Last checked against Google’s documentation on 29 September 2026.
What the Performance Max channel performance report shows
The Performance Max channel performance report breaks a Performance Max campaign’s results down by the channel where the ads served: Google Search, the Google Display Network, YouTube, Discover, Maps, Gmail, and Search partners. For each channel you see impressions, clicks, interactions, conversions, conversion value, cost, results, and results value. It also flags channels that can’t show ads, or can only show them in a limited way, and says why. Google documents it in About the channel performance report for Performance Max.
It answers the question advertisers have asked since Performance Max launched: where is the money actually going? It doesn’t give you per-channel controls, and it doesn’t list individual sites or videos. Those limits, and what you can do about the numbers, are covered below.
When it rolled out
- 30 April 2025, announced. Google’s announcement said the open beta for channel performance reporting would start in a few weeks.
- 30 September 2025, still rolling out, with additions. A follow-up post said Google was continuing to roll out the report and added account-level bulk download, a cost view, return columns, segments for conversion action and ad event type, and more diagnostics, including limited serving from restrictive bid targets.
- 29 January 2026, in the API. The Google Ads developer blog announced channel-level reporting in Google Ads API v23, released the day before. In earlier API versions the network segment for Performance Max returned a single mixed value; from v23 it returns the specific channel.
Data starts in mid-2025. The help page says the interface covers any date range after June 6, 2025; the developer blog says the API returns channel data for dates on or after June 1, 2025. You can’t see a channel split for earlier periods.
Where to find the PMax channel report
- Go to Campaigns in the Campaigns menu.
- Open the Insights and reports drop-down.
- Select Channel performance.
To export, select Download on the table toolbar. To add more than one segment to an export, select Download, then More options.
How to read the PMax channel report
The page has several parts. Read them in this order:
- Performance summary. Campaign-level actual ROAS or CPA, your average target, interactions, conversions, conversion value, and cost. Start here so you know whether the campaign as a whole is on target before you judge any channel.
- Channels-to-Goals chart. How each channel contributes. Three filters sit above it: Channel, Format (Ads using product data, Ads using video, or All ads), and Conversions. “Conversions” shows what the campaign optimises for; “Results” includes all your goals, including ones the campaign doesn’t optimise for. Keep this on Conversions when judging efficiency.
- Time series chart. How each channel’s numbers move day by day. Pick one channel to compare impressions, clicks, and conversions on one chart. Use it to line up shifts with changes you made, such as adding a video or changing a target.
- Channel distribution table. The full detail. Add segments with the Segment icon: Channel, Ads using product data, Ads using video, Conversion category, Conversion action, and Ad event type.
The ad event type segment tells you what preceded a conversion, for example a click, an engaged view, an interaction, or an impression. A channel whose conversions come mostly from impressions or views deserves a closer look before you credit it with the same weight as click-driven conversions. Google says the report uses whatever attribution model each conversion action uses.
PMax spend on Display vs Search
To see how spend splits between Display, Search, and the other channels:
- Set the date range to at least the last 30 days, after any recent major change.
- In the channel distribution table, show Cost, Conversions, and Conversion value.
- For each channel, work out its share of cost and its share of conversions or conversion value.
- Compare. A channel with a much larger share of cost than of conversion value is where the campaign is least efficient.
For example, if Display takes a large share of the campaign’s cost but a small share of its conversion value, Display is where to look first. That isn’t proof the spend is wasted, since some Display and YouTube conversions start with a view rather than a click, but it tells you where to dig. Segment by Ads using product data if you sell from a Merchant Center feed: Google counts Shopping ads on Search, YouTube Search, Maps, and Search partners, and dynamic remarketing on Display, in that segment.
The status column and diagnostics
The status column in the table tells you if something stops a channel from serving:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Eligible | No issues on this channel |
| Eligible (Limited) | Issues are limiting where and when ads can show |
| Missing required assets | Network-specific assets are missing |
| Not eligible | The channel can’t show ads |
Hover over a status for details, or select View channel diagnostics. Google lists these diagnostic types: asset group policy issues, product feed and Merchant Center problems, missing required or network-specific assets (for example a missing square image for Display or a business name for Discover), missing or disapproved call or lead form assets, a missing location asset for Maps, Final URL expansion turned off (which limits serving on Search), no video asset, and a budget-constrained campaign.
If a channel shows no spend and no issue, Google says Performance Max is most likely bidding on channels it predicts will deliver a better return at that moment. That is expected behaviour, not a fault.
The PMax placement report is a different report
If you want to know which sites, apps, or YouTube videos showed your ads, the channel report won’t tell you. Use the placement report instead. Google’s placement report guide gives the path: Campaigns → Insights and reports → Report editor → Performance Max campaigns placement. It lists placements and their impressions. Search is not a placement and is excluded. Google says the placement report shouldn’t be used to evaluate performance and should be used as a brand safety tool.
Limitations
- No per-channel budgets or bids. Google states you can’t directly control budget allocation per channel.
- No placement-level performance. Channel is the finest breakdown with cost and conversions.
- Date floor. Nothing before June 6, 2025 in the interface (June 1, 2025 in the API).
- Asset group level is API-only. The developer blog says asset group channel reporting is exclusive to the API and won’t appear in the web interface.
- Product data segment gaps. Other feed-based formats on Gmail, and video ads with products on YouTube and Discover, aren’t included yet.
- Images aren’t only Display. Google notes image assets also serve on Discover, YouTube, and as image assets on Search, so image asset conversions won’t necessarily appear under Display.
- Store conversions. Offline conversions for each store are summed, not shown per store by channel.
What you can change based on it
Google lists these ways to influence where Performance Max spends:
- Improve assets for the channels you want to favour, such as search-relevant text for Search or a video for YouTube.
- Strengthen audience signals with customer lists, custom segments, and website visitors.
- Make sure conversion tracking counts the right actions with the right values.
- Use search themes to guide which searches the campaign matches.
- Use content suitability settings, account-level placement exclusions, and account-level negative keywords to limit unwanted inventory, accepting some loss of reach.
- Give changes one to two weeks to settle before judging them.
If Performance Max is spending on your own brand searches, see Performance Max cannibalising brand search; for search-term cleanup, see Performance Max negative keywords.
Boxoo’s performance and structure agent reviews Performance Max campaigns every day, including how spend and conversions split by channel and which channels are limited by missing assets or other issues. Each finding is filed as a case with the numbers from your account. Where the fix is a change the Google Ads API supports, it is prepared for you to apply; anything else, like adding a video or fixing a feed, comes as exact steps.
Run a free audit to see your own channel split.
