Week of Sep 14, 2026
31 changes logged the week of Sep 14, 2026, 1 high impact; 3 took effect. Open this week in the change history.
Google Ads
- Product Value Optimization beta let advertisers adjust conversion values per product for bidding
Google published a Product Value Optimization beta that lets advertisers set value adjustments on individual products or product attributes so automated bidding optimises toward the products that matter most. It applies to Performance Max and Shopping campaigns. Source
- Google confirmed the target-based bidding change finished rolling out globally on August 27
Google updated its target-based bid strategy FAQ to say the change that stops budget-limited Target CPA and Target ROAS campaigns from overperforming their targets rolled out globally on August 17, 2026 and completed on August 27, 2026, and that the new bidding behavior is now fully live across all affected accounts. Source
- Performance Max added a 'Where should people go after clicking your ads?' destination choice
Performance Max campaigns gained a setting asking where people should go after clicking an ad, with two options: your website, or a Google-hosted page built from your Google Business Profile and described as 'optimized for ads' with built-in conversion measurement. Source
- AI Mode tested a text link ad format that reads like part of the AI response
Google was spotted testing a text-based link ad format inside AI Mode. The ads render as ordinary anchor text links in the style of an AI Mode answer, labeled only with a 'Sponsored' marker above the AI-generated response, on both desktop and mobile. Source
- Spend benchmarks report began showing how your spend compares with similar businesses
Google Ads started rolling out an update to the Spend benchmarks report in the account Overview that compares your spend with businesses Google considers similar to yours, showing whether you are spending more, less or the same as competitors and what each side got for it. Source
- Gambling ads allowed in Slovenia from October 1, 2026 for concession holders
Google updated its Gambling and games policy to let licensed operators advertise sports betting, online casino games and lotteries in Slovenia from October 1, 2026. Advertisers need a valid concession from the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and registration with the Slovenian Ministry of Finance, plus Google gambling certification. Source
- Google published a dedicated help page and diagnostics docs for multi-source conversions (beta)
Three weeks after renaming the feature, Google published a full documentation set for multi-source conversions: a main help page plus diagnostics, FAQs, tag troubleshooting and supported data sources. The beta connects an existing website conversion action to a backend source such as a CRM or order database through Data Manager or the Data Manager API. Source
- Ad review help page now says Demand Gen and Discovery reviews take 3-5 business days
Google rewrote 'Check the review status of an ad or asset' to spell out review timelines by campaign type. Most reviews still finish within one business day, but standard reviews for Demand Gen and Discovery campaigns are now documented as taking 3-5 business days, and some complex formats up to 7 business days. Source
- Business Agent entered beta inside YouTube ads for select US retailers
Google opened a beta that puts Business Agent directly into YouTube ads, letting viewers ask complex product questions and get tailored guidance without leaving YouTube. It is being offered to select retailers in the US as part of Google's holiday agentic commerce push. Source
- Asset Studio gained AI video dubbing to localize video campaigns across 33 languages and locales
Select Google Ads advertisers can now automatically translate and dub existing video creative into 33 languages and locales from inside Asset Studio, without reshooting. The tool is in a limited rollout and reported to be free for advertisers who have it. Source
- Google Messages appeared as a new option for message assets in Search ads
Google was spotted testing Google Messages as an additional destination for message assets in sponsored search results, joining the existing WhatsApp, Messenger, Zalo, SMS and Line options. Source
- Google published invalid-leads guidance saying its traffic filters cannot stop fake form fills
A new Google Ads help page states that Google's invalid traffic protections cannot prevent all invalid leads, because leads are captured on the advertiser's own site and CRM after the click has been judged. Google frames lead quality as a shared responsibility and tells advertisers to add reCAPTCHA, server-side validation and double opt-in email confirmation. Source
- Details view for individual conversion actions was redesigned in Google Ads
Google rolled out a refreshed Details view for individual conversion actions. The same information is there, reorganized: status, last recorded conversion and Enhanced Conversions status now sit in a top section, with settings below and the Settings, Diagnostics and Webpages tabs unchanged. Source
- Google published a commerce audience sharing help doc for retailers and their brand partners
A new Google Ads help page documents commerce audience sharing, which lets commerce partners such as retailers and marketplaces share first-party audience segments with their advertising partners such as brands and sellers. Campaigns using a shared audience may only drive traffic back to the commerce partner's own platform. Source
- Google tested a small AI label on ads in YouTube Shorts
A small AI icon was spotted next to the sponsored ad information on YouTube Shorts ads, signalling that the creative may have been made or edited with AI. It appears to be a test rather than a general rollout. Source
- Sponsored Places tested as vertical business cards that expand on hover
Google is testing a redesigned Sponsored Places unit in Search that lays local businesses out as vertical cards and expands a listing with extra detail when the user hovers over it. The earlier February 2026 test of this unit used a horizontal card layout. Source
- Ads at the bottom of AI Mode began showing descriptions under the headline
Google started showing description text beneath the ads that appear at the bottom of AI Mode responses, where previously those ads carried only a headline and sitelinks. A disclosure line reading "AI response about ads are generated independently" was spotted below the ads. Source
- Google tested a 'More from advertiser' sitelink header with the advertiser's icon
Search ads were spotted with a new header above the sitelink block showing the advertiser's icon next to a "More from advertiser" title. It is one of several sitelink formatting tests Google has run this year. Source
Merchant Center
- Google removed free product listings and product carousels across the EEA under the DMA
Over roughly two days Google removed free product listings and the popular-product carousels from Search results across the European Economic Area, with tracking showing 90-100% declines in affected countries. Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin confirmed the removal follows Digital Markets Act requirements; the space now goes to comparison shopping services. Source
- UCP integration hub added cart transfer, native checkout on Google and identity linking
Google expanded the Universal Commerce Protocol integration hub so merchants using UCP-powered checkout can also enable cart transfer to their own site, native checkout on Google, identity linking and enhanced checkout flow testing. The capabilities are rolling out gradually in the US, with Australia and Canada to follow in early 2027. Source
- Google published store ratings eligibility: ~100 reviews, 3.5 stars and reviews from the last 24 months
Google's store ratings overview for merchants now spells out the eligibility bar for showing seller ratings on text and Shopping ads: roughly 100 eligible reviews at a minimum 3.5-star average, drawn from the past 24 months. Ratings are calculated separately per country and reviews only count in the country they came from. Source
- Product reviews became submittable through the Merchant API instead of files only
Google's product reviews documentation now lists "Add product reviews using API" as a supported submission method, where it previously stated that API isn't supported for product reviews data sources. Merchants can create, update, list and delete product reviews programmatically through the Merchant API Reviews sub-API. Source
- Adult products must now be labeled in ecommerce feeds or markup to stay eligible for Shopping
Google updated its guidelines for sites with explicit content to require that adult-oriented products be labeled for Google Shopping features, either with the adult attribute in a Merchant Center feed or with hasAdultConsideration structured data markup. Unlabeled adult products risk losing Shopping eligibility. Source
- Conversational attributes gained technical names, file-format examples and a TSV feed template
Merchant Center expanded the documentation for its optional conversational attributes, adding the technical attribute name and per-format examples for each one and publishing a TSV template merchants can use to submit them. The attributes are designed to help AI systems and conversational shopping agents understand product nuances that the core product data specification does not cover. Source
Microsoft Ads
- Microsoft Advertising published rules for AI-generated and synthetic content in ads
Microsoft Advertising published dedicated guidance covering AI-generated, AI-manipulated and other synthetic content in ads. Advertisers must disclose AI-created or materially altered creative where disclosure is required, preserve provenance signals, and remain liable for deceptive creative whether or not it is labelled. Source
- Renaming a Microsoft Merchant Center store no longer interrupts Shopping ads
Microsoft Advertising documented that renaming a Microsoft Merchant Center store no longer pauses Shopping ad delivery. The new store name goes 'Under review' while ads keep serving with the previously approved name, and if the new name is rejected the original name stays live with the rejection reason shown in Store Issues. Source
- Microsoft Advertising doubled its Customer Match CDP partner list to 20, adding Adobe and Amperity
Microsoft Advertising expanded the list of customer data platforms supported for Customer Match to roughly 20 partners, about double the previous count. Adobe Real Time CDP, Amperity and Emarsys (SAP) are among the additions, while Salesforce is no longer listed. Source
ChatGPT Ads
- OpenAI launched Sponsored Agents, an ad that opens a branded conversation inside ChatGPT
OpenAI announced Sponsored Agents, an ad format where clicking the ad starts a labeled conversation with a business-sponsored agent inside ChatGPT rather than opening the advertiser's website. It is a limited alpha with select US advertisers, including Wayfair, Angi, Newegg, Best Buy, Lowe's and VistaPrint. Source
- ChatGPT Ads added Shopify and HubSpot integrations alongside conversion optimization updates
In the same announcement as Sponsored Agents, OpenAI rolled out new ChatGPT Ads integrations with Shopify and HubSpot and further conversion-optimization and attribution controls, making it easier to pass ecommerce and CRM conversion data back into the Ads Manager. Source
Search Console
- An 'AI contribution' earnings pilot appeared in Search Console for selected publishers
Selected publishers saw a new AI contribution section in Search Console offering earnings when their content contributes significantly to AI-generated responses in the Gemini app, AI Overviews and AI Mode. Google confirmed it as an early-stage learning pilot. Source
- Search Console crawl stats report was missing data for September 15, 2026
The crawl stats report in Google Search Console showed a gap for September 15, 2026 across properties. It is a Google reporting issue rather than a site-level crawling problem, and Google has typically restored data after previous gaps of this kind. Source
Took effect this week
Share this page: https://gadschangehistory.com/week/2026-09-14/