Paid Media News (Week 25)
Paid Media News (Week 25)
Explore every update from this edition, with the original reporting and contributor credits.
A digest of the original edition. Updates and availability reflect what was reported at the time.
Google bundles three bidding and budgeting updates, with the biggest change landing on 17 August
Google has announced three bidding and budgeting updates, confirmed by Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin, on the Accelerate with Google blog. The headline change is Bidding Target Optimisation: from 17 August 2026, campaigns that are budget-limited and use a target-based strategy, such as Target CPA or Target ROAS, will perform more consistently toward the target you set, rather than over-delivering against it.
Read this update in detail →Google launches Ask Ad Manager, a conversational AI agent for publishers
Google has introduced Ask Ad Manager, a conversational AI agent built with Gemini, within Google Ad Manager, as announced by Ginny Marvin. Aimed at publishers, it answers questions and automates manual processes directly in the interface: diagnosing why a line item is not delivering and providing fix steps, answering complex performance questions such as how top bidders are performing, and surfacing insights without manual report-building.
Read this update in detail →Performance Max gains a channel-performance-over-time report
Google is rolling out a Channel performance over time report for Performance Max, flagged by Aleksejus Podpruginas. Found under the Insights and reports section in a dedicated Channel performance tab, it shows how a campaign distributes budget and delivers across networks over time: the kind of channel-level visibility advertisers have long said Performance Max lacked.
Read this update in detail →Performance Max adds product-level performance by asset group
Google has rolled out the ability to view product-level performance for a specific asset group inside the Performance Max Products report, flagged by Yash Mandlesha. Advertisers can now select an individual asset group and see how its products perform, rather than manually filtering and cross-referencing.
Read this update in detail →Text disclaimers arrive in Google Ads assets for regulated industries
Google has added Text Disclaimers as a dedicated asset in Google Ads, flagged by Arpan Banerjee. Built for regulated industries such as finance, healthcare, insurance, legal, and gambling, the asset gives advertisers a compliance-specific way to surface mandatory disclaimer text.
Read this update in detail →Google adds Search Partners and Display selection to Performance Max in alpha
Google is testing partner selection in Performance Max, flagged by Arpan Banerjee. In an alpha, advertisers can choose whether their Performance Max campaigns serve on Search Partners: third-party search sites and apps beyond Google: and across the Google Display Network.
Read this update in detail →Google confirms conversion-based customer lists from 17 June
Google is enabling conversion-based customer lists for eligible accounts as of 17 June 2026. The feature applies to advertisers already using both Enhanced Conversions and Customer Match and automatically builds audience lists from conversion data.
Read this update in detail →Performance Max gets Google-hosted form leads inside Conversions
Google has launched a beta that brings Google-hosted form leads into the Conversions section, flagged by Arpan Banerjee. Raw, qualified, converted, and lost leads are now tracked in one place, giving advertisers a clearer view of lead quality without the need to export to a separate system.
Read this update in detail →Demand Gen on Discover with view-through conversions moves to CPM billing
Google is changing how Demand Gen campaigns on Discover are billed, flagged by Arpan Banerjee. From 15 July 2026, Demand Gen campaigns on Discover that have view-through conversion optimisation enabled will move from cost-per-click to cost-per-impression billing.
Read this update in detail →Google renames Smart Bidding strategies, decoupling Target CPA and Target ROAS
Google is updating how bidding strategies are labelled to clarify the difference between volume-focused and target-focused goals, announced on the Google Ads Developer Blog. Target CPA and Target ROAS are being decoupled from Maximise conversions and Maximise conversion value, reverting to their previous standalone naming.
Read this update in detail →Paul Graham flags Google mixing ads into image search results
Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham has publicly criticised Google for mixing ads into the middle of image search results, in a post that drew wide attention and was covered by Barry Schwartz. Graham said the practice degrades search quality: returning products from unrelated manufacturers for a watch query: and that he has switched to Bing for some searches.
Read this update in detail →Google to use IP addresses for ad personalisation in the EEA and UK
Google has begun using IP addresses for ad measurement and personalisation in the EEA and UK. The change applies after 3 August and affects how user consent requirements are handled, treating IP-derived signals as part of the data Google uses to measure and personalise ads in those regions.
Read this update in detail →Google Ads to allow Daily Fantasy Sports ads in Colorado from 1 July
Google has updated its Gambling and Games policy to allow Daily Fantasy Sports advertising in Colorado from 1 July 2026, as reported by PPC News Feed. Only operators certified under Colorado state regulations will be eligible, and advertisers must complete Google's certification before running ads.
Read this update in detail →Google Ads API expands product reporting across campaign types from 15 June
Google has expanded product reporting in the Google Ads API as of 15 June 2026, as flagged by Loveleen Joao and announced on the Google Ads Developer Blog. Cost and conversion metrics now return at the product level for Video, Demand Gen, and App campaigns, where previously only impressions and clicks were available.
Read this update in detail →Microsoft Ads adds LinkedIn job-seniority targeting
Microsoft Advertising has added job seniority as a LinkedIn Profile targeting dimension across Search and Audience campaigns, announced by Microsoft Product Liaison Navah Hopkins. Advertisers can target or observe ten standardised seniority levels: CXO, VP, Director, Manager, Senior, Entry, Owner, Partner, Training, and Volunteer: at both campaign and ad-group level, with bid adjustments applied independently per level.
Read this update in detail →Microsoft expands its Advertising MCP server to an open pilot
Microsoft Advertising has expanded its Model Context Protocol server into an open pilot. The move brings Microsoft into line with Google by granting external AI tools structured access to the advertising platform, allowing agents and assistants to query and manage Microsoft Ads campaigns through the MCP standard.
Read this update in detail →Microsoft updates its Gambling and Games policy
Microsoft Advertising has published a June 2026 update to its Gambling and Games policy in its advertising policy help centre. The update refines where and how gambling and games ads may run, consistent with Microsoft's market-by-market approach, in which advertisers must be licensed in the target market and complete the gambling enablement process before serving ads.
Read this update in detail →Server-side GTM gains control to block browser calls for Ads and Floodlight tags
Google is adding a server-side GTM control that blocks the browser calls made by Google Ads and Floodlight tags, flagged by Simo Ahava. The change relates to Google Ads' shift in how it responds to the consent state and to Google Signals when linked to a GA property.
Read this update in detail →Google fixes its Shopify integration to report order volume and value server-side
Google is updating its Shopify integration (the Google & YouTube app) to use server-to-server events, fixing a long-standing gap in how order volumes and values are reported, flagged by Maz Darvish. Until now, the app relied on client-side, browser-based tracking that routinely missed purchases: an estimated 10–40% lost to ad blockers, privacy browsers, iOS restrictions, and shoppers closing the tab before the confirmation page loaded.
Read this update in detail →Google's Tag Gateway for advertisers adds Amazon CloudFront support
Google's Tag Gateway for advertisers now supports Amazon CloudFront as a CDN option, effective 3 June 2026, flagged by Matteo Zambon. The gateway routes Google tag traffic through an advertiser's own domain or CDN infrastructure before it reaches Google's servers, improving first-party data collection, match rates, and resilience against browser restrictions and tracking prevention.
Read this update in detail →Meta reorganises the Ads Manager creation flow
Meta has moved three things in the Ads Manager creation flow, flagged by Deividas Tokaris. Flexible format no longer appears in Ad setup, with Meta pushing advertisers toward a unified multi-format setup where assets are uploaded, and Meta displays them across surfaces.
Read this update in detail →Meta adds an AI-content disclosure step in ad creation
Meta now lets advertisers indicate whether an ad's content was created with AI during ad setup, flagged by Matias Axel Ramayo. For now, the disclosure does not appear in the ad itself; it appears in the "Why am I seeing this ad?"
Read this update in detail →LinkedIn adds GIFs to comments
LinkedIn now lets users add GIFs directly in feed comments via the reply box, flagged by Matt Navarra. GIFs already worked in messages and ads, but previously needed MP4 conversion for feed use.
Read this update in detail →Amazon removes the "Contact Customer" button from the reviews dashboard
Amazon has removed the "Contact Customer" button from the Customer Reviews dashboard, effective immediately, flagged by Vanessa Hung. Unless a reviewer messages the seller first through the Messages system, brands now have no path to reach a reviewer directly.
Read this update in detail →ChatGPT keeps gaining US share as AI chat interfaces reach 2% of retail traffic
Two data points this week underline AI's steady encroachment on discovery. Vladimir Hanzlik noted that ChatGPT continues to add roughly 3 million new US site visitors per month, with its share of US internet users still climbing and no sign of a slowdown despite pressure from Gemini in the consumer market and Claude in the business market.
Read this update in detail →SpaceX agrees to acquire AI coding startup Cursor for $60bn
SpaceX has agreed to acquire AI coding startup Cursor for $60bn in stock, days after the company's record IPO. The deal is intended to help SpaceX's AI division: built around Elon Musk's xAI, which SpaceX merged with earlier this year: catch up to the major AI labs, and is expected to close in the third quarter.
Read this update in detail →Anthropic's export-control suspension reframes the build-versus-rent calculation
App Economy Insights has framed last week's events as a turning point for the AI market in its "Trillion-Dollar Off Switch" analysis. SpaceX's record IPO raised around $75bn at a valuation near $1.8tn, with its market cap surging past $2.5tn in its first two days.
Read this update in detail →European Parliament approves amendments to the AI Act
The European Parliament has approved proposed amendments to the AI Act, flagged by Luiza Jarovsky. The changes adjust the timeline for high-risk AI obligations: applying from 2 December 2027 for systems listed in Annex III and from 2 August 2028 for those embedded as safety components under EU sectoral legislation: and set AI-generated content labelling obligations from 2 December 2026.
Read this update in detail →UK regulator orders Google to rank search results fairly and transparently
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has imposed two new conduct requirements on Google's search services. Under the Fair Ranking requirement, Google must rank organic results: including in AI Overviews, but not sponsored results: using objective and non-discriminatory criteria, give businesses advance notice of significant ranking changes, and create a clear process for businesses to raise concerns.
Read this update in detail →Google tells site owners to add all domain variants to the Change of Address tool
Google has updated its documentation to advise that, for domain migrations, site owners should add all domain variants to the Change of Address tool, flagged by Barry Schwartz. The guidance is a small but practical clarification for anyone moving a site between domains, where missed variants can cause signals to transfer incompletely.
Read this update in detail →Microsoft introduces Web IQ to ground AI assistants in live web data
Microsoft Advertising has set out its "AI economy" vision ahead of Cannes Lions on its blog, centred on Web IQ. Introduced at BUILD 2026, Web IQ is a suite of AI-native grounding APIs that connect AI systems to fresh, real-world intelligence from web pages, news, images, and videos, and is already used by assistants such as Copilot and ChatGPT.
Read this update in detail →Google releases Scene Machine, an open-source tool that turns product images into video ads
Google has released Scene Machine, an open-source tool that turns product or service images into video ads, shared by Floris van de Peppel of Google's Strategic Partnerships team. Built on Google Cloud and powered by Google AI, it offers a workflow to iterate, compose, and export video ads at scale, designed for advertisers who need creative variety for Performance Max and Demand Gen but want to avoid the time and cost of traditional video production.
Read this update in detail →Claude Code adds shareable Artifacts
Anthropic has added Artifacts to Claude Code, announced on its Claude account. Artifacts are interactive pages built from a working session: a pull-request walkthrough or a living project dashboard, for example: shared with a team at a private link.
Read this update in detail →Claude adds enterprise-managed authentication for connectors
Anthropic has introduced enterprise-managed authentication for Claude connectors, announced on its Claude for Business account. Admins can authorise and authenticate a connector once at the organisation level through their identity provider: starting with Okta: and users gain access the first time they log in, with access staying consistent across Claude chat, Claude Code, and Cowork.
Read this update in detail →Claude Design adds design-system awareness and Claude Code sync
Anthropic has updated Claude Design to stay on-brand with a team's design system across projects, announced on its Claude account. It can import a design system from a repository, design files, or a codebase, build with a team's real components, and check its own output against the design system before a user sees it.
Read this update in detail →Microsoft 365 Copilot Cowork reaches general availability
Microsoft has made Microsoft 365 Copilot Cowork generally available worldwide, flagged by Jack Rowbotham. Cowork executes complex, long-running, multi-tool tasks: the user defines the work, and Cowork runs it end-to-end, returning a completed result.
Read this update in detail →The Google Ads plugin can be installed in Claude Desktop again
Ales Sturala has flagged that the Google Ads plugin can once again be installed natively in Claude Desktop. Anthropic's April 2026 release had removed the option to add custom plugin marketplaces; it is back, though hidden under a "+" button within Customise, which Niels M. located.
Read this update in detail →Strip the Google Ads UI back to the data with a free Chrome extension
Bob Meijer has built and released a free Chrome extension that hides the clutter that the Google Ads interface has accumulated: AI performance summaries, auto-pop-up notifications, educational cards, Ads Advisor callouts, and "you're viewing this data range" reminders: leaving the tables and charts that carry the performance data visible. There is one toggle per element or a master switch to strip the whole interface back to a focused view.
Read this update in detail →The advertiser takeaway
Each update reflects the source reporting at the time. Open an individual update for its full description, original links and media.
Explore the original edition
Every update from this edition is linked above. Explore the original newsletter for its full context, contributor credits and reporting links.
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