Google Ads updates 2026 at a glance
These are the latest Google Ads updates and news for 2026, kept as one running list and newest-first where it matters: the most recent entries are the 24 September Demand Gen update and Google Ads API v25.2 on 23 September. The Google Ads updates of 2026 that matter most to advertisers are: AI Max absorbing dynamic search ads, automatically created assets, and the broad match setting; a 17 August change to how budget-limited Target CPA and Target ROAS campaigns spend; call-only ads being retired; enhanced conversions becoming a single setting; and a wider limited ad serving policy. Each entry below says what changed, when (announced versus available), who it affects, and what to do, with the Google source.
Last checked against Google’s documentation on 29 September 2026. Dates are as Google states them. Where Google gives only a month, so do we.
Act on these now
- Review budget-limited Target CPA and Target ROAS campaigns. Since 17 August 2026 they aim at the target you set rather than beating it. See Bidding and budgets.
- Plan your AI Max move. Automatically created assets and the campaign-level broad match setting auto-upgrade from September 2026; dynamic search ads from February 2027. See AI Max and Search.
- Replace call-only ads. They stop serving in February 2027. See how to move to responsive search ads with call assets.
- Check offline conversion uploads. Uploads through the Google Ads API moved to the Data Manager API on 15 June 2026. See Measurement and data.
- Protect your ad serving. Complete advertiser verification and make your own brand obvious in ads. See Policy.
AI Max and Search
Automatically created assets and broad match setting upgrade to AI Max
- What changed: Search campaigns using automatically created assets or the campaign-level broad match setting are upgraded to AI Max for Search automatically, with settings that mirror the legacy setup.
- Dates: announced 15 April 2026; auto-upgrades start September 2026.
- Who: any Search campaign still using either legacy setting.
- What to do: upgrade on your own terms first so you choose which AI Max features stay on. Our AI Max auto-upgrade guide walks through it. Source: Google Ads & Commerce blog.
Dynamic search ads move to AI Max
- What changed: dynamic search ads are being sunset and auto-upgraded to AI Max.
- Dates: announced 15 April 2026; on 11 June 2026 Google extended the timeline so the DSA sunset and auto-upgrade begin in February 2027.
- Who: accounts with dynamic ad groups or DSA campaigns.
- What to do: use Google’s upgrade tools to carry your DSA settings into standard ad groups, and compare search terms before and after. Source: Google Ads & Commerce blog.
AI Max one-year features
- What changed: AI Brief (guidelines for messaging, matching, and audiences, with previews of sample assets and searches); text disclaimers that work with final URL expansion; AI Max for Shopping; and AI Max for Travel.
- Dates: announced 30 April 2026. AI Brief is rolling out in English for Search first, then Performance Max and Shopping; text disclaimers were rolling out in the following weeks; AI Max for Shopping and for Travel were announced as available.
- Who: AI Max users, and advertisers in regulated categories who need mandatory disclaimer text.
- What to do: if compliance text kept you away from final URL expansion, check whether disclaimers are now in your account. Source: Google blog, AI Max for Shopping.
Call-only ads are retired
- What changed: call-only ads are replaced by responsive search ads with call assets.
- Dates: creation options removed February 2026; existing call-only ads stop receiving impressions February 2027.
- Who: anyone generating phone leads with call-only ads.
- What to do: follow our call-only ads migration plan. Source: Google Ads Help.
“Add responsive search ads” leaves auto-apply
- What changed: the recommendation no longer suggests or applies new responsive search ads, and was removed from the auto-apply settings page.
- Dates: from 26 January 2026.
- Who: accounts that relied on auto-apply to add ads.
- What to do: on the Recommendations page, open the auto-apply settings and review which types you still let Google apply. See auto-apply recommendations. Source: Google Ads Help.
AI Overviews and AI Mode
Ads in AI Overviews
- What changed: text and Shopping ads can appear inside AI Overviews.
- Dates: available now in English, on mobile and desktop, in Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, and the US.
- Who: Search, Shopping, and Performance Max campaigns. Search campaigns need broad match or AI Max keywordless targeting to be eligible.
- What to do: nothing to switch on, and there is no opt-out or segmented reporting yet. Watch search terms for longer, question-style queries. Source: Google Ads Help.
New ad formats in AI Mode (Google Marketing Live 2026)
- What changed: conversational ad formats in AI Mode; Shopping ads with Gemini explanations of why a product fits; a chat-based agent inside ads for lead capture; Direct Offers.
- Dates: announced 20 May 2026. The conversational formats are in testing; the Shopping format and lead agent were announced for the coming months; the Direct Offers pilot is expanding.
- Who: mostly advertisers already eligible for AI Overviews and AI Max.
- What to do: nothing yet. Keep product data and landing pages accurate, since the explanations draw on them. Source: Google blog.
For every announcement from the event in one place, see our Google Marketing Live 2026 recap.
Performance Max
These changes landed in 2025 but are now standard, and many accounts still don’t use them.
Negative keywords up to 10,000 per campaign
- What changed: Performance Max accepts campaign negative keywords and negative keyword lists. The limit was raised from 100 to 10,000 per campaign. They apply to Search and Shopping inventory only.
- Who: every Performance Max campaign.
- What to do: add your irrelevant and brand terms. Our Performance Max negative keywords guide has the steps. Source: Google Ads Help, negative keywords in Performance Max.
More targeting controls
- What changed: up to 50 search themes per asset group (from 25); device targeting and age targeting fully available; gender targeting in beta; final URL expansion assets can be reviewed and removed.
- What to do: exclude devices or ages that never convert, and remove expanded URLs that send traffic to the wrong pages. Source: Google Ads Help.
Channel performance and search terms reports
- What changed: a search terms report for Performance Max and a channel performance report showing results by channel. The channel report is under Campaigns > Insights and reports > Channel performance, with data from 6 June 2025.
- What to do: check which channels spend without converting. See how to read the channel performance report. Source: Google Ads Help.
Bidding and budgets
Budget-limited Target CPA and Target ROAS aim at the target
- What changed: campaigns limited by budget used to be able to beat their target by a wide margin. They now deliver closer to the target you set, even when you change budgets.
- Dates: took effect 17 August 2026.
- Who: Search, Shopping, Performance Max, Demand Gen, Display, Hotel, and Travel campaigns on Target CPA or Target ROAS. App, Video reach, and Video view campaigns keep the previous behavior.
- What to do: compare actual CPA or ROAS with the target for each campaign. If results were far better than target, set the target to the level you actually want, use Google’s bid target adjustment tool, or consider more budget. Full walkthrough: the August 2026 Target CPA/ROAS change. Source: Google Ads Help.
Campaign total budgets, Smart Bidding Exploration, and pacing
- What changed: campaign total budgets (one budget for a whole flight) are available for Search, Shopping, and Performance Max. Smart Bidding Exploration is available on Search, with a beta for Performance Max with product feeds and Shopping announced for the following weeks. Journey-aware bidding is in beta for Search campaigns on Target CPA. Demand-led pacing for Search and Shopping was announced for the coming months.
- Dates: announced 7 May 2026, ahead of Google Marketing Live.
- What to do: use total budgets for fixed-length promotions instead of editing daily budgets by hand. Source: Google blog.
Demand Gen
September 2026 Demand Gen update
- What changed: one-tap image ads on YouTube Shorts and Gmail that take people straight to the landing page; promoted location pins in Google Maps for retailer and dealer networks; a conversational agent beside YouTube ads.
- Dates: announced 24 September 2026. One-tap ads and Maps pins are available now; the YouTube agent needs sign-up.
- Who: Demand Gen advertisers; the Maps pins apply to businesses selling through local partner locations.
- What to do: check that the landing page for image ads loads fast on mobile, since the tap now goes straight there. Source: Google blog.
Measurement and data
Enhanced conversions become one setting
- What changed: from April 2026 Google Ads accepts user-provided data from the website tag, Data Manager, and API connections at the same time. From June 2026 enhanced conversions for web and for leads combine into one on/off setting.
- Who: any account using, or planning to use, enhanced conversions. Existing users who accepted the customer data terms are migrated automatically.
- What to do: confirm the setting is on in your conversion settings, then check that conversions kept recording after June. See what to do if conversions drop to zero. Source: Google Ads Help.
Offline conversion uploads move to the Data Manager API
- What changed: offline conversion imports and enhanced conversions for leads uploads are blocked in the Google Ads API and must use the Data Manager API. Developer tokens that weren’t active between January and June 2026 don’t keep legacy access.
- Dates: deadline 15 June 2026.
- Who: anyone uploading CRM or offline sales data through a script, connector, or agency tool.
- What to do: ask whoever runs your upload which API it uses, and check the latest upload in Goals shows recent conversions. Source: Google Ads Help.
Ask Advisor (beta)
- What changed: one AI agent that works across Google Ads, Google Analytics, and Google Marketing Platform, with Merchant Center joining.
- Dates: announced 20 May 2026; beta for English-language accounts, wider rollout later in 2026.
- What to do: treat its suggestions like any recommendation: check them against your own conversion data. Source: Google blog.
Policy
Limited ad serving expands
- What changed: Google can limit impressions for advertisers it hasn’t yet qualified, on searches with higher risk of a poor experience, such as ads that leave users unsure who the advertiser is. The August update extends this to unqualified advertisers in certain industries across Search, YouTube, Gmail, Play, and Discover.
- Dates: policy updated June 2026; expansion announced 5 August 2026, rolling out gradually and completed by 2028.
- Who: new advertisers, lesser-known brands, and advertisers that mention other brands in their ads.
- What to do: complete advertiser verification, show your own brand clearly in ads and on landing pages, and pin your domain to the front of the headline in responsive search ads. Affected accounts get an in-account notice and an appeal form. Sources: August 2026 update, June 2026 update.
API and Merchant Center
Only relevant if you run scripts, connectors, or third-party tools. Ask your developer or vendor to confirm.
- Google Ads API versions: v22 sunsets October 2026 (tentative), v23 in February 2027, v24 in May 2027. The latest release is v25.2, from 23 September 2026. Source: Google Ads API sunset dates.
- Customer Match: from 1 April 2026 the Google Ads API no longer accepts new Customer Match adopters; new integrations use the Data Manager API. Source: Google Ads Developer Blog.
- Content API for Shopping: sunset on 18 August 2026, with increasing errors from 1 September 2026. Product feeds sent through it must move to the Merchant API. Source: Merchant API updates.
Many of these changes alter an account without anyone editing it: an auto-upgrade, a bidding behavior, a policy limit. Boxoo’s performance and structure agent reviews your settings and changes every day and files a case when something shifts, and the tracking and measurement agent checks conversion tracking and Google’s recommendations. Nothing is applied until you press Apply.
Run a free Google Ads audit to see which of these updates affect your campaigns.
