Google documents channel definitions for Search and Shopping reports in 2027

What changed

The note appears on Google’s Performance Max channel-definition help page. It describes where the definitions are currently visible and names standard Search and Shopping reports as the next extension. The documentation has no verified revision date, so the timing of this wording change should remain separate from the future availability statement.

A channel in this framework describes the surface on which an ad served, rather than one creative format. The listed surfaces are Google Search, the Google Display Network, YouTube, Discover, Maps, Gmail and search partners. YouTube, for example, can include non-video formats as well as video. Maps includes Waze in the current definitions.

Another important distinction is product data. Google describes shopping inventory through the report’s segmentation for ads using product data. It is not simply an additional channel alongside those seven surfaces. That means teams should keep channel, ad format and product-data use separate when interpreting a breakdown or designing a reporting table.

The prospective extension matters because a shared vocabulary can make cross-campaign reporting easier to understand. It does not mean standard Search and Shopping campaigns will automatically gain every Performance Max placement. Nor does the note promise new bidding controls, channel-level budgets or a particular report interface. Those would need their own documentation or confirmed account evidence.

For reporting teams, the useful preparation is to review current channel labels and document what each includes. When the extension becomes available, check the account’s actual dimensions and exports before altering historical dashboards. A change in classification can affect comparisons even when the underlying advertiser activity has not changed. Preserve the old reporting definition alongside the new one so differences can be explained.

PPC News Feed’s coverage is dated 4 November 2026, with Hana Kobzová retained as reporting credit. Google is the original source for the documented behaviour. The official page was checked on 5 November; neither that check date nor the coverage date establishes when Google first edited the page. Wider first-reporting priority remains unverified.