Microsoft documents business-snapshot setup for Performance Max drafts

What changed

Microsoft Advertising documentation describes an account-creation flow in which advertisers provide business information, review a generated business snapshot and use that snapshot to create a Performance Max campaign draft. The evidence is documentation, not confirmation of a new launch, and the official page does not provide a revision date.

During setup, Microsoft asks for core business details including a website, business location, advertising language and legal contact information. Advertisers can also provide optional material such as brand guidelines, campaign or creative briefs, logos and images. The documentation says a user can continue once at least one valid input, such as a business website URL, has been supplied.

Microsoft says it analyzes those inputs to build a snapshot of the business. The snapshot can include business name, service areas, offerings, customers and advertising goals, as well as brand and asset details such as logos, images, brand voice, term exclusions and messaging guidelines. Users are instructed to review the snapshot, see source information through the interface and edit fields as needed. If inputs are changed, Microsoft says the snapshot updates.

The reviewed snapshot is then used to create a Performance Max campaign draft. Microsoft describes that draft as pre-filled but editable. Advertisers can review budget and bid strategy, assets and targeting before proceeding. The cited documentation specifically lists checkpoints including locations, languages, audience signals, search themes and negative keywords, alongside asset details such as final URL, images, logos and ad copy.

The default bid strategy described in the documentation is Maximize Conversions, with options to adjust to Maximize Conversion Value or set a target CPA. Microsoft also states that conversion tracking is required for the selected bid strategy to take effect. If conversion tracking is not set up, the bid strategy automatically updates to maximize website clicks instead of optimizing for conversion goals.

That fallback is an important operational boundary. A campaign draft that appears ready to launch should not be assumed to be optimizing for conversions unless conversion tracking has been configured and verified. As a practical recommendation, teams should audit conversion definitions, tagging, primary goals and data quality before accepting default bidding recommendations.

The documentation says ads become eligible to go live after editorial review. Advertisers still need to review the campaign, complete billing and submit it; a generated draft is not an automatically launched campaign. Microsoft’s help page is undated; secondary coverage is dated 16 October 2026 only.

Why it matters for advertisers

The setup flow can reduce initial campaign-building work, but its value depends on the accuracy of the inputs and the quality of human review. Conversion tracking remains a decisive checkpoint for conversion-oriented bidding.