Week of Aug 17, 2026
34 changes logged the week of Aug 17, 2026, 6 high impact; 7 took effect. Open this week in the change history.
Google Ads
- Branded searches added as a conversion type for YouTube and Demand Gen campaigns
Google Ads now counts branded searches on Google and YouTube within 7 days of an ad exposure as a Consideration-goal conversion type using last-click and view-through attribution, with no additional setup. Source
- Performance Max to auto-generate missing video aspect ratios with generative AI; opt out by September 4
Google emailed advertisers that Performance Max will use generative AI to create vertical and square versions of horizontal videos (and vice versa) so ads fit more placements. Advertisers who do not want this must opt out via their account team or a form by September 4, 2026, or manage it in video optimization settings afterward. Source
- An opt-in 'Enhanced matching' setting appeared in Customer Match to expand reach via publisher-consented users
Joey Bidner shared a screenshot of the unchecked-by-default setting; Google had not announced it. Source
- YouTube Watch-While Ads documented: image ads under the video on the Watch Page for Demand Gen, PMax and App
Google's Demand Gen image asset specifications page now describes Watch-While Ads, a non-disruptive single-image format placed directly under organic videos on the YouTube Watch Page that does not pause playback. It is supported by Demand Gen, Performance Max and App campaigns for installs. Source
- Multi-campaign A/B tests for budget and ROI targets announced for Search, rolling out in September
Advertisers will be able to test different budgets and CPA/ROAS targets across a group of Search campaigns in a single A/B experiment to see how scaling affects results, instead of testing campaign by campaign. Source
- Enhanced matching setting rolled out for Customer Match to match non-Google email addresses via publishers
Enhanced matching privately matches Customer Match lists against publishers' consented lists, so international advertisers can reach customers whose emails (for example yahoo.com, outlook.com, web.de) are not tied to Google accounts. Maximum membership duration is 60 days versus 540 for standard Customer Match, and it works without third-party cookies. Source
- AI Max experiments now keep brand and location controls active as guardrails during tests
Advertisers can run AI Max experiments with brand inclusions/exclusions and location-of-interest controls enabled, where previously those settings had to be disabled to test AI Max. Source
- Local Services Ads added pre-badge ads and dozens of new business verticals; Verified badge narrowed
Businesses can now receive LSA leads after passing preliminary checks while finishing onboarding (pre-badge ads, excluding garage door, healthcare and locksmith verticals). Google added many granular dining, auto and beauty categories, removed state-only restrictions on categories like barber shops, and made the Google Verified badge unavailable for auto, beauty and dining verticals. Source
- TrueView in-stream and in-feed consideration campaigns being upgraded to Video view campaigns
Google is converting legacy TrueView consideration campaigns into Video view campaigns that use multi-format ads powered by Google AI; campaigns that had excluded YouTube Search may find it included after the upgrade. Source
- Attribution reports clarified to only model offline conversions uploaded within 7 days
Google updated the attribution reports Help page to state that data-driven attribution only processes offline conversions uploaded within the last seven days; later uploads still appear in standard reports but are ignored by DDA modeling. Source
- Mobile product ads tested a supersized star-rating layout
Sachin Patel reported oversized review stars on sponsored product results. Source
- Recommended daily budget for Demand Gen Target CPA lowered from 15x to 10x the target
Google revised its Demand Gen bidding guidance so campaigns using Target CPA should budget at least 10 times the target CPA per day, down from 15 times. Source
- Performance Planner gained previews of bid and budget target changes with one-click apply
Performance Planner now shows how changing bidding or budget targets may affect existing campaign performance and lets advertisers apply the recommended changes to live campaigns in one click, with campaigns deselectable and changes reversible via Bulk Actions. Source
- Misleading ad design policy article expanded with more examples
Google added examples and clearer guidance to the Misleading ad design policy article; enforcement is unchanged. Source
- Google Ads began suggesting sitelinks automatically from the campaign's final URL
A new in-account prompt ('I found some sitelinks for you') analyzes the landing page and proposes sitelink assets that advertisers can review and add. Source
- Google Ads began showing 'I found some sitelinks for you' suggestions generated from the final URL
Arpan Banerjee and Barry Schwartz reported the new in-UI sitelink suggestion prompt. Source
- Business logos became addable in Google Ads when setting up Shopping and Performance Max campaigns
Advertisers can now add a business logo directly in Google Ads during Shopping and Performance Max campaign setup. If no logo is added, ads fall back to the logo from the linked Merchant Center account as before. Source
- Asset Optimization panel redesigned with Text, Image and Video sections and per-type enhancement toggles
The campaign-level Asset Optimization panel was reorganized into three sections, Text, Image and Video, each with its own toggles for text customization, image enhancements and video enhancements. A Text section is new; previously only Image and Video appeared. Source
Merchant Center
- Content API for Shopping reached its sunset date; requests begin failing with HTTP 410 from September 1, 2026
The Content API for Shopping v2.1 officially sunset on August 18, 2026. From September 1, 2026, requests from Google Cloud projects without an approved extension intermittently fail with HTTP 410 Gone (reason content_api_sunset), escalating until full decommissioning in early 2027; developers can request an extension while completing Merchant API migration. Source
- Google quietly removed the July announcement expanding Shopping ads and free listings to 14 new markets
PPC News Feed found that the 14 countries added on July 14 had vanished from the supported-countries table and the announcement page returned a 404, with no explanation from Google. Source
- Vehicle ads landing pages required to show dealership, price, VIN and availability without extra clicks
Google's vehicle ads activation and data quality review documentation now states that dealership name, dealership location, vehicle price, VIN and availability must be clearly visible on page load without the user clicking elements such as 'More Details' or 'Vehicle Specs', or scrolling. Source
- native_commerce [native_commerce] attribute added to the product data specification for Buy-now checkout
Google published the spec page for the native_commerce attribute and its checkout_eligibility boolean sub-attribute, which controls whether a product shows the Buy button for checkout inside Gemini and AI Mode. It is optional, supported in text, XML and Merchant API sources, and typically set via supplemental feeds. Source
Google Ads API & Scripts
- Google Ads API v25.1 released with Brand Lift and Conversion Lift measurement and benchmark category filters
v25.1, a drop-in upgrade for v25, added read-only LiftMeasurementConfig and LiftMeasurementFlight resources with 24 Conversion Lift metrics and Brand Lift dimension resources (allowlisted accounts), category_filter and share_of_voice metrics in BenchmarksService, brand sentiment insights in ContentCreatorInsightsService, Segments.loyalty_membership, Metrics.original_conversion_value, parental status targeting in reach planning and text disclaimer assets. Source
Google Tag & Tag Manager
- Google tags upgraded to full Tag Manager containers; GTM sends data directly to Google destinations
Google announced the unification of Google tag and Google Tag Manager: Google tags become fully capable GTM containers (interface tagging, debugging, version control), containers send data directly to Google destinations instead of loading a separate gtag.js, Google tag settings are centralized as Destinations, and new snippets use a 'gtm init' trigger. Adoption is opt-in via in-account optimization prompts; nothing changes automatically. Source
- Visual tagging (no-code event and conversion setup by clicking page elements) launched in beta
Advertisers can define events and set up conversions by selecting elements on their site while Google generates selectors and triggers; the beta initially supports Google Ads purchase conversions. Source
Microsoft Ads
- Conversions API documentation published for a per-account pilot of server-side conversion uploads
The UET Conversion API (capi.uet.microsoft.com) accepts website, CRM, offline and app events server-to-server alongside UET; access is granted per account through account teams or support, with no GA date given. Source
- AI Max for Search rolled out to all advertisers globally, on by default for new campaigns
Search term matching, text customization and final URL expansion became available in every account, enabled by default on new campaigns and switchable off any time; Microsoft cited at least 8% more conversions in tests and 101% higher engagement for ads in Copilot. Source
- Max CPC removed for new non-portfolio conversion, value and clicks campaigns from October 1, 2026
New standalone campaigns on those strategies can no longer set a Max CPC cap; existing campaigns keep it and portfolio strategies, target impression share and eCPC are unaffected. Microsoft encouraged experiments removing Max CPC from existing campaigns. Source
- Government services policy opened to pre-approved third parties in Australia, Canada and the UK
Authorized third-party providers can advertise government services after pre-approval, must disclose non-government status and itemize fees; aggregators, affiliates and lead-gen advertisers are prohibited. Source
- Brazil gambling ads required Ministry of Finance licensing and .bet.br domains
Online casinos, sports betting and daily fantasy in Brazil must be licensed and locally operated, use .bet.br domains, and affiliates need NRA licensing; state lotteries cannot target outside their state. Source
ChatGPT Ads
- ChatGPT Ads expanded to 31 European countries from August 24, initially via agency and technology partners
OpenAI announced ads for Free and Go users across 31 European markets including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Ireland and Austria, starting the following week. Campaigns were initially bought through OpenAI's Ads Solutions team and agency partners (Publicis, Omnicom, WPP, Havas, Dentsu, MediaPlus) and technology partners, with self-serve promised later in the summer. Source
- Ads launched in Brazil and Mexico with day-one self-serve access, the first Spanish and Portuguese markets
ChatGPT ads went live for Free and Go users in Brazil and Mexico, bringing the pilot to nine markets. Unlike earlier expansions, advertisers could buy from day one through the Ads Solutions team, technology partners or self-serve Ads Manager. Source
Search Console
- Discover and Generative AI reports under-reported data from August 13, 2026; AI Search data later restored
Google logged two anomalies: a logging error reduced Discover clicks and impressions (and Generative AI in Discover impressions) for August 13, 2026, and reduced Generative AI in Search impressions for August 13-17, 2026; the Search AI data was restored on August 21. Source
- Crawl stats report was missing data for August 15-16, 2026
The Crawl stats report showed a two-day gap for August 15 and 16, 2026 across properties, with data after August 15 displayed as August 18. Source
Took effect this week
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