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Google Ads news and platform updates

Follow Google Ads changes with dated source evidence, contributor credits and practical context for campaign decisions.

Google Ads

Paid searchNewsletter archive1 min

"Copy and edit with AI" beta button appears in PMax asset groups

Thomas Eccel has spotted a new Beta button in Performance Max asset groups labelled "Copy and edit with AI." The feature duplicates an entire asset group in one click and connects to Google's creative editing tools: Nano Banana 2 for image generation and editing, and Veo 3 for video variations: allowing AI-remixed creative variants to be produced without leaving the Google Ads interface.

SourceLinkedIn
First ContributorThomas Eccel

Google Ads

CreativeNewsletter archive1 min

Google Shopping image overlays are now being approved, with CTR uplifts observed

Ruben Runneboom has reported that Shopping image overlays: long prohibited under Google's product image policies: are now being approved and serving without issue across multiple ecommerce accounts. His colleague tested overlays extensively after noticing they no longer triggered disapprovals and observed strong CTR uplifts on images with subtle additional contrast, context, or urgency.

SourceLinkedIn
First ContributorRuben Runneboom

Google Ads

Paid searchNewsletter archive1 min

Google Ad Grants ads stop serving on Google Maps after February 3

Jason King has flagged that Google Ad Grants campaigns stopped serving ads on Google Maps after February 3, 2026, with no official explanation from Google to date. The issue affects all Ad Grants accounts running map-based placements.

SourceLinkedIn
First ContributorJason King

Google Ads

Paid searchNewsletter archive1 min

Healthcare & Medicines Policy updated to permit certified online pharmacies in India.

Google will update its Healthcare and Medicines policy in April 2026 to allow certified online pharmacies to promote prescription drug services in India. Advertisers need LegitScript Healthcare Merchant Certification and must apply directly to Google when the policy takes effect.

SourceGoogle Ads Policy Help
Official SourceGoogle

Google Ads

Paid socialNewsletter archive1 min

Austin Lau (Anthropic) builds a Google Ads MCP management system using Claude Cowork

Austin Lau, a performance marketing PM at Anthropic, has published a detailed account of building a custom Claude Cowork plugin to manage Google Ads via local MCP: encoding his personal search-term review methodology as a reusable skill that connects to the Google Ads API. The plugin outputs a bulk-upload-ready CSV for Google Ads Editor with a reasoning column for each negative keyword recommendation.

SourceLinkedIn
First ContributorAustin Lau

Google Ads

Paid searchNewsletter archive1 min

Enhanced conversions for web and leads to merge into a single on/off switch from June 2026

Google has announced that enhanced conversions for web and enhanced conversions for leads will be combined into a single feature with a unified on/off toggle, effective June 2026. From April 2026, Google Ads will simultaneously accept user-provided data from website tags, the Data Manager, and API connections: removing the requirement to choose a single implementation method.

SourceGoogle Ads Help
Official SourceGoogle Ads

Google Ads

Paid socialNewsletter archive1 min

Chrome DevTools now explains Google Ads disapprovals and console errors with Gemini AI

Thomas Eccel has highlighted that Google Chrome DevTools now includes built-in Gemini AI features accessible via Settings → AI Innovations. The tooling includes an "Understand this error" button that breaks down console errors in plain language, AI-generated explanations for failed requests and warnings, code suggestions inside the Sources panel, and AI assistance for CSS styles, network requests, and performance issues.

SourceLinkedIn
First ContributorThomas Eccel

Google Ads

Paid searchNewsletter archive1 min

Google updates Help Centre articles for nine ad policy categories

Google has updated Help Centre articles for nine advertising policy areas: Cryptocurrencies, Editorial, Financial products and services, Healthcare and medicines, Limited ad serving, Other restricted businesses, Sexual content, Sexual health and wellness, and related policies: for improved organisation and readability. Google has confirmed that the updates do not change policy enforcement; they are content and structure improvements only.

SourceGoogle Ads Policy Help Centre
Official SourceGoogle

Google Ads

Paid searchNewsletter archive1 min

PMax gains native channel performance over time view

Axel Falck has spotted a new native view in Performance Max called "Channel performance over time," displaying how each channel (Search, YouTube, Display, etc.) contributes to results as a stacked time-series graph, with a filter to toggle between performance metrics and investment. The view was previously only available via custom scripts.

SourceLinkedIn
Spotted byAxel Falck

Google Ads

Paid searchNewsletter archive1 min

Google Ads Advisor now surfaces contextual AI prompts directly on the performance graph

Thomas Eccel has identified that Google Ads is now displaying AI-generated analysis prompts directly below the performance chart in the account overview: with clickable suggestions such as "Compare top campaigns performance," "Brainstorm ideas to improve results," and "How to improve conversions." Clicking any prompt opens Ads Advisor, Google's Gemini-powered AI agent, which gathers campaign data, browses the web, and scans the advertiser's website before delivering a contextual analysis.

SourceLinkedIn
Spotted byThomas Eccel

Google Ads

Paid searchNewsletter archive1 min

Google Ads experiments add auto-apply setting, enabled by default

Bob Meijer has flagged that Google Ads experiments now include an auto-apply setting: enabled by default: that automatically applies experiment results to live campaigns. The setting offers configurable confidence thresholds: directional results (default), or statistical significance at 80%, 85%, or 95%.

SourceLinkedIn
First ContributorBob Meijer

Google Ads

Paid searchNewsletter archive1 min

Vehicle ads expand to Spain, Italy, and Germany

Google has made vehicle ads available to all vehicle advertisers in Spain, Italy, and Germany, with further country expansion planned. The format allows automotive advertisers to promote their full inventory to shoppers on Google.com, displaying vehicle image, make, model, price, kilometres, and advertiser name.

SourceGoogle.com
First ContributorYoann Ferrand

Google Ads

Paid searchNewsletter archive1 min

Google Ads support emails are now AI-generated

Vojtěch Audy has identified that Google Ads support email responses are now generated by AI, with the email signature explicitly disclosing "Google Ads Support using AI from Google" and a disclaimer that the content is AI-generated, that account details may not always be accurate, and that user activity may be used to improve the system. The disclosure raises questions about the reliability of responses for complex policy or account-specific issues.

SourcePPC News Feed
First ContributorVojtěch Audy

Google Ads

Paid searchNewsletter archive1 min

Ads Advisor chat button appears directly inside the campaign setup flow

Arpan Banerjee has discovered that Google Ads now offers a direct "Open chat" button inside the campaign setup interface, allowing advertisers to chat with Ads Advisor while building a campaign. The placement surfaces Ads Advisor at the moment of campaign creation rather than requiring a separate navigation step.

SourceLinkedIn
Spotted byArpan Banerjee +1

Google Ads

Paid searchNewsletter archive1 min

BatchJobService request size increased fourfold

Google has raised the request size cap for BatchJobService.AddBatchJobOperations from approximately 10.5 MB to approximately 41.9 MB. The change reduces the number of separate requests required when batching multiple large assets: particularly images, which can each reach up to 5.24 MB.

SourceGoogle Ads Developer Blog
Official SourceGoogle

Google Ads

Paid searchNewsletter archive1 min

Sponsored Stores and "Quick results" both surfacing inside Google AI Mode

Glenn Gabe has spotted two distinct monetisation formats appearing in Google AI Mode product queries: a "Sponsored Stores" link when clicking a product in AI Mode results, and a "Quick results from the web" section that surfaces direct links to retailer websites. The dual format suggests Google is testing multiple ad and commerce surfaces within AI Mode simultaneously rather than committing to a single model for monetising shopping queries.

SourceX
Spotted byGlenn Gabe

Google Ads

CreativeNewsletter archive1 min

PMax Asset Group Theming generates seasonal creative from existing asset groups

Google has rolled out Asset Group Theming for Performance Max campaigns, allowing advertisers to clone a high-performing asset group and apply a seasonal theme: Easter, Summer, Back to School, Cyber 5, Christmas, Valentine's Day, and others: with AI-generated themed image backgrounds, updated headlines, and matched descriptions applied automatically. The original asset group remains untouched throughout.

SourceLinkedIn
Spotted byBia Camargo

Google Ads

Paid searchNewsletter archive1 min

Google Ads API v23.2 released with VideoEnhancement resource and App campaign insights

v23.2 adds a VideoEnhancement resource that surfaces whether a video ad is Google-generated or advertiser-provided: an important signal as AI-generated video proliferates across PMax and Demand Gen. An AppTopCombinationView resource provides top-performing asset combination insights for App campaigns.

SourceGoogle Ads Developer Blog
Official SourceGoogle

Google Ads

CreativeNewsletter archive1 min

PMax Animated Clips are generated via Veo directly in Asset Studio

Nikki Kuhlman has spotted Animated Clips, now available in Performance Max campaigns inside Asset Studio. Advertisers upload a source image; the system enhances it and generates multiple variations, with each selected enhanced image producing two animated video clips.

SourceLinkedIn
Spotted byNikki Kuhlman

Google Ads

Paid searchNewsletter archive1 min

Ads Decoded episode 5: mastering lead quality in a fragmented signal environment

Ginny Marvin's Ads Decoded podcast has released episode 5, focused on lead generation measurement. The episode covers mapping the full customer journey from first click to offline sale, using Data Manager to connect CRM and offline data sources for high-frequency uploads, identifying conversion actions that balance volume with short enough delays to fuel Smart Bidding, and the role YouTube plays in a performance-led lead-gen strategy.

SourceLinkedIn
Official SourceLinkedIn

Google Ads

Paid searchNewsletter archive1 min

Shopping Ads adds political content verification requirement for nine countries from April 16

Effective April 16, Google will require election advertiser verification for Shopping Ads featuring certain political content in Argentina, Australia, Chile, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Google will also prohibit some Shopping Ads featuring political content in India.

SourceGoogle Merchant Centre Help
Official SourceGoogle Ads

Google Ads

MeasurementNewsletter archive1 min

Google Ads offline conversion imports to improve attribution from April, with no breaking changes

Google has announced infrastructure changes to the Offline Conversion Import experience, rolling out in April 2026, with no breaking API changes. The first phase, in April, introduces improved GCLID attribution and fallback recovery: expired GCLIDs and clicks that occurred before a conversion will now be attributed where previously they were not, reducing EXPIRED_EVENT and CONVERSION_PRECEDES_EVENT errors and raising overall attribution rates.

SourceGoogle Ads Developer Blog
First ContributorArpan Banerjee

Google Ads

CreativeNewsletter archive1 min

Veo video generation launches globally in Google Ads Asset Studio

Google has made Veo, its generative video model, globally available within Asset Studio inside Google Ads. Advertisers upload up to three static images; Veo generates a unique video clip up to 10 seconds long from each, with fluid, natural motion added automatically.

SourceGoogle Ads
Official SourceGoogle

Google Ads

Paid searchNewsletter archive1 min

Four new Performance Max controls add first-party exclusions, placement reporting, budget forecasting, and audience demographics

Google has shipped four additions to Performance Max's controls and reporting suite. Advertisers can now exclude specific first-party audience lists from PMax campaigns: providing the targeting guardrails that have been the most consistently requested capability since PMax launched.

SourceGoogle Ads
Official SourceLinkedIn

Google Ads

Paid searchNewsletter archive1 min

Demand Gen March 2026 drop: Creator Partnerships, follow-on views, and Veo integration

Google's March Demand Gen update introduces three new capabilities. Creator Partnerships with Google Ads is now available, enabling advertisers to discover, connect with, and activate creator content directly as Demand Gen assets: Google cites an average 30% increase in conversion lift on YouTube Shorts when authentic creator assets are used versus brand-only creative.

SourceGoogle Ads & Commerce Blog
Official SourceGoogle

Google Ads

Paid searchNewsletter archive1 min

Google Ads support forms now include instant screenshot capture

Google Ads has added a "Capture Screenshot" button directly within support ticket forms, eliminating the need for manual screenshots when raising issues. The button captures the current state of your account or campaign view and attaches it automatically.

SourceLinkedIn
First ContributorArpan Banerjee

Google Ads

Paid searchNewsletter archive1 min

Google Ads API will block duplicate Lookalike lists from April 30

Google has announced a uniqueness check for Lookalike user lists in the Google Ads API, effective April 30, 2026. The enforcement primarily targets Demand Gen campaigns, where automated systems have generated duplicate audience lists sharing identical seed lists, expansion levels, and country targeting: consuming system resources without delivering distinct signal value.

SourceGoogle Ads Developer Blog
Official SourceGoogle

Google Ads

Paid searchNewsletter archive1 min

Video usage segment added to PMax channel reporting

Google Ads has added a new "Ads using video" segment inside Performance Max Channel Performance reporting, allowing advertisers to break down results by whether video assets were actually used in a given placement. This addition complements the "Ads using product data" segment introduced in July 2025 and helps us understand which creative inputs are driving channel performance.

SourcePPC News Feed
First ContributorHana Kobzová
Google Ads news and platform updates | Paid Media Collective