The changes that matter to advertisers, with the sources behind them and a practical next step. Pick a topic and catch up at your own pace.
Apple Ads
Apple has made Maximise Conversions campaigns broadly available for App Store advertisers. The feature uses AI-powered tools to place optimal bids and make intelligent keyword matches at a target CPA you set.
Google Tag
Google has released v1.5 of the Data Manager API, introducing end-to-end user list management and expanded audience ingestion capabilities. The UserListService now allows advertisers to manage the complete lifecycle of user lists: create, retrieve, update, and delete: entirely through the API, providing full control over audience management workflows without leaving the programmatic environment.
Microsoft Advertising
New advertisers can now sign up for Microsoft Advertising using their Google accounts, available globally except in mainland China and India.
Google Ads
Advertisers can now add negative keywords to PMax campaigns directly via Campaigns → Negative keywords. This addresses one of the key control gaps that has frustrated advertisers in Google's PMax implementation.
Google Search Console
Google Search Console's AI-powered configuration feature is now available to everyone. The feature provides automated assistance with Search Console setup and configuration, making the tool more accessible to users who may not have deep technical SEO expertise.
Google Ads
The new customer acquisition goals, previously in open beta, are now generally available globally for advertisers using "purchase" conversion goals.
Google Business Profile
Google is testing a new AI Overview Map Pack format that merges organic links to external websites directly into Google Business Profiles. Clicking the links opens a card at the bottom of the mobile screen that shows different linked entities: effectively layering third-party content onto local business results.
Google Ads
Google is streamlining access to crypto and complex speculative financial product advertising by allowing some advertisers to apply for certification directly within their Google Ads accounts. Previously, certification required a separate application process outside the platform - an administrative hurdle that added friction for legitimate advertisers in the space.
Google Ads
Google is fundamentally changing how Lookalike segments work in its advertising platform, moving from strict audience targeting to a more flexible, signal-based approach. The change, first spotted by Dario Zannoni last week, means that Lookalike audiences will increasingly serve as optimisation signals rather than hard-targeting constraints, following the pattern Google has established with other audience types.
Microsoft Advertising
Google Shopping has begun displaying brand logos next to merchant names: a small visual change with potentially significant implications for brand advertisers. The logo serves as an immediate trust signal, distinguishing established brands from generic resellers in a results page where products often appear nearly identical aside from price.
YouTube
Google Ads has introduced a new YouTube reporting metric that addresses one of the channel's longest-standing measurement challenges: the gap between ad exposure and subsequent brand search behaviour. The metric, called Attributed Branded Searches, measures how many people saw a YouTube ad, did not click, and then later searched for the brand on Google.
Google Ads
Google Ads has updated its support request process to require an "Authorisation" checkbox before submission. The checkbox grants Google Ads specialists access to your account and the ability to make changes for troubleshooting purposes.
Microsoft Advertising
Navah Hopkins made the case this week for why paid media professionals should pay attention to the AI Performance report in Bing Webmaster Tools. The report shows how often pages are cited by AI assistants and reveals the queries those assistants run in the background when responding to human questions.
Meta Ads
Meta has added a feature that lets AI schedule automatic budget increases during periods when it predicts ads will perform better. The feature appears as a budget scheduling option, suggesting when to increase spend based on Meta's performance predictions.
LinkedIn Ads
Google has launched Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image), combining Nano Banana Pro's advanced world knowledge and quality with Gemini Flash speed. Key features include real-time web search grounding for accurate subject rendering, precision text rendering and translation for marketing mockups, subject consistency for up to 5 characters and 14 objects, and production-ready specs from 512px to 4K.
LinkedIn Ads
Amazon Web Services reported that one of its UAE Availability Zones (mec1-az2) in the ME-CENTRAL-1 region went offline after "objects struck the data centre, creating sparks and fire." The fire department shut off power while extinguishing the fire, with AWS stating restoration will take several hours.
LinkedIn Ads
Google is actively auditing cookie banners and consent settings across advertiser websites. Advertisers who are not compliant with consent requirements by the deadline risk having their conversion tracking blocked.
Reddit Ads
Reddit now ranks for over 360,000 coupon-related queries according to Semrush data, with visibility increasing. Analysis by CouponBirds found that, for the 59 query brands where both Reddit and CouponBirds rank, Reddit provides valid coupon codes for 25% of brands, compared to 54% for CouponBirds.
Meta Ads
Manus AI, now part of Meta, has access to the Meta Ad Library for competitive research purposes. Bram Van der Hallen shared an example prompt: "Analyse active ads in [COUNTRY] through Meta Ads Library for the following advertisers: [Competitor 1], [Competitor 2], [Competitor 3].
Meta Ads
Bram Van der Hallen highlighted two overlooked settings in Meta Ads Manager that can undermine placement exclusions. First, when excluding placements at the ad set level, Meta defaults the "allow limited spend" option to enabled - meaning excluded placements can still receive budget unless the advertiser explicitly disables the setting.
LinkedIn Ads
LinkedIn Ads is testing Brand Kits, a feature that allows advertisers to set brand colours, typography, and voice guidelines for AI-generated creatives. The feature was spotted in the wild and signals LinkedIn's move toward automated creative generation within brand parameters.
Microsoft Advertising
Microsoft Advertising has introduced Multi-Images Ads in Shopping, allowing multiple product images within shopping ad placements. The feature offers richer creative options for e-commerce advertisers on the Microsoft network, where visual differentiation can help products stand out in a less crowded environment than Google Shopping.
Google Meridian
Google has launched Scenario Planner for Meridian, addressing one of the persistent barriers to Marketing Mix Modelling adoption: the technical expertise required to extract actionable insights. According to a recent Harvard Business Review Analytic Services report, nearly 40% of marketers surveyed say their organisations struggle to connect MMM outputs to real-world business decisions.
Microsoft Advertising
Google is reportedly offering some advertisers $600 in ad credit for activating conversion tracking. The promotion appears targeted at accounts that haven't yet set up conversion measurement: a friction remover for small businesses who have been putting off the technical setup.
Anthropic
Claude in PowerPoint is now available on Anthropic's Pro plan and includes support for connectors, allowing context from other tools to flow directly into slide creation. Through March 19, usage limits for both Claude in PowerPoint and Claude in Excel are doubled across all paid plans.
Amazon Ads
Amazon is discontinuing Shoppable Collections on February 27, 2026. The beta feature will disappear from Product Detail Pages and A+ Content Manager, with Brand Story automatically replacing it for sellers who had implemented it.
Amazon Ads
Plaintiff attorneys are using automated tools to scan US Shopify stores for ADA accessibility violations and data privacy breaches, filing quickly and pushing for settlements of $15,000 to $75,000 before legal fees. Emmanuel Flossie reports that most store owners have no idea they're at risk: and that most violations can be fixed in an afternoon.
Amazon Ads
Perplexity has confirmed it is winding down its advertising operations with "no plans to pursue advertising further.
Amazon Ads
Two of the world's largest advertising holding companies have quietly pulled back from The Trade Desk's OpenPath initiative. Trishla Ostwal reports that both Dentsu and WPP cited concerns over transparency, control, and undisclosed costs as reasons for their withdrawal.
Amazon Ads
The California Attorney General has fined The Walt Disney Company $2.75 million for failing to stop selling and sharing consumer data after users explicitly opted out. The enforcement action reflects California's increasingly aggressive approach to privacy violations under the CCPA.
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