Google Ads API access moves from developer tokens to Cloud projects

What changed

The migration guide says active access was transferred using recent API activity. Existing requests can temporarily continue sending the token header, which is ignored, but a future major version will reject it. New Basic and Standard applications require brand verification; existing holders are exempt. Pending Basic applications need resubmission, while pending Standard applications continue through review.

The operational question is which project a real integration uses. An agency may have separate systems for reporting, campaign management and internal experiments. Checking the project behind one reporting connection does not verify every other connection. Build an inventory that links each production service to its responsible team and records the result of a harmless read request.

Consider an illustrative handover from an external developer to an in-house team. Copying familiar configuration into a newly created project would not establish that the new project has production access. Before switching traffic, the team should confirm the destination project's access and validate the integration through its normal release process. This is a planning example, not an observed account failure.

Why it matters for advertisers

For advertisers, an apparently administrative change can affect the reliability of reports and automated workflows. A successful verification gives the account team a clear owner and an escalation route. It is more useful than making an urgent, untested credential change simply because a token is being retired. Google's documentation establishes the migration; no individual author or first-reporter claim is established.