Google Ads · Status at source date: Newsletter archive
[Update from last week] Google Ads' "Low activity" bulk tool now auto-enables paused keywords
Google Ads' internal "Low activity system bulk changes" tool can now enable keywords, not just pause them. Francesco Cifardi reported seeing paused keywords being automatically reactivated in Change History: the first time he'd observed this behaviour.
![Original newsletter image: [Update from last week] Google Ads' "Low activity" bulk tool now auto-enables paused keywords](/_next/image?url=%2Fnews%2Farchive-2026%2F23f41f92a16a6696da059c35.webp&w=3840&q=75&dpl=dpl_8d5fX4Qzr2kaN2JUin5Yfj6TTfs1)
![Original newsletter image: [Update from last week] Google Ads' "Low activity" bulk tool now auto-enables paused keywords](/_next/image?url=%2Fnews%2Farchive-2026%2F8c40d6d8a753c1227dd3f053.webp&w=3840&q=75&dpl=dpl_8d5fX4Qzr2kaN2JUin5Yfj6TTfs1)
What changed
Ginny Marvin, Google's Ads Product Liaison, clarified in the comments that keywords enabled via the "low activity system bulk change" are exclusively those previously auto-paused by Google due to low activity. No user-paused keywords are considered or changed. She described the behaviour as "uncommon, but an expected action" for keywords the system had previously auto-paused. Google's engineering teams are looking at ways to improve the experience.
Why it matters for advertisers
For you, this means keywords you manually paused won't be affected: but if you have auto-paused low-activity keywords, Google may now reactivate them when activity resumes. Monitor Change History if you want visibility into when this occurs.
Perspective from the original PMC newsletter.Sources & contributor credit
- Newsletter coverage · Paid Media Collective newsletter
Original newsletter text, contributor labels and media for this update.
- Source referenced in newsletterLinkedIn
Linked from the original newsletter. The source publication date has not been independently confirmed.
- Newsletter coverage · Paid Media Collective newsletter
Original newsletter text, contributor labels and media for this update.
Source attribution checked
Francesco Cifardi reported the keyword behaviour. Ginny Marvin supplied Google’s clarification in a reply. A duplicated Francesco credit has been consolidated.
Attribution evidence and limitations
Read Francesco’s post and Ginny’s public reply. Her reply explicitly distinguishes previously auto-paused keywords from keywords paused by the user.
The public reply links to Ginny Marvin’s profile and appears on the original observation, which identifies Francesco.
Visually inspected the screenshot: it reproduces Ginny’s named clarification to Francesco. The screenshot is not attributed as an additional observation by Francesco.
Attribution checked . This is a review date, not the original publication date.
- Published on this site
This update reflects the dated source reporting. Availability may have changed. Further coverage of this same development will be added to this page.
Original newsletter text and archive evidence
[Update from last week] Google Ads' "Low activity" bulk tool now auto-enables paused keywords
Google Ads' internal "Low activity system bulk changes" tool can now enable keywords, not just pause them. Francesco Cifardi reported seeing paused keywords being automatically reactivated in Change History: the first time he'd observed this behaviour.
Ginny Marvin, Google's Ads Product Liaison, clarified in the comments that keywords enabled via the "low activity system bulk change" are exclusively those previously auto-paused by Google due to low activity. No user-paused keywords are considered or changed. She described the behaviour as "uncommon, but an expected action" for keywords the system had previously auto-paused. Google's engineering teams are looking at ways to improve the experience.
For you, this means keywords you manually paused won't be affected: but if you have auto-paused low-activity keywords, Google may now reactivate them when activity resumes. Monitor Change History if you want visibility into when this occurs.
Source captured . No explicit first-contributor label was provided for this update.
