Week of Apr 27, 2026
21 changes logged the week of Apr 27, 2026, 3 high impact; 4 took effect. Open this week in the change history.
Google Ads
- A 'Partners (alpha)' setting let some Performance Max campaigns opt out of search partners and Display
Adriaan Dekker (crediting Renaldo Spin) shared a PMax alpha control for choosing whether ads run on search partner networks and the Display Network. Google later documented search partner and Display exclusions for PMax in May. Source
- AI Max for Shopping campaigns launched with a one-click upgrade for existing Shopping campaigns
AI Max for Shopping brings text customization (generated ad copy for conversational queries), Final URL expansion and automatic text-versus-Shopping format selection to Shopping campaigns, driven by Merchant Center product data. Retailers can turn it on with one click. Source
- Demand Gen image ads sat in review for 7+ days; Ads Liaison confirmed a review backlog
Matthew Skelton raised the delays on LinkedIn and Ginny Marvin confirmed Google was aware of an issue causing some Demand Gen image ads to take longer than expected to review. Source
- A 'Preview impact' button appeared for estimating the effect of up to 10 negative keywords before adding them
Menachem Ani spotted the new estimate feature on X. Google published documentation on negative keyword impact prediction in July. Source
- Text disclaimers launched so mandatory text is guaranteed in RSAs, including with Final URL expansion
A new text disclaimer asset (up to 90 characters) guarantees required legal or regulatory text is shown in the description of responsive search ads, so regulated advertisers can use Final URL expansion in AI Max. Announced April 30 and visible globally in accounts by late June 2026. Source
- Travel feeds and formats being consolidated into Search campaigns with AI Max ('Search campaigns for Travel')
Google is moving hotel and travel advertising into standard Search campaigns so travel feeds and ad formats are managed through one campaign type with full AI Max features, unified controls and consolidated reporting including search terms. Source
- In-account certification applications opened to all advertisers for four financial categories
All advertisers can now apply within Google Ads for crypto exchange/software wallet, hardware wallet, coin trust and complex speculative financial product certifications; existing certifications and pending applications are unaffected. Source
- AI Brief introduced to steer AI Max with plain-language messaging, matching and audience guidelines
AI Brief lets advertisers describe their brand and how they want to show up, in three guideline types (messaging, matching, audience), and previews sample assets and search matches before committing. Rolling out first to Search campaigns in English, then Performance Max and Shopping. Source
- An 'AI' label was spotted on some mobile Search ads in two visual variants
Brodie Clark and Barry Schwartz reported a small AI label on select sponsored results, one with a rounded background and one with an info icon; clicking it did nothing. Source
- Shopping ads tested rendering the cents portion of prices in superscript
Sachin Patel shared examples on X of Shopping ad prices with the decimal portion raised and shrunk. Source
Merchant Center
- pickup_cost and minimum_order_value made mandatory for in-store pickup products in the UK, Switzerland and EEA
Google added a pickup cost [pickup_cost] attribute and, from September 30, 2026, requires merchants in the UK, Switzerland and EEA countries to supply pickup cost and minimum order value for in_store products enabled for pickup, so local inventory ads and free local listings show accurate total costs. Source
- Merchant API MCP Access Service (alpha) launched with conversational product attributes
May 2026 updates added an alpha MCP service giving AI agents authorized, read-focused access to Merchant Center data and insights, a mapi-developer-assistant agent skill in the Code Assist Toolkit, new conversational attributes (question_and_answer, document_link, related_product, item_group_title, variant_option, popularity_rank), a full vehicle ads attribute set, UCP checkout product status notifications, a YouTube sub-API v1alpha and low-latency price/availability patches for allowlisted merchants. Source
- US Vehicle ads expanded to ATVs, UTVs, RVs and non-motorized trailers
Google expanded US Vehicle ads to include all-terrain vehicles, utility task vehicles, RVs and non-motorized trailers such as travel trailers and campers, submitted through vehicle data sources in Merchant Center. Source
Google Analytics
- GA4 launched Task Assistant with tailored configuration recommendations
Task Assistant groups recommended setup tasks into categories (connect accounts, enhance reporting, fix data issues) that users can complete or skip. Source
Google Ads API & Scripts
- 37-month retention limit for daily/hourly/weekly stats in the Google Ads API and scripts from June 1, 2026
Queries segmenting by date, week or hour for ranges older than 37 months return DateRangeError.INVALID_DATE (REQUESTED_DATE_GRANULARITY_NOT_SUPPORTED in v24.1+); monthly, quarterly and yearly data remain available for 11 years. The GA Data API truncates ad cost, clicks and impressions with the date dimension to 36 months, and BigQuery Data Transfer backfills stop beyond 37 months. Source
- Google Ads API v20 sunset confirmed for June 10, 2026
All v20 requests began failing on June 10, 2026; developers had to upgrade to v21 or later (v23+ recommended under the monthly cadence). Source
- Product reporting expanded to all PMax networks plus Video, Demand Gen and App campaigns (June 15, 2026)
shopping_product now returns cost and conversion metrics for Video, Demand Gen and App campaigns, shopping_performance_view covers all Merchant Center-connected campaign types, and all PMax networks are included, producing a one-time increase in product metrics for dates from June 15, 2026. Source
Google Tag & Tag Manager
- Ads-linked GA properties using server-side tagging gained parallel browser signals for conversions
For server-side Tag Manager customers with Google signals enabled, Analytics now sends parallel browser signals so Google Ads conversion tracking and attribution recover data previously lost in server-only setups. Source
Microsoft Ads
- Performance Max website URL publisher report added conversions, clicks and spend per placement
Placement-level reporting for Performance Max now shows outcomes rather than impressions only, so advertisers can exclude weak URLs via account-level exclusion lists. Source
- API v13.0.28 added dual-ID account linking, AISearchSetting, billing group APIs and MSClickId report
The May 2026 release introduced the dual ID requirement for ClientLink, AISearchSetting, GetUetTagAuthKey, GetBillingGroups/UpdateBillingGroupAccounts, MSClickIdPerformanceReport and an asset-based ImageAdExtension V2 model. Source
Search Console
- Search Console began sending warnings to sites detected hijacking the browser back button
Ahead of the June 15, 2026 enforcement date for the new back button hijacking spam policy (added April 13, 2026), Google sent Search Console messages with sample URLs to affected site owners. Source
Took effect this week
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