Each change below was checked against Google's own help pages and blogs, or Microsoft's for Microsoft items, on September 29, 2026. Every item links to its source. Items we could not match to an official page are labeled or left out.
A change gets into this list only when an official page says it. Confirmed means the official page matches the claim. Partly means the page supports part of the claim, and we say which part. Reported, not documented means industry coverage mentions it but we found no official page. Each item ends with a short note on what it means for accounts that spend $100K or more per month.
Items checked: 19. Confirmed: 13. Partly: 2. Reported, not documented: 2. Checked and left out: 2, listed at the end so you know we looked. One confirmed item is a delay: Dynamic Search Ads upgrades moved from September to February 2027.
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Customer Match files accept a user IP address and a user interaction timestamp as match keys. Google says both must be sent unhashed. A timestamp can't be sent without an IP address, and IP matching isn't supported for users in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland.
What it means: If your CRM stores the IP address and time of each form submission, you can add them to Customer Match uploads next to email and phone. Confirm that your consent flow and privacy policy cover this use before you upload. Google's page names the timestamp column two ways ("User Engagement timestamp" and "User Interaction timestamp"), so test the header on a small list first.
Juan Colicchio's take, for lead gen: "Yes, worth using."
Source: Create a Customer Match list by uploading a data file (Google Ads Help)
Confirmed
On September 10, Google announced that Data Manager is coming to Google Analytics and Display & Video 360, and that the Data Manager API is now universal. The same post introduces a Data Strength Uplift metric in Google Ads and says Meridian GeoX is generally available. Google's Customer Match help page now recommends Data Manager over the Google Ads API for new Customer Match integrations.
What it means: If you are building a new Customer Match or offline data pipeline, Google now points you to Data Manager or its API. Existing Google Ads API integrations still work. Plan new builds on the recommended path.
Partly
We checked both English versions of Google's learning period page on September 29. The UK English page says it "can take up to around 50 conversion events or 3 conversion cycles" for a bid strategy to calibrate. The US English page still says "a few conversion cycles (1-2 typically)". Both pages list the same Learning triggers: a new strategy, a setting change, or a composition change.
What it means: Until the US page matches, the two figures are both Google's. Plan your budget and your test windows for the longer one. At a low conversion rate, 50 conversions can take far longer than 3 conversion cycles, so do the math per campaign before you change a bid strategy.
LGG field practice, not a Google rule: "We aim to be done with the learning period within 4 weeks," says Juan Colicchio. Weeks 1 and 2 run on Maximize conversions, weeks 3 and 4 on Maximize conversion value, and then we set a Target ROAS using our ROAS target calculator.
Confirmed
Version 25.2 of the Google Ads API, announced September 23, adds two recommendations. Google says they notify you "when Target CPA or Target ROAS bids are too low for Search campaigns to enter auctions." The release also adds percentile benchmark metrics.
What it means: If you manage bids through the API or a tool built on it, these recommendations can show where a strict target blocks auction entry. Read them as a signal to review, not an order to change the target.
Background on the strategies involved: Smart Bidding · Target ROAS · Target CPA · Low conversion volume
Confirmed, beta
Google's help page says newly created Demand Gen campaigns have view-through conversion (VTC) optimization on by default. It applies to video assets only, across YouTube, Display and Discover. The feature is in open beta. Google says it does not support offline conversions, store visits or offline conversion import, and it recommends a 1-day window for primary view-through conversions.
What it means: Expect the Google Ads conversion column to rise in new Demand Gen campaigns without a matching rise in your CRM, because view-through conversions now count as biddable. Accounts that bid only on imported offline events see no bidding change from this feature. Decide per campaign whether to keep the box checked.
Source: About view-through conversion optimized bidding for Demand Gen (Google Ads Help)
Confirmed
Google's Demand Gen FAQ says Demand Gen "will use mixed billing including CPM and CPC bidding," and lists Google Display Ads as CPM. The page describes billing type. It does not describe a separate Display-only bidding option.
What it means: When a Demand Gen campaign moves spend toward Display, reported cost per click can change with no change in your bid. Segment by channel before you read a CPC trend.
Source: Demand Gen Frequently Asked Questions (Google Ads Help)
Confirmed
Google's September 24 Demand Gen Drop adds one-tap image ads on Shorts and Gmail. Google's wording: "Consumers can now visit your landing page with a single tap on image ads." The post also covers a Business Agent for YouTube Ads, which needs sign-up, and affiliate location extensions in Maps.
What it means: A shorter path from image ad to landing page can raise click volume on those surfaces. Check that landing-page tracking and your offline conversion feed capture these clicks the same way they capture Search clicks.
Confirmed
Google's AI Max post, updated June 11, 2026, says campaigns that use automatically created assets or the campaign-level broad match setting "will continue to be auto-upgraded starting in September 2026." Upgraded automatically created assets campaigns get search term matching and text customization. Upgraded broad match setting campaigns get search term matching.
What it means: Check which Search campaigns used either setting and review their search terms after the upgrade. If you would rather control the settings yourself, Google recommends upgrading before the automatic change.
Juan Colicchio's take: "We only activate AI Max when we're bidding on something that can't be faked. No auto-applied recommendations are ever turned on in the accounts we manage." Google documents how to turn off auto-applied recommendations and how to turn AI Max off for a campaign.
Confirmed delay
The same post first said Dynamic Search Ads would upgrade in September. The June 11 update moves the Dynamic Search Ads sunset and auto-upgrade to begin in February 2027. If you read the original post in April, the date changed.
What it means: Dynamic ad groups keep running for now. Use the extra months to test AI Max against them with Google's one-click experiments, on your own schedule.
Confirmed, closed beta
On September 23, Google said the AI Brief closed beta now supports Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish. The same post says a unified Search journey report is coming, with details and availability "later this year."
What it means: This matters if you run AI Max in those languages and have beta access. The new report has no date yet, so don't plan reporting around it.
Confirmed, beta
Google's Ask Advisor page (beta) shows it acting on requests such as pausing a campaign, updating a daily budget, appealing disapproved ads, updating a final URL and changing a targeted location. Google says it makes changes "with your approval." Ask Advisor isn't available in manager (MCC) accounts, and access depends on account eligibility. Google shows these actions as example prompts, not as a formal list of supported actions.
What it means: Agencies that work from a manager account can't use it there. For anyone inside the account, an Advisor change is the same edit as a manual change. Log it the same way, so it doesn't hide inside a test window.
Juan Colicchio's take: "No. We verify Google Ads platform numbers against our tracking server numbers first. Only when both agree do we move forward with changes."
Confirmed
Google's developer blog says: "Google Ads API v22 will sunset on October 7, 2026."
What it means: Ask whoever runs your conversion uploads, bid scripts or reporting which API version they call. An offline conversion feed that stops on October 7 stops feeding Smart Bidding.
Confirmed
On September 10, Google said Google Ads API sign-up moves to the Cloud Console, with access tied to Cloud projects. Google's wording: "We are sunsetting developer tokens." New Basic and Standard access applications now need brand verification.
What it means: If a vendor or in-house team plans a new API integration, budget time for the new onboarding and brand verification. Read Google's post for the timeline that applies to existing tokens.
Partly
Microsoft's August 2026 product news says that starting October 1, the Max CPC limit will "no longer be available when creating new non-portfolio campaigns" that use Maximize Conversions with Target CPA, Maximize Conversion Value with Target ROAS, or Maximize Clicks.
Campaigns created before October 1 keep the setting. Microsoft says Max CPC "will remain available" for new and existing campaigns on portfolio bid strategies. The post does not describe this as a new portfolio feature, so "new Max CPC for portfolios" overstates it.
What it means: If you depend on a CPC cap in Microsoft Advertising, create new campaigns on a portfolio bid strategy, or build them before October 1. Existing campaigns are not affected.
Source: Microsoft Advertising Blog, August 31, 2026 · How portfolio bid strategies work →
Confirmed as announced
The same Microsoft post said age and gender exclusions for Performance Max campaigns would become generally available on September 8. We confirmed the announcement. We did not confirm the rollout in a live account.
What it means: Lead-gen offers with age rules, such as Medicare, can now exclude age groups in Microsoft Performance Max campaigns. Check the setting in your own account.
Reported, not documented
Industry coverage describes a new branded search control for AI Max. Brand controls for AI Max already appear in Google's help center, but we found no official September 2026 announcement of a new branded search setting. We will add it when Google documents it.
Reported, not documented as new
Google's help center has a page on automated promotions, where Google Ads sources promotions from your landing pages for Search and Performance Max campaigns with location assets. The page has no launch date and we found no announcement, so we can't confirm it as a September change.
Checked and left out: Microsoft Advertising experiments for Shopping and Performance Max campaigns, and a new filter on the Competition tab. We could not match either to an official Google or Microsoft page.
Confirmed changes include IP address and timestamp matching for Customer Match, view-through conversion optimization on by default in new Demand Gen campaigns, AI Max upgrades for campaigns using automatically created assets or campaign-level broad match, one-tap image ads in the Demand Gen Drop, AI Brief in seven more languages, and Google Ads API v25.2. Dynamic Search Ads upgrades moved to February 2027.
Google's UK English help page says it can take up to around 50 conversion events or 3 conversion cycles. The US English page says a few conversion cycles, 1 to 2 typically. We checked both on September 29, 2026.
Yes, for newly created Demand Gen campaigns. It applies to video assets only across YouTube, Display and Discover, it is in open beta, and you can turn it off per campaign.
Yes, with your approval. Google's beta page shows it pausing campaigns, updating budgets, appealing disapproved ads, updating final URLs and changing locations. It is not available in manager accounts.
Starting October 1, 2026, for new non-portfolio campaigns that use Maximize Conversions with Target CPA, Maximize Conversion Value with Target ROAS, or Maximize Clicks. Existing campaigns and portfolio bid strategies keep Max CPC.
Google Ads Help: Customer Match data files, learning period (en-GB), learning period (en), Demand Gen view-through optimization, Demand Gen FAQ, Ask Advisor, automated promotions, Maximize conversions, Maximize conversion value, Target ROAS, manage auto-apply recommendations, set up AI Max. Google blogs: data strength, AI Max upgrades, AI Brief languages, Demand Gen Drop, API v25.2, API v22 sunset, API onboarding. Microsoft: August 2026 product news. All checked September 29, 2026.
Several items this month depend on what data reaches Google: Customer Match keys, view-through counting, and API versions behind conversion uploads. The pages below cover that plumbing.
Offline conversion tracking setup → · Value-based bidding thresholds → · Attribution tracking →
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