Week of Jul 28, 2025
19 changes logged the week of Jul 28, 2025, 2 high impact; 3 took effect. Open this week in the change history.
Google Ads
- EU tracking and ads disabled for advertisers without Consent Mode as of July 21, 2025
Google began enforcing its EU User Consent Policy by disabling conversion tracking, remarketing and ad serving for advertisers that had not implemented Consent Mode v2. From July 21, 2025 EU traffic is not tracked unless valid consent is passed via Consent Mode. Source
- An ad-group-level AI Max 'search term matching' toggle surfaced in some accounts
Thomas Eccel found ad group settings for AI Max letting advertisers toggle search term matching (keyword expansion) per ad group, with in-product warnings that disabling it limits the AI Max boost. Google did not announce the beta control. Source
- Local Services Ads message-lead pricing moved from a fixed 50% of call price to variable pricing
Anthony Higman compared archived and current help pages and found message leads are no longer fixed at half the phone-lead price but are 'typically' lower, not always. Google did not announce the pricing change. Source
- Search term categories (intent-grouped query insights) began appearing for responsive search ads
Georgi Zayakov spotted a search terms insights report that groups RSA queries into intent-based categories with conversions, CTR and volume trends, previously only available for PMax. Google published support documentation after the sighting. Source
- On-device conversion measurement and integrated conversion measurement launched for iOS App campaigns
iOS App campaigns can now use on-device conversion measurement, which optimizes with de-identified app event data that never leaves the device, and Integrated Conversion Measurement, which surfaces real-time iOS attribution inside third-party App Attribution Partner reporting. Source
- Target ROAS bidding launched for iOS App campaigns; Maximize conversions extended to App campaigns
Google made value-based Target ROAS bidding available for iOS App campaigns and extended Maximize conversions / Maximize conversion value bidding to App campaigns optimizing for in-app actions. Source
- AI Max ads with unusually long headlines and auto-generated sitelinks from blog pages were spotted
Nikki Kuhlman shared search ads pulling long, article-derived headlines and dynamically created sitelinks; Google suggested it might be an experiment showing descriptions as headlines, but Kuhlman confirmed the ads came from AI Max. Source
- Restricted Medical Content label deprecated; certified prescription-drug keyword access unchanged
Google retired the Restricted Medical Content label that flagged certified advertisers eligible to target prescription drug keywords. Eligibility for certified advertisers is unchanged; this simplified enforcement mechanics. Source
- Locations of interest targeting added to AI Max for Search ad groups
AI Max for Search ad groups can now target users who show interest in specific locations even when they are not physically there, with multiple locations per ad group and settings that can differ from campaign-level location targeting. Source
- One-click AI Max experiments introduced for Search campaigns
A dedicated AI Max experiment type lets advertisers test AI Max within a single Search campaign using a 50/50 traffic split between a control arm (AI Max off) and a trial arm (AI Max on), with results that can auto-apply. Source
- Beta-period Performance Max channel performance data to be deleted after August 8, 2025
Google told advertisers that channel performance data collected during the Performance Max beta (November 17, 2024 to June 5, 2025) would be removed, and to download it from the UI before August 8, 2025. The generally available channel report keeps data from June 6, 2025 onward. Source
- Search ads tested pill-shaped and square asset buttons in blue and grey variants
Anthony Higman spotted asset buttons in different shapes and colours on the same results page. Google did not confirm the test. Source
- Creator partnership ads, playable end cards and video enhancements added to App campaigns
App campaigns gained co-branded creator partnership ads for YouTube in-feed and Shorts, playable ads as end cards on select AdMob inventory, and an automatic video enhancement tool that adapts videos to different screen sizes and orientations. Source
Google Tag & Tag Manager
- Floodlight tags in server-side Tag Manager began sending unconsented requests server-to-server
To improve modeled conversions, Floodlight tags in sGTM now transmit unconsented (consent-mode denied) pings server-to-server rather than dropping them, affecting Campaign Manager 360 and DV360 advertisers using server-side tagging with consent mode. Source
- Floodlight Sales tags gained Merchant ID, feed label and feed language cart-data parameters
Conversions with cart data for Floodlight now support mid, fcntr and flng parameters so SA360 and DV360 advertisers can match cart items to Merchant Center feeds. Source
- GTM custom templates gained readAnalyticsStorage API to read GA client and session cookie IDs
A new sandboxed JavaScript API lets custom template developers safely read Google Analytics client ID and session ID values in the web container. Source
Microsoft Ads
- Unified website exclusion lists launched for Search and Audience ads
Advertisers can manage website exclusions centrally and apply them in bulk, with up to 10,000 sites per list and 100 lists per account. A targeted website list pilot ran alongside. The July 2025 API release added site exclusion list bulk mappings. Source
- Audience Planner modernized with persona forecasting and in-planner campaign creation
The native ads Audience Planner gained a new design, better forecasting accuracy, persona-based reach estimates, direct campaign/ad group creation and alerts for bid or budget mismatches. Source
- Beauty, legal services and dating policies updated for Audience ads
The Beauty and cosmetics and Legal services policies dropped restrictions for display, native and Audience ads, and the Dating and personals policy clarified that sensitive user data and personalization are prohibited. Source
Took effect this week
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