Week of Jan 12, 2026
21 changes logged the week of Jan 12, 2026, 4 high impact. Open this week in the change history.
Google Ads
- Built-in A/B asset experiments began appearing inside Performance Max asset groups
Advertisers started seeing a native option to split traffic between two asset sets within a single PMax asset group. It was spotted in accounts before any Google announcement and reported on LinkedIn. Source
- A low-visibility Location Manager setting let Google insert its own imagery into location ads
Paid media analyst Conor Crummey found a setting in Shared Library > Location Manager that allows Google to pull images from its own library into location-based ads without explicit approval. Google had not announced it. Source
- Account-level placement exclusions rolled out across Performance Max, Demand Gen, Display and YouTube
Advertisers can now maintain a single account-level list of websites, apps, YouTube channels and videos to exclude, which automatically applies to all eligible campaigns instead of being managed campaign by campaign. Source
- 'Product data experiments' for A/B testing Shopping ad titles and images were spotted in a limited test
Duane Brown shared on LinkedIn that some merchants could A/B test product titles and images for Shopping ads. Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin confirmed it as a limited test with broader availability expected later in the year. Source
- 'Brand Linking' experiment appeared in the Google Ads Labs hub to link customers to brands
A new experimental 'Brand Linking' card surfaced in Google Ads Labs, described as helping Google understand relationships between brands, ads and user intent. Bia Camargo first reported it on LinkedIn; Google did not announce it. Source
- Performance Max asset groups were spotted testing 15 video asset slots instead of 5
Molly Pritchard and Anu Adegbola noticed some PMax asset groups accepting up to 15 videos. Google Ads Editor 2.12 later documented the higher limit. Source
- Google tested 'Create an account with campaign for faster setup' bundling pre-built campaigns
Anthony Higman spotted a new onboarding flow on X that creates a Google Ads account together with a pre-built campaign. Google had not announced the option. Source
- Search Partner Network segment added to Performance Max channel reporting for all accounts
Performance Max channel-level reporting now breaks out Search Partner Network performance for every customer ID, giving campaign-level transparency into SPN traffic. Source
- Canada cannabis Search pilot extended through December 31, 2026
Google extended the Canada cannabis advertising pilot, which began August 2025, through the end of 2026 for Health Canada licence holders and authorized retailers. Source
- Manual CPC became selectable directly in campaign setup instead of behind a 'not recommended' path
Hana Kobzova of PPC News Feed noticed Manual CPC now appears directly under the Conversions goal during campaign creation rather than requiring advertisers to bypass Smart Bidding suggestions. Source
Merchant Center
- Universal Commerce Protocol announced with direct checkout on Google product listings in AI Mode and Gemini
Google unveiled the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard for agentic commerce that lets shoppers buy directly from product listings in AI Mode and the Gemini app using saved Google Pay credentials while the merchant stays merchant of record. Merchants opt in via Merchant Center and product attributes. Source
- Business Agent began rolling out to eligible US retailers, configured in Merchant Center
Business Agent, a branded conversational assistant on Google Search, started rolling out to US retailers with a verified Merchant Center account, at least 50 approved free listings and a claimed brand profile. Merchants customize tone, welcome message, conversation starters, colors and support contacts under Marketing > Business Agent. Source
- "Product data experiments" A/B tests of product titles and images appeared for select advertisers
A Product data experiments section in Merchant Center let a limited group of advertisers A/B test alternative product titles and images for Shopping ads, with results expected in three to four weeks. Source
Google Analytics
- GA4 added per-conversion attribution settings and cross-channel conversion management for Ads (beta)
Google Ads customers can now adjust conversion attribution settings independently per conversion in Analytics, reducing reporting discrepancies between Ads and Analytics, with new cross-channel reporting features and dimension filters. Availability varies by property. Source
- GA4 cross-channel budgeting (projections and scenario plans) entered beta in the Advertising section
Cross-channel budgeting lets advertisers track paid-channel pacing against KPIs with projection plans and model ROI at different budget levels with scenario plans; requires a linked Google Ads account and is planning-only (does not change spend). Source
- GA4 launched a Conversion attribution analysis report with assisted conversions and funnel stages (beta)
A new Advertising-section report shows the full value of channels across the customer journey via an Assisted conversions view (undervalued upper-funnel channels) and a funnel view classifying touchpoints as Early, Mid or Late. Source
Microsoft Ads
- Autogenerated assets enabled by default for new Responsive Search Ads
New RSAs automatically get AI-generated headlines and descriptions up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions, globally except China and South Korea; Microsoft cited a 5% CTR lift. The February 2026 API added AutoGeneratedAssetsEnabled on ResponsiveSearchAdsSetting. Source
- Asset group-level tracking templates and custom parameters added to Performance Max
URL options (tracking template, final URL suffix, custom parameters) can be set per asset group instead of only at campaign level; the December 2025 API release exposed the fields on AssetGroup. Source
- Google import no longer fails whole asset groups on oversized or excess images
Asset group imports from Google Ads now complete even when some images miss size requirements or exceed the previous 25-image limit. Source
- Location targeting coverage expanded with more reliable Google imports
Microsoft expanded supported locations, improved mapping of imported Google location targets and campaign activation. Source
ChatGPT Ads
- OpenAI announced U.S. ad tests for ChatGPT Free and Go tiers and launched ChatGPT Go in the U.S.
OpenAI published its advertising principles and said it would begin testing ads in the U.S. for logged-in adults on the Free tier and the $8/month ChatGPT Go plan in the coming weeks. Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise plans would stay ad-free, and ChatGPT Go became available in the U.S. and everywhere ChatGPT operates. Source
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