Week of Feb 2, 2026
11 changes logged the week of Feb 2, 2026; 2 took effect. Open this week in the change history.
Google Ads
- Google Ads support contact form began redirecting advertisers to an AI chat agent
Marcin Wsol noticed that the support.google.com/google-ads/gethelp form now routes to an AI agent that asks users to describe the issue before offering advice. Arpan Banerjee also noted forms auto-filling from past cases. Source
- Local pack ad placements rose from under 3% to roughly 22% of tracked mobile keywords
Joy Hawkins reported Places Scout data across 1,200 mobile ranking reports showing local pack ads expanding sharply over a couple of months. Google did not comment. Source
- Personalization removed for DFS and Rummy App campaigns in India after legal changes
Google reversed its March 2025 allowance: App campaigns for Daily Fantasy Sports and Rummy apps targeting India can no longer use personalized targeting. Source
- Campaign Mix (mixed campaign type) experiments were spotted live in some accounts
Emil Emanuel Ankjaer Nordahl saw the new cross-campaign experiment type available in his account; SER noted it was not yet live for everyone. Google had described the beta a couple of weeks earlier. Source
- Data Manager gained a data source diagnostics view rating connection health from Excellent to Urgent
Georgi Zayakov reported on LinkedIn that Data Manager now monitors each data connection and flags refused credentials, formatting errors and failed imports with status labels. Source
- Shopping campaign setup stopped pre-selecting Performance Max, requiring an explicit choice
Adriaan Dekker and Emil Emanuel Ankjaer Nordahl reported on LinkedIn that the Shopping campaign creation flow now asks advertisers to choose between Standard Shopping and Performance Max instead of defaulting to PMax. Source
Merchant Center
- New Merchant Center recommendations suggested attributes to add to product descriptions
Merchant Center began showing recommendations listing additional product attributes merchants could include in descriptions, many of which are not current Shopping feed attributes, hinting at attributes used by AI shopping surfaces. Source
Google Ads API & Scripts
- Developer token access-application backlog acknowledged; developers told to stay on Explorer Access
Following Explorer Access, the MCP server and Developer Assistant launches, Basic Access reviews slowed; Google added reviewers, fast-tracked applications, and advised upgrading only when exceeding quotas or blocked by features, suggesting advertiser verification and OAuth app verification details to speed reviews. Source
Google Tag & Tag Manager
- Google Ads tag began automatically collecting a broader range of website event data
Google Ads now automatically collects more website event data with less manual configuration; advertisers may see additional network requests to Google domains from the Google tag. Source
Microsoft Ads
- Publisher Content Marketplace piloted to license publisher content to AI systems
Microsoft Advertising introduced a usage-based marketplace where publishers such as AP, Business Insider, Conde Nast, Hearst, People Inc, USA TODAY and Vox license content to AI builders, with Yahoo as the first demand partner. Source
- Dating and companionship ads required global pre-approval with Japan and Colorado rules
All dating and companionship advertisers must be pre-approved, with additional market requirements for Japan and for advertisers targeting Colorado. Source
Took effect this week
Share this page: https://gadschangehistory.com/week/2026-02-02/