Skip to content

Features
Pricing
Changelog
Status

Tag: API

Discover Google Ads API v23.2: Enhancements and Insights

I’m excited to share that Google has released version 23.2 of its Ads API, bringing several exciting updates that enhance video, app campaigns, and audience planning tools.

What’s New in This Release?

First, there’s the new VideoEnhancement resource. It now allows me to identify whether a video ad is Google-generated or advertiser-provided. This provides much-needed clarity on how ads are enhanced automatically.

Additionally, the AppTopCombinationView resource offers read-only insights into top-performing asset combinations in app campaigns, a valuable tool for optimizing my campaign strategy.

For those utilizing Demand Gen campaigns, I can now disable the hotel feed using HotelSettingInfo.disable_hotel_setting. This gives me more control over my ad placements.

This update also introduces a new conversion metric for tracking indirect first in-app installs across Campaign, Customer, and AdGroup resources, giving me deeper insights into conversion performance.

Moreover, enhancements to ContentCreatorInsightsService and ReachPlanService means I can further refine my content strategies and audience reach planning.

Steps to Upgrade

To benefit from these updates, I’ll need to upgrade to v23.2 by updating both client libraries and client code. Fortunately, all updated libraries and code examples are already available.

Join the Live Walkthrough

If you’re looking for more information, I recommend attending Google’s live release walkthrough on March 26 at 11am ET. It will be streamed live on Discord and YouTube, and a recording is provided afterward.

Why This Matters

The addition of the VideoEnhancement resource addresses a significant gap in Performance Max reporting. For those of us developing custom reporting tools, this means improved visibility into creative performance.

Final Thoughts

Although this release is part of Google’s routine updates, the enhancements, particularly in the VideoEnhancement resource, are worth noting. It’s a significant step forward for developers like myself working on Performance Max creative reporting.

Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.

March 27, 2026
Navigate Google’s New Rule on Duplicate Lookalike Lists
I recently discovered an important update from Google affecting how I run Demand Gen campaigns using Lookalike user lists. Starting April 30, Google will block creating duplicate Lookalike lists via the Google Ads API and return an error code for any breaches.

This update might seem quiet, but its implications are significant, especially for those of us utilizing automated systems or third-party tools. Google is now enforcing a uniqueness check to prevent duplicates that have identical seed lists, expansion level, and country targeting.

Why do I care about this change? An unaddressed error could disrupt the workflow of my campaigns if I don’t update my integrations in time.

Here’s what I plan to do:
- Audit my current Lookalike lists and reuse those that already align with my goals instead of creating new ones.
- Update my API error handling processes to catch the new DUPLICATE_LOOKALIKE error code in versions v24 and above, or RESOURCE_ALREADY_EXISTS in older versions.
The bottom line is, while this change is housekeeping, the deadline is firm. I need to ensure my campaigns are technically prepared before the end of April to maintain stability in Google’s systems.

If you’re interested in a deeper dive, I highly recommend checking out Google’s blog post detailing these changes: Upcoming changes to Lookalike user lists in the Google Ads API, starting April 30, 2026.

Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.
March 23, 2026
Unlock AI Insights with Google’s New Ads DevCast for Developers

I’ve been eagerly following the latest developments from Google, and their new Ads DevCast is truly a groundbreaking resource for developers like me. This initiative offers technical insights into Google Ads and highlights how AI-driven changes are transforming ad APIs.

The new show is hosted bi-weekly by Cory Liseno, as part of the Google’s Advertising and Measurement Developer Relations team. Ads DevCast focuses on deep technical dives across key tools like Google Ads, Google Analytics, and Display & Video 360. It feels like a direct line to the experts who are constantly innovating in our field.

What’s interesting here is that Ads DevCast complements Ads Decoded, which is more about campaign strategy, hosted by Ginny Marvin. It’s specifically designed with us developers in mind, highlighting the need for a specialized approach to understanding these platforms.

The first episode, intriguingly titled “MCPs, Agents, and Ads. Oh My!”, delves into the “agentic shift” that Google is observing. With AI agents becoming the main users of ad APIs, this shift is something we’re all keenly interested in.

For those of us deeply involved with Google’s ad tools, Ads DevCast is an invaluable resource. It helps us stay ahead of technical evolutions, discover new capabilities quickly, and build efficient integrations in a landscape increasingly dominated by AI.

I see Google broadening the horizon from a niche “Ads Developer Community” to a wider “Ads Technical Community.” This change allows marketers to carry out technical tasks without needing exhaustive development cycles.

As a pilot project, Ads DevCast is still very much in development, and Google is actively seeking feedback from us to refine future episodes. It’s exciting to know we can influence its direction.

This initiative reinforces Google’s commitment to keeping us in the loop with their latest innovations, enabling us to adapt quickly and effectively in an AI-first world. Check out Ads DevCast if you haven’t already!

Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.

March 20, 2026
Google’s Big Shift: Customer Match Uploads Change Coming in April 2026

Recently, I discovered that Google is making a significant change that could impact how I manage ads. Starting from April 1, 2026, Google will block any inactive developer tokens from uploading Customer Match data through the Google Ads API.

In a heads-up to developers like me, Google has sent out messages explaining this upcoming change. If I haven’t uploaded Customer Match data using my developer token in the last 180 days, I won’t be able to do so through the Ads API anymore.

What’s changing: If I fall into that inactive category after April 1, any attempts to upload Customer Match lists through the Google Ads API will simply fail. Google advises moving these tasks to the Data Manager API. I’m reassured that this change only affects Customer Match uploads; other campaign management activities will continue as usual in the Google Ads API.

Why Google says it’s doing this: According to Google, the Data Manager API provides a more modern and unified data ingestion system across its platforms, featuring stronger security protocols. It also offers functionalities that aren’t available in the Ads API, such as confidential matching and improved encryption, reflecting Google’s push for centralized and secure audience data management.

Why this matters to me: If neither I nor my developers have interacted with Customer Match uploads over the last six months, this could be a sudden disruption. Post-April 1, 2026, this previous routine will be obsolete, causing errors in place of successful uploads.

The takeaway: I need to verify if my developer token has been recently used for Customer Match and plan for a transition to the Data Manager API before Google implements this new policy.

First noticed: This update was initially spotted by Paid Search specialist Arpan Banerjee, who shared the information he received from Google on LinkedIn.

Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.

March 4, 2026
Google’s New $5 Budget Rule for Demand Gen Campaigns: What You Need to Know

Starting April 1, 2026, Google will require that all Demand Gen campaigns in the Google Ads API maintain a $5 daily minimum budget.

What’s happening: To ensure better performance, Google is implementing a rule that demands a minimum daily budget of $5 USD, or the local equivalent, for all Demand Gen campaigns. This directive aims to facilitate a smoother transition through the ‘cold start’ phase, giving Google’s models the necessary data to optimize effectively.

This change will be implemented as an unversioned API update and will impact all pathways through which ads are bought.

Technical details:

In API v21 and beyond, if a campaign budget dips below the required threshold, a BUDGET_BELOW_DAILY_MINIMUM error will be triggered. Further specifics about the error can be found in the error metadata.

For those using API v20, a generic UNKNOWN error will be shown, referencing the specific validation failure within the unpublished error code field.

The rule applies whenever budgets, start dates, or end dates are altered in ways that result in daily spending falling below the $5 mark. This includes both daily budgets and those allocated over a flighted schedule.

Impact on existing campaigns: Campaigns currently operating below the minimum threshold can continue as they are. However, any adjustments to budgets or scheduling will necessitate adherence to the new budget requirement.

Why we care: For advertisers and developers, this adds an additional layer of compliance in campaign management workflows. Systems must be updated to identify and handle these validation errors before campaigns are launched.

The bottom line: Google aims to standardize a minimum investment level for Demand Gen campaigns, prioritizing performance stability and compelling advertisers to adjust their budgets and automation strategies accordingly.

Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.

March 3, 2026
Unlock Enterprise AI Potential with Conductor Data API

I’ve discovered how essential it is to integrate trusted search intelligence across our enterprise. With the Conductor Data API, we’re extending these capabilities in ways I hadn’t imagined.

Seeing our data work harmoniously across platforms feels transformative, allowing us to leverage AI infrastructure like never before. This powerful insight has reshaped how we view our enterprise integration strategies.

Inspired by this post on Conductor Blog.

February 17, 2026
Explore Google’s WebMCP: Revolutionizing AI Web Interactions
Is this the new technical SEO frontier? This question is top of mind for many of us as Google has recently unveiled an early preview of WebMCP, a protocol shaping the way AI agents engage with websites. According to André Cipriani Bandarra from Google, “WebMCP aims to provide a standard way for exposing structured tools, ensuring AI agents can perform actions on your site with increased speed, reliability, and precision.”

WebMCP offers developers the capability to communicate with LLMs through our websites about the specific actions that various buttons and links should initiate. With this protocol, websites can publish a “Tool Contract” using the new browser API, navigator.modelContext. This means rather than leaving the AI to guess, our websites can present a structured list of functions, like buyTicket(destination, date), allowing the AI to execute these functions directly.

Structured interactions for the agentic web. WebMCP introduces two new APIs enabling browser agents to act on behalf of users:
- Declarative API: This offers standard actions that can be simply defined within HTML forms.
- Imperative API: For more complex, dynamic interactions that need JavaScript execution.
These APIs serve as a crucial bridge, making our websites “agent-ready” and facilitating more reliable and high-performance agent workflows compared to raw DOM actuation.

Use cases that Google has put forward highlight how AI agents can tackle complex tasks efficiently and confidently for users:
- Travel: With structured data, agents can help users search for, filter, and book the exact flights they want, ensuring accuracy in results.
- Customer support: Agents can automatically populate detailed customer support tickets, filling in all required technical details without user intervention.
- Ecommerce: Enhancing shopping experiences where agents can locate, configure, and navigate purchasing options flawlessly.
How to access the preview. If you’re interested in trying out WebMCP, you can apply for the preview through this link.

Why we care. The advent of agentic experiences marks a significant shift in search and potentially SEO. Esteemed voices in the industry, such as Dan Petrovic and Glenn Gabe, have highlighted this as a pivotal transformation, comparable to the impact of structured data and described it as a big deal.

Exploring these cutting-edge protocols could be extremely valuable for anyone keen on staying at the forefront of SEO developments.

Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.
February 11, 2026
Unleashing Google Ads API v23: Discover Perf Max by Channel
Have you ever wondered where your Performance Max ads truly run? With the latest Google Ads API v23 update, we finally have the answer!

An exciting change has arrived with the v23 Ads API launch. Now, Performance Max campaign results can be broken down by channel, including Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail, Maps, and Search Partners. Previously, all your performance data was lumped together, obscuring critical insights.

Here’s the inside scoop. In earlier API versions, I always received a MIXED value for the ad_network_type segment in my Performance Max campaigns. But with v23, these results have transformed into distinct channel enums. It’s a major step forward for those of us who crave precision in reporting and optimization.

Why this matters to us. This update isn’t just about new features — it reshapes how we comprehend Performance Max. With channel-specific reporting now on the table, marketers gain much-needed clarity on where these ads are displayed.

How we can leverage this. Now, we can access channel-level data at the campaign, asset group, and even individual asset levels. This means we can observe how each creative piece performs across Google’s array of platforms. Coupled with v22 segments like ad_using_video and ad_using_product_data, the possibilities for optimizing video performance on YouTube or Shopping ads on Search are endless.

Attention, developers. Upgrading to v23 unveils a level of reporting detail that was previously unreachable. If your system relied on the old MIXED values, it’s time to gear up for the new channel enums.

Keep an eye out for:
- Channel data is accessible only for dates beginning June 1, 2025.
- Remember, asset group–level channel reporting remains exclusively within the API and is not visible in the Google Ads UI.
The takeaway. The newest Google Ads API rollout quietly transforms what was once a black-box campaign category into an analyzable channel-specific type. Finally, advertisers like you and me can dive into the metrics we’ve long sought.

Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.
February 2, 2026
Boost Your Google Ads in 2026 with v23 API Insights

As I delve into Google Ads API v23, I’m excited to share this update marks the beginning of a faster-paced release cycle in 2026. With this update, I’m now able to access improved Performance Max reporting, sophisticated AI-driven audience tools, and more detailed campaign controls.

What’s new:

Performance Max Transparency: I’ve discovered that PMax campaigns now offer ad network type breakdowns, making it easier for me to analyze performance.

More Detailed Invoices: Through InvoiceService, I can retrieve campaign-specific costs, regulatory fees, and adjustments, allowing for more precise financial tracking.

More Precise Scheduling: It’s a game-changer for me to now schedule campaigns using precise start and end date-times instead of limiting to date-only fields.

Local Data Access: I’m now able to access store location details via PerStoreView, which matches the data in the Stores report accurately.

New Audience Dimension: With life-event-based audience building through LIFE_EVENT_USER_INTEREST, my Insights tools are more powerful than ever.

Smarter Demand Gen Planning: The conversion rate forecasts I rely on now vary by surfaces such as Gmail and Shorts, enhancing my strategy planning.

Generative AI Audiences: I can efficiently translate free-text audience descriptions into structured attributes, simplifying audience target creation.

Expanded Shopping Metrics: The inclusion of new competitive and conversion metrics by conversion date helps me improve my shopping ads performance.

Why I care: A quicker update cycle means I can leverage new features faster. With Google’s shift towards automation and AI-driven insights, staying on top of these updates helps me optimize campaigns effectively.

Between the lines: These updates require my team to upgrade client libraries and code, so scheduling development time is crucial to benefit fully from v23.

Bottom line: The Google Ads API v23 is setting the stage for 2026. I’m ready to embrace these improvements that introduce faster releases coupled with enhanced AI insights, refined reporting, and better campaign control for large-scale advertisers.

Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.

January 29, 2026
Urgent: Switch to Google’s New Merchant API or Risk Ad Interruptions

As someone deeply invested in digital advertising, I recently learned about Google’s impending changes to their Shopping API. If you rely on Shopping and Performance Max campaigns like I do, switching to Google’s Merchant API isn’t just recommended—it’s essential to keep things running smoothly.

What’s happening. Google plans to phase out older API versions, making the Merchant API the go-to for all things Shopping Ads. I checked my own campaigns in Merchant Center Next under Settings > Data sources to see which API I’m using. Any listing marked as “Content API” needed my immediate attention.

Why this matters to us. Google has been actively notifying us advertisers to make the move to the new Merchant API. For those in beta, the deadline is February 28th, and for others using Content API, it’s August 18th. If I miss this, my campaigns that depend heavily on product feeds might just stop working. That’s not a risk I’m willing to take.

The risk. I realized that feed labels don’t seamlessly transfer during the migration. Overlooking this can cause significant issues in Shopping and Performance Max campaigns, which rely on these labels for structure or bidding strategies. Without proper updating, my campaigns could quietly fail.

What to do now. Google’s suggesting that we complete this migration sooner rather than later. On my end, that means reviewing my feed labels, reconnecting my data feeds, and making sure everything’s back on track. This transition process started in mid-2024 and is becoming urgent as legacy APIs are on their way out.

Bottom line. Ignoring this isn’t an option for me. This change is more than just a backend tweak—it’s a potential revenue disruptor if not addressed promptly.

First seen. I first caught wind of this update through Google Shopping Specialist Emmanuel Flossie. He flagged the issue on LinkedIn.

Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.

January 20, 2026

←Previous Page

1 2