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• Google to allow online lottery ads in Peru from 8 July

  Google has updated its Gambling and Games policy to allow online lottery advertisements in Peru from 8 July 2026, in its advertising policy help centre. Eligible advertisers must hold a favourable technical opinion from Peru's Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations (MIMP) and complete Google's country-specific certification before running ads.

• Google to test vertical search changes in Europe ahead of EU fines

  According to Reuters, Google plans to test in Europe search changes that display results from competing vertical search services alongside its own. Top-ranked vertical search engines will be displayed by default, with hotels, airlines, restaurants, and transport services showing real-time data from feeds positioned below or above the vertical search list.

• Google to use IP addresses for ad personalisation in the EEA and UK

  Google has begun using IP addresses for ad measurement and personalisation in the EEA and UK. The change applies after 3 August and affects how user consent requirements are handled, treating IP-derived signals as part of the data Google uses to measure and personalise ads in those regions.

• Google Trends adds one-click period comparisons

  Google Trends now overlays previous-period data on the interest chart, with chips showing change against preceding weeks, months, or years. Directional demand reads get faster.

• Google Trends adds category filters to the new Explore page

  Google Search Central announced category filters for the new Trends Explore page, allowing users to narrow the context of the trends they inspect.

• Google Trends Explore page redesigned with Gemini-powered insights

  Google has reimagined the Trends Explore page with Gemini capabilities to make it easier to find insights. When researching a topic, a new side panel automatically identifies and compares up to eight relevant search terms.

• Google unifying tag IDs under GT- format, retiring AW- prefix

  Arjun Singh has flagged that Google is consolidating its tagging ecosystem: Google Ads, GA4, and Floodlight: under a single Google Tag using the GT-XXXXXXXX format, retiring the AW-XXXXXXXX format used for Google Ads conversion tags. The unification is intended to reduce tag conflicts, improve cross-platform data consistency, and simplify container management in GTM.

• 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.

• Google updates its Ads Terms of Service for the first time in eight years

  Google has revised its Google Ads Terms of Service across the policy, payment, and liability sections, incorporating changes tied to the platform's shift toward AI-driven products. It is the first substantive update to the agreement since April 2018, and it lands alongside this year's wave of AI Max, Performance Max, and AI Mode launches.

• Google updates its cryptocurrency advertising policy for France

  Google has published an update to its Cryptocurrency Advertising policy for France, effective July 2026. Requirements for crypto advertisers targeting France change under the revision.

• Google updates its guidance on pinning headlines and descriptions

  Google has expanded the tips section of its responsive search ads help document with four new recommendations on pinning, reported by Barry Schwartz. The guidance warns against pinning identical or very similar text to the same slot, since it gives Google's system nothing to test and reduces Ad Strength without any offsetting benefit.

• Google updates three ad policies in one sweep

  Google has published three policy changes affecting regulated categories. For you, this means new eligibility and certification requirements between late July and mid-September, so check each policy against your verticals now.

• Demand Gen value-bidding options spotted in a new Google Ads account

  Thomas Eccel reported being able to select target ROAS and Maximise conversion value while setting up Demand Gen in a new account. The observation concerns setup access and does not establish performance without conversion data.

• Google Vehicle Ads now display call assets for direct dealer calls

  Google has added call asset support to Vehicle Ads, enabling click-to-call functionality directly within the ad format. Users can now call dealers directly from search results.

• Google video-ad safety data needs context, not a simple platform verdict

  PPC Land examines a Video Advertising Bureau analysis of Google’s 2025 enforcement data. The VAB’s transparency question is legitimate, but its comparison with television uses non-equivalent measures and reflects a stakeholder’s commercial framing.

• Google warns that forced ad syndication would expose proprietary systems and increase fraud

  Google has filed an affidavit asking a federal judge to pause DOJ antitrust remedies, warning that court-ordered search and ad syndication would permanently expose its proprietary ad technology. Director of Product Management Jesse Adkins argues that large-scale syndication would allow competitors to reverse-engineer ad targeting, relevance signals, and auction mechanics developed over decades of R&D.

• Google will spend your full monthly budget regardless of the ad schedule

  Google has begun notifying advertisers of a significant change to how ad scheduling interacts with budget pacing. Starting in March, the system will attempt to spend the full monthly budget regardless of when campaigns are scheduled to run.

• Google will stop new Smart Campaigns in the Ads API from 3 August

  Google has announced on the Google Ads Developer Blog that, from 3 August 2026, advertisers will no longer be able to create new Smart Campaigns through the Google Ads API. Existing Smart Campaigns will continue to serve and can still be updated, but new ones must be built another way.

• Google Workspace integrates Workspace Studio in beta

  Google Workspace is rolling out Workspace Studio in beta for users with the "join beta" option enabled in their admin console. The feature integrates AI-powered automation and workflow tools directly into Workspace.

• GPT-5.3 Instant brings smoother everyday conversations

  OpenAI has released GPT-5.3 Instant, focused on smoother and more useful everyday conversations. For you, this means improved conversational fluency when using your day-to-day AI assistant.

• GPT-5.5 lands in ChatGPT and Codex products

  Following the API and Plus/Pro launch covered in Week 17, OpenAI has rolled out GPT-5.5 inside ChatGPT and Codex for Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise users. GPT-5.5 Pro is also live for Pro, Business and Enterprise tiers.

• GPT-5.6 API prices drop up to 80%, and Sol gains a Fast mode

  OpenAI cut GPT-5.6 Luna token prices by 80% and Terra's by 20% in the API. Intelligence that was frontier-class a year ago now costs about six cents on the dollar per task at nearly nine times the speed, with gains spanning the model, inference stack, and agentic harness.

• GPT-5.6 rolls into Microsoft 365 Copilot

  Jack Rowbotham has flagged that OpenAI's GPT-5.6 model family is rolling out in Microsoft 365 Copilot across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Chat, and Cowork. Copilot may select it automatically, and users can pick it in the model selector where available.

• GPT-5.6 Sol pricing falls by more than 20% for three months

  OpenAI cut the API and credit pricing of GPT-5.6 Sol by more than 20% for three months from 21 August, following July's reductions for Terra and Luna. For you, this means frontier-model economics are still moving on a weekly basis rather than annual procurement cycles, so re-run the cost analysis of agentic research, creative, and reporting workflows before locking in model allocation.

• Greece bans social media for under-15s, effective January 2027

  Luiza Jarovsky has reported that Greece has announced it will ban social media access for users under 15, effective January 2027, following Australia's under-16 ban. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis cited rising anxiety, sleep disruption, and addictive platform design as the primary drivers, and explicitly stated Greece intends to push the EU to adopt a similar framework across member states.

• Grok 4.6 matches the frontier at a fraction of the price

  SpaceXAI's Grok 4.6 reportedly matches Claude Fable 5 Max and GPT-5.6 Sol Max on frontier benchmarks while costing roughly 80% less, built on the same 1.5T foundation as Grok 4.5 with a longer post-training run. For you, this means frontier-level output keeps getting cheaper by the month, so re-tender your AI tooling costs regularly rather than annually.

• GTM Consent Mode Preview Mode UI glitch confirmed fixed

  Simo Ahava reported: and subsequently confirmed resolved: a UI glitch in Google Tag Manager's Consent Mode APIs within Preview Mode. The bug, flagged by Jim van der Zalm , caused the consent state to be misrepresented in the debug view, potentially misleading advertisers checking Consent Mode implementation during QA.

• Google Tag Manager config events: check wildcard triggers

  Google's 8 October release note says GTM containers initialise on load independently of gtag('config'). Configuration commands also appear as gtag.config events, which may activate wildcard custom-event triggers.

• GTM documents improved measurement of server-to-server conversions

  Google has updated its Tag Manager documentation to improve the measurement of server-to-server conversions in the Tag Manager help centre, effective 22 June 2026. The update clarifies how server-to-server conversion events are measured and deduplicated, part of the wider push toward server-side measurement resilience as client-side signals erode.

• GTM Tag Assistant sessions can be exported and shared

  You can export GTM Tag Assistant preview sessions and share them with teammates or clients for debugging. The exported file can be re-imported at tagassistant.google.com to inspect variables, payloads, and server-side requests after the fact.

• GTM tag template for the OpenAI Ads Measurement Pixel goes live

  Utku Gülden has built and released a Google Tag Manager template for the OpenAI Ads Measurement Pixel, closing the gap left by OpenAI's pixel launch. Unlike Meta Pixel and TikTok Pixel, the OpenAI pixel shipped without an official GTM template, leaving practitioners to handle custom HTML tags and event schemas manually.

• Guide: How to enable Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) in Google Merchant Centre

  A detailed implementation guide explains how to enable Universal Commerce Protocol payments in your Google Merchant Centre feed. UCP is Google's new open standard enabling AI agents to complete purchases on behalf of users.

• Guide: the correct Amazon Net PPM definition

  Even Amazon gets its own Net PPM definition confused, and Martin Heubel's explainer sets out the correct calculation for vendors. For you, this means margin negotiations rest on the right formula, so align your team on the definition before annual talks.

• 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.

• Help Centre now displays your assigned support representative

  Google has refreshed its Help Centre homepage to display your assigned Google Ads support representative's contact details, including their email address and a direct call scheduling option. The change streamlines how advertisers connect with support, removing previous barriers to finding the right contact point.

• Help-page update clarifies primary conversion actions not used for optimisation

  Dario Zannoni has flagged a quiet but consequential update to Google's Help pages: primary conversion actions not used for bidding optimisation may be treated differently than expected. The clarification updates the public documentation to explicitly state how primary conversions feed (or don't feed) into Smart Bidding optimisation when they're not selected as the optimisation goal.

• Highest Volume bidding pairs with a min ROAS goal in beta

  Meta is testing the ability to combine the Highest Volume bid strategy with a minimum ROAS goal, currently in beta. Min ROAS was previously available only with Highest Value.

• Holiday feed guidance prioritises context, media, and fundamentals

  Google's Ads Decoded team highlighted conversational attributes, Q&A content, variant details, high-resolution imagery, short-form video links, shipping cut-offs, returns, local inventory, and accurate identifiers as holiday feed priorities. The guidance reflects how richer product context supports conversational and multimodal discovery.

• Hotel Ads adds region, city and postal-code targeting

  Google’s updated location guidance allows Hotel Ads campaigns to target or exclude areas within a country, including regions, states, cities and postal codes where supported.

• Hotels on Uber launches as Uber expands into travel booking

  Uber has launched Hotels on Uber, announced at its premiere consumer event, GO–GET. The product extends Uber's existing role in the travel journey: airport transfers, in-city transport, food delivery: into hotel booking, with the goal of making Uber the single app a traveller uses across the full trip.

• Household exclusions appear in a European PMax campaign

  Household exclusions were spotted inside a Performance Max campaign, in a European account. The setting had not been seen in PMax before.

• How to fix Shopify products not updating in Google Merchant Centre

  Emmanuel Flossie of FeedArmy has published a practical guide for one of the most common Merchant Centre frustrations among Shopify merchants: product data that stops updating in the feed despite changes being made in Shopify. The issue typically stems from configuration in the Google channel app rather than from Merchant Centre itself: feed refresh settings, mismatched attribute mappings, or suppressed sync jobs are the most frequent causes.

• HubSpot adds a maximum limit on Marketing Contacts

  From 14 August, HubSpot lets you set a max limit on Marketing Contacts, ending the silent auto-upgrades triggered when contact counts passed your tier. For you, this means billing surprises become preventable, so set the cap before your next contact sync.

• IAB measurement survey: MMM at 61%, ghost bids at 46%, MTA declining to 40%

  Luca Fiaschi has published an analysis of a recent IAB measurement survey: MMM at 61%, ghost bids at 46%, multi-touch attribution at 40%, geo-tests at 26%, with only 4% using nothing. The numbers exceed 100% because brands are stacking methods by necessity.

• IAB raises its 2026 US advertising growth forecast

  IAB's September outlook raises its projected 2026 US advertising growth to 12.3%, up from 9.5% in January. The forecast draws on more than 200 brand and agency buyers and offers planning context across channels.

• Image to Animation tool spotted in Google Ads ahead of Marketing Live

  Dario Zannoni has spotted a new Image to Animation tool in Google Ads, designed to convert static product images or banners into 4-second animated clips without sound. The feature is positioned as a lighter-weight version of the existing Create video from images tool: narrower in scope (single scene, no audio) but easier to deploy for advertisers who need simple video assets quickly.

• Immersive map view videos now appearing inside Google PPC ads

  Anthony Higman has spotted Google integrating immersive map view videos into PPC ad units. The functionality builds on a setting that appeared in Location Manager earlier in the year, where advertisers were pre-opted into the feature.

• Import Centre collapses Google, Meta, Pinterest, and Amazon campaign migration into a single workflow

  The standout structural launch from Activate: Import Centre lets advertisers import campaigns from Google Ads, Meta, Pinterest, and Amazon (plus file upload) into Microsoft Advertising in a single workflow. The interface surfaces insights as imports run: max active campaigns warnings, missing conversion goal issues, CPC mismatches between source and destination accounts: and supports scheduled imports with pause controls.

• Improved click-to-call ads use Gemini for precise lead scoring

  Click-to-call ads are getting a structural upgrade: Gemini now analyses what was actually said on each call to score leads more precisely, rather than relying solely on call duration as a proxy for lead quality. The system filters out misdials and low-intent calls from reporting, traces each qualified call back to the originating campaign, and feeds the lead-quality signals back into Smart Bidding so the algorithm bids for high-value callers rather than just call volume.

• In-account certification application now rolling out

  Google is introducing the ability to apply for certain certifications directly within your Google Ads account, starting February 2026. The feature covers cryptocurrency exchanges and software wallets, cryptocurrency hardware wallets, cryptocurrency coin trusts, and complex speculative financial products.

• Indian advertisers promoting business identifiers must apply for exclusion

  Google's Government Documents and Services policy updates on March 17, 2026. Advertisers targeting India with business identifiers don't need to qualify as government providers but must apply for a policy exclusion to prevent ad disapproval.

• Indiana online gambling certification has been paused since March 31

  Google will temporarily pause new certification applications for online gambling aggregators in Indiana starting March 31, 2026. This affects content promoting online gambling within the state.

• Inside Google Ads Live, Toronto, announced for 29 October

  Jyll Saskin Gales has announced Inside Google Ads Live: Toronto, a one-day Google Ads conference at the CN Tower on 29 October 2026.

• Inside Googlebot: 2MB fetch limit and what happens to your bytes

  Google's Search Central Blog has published a detailed explainer on Googlebot's crawling infrastructure, clarifying the 2MB fetch limit for HTML pages (64MB for PDFs). If an HTML document exceeds 2MB: including HTTP headers: Googlebot stops fetching at exactly that point, passing only the retrieved bytes to the indexing system and Web Rendering Service.

• Instagram and Threads let users edit their own algorithms

  Instagram's "Your Algorithm" and Threads' "Your Algo" let users view and customise the topics shaping their recommendations. Reach becomes partly user-curated rather than fully model-driven.

• Instagram API adds partnership ads label, new metrics, collaborative media, and engagement actions

  Meta has published a substantial update to the Instagram Graph API, available through the Instagram API with Facebook Login. The Content Publishing API now supports the partnership ads label at publish time: third-party scheduling tools can publish organic posts with the "Paid partnership with [Brand]" disclosure label, including brand tagging via the Business Discovery API for brand ID lookup.

• Instagram expands "Your Algo" feature globally for algorithm customisation

  Instagram has rolled out "Your Algo" to all English-speaking users globally, allowing them to tune their algorithm in the Reels tab by adding and removing topics based on their interests. For a limited time at the start of 2026, users can also select their top three interests to see more of throughout the year.

• Instagram Explore ad placement is being removed as Reels expands

  Meta is removing the Instagram Explore ad placement starting January 2026. When users tap tiles in the Instagram Explore grid, a new immersive Reels viewer opens instead of the Explore feed.

• Instagram launches Instants for share-in-the-moment content

  Meta has launched Instagram Instants, a new content surface for share-in-the-moment posts that sit between Stories and Reels in the Instagram content ecosystem. Instants are positioned as ephemeral content with a longer shelf life than Stories but shorter than Reels, designed for casual real-time sharing rather than polished content production.

• Instagram tests opening directly into Reels before the Feed

  David Vargas has flagged that Instagram is testing a version that loads Reels first when the app opens, ahead of the Feed. If the change sticks, it would materially shift placement distribution, particularly for Gen Z and Millennial audiences, and change how impressions are allocated across Meta placements.

• Instagram tests paid subscription tier "Instagram Plus" in the Philippines and Mexico

  Matt Navarra has reported that Instagram is testing a new paid subscription tier called Instagram Plus in the Philippines (65 PHP/month ≈ , $1.05) and Mexico (39 MXN/month ≈ , $2.00). The feature set mirrors Snapchat+ with exclusive perks, including multiple story audiences, story rewatch insights, extended story expiration, super hearts for stories, and story spotlighting.

• Inventory groups reach Amazon DSP audio ad groups

  Vita K. spotted inventory groups for Amazon DSP audio, extending a workflow already available for display and video. Advertisers can bundle negotiated or curated deals into one group and reuse updates across audio ad groups.

• iOS App campaign advancements expand bidding, measurement, and signals

  iOS App campaigns are getting comprehensive 2026 advancements: improved on-device conversion measurement using event data, deeper Integrated Conversion Measurement (ICM) visibility, an expanded bidding suite (Maximise Conversions, Target ROAS, Ads Revenue Optimisation), bidding-strategy model enhancements, integrated on-device conversion data in Google Ads reporting, and ICM measurement coverage expansion (including EEA, UK, Switzerland users plus web-to-app journeys and view-through conversions).

• Italy's Data Protection Authority warns AI undressing tools may violate GDPR

  Italy's Data Protection Authority has warned that using AI to process personal data, including voice or image data, without consent can be illegal. The warning specifically references tools like Grok that make it easy to misuse images and voices of third parties.

• JD Group completes its first month in Europe

  Mike Ryan has published a month-one analysis of JD Group's European entry: available at Smarter Ecommerce: examining how the Chinese retail giant has positioned itself across European markets and what its early presence signals for competitive dynamics in Google Shopping auctions.

• Jon Loomer warns of AI agent-connected ad account shutdowns

  Jon Loomer has issued a warning that multiple advertisers have reported their Meta ad accounts being shut down after connecting them to Claude or other AI agents. In his Field Notes newsletter, Loomer characterises the risk as current and unresolved, advising against connecting ad accounts to AI agents until the issue is better understood.

• Journey-aware Bidding gives Smart Bidding visibility into the lead funnel

  Journey-aware Bidding is a beta upgrade for Search campaigns with Target CPA that lets Google's bidding algorithm learn from every step of the lead journey: not just the biddable conversion: to sharpen predictions and improve performance. The mechanic requires advertisers to import all relevant conversion actions (phone calls, form submissions, newsletter signups, marketing/sales-qualified leads, closed deals) into Google Ads, and then Smart Bidding uses the full sequence to model conversion likelihood.

• Judge calls both sides' penalty figures extreme in the Meta addiction trial

  Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has rejected both parties' civil penalty estimates ahead of the advisory jury trial in Oakland, now set to begin on 12 August 2026. In a three-hour pretrial hearing, she called the state's $1.4 trillion calculation unreasonable, while describing Meta's $4m counter-proposal as not even a slap on the hand.

• July's Demand Gen Drop focuses on the holiday season

  Google's July Demand Gen Drop targets holiday readiness, noting 94% of holiday shoppers who used YouTube took further purchase steps after watching a related video.

• June's Demand Gen Drop adds video resizing, Gemini creative insights, and web-to-app measurement

  Google has published its June Demand Gen Drop on the Ads & Commerce blog, detailing how it is expanding Demand Gen capabilities on YouTube. Video enhancements now support broader aspect-ratio transformations: vertical to square, vertical to landscape, and square to landscape: making it easier to adapt a single asset across placements.

• Keyword-rich anchor text links appear in ad descriptions

  Google Ads is testing hyperlinked, keyword-rich anchor text inside sponsored ad descriptions. Clickable phrases within the copy deep-link beyond the headline URL.

• Late offline conversions remain in reports but miss DDA calculations

  Google's attribution documentation now states that data-driven attribution processes offline conversions uploaded within the previous seven days. Later uploads can still appear in standard reporting, but are not incorporated into the attribution calculation described in the update.

• Lead Intent Scores and Lead Journey Mapping arrive in Google Ads

  Two new lead-management tools are now available alongside Leads in Google Ads.

• Lead Journey Mapping arrives for lead generation advertisers

  A new help page reveals Lead Journey Mapping, a visual drag-and-drop tool that maps the end-to-end customer journey inside Google Ads. It covers online and offline touchpoints from lead to sale, exposing tracking gaps and preparing accounts for journey-aware bidding.

• Leads in Google Ads centralise lead management with built-in CRM functionality

  Leads in Google Ads is a new, lightweight CRM surface inside Google Ads that consolidates Google-hosted form leads into a single interface. The feature centralises lead management (no prospect falls through the cracks), syncs quality signals back into Google Ads to optimise bidding, surfaces lead-stage progression (raw → qualified → converted → lost), and feeds high-value conversion data into Smart Bidding strategies.

• Legacy video campaigns auto-upgrade to multi-format from September

  Google will automatically upgrade legacy Video Reach and Video View campaigns to support multiple formats starting in September, per advertiser notifications. For you, this means older video campaign structures change without action, so review affected campaigns before the migration decides formats for you.

• Lift Studies move into Experiments with refreshed setup flow

  Thomas Eccel has flagged that Google Ads has relocated Lift Studies into the "Experiments" section of the interface, with a refreshed setup flow. Two studies are available: Brand Lift measures the impact of video and audio ads on awareness, consideration, and purchase intent through surveys, returning absolute lift, lifted users, and cost per lifted user.

• LinkedIn adds an in-network versus out-of-network Reach metric

  LinkedIn has rolled out a new Reach metric that splits impressions into in-network and out-of-network, flagged by Matt Navarra. In-network reach shows the share of impressions from existing connections and followers, while out-of-network reach shows the share from people discovering a creator for the first time via feed recommendations, reshares, or search.

• LinkedIn adds an official label for AI slop

  LinkedIn now lets members mark posts as AI-generated low-quality content, live in most accounts. For you, this means AI-heavy content risks being flagged by your audience, so keep brand and personal posts recognisably human.

• LinkedIn adds GIFs to comments

  LinkedIn now lets users add GIFs directly in feed comments via the reply box, flagged by Matt Navarra. GIFs already worked in messages and ads, but previously needed MP4 conversion for feed use.

• LinkedIn Ads adds company size, revenue, and device targeting

  Anthony Blatner has flagged new LinkedIn Ads targeting options rolling out this month: more granular company-size bands, company revenue ranges, and device-type targeting. Some are live now, others are ramping up.

• LinkedIn Ads Brand Kits spotted for AI-generated creatives

  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.

• LinkedIn Analytics splits reach inside and outside your network

  LinkedIn Analytics now shows how much of a post's reach comes from inside versus outside your network. Creators and brands can see how far content travels beyond followers.

• LinkedIn Campaign Manager adds industry and self-benchmarking

  LinkedIn Campaign Manager now offers benchmarking features that let you compare ad set performance against industry averages and your own account history over the past 90 days. For you, this means better context for evaluating campaign performance: particularly useful for B2B and ABM strategies where external benchmarks have been limited.

• LinkedIn CTV ads come to Amazon DSP

  Amazon Ads and LinkedIn have announced a partnership bringing LinkedIn's CTV Ads inventory to Amazon DSP, combining LinkedIn's professional-audience targeting with connected-TV inventory delivered through Amazon's DSP. Alan Moss has flagged the partnership and its strategic relevance to B2B advertisers, particularly as we head into the upfront commitment season.

• LinkedIn CTV supports profile targeting via the Microsoft Monetise backend (Microsoft CTV does not)

  Navah Hopkins has issued a clarification correcting a misunderstanding circulating in the paid-media community. The launch is LinkedIn CTV: LinkedIn's Connected TV inventory: supporting LinkedIn profile targeting (job seniority, company lists, industry, function).

• LinkedIn hidden ad formats beyond Thought Leader and Message ads

  There are three LinkedIn ad placements that most people ignore that can improve efficiency:

• LinkedIn launches a Creator Marketplace

  Matt Navarra has flagged that LinkedIn has launched a Creator Marketplace, with leaked reports pointing to a wider set of creator-monetisation tools in development: subscriptions, events, and the ability to sell paid "experiences" such as advice sessions. He frames it as LinkedIn catching up to platforms like YouTube in building out creator monetisation.

• LinkedIn launches paid power-user advice product

  Matt Navarra has flagged a new LinkedIn product: power users will soon be paid to give advice. The launch positions LinkedIn power users as paid advisors inside the LinkedIn platform: answering questions, providing tactical guidance, and earning revenue directly from the advice they share, in a model similar to Substack's paid newsletters or Cameo's celebrity messaging.

• LinkedIn Marketing API 202509 has passed its retirement date

  LinkedIn marks API version 202509 as deprecated after its 15 September 2026 sunset. Check that reporting and campaign integrations use a supported version.

• LinkedIn tests collaborative posts

  Matt Navarra has flagged that LinkedIn is testing collaborative posts, allowing members and pages to co-author and share a post. The feature is being trialled with a handful of creators and brands at Cannes, with a wider rollout planned over the coming months via a new "Add Collaborators" option in post settings.

• LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads: use the guide, then validate the audience in your account

  Andrew Hutchinson’s coverage of LinkedIn’s Thought Leader Ads guidance is useful planning material. A separate Kamel Ben Yacoub account observation on audience size should be read as practitioner context, not a universal threshold.

• 🎙️ Live Webinar: eCommerce in 2026: Trends, Tactics & Live Q&A

  Starting the year with a practical session for eCommerce teams and PPC specialists.

• Google acknowledges an LSA bug after reports of account disruption

  Jack Hepp reported an unexplained disconnect between a Local Services Ads account and its Google Business Profile, as well as access issues.

• Local Services Ads expands direct booking from 20 to more than 500 partners

  Google has expanded Reserve with Google support for Local Services Ads from 20 booking partners to more than 500. If a Google Business Profile already has an active partner booking link, Google can automatically enable it in the LSA and count completed bookings as paid leads.

• Looker 26.4 adds Gemini across analytics, search, and expressions

  Google has released Looker 26.4, a substantial update that extends Gemini AI capabilities across multiple layers of the platform. The most significant addition for analytics teams is a new set of modes in Conversational Analytics: Fast mode delivers quicker answers for straightforward queries, while Thinking mode enables deeper reasoning for complex analytical questions: offering a meaningful capability split that was previously unavailable within a single interface.

• Looker's new Explore and Merge Query experience is enabled by default

  Google Cloud's Looker notes state that the new Explore and Merge Query Experience preview became enabled by default on 21 August. Because it remains a preview, interface behaviour and administrator controls may still change.

• Looker Self-Service Explores and Visualisation Assistant reach general availability

  Sean Zinsmeister has announced that Looker's Self-Service Explores with visual-based modelling and automated LookML generation is now generally available, alongside the Visualisation Assistant (also GA), which uses Gemini to configure charts via natural language. An Expressions Assistant for writing custom calculations is in preview.

• Looker Studio adds component-level visibility controls

  Looker Studio has released component-level visibility controls, allowing report creators to hide specific charts and components from specific viewers within the same report. Visibility is controlled using group membership variables, so executives, agencies, and internal teams can see different data without maintaining separate reports.

• Looker Studio adds cross-data source filtering, user-based visibility, and histograms

  Google has rolled out three new features in Looker Studio. Cross-data-source filtering enables filters to apply across multiple data sources.