such as your CRM or backend systems, to shore up conversion measurement. Google pitches two benefits: resilient measurement when signals are lost, and improved bidding from more complete data.
For your campaigns: If ad blockers or consent gaps are eating your conversion data, this is the official patch: richer signals mean steadier smart bidding. Setup is manual via Tag Manager or Data Manager.
Attributed Branded Searches goes global source ↗
The Attributed Branded Searches metric became available globally (30 June), measuring branded search volume triggered by ad impressions, aimed at proving the intent lift from YouTube brand campaigns. Video View campaigns can also fold YouTube Shorts ad actions into budget optimization.
For your campaigns: Upper-funnel YouTube spend finally gets a defensible number: how many branded searches your impressions created. Useful ammunition when video budgets are questioned.
Want the practical version of all this? AdPilot bakes current Google Ads requirements into every campaign it generates, from PMax asset completeness to Demand Gen media rules. You can see it on your own website free, no account needed.
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