Google has been publishing these videos from advertisers on the number one Google Ads launches of the year 2025. Bug Ginny Marvin, the Google Ads Liaison, was asked and she picked PMax channel performance reporting as her number one feature release for Google Ads in 2025.

Ginny Marvin wrote on X, "I'd have to give it to PMax channel performance reporting." But she also listed some runner ups and they include:

• AI Max for Search beta rollout with configurable settings, new controls & reporting
• Demand Gen channel controls
• Data Manager API to safely send audience and conversion data to multiple Google advertising products with a single call
• Creator partnerships hub right in Google Ads & DV360

Here is that post:

I'd have to give it to PMax channel performance reporting but others that stick out as a result of advertiser feedback are:

'¢ AI Max for Search beta rollout with configurable settings, new controls & reporting

'¢ Demand Gen channel controls

'¢ Data Manager API to'...

'" AdsLiaison (@adsliaison) December 24, 2025

Here is the video where Ginny Marvin asks advertisers about their picks:

Forum discussion at X.

Earlier this year, Google lowered the size of your data segment customer lists to 100 active visitors for the Google Display Network. Now, Google updated that to also be 100 active visitors for the Search Network and YouTube.

Google updated it to read:

• Google Search Network must have a minimum of 100 active visitors or users within the last 30 days. Customer lists also have the same eligibility.
• YouTube must have a minimum of 100 active visitors or users within the last 30 days. Customer lists also have the same eligibility.

Previously it read:

• Google Search Network must have a minimum of 1,000 active visitors or users within the last 30 days, unless it is a customer list. Customer lists must have a minimum of 100 active visitors or users within the last 30 days.
• YouTube must have a minimum of 1,000 active visitors or users within the last 30 days, unless it is a customer list. Customer lists must have a minimum of 100 active visitors or users within the last 30 days.

This change was spotted by Dario Zannoni who wrote on LinkedIn and X, "Google drops audience limits to 100 users for all networks and audience types." He added:

Back in May this year, it was found that Google had reduced the minimum number of users required to use Customer Lists in Search campaigns (from 1000 to 100).

Since then, Google has continued gradually lowering these size limits across the different networks and audience types, seemingly aiming to harmonize the requirements and make audience lists easier to use even for smaller accounts.

According to the most recent support pages on "audience segments," the minimum Audience Size Limit has now been reduced to just 100 active users for ALL networks and ALL segment types:
- Across all 3 networks: Display, Search, and YouTube
- Across all segment types, including Remarketing Lists, and Customer Lists

At the same time, the threshold for a segment to appear in Audience Insights has been lowered from 1,000 to 100 users.

The help page (link in the first comment) appears to have been updated very recently. It now also includes more detailed information, including ad policies and troubleshooting tips, so I recommend checking it out if you work with user segments.

Google also added a new section in the blue area at the top that says, "New advertising policies" with a lot more details. Plus Google expanded the "Active users" section and added a section on "Troubleshoot audience size discrepancies and list population."

Forum discussion at LinkedIn and X.

Google has confirmed there is a bug with Google Ads dynamic remarketing tracking where the data is not flowing into the reporting. Adesh, from the Google team, responded that the Google "teams are actively reviewing this and working toward a resolution."

In many new Google Ads accounts, no data appears in the "ViewStats" section under Data Manager within Google Ads Pixel diagnostics. Specifically, there is no data for "hits with events" and no parameters visible in ViewStats.

Ivelina Ansarova who posted the issue in the Google Ads Help Forums wrote, "We are aware that this topic has been discussed as a case by other advertisers since mid-2025, but without a clear resolution."

He went on to explain when we inspect the implementation:

• Google Tag Assistant confirms that the Google Ads remarketing tag is firing
• GTM Preview Mode shows that dynamic parameters (ecomm_prodid, ecomm_pagetype, items, values, etc.) are correctly passed
• Network inspection confirms requests to googleads.g.doubleclick.net / ccm/collect
• Cookies are being set and remarketing audiences are being populated

Adesh from Google replied twice to the thread and concluded, "Please be assured that our teams are actively reviewing this and working toward a resolution. We hope this addresses the concern."

If you have this issue, Google is asking advertisers to file a case about this over here.

Forum discussion at Google Ads Help Forums.

Google is testing pushing advertisers to use Google Ads Advisor from within the Google Ads reporting section. Google Ads suggested questions and prompts at the top of the report, which it thinks you would find helpful to chat with an AI bot about.

This was spotted by Anthony Higman who posted screenshots on X and wrote, "Ads Advisor Pop Up Bubbles Below The Main Graph On Google Ads Campaigns. Because We Could All Use Some More AI Right About Now! I Mean Definitely Me!" It is sarcasm if you can't tell..

Here is his screenshot:

We have seen Google inject Ads Advisor prompts and boxes within ads support pages and policy disapproval notifications in Google Ads.

So I guess here is one more place...

Forum discussion at X.

Some Google Ads MCC, Manager Accounts, are seeing channel performance reporting. This does not seem to have been rolled out to all advertisers yet, but Mike Ryan noticed it was rolling out on some of his MCC accounts.

Channel performance reporting helps you understand how your Performance Max campaign is delivering results across Google's full range of channels and inventory. On the channel performance page, you'll find a campaign-level performance summary along with data visualization to help you determine which channels you're engaging customers on and how they're contributing to your conversion goals.

We've seen the report roll out to advertisers over the past year or so. But now it is rolling out on the higher MCC-level.

Google has said this is coming but I have not seen anyone see it in the wild until now.

Here is the screenshot Mike Ryan sent me:

Forum discussion at LinkedIn.

Google Ads added a new channel control for Demand Gen to show ads in Google Maps. Some advertisers see the ability to select Maps as a placement in Demand Gen.

This change was spotted by a number of folks including Meg Erickson, Jyll Saskin Gales, Adrian Dekker, Thomas Eccel and Francesca Poles.

Here are some screenshots of this setting:

Forum discussion at LinkedIn.

Google is testing appending "learn more" links to the end of the Google search ads text. So the Google Ad will have its normal ad description and at the end, Google is testing adding "Learn more" with an arrow to the right, in blue anchor underlined text.

This test was spotted by Anthony Higman who shared a screenshot on X - he said, "The New Stupid "Lean More" Links Are Now In Paid Ads!!!" He added, "clicking the "Learn more" thing takes you direct to the landing page."

Here is his screenshot:

This is similar but different from the read more links Google rolled out last week in the organic search results. It is also different from the tests we saw in July.

I assume these will increase click-through rates on these search ads.

Forum discussion at X.

Google quietly updated its AI Overviews ad documentation to say that ads in AI Overviews are supported in Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, and US. Google also added that they are now showing ads in AI Overviews for some sensitive verticals.

The new document lists these 12 countries as where AI Overviews can contain ads:

• Australia
• Canada
• India
• Indonesia
• Kenya
• Malaysia
• New Zealand
• Nigeria
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• Singapore
• US

Previously, it just said it was available in the US and "will expand to select English speaking countries soon."

Google also added "Currently, we don't show ads in AI Overviews for sensitive verticals like adult, alcohol, gambling, finance, healthcare, politics, and more." So Google won't currently show ads in AI Overviews for queries related to these topics:

• Adult
• Alcohol
• Gambling
• Finance
• Healthcare
• Politics
• and more sensitive verticals.

Hat tip to PPC News Feed for spotting this doc change.

Forum discussion at X.

Google Ads recently added a beta to bring in videos from your social campaigns into your ad campaigns. And now, Google is testing bringing in videos in Merchant Center.

This change was spotted by Rakshit Shetty who posted a screenshot on LinkedIn. He wrote, "After adding Social video imports, Google Ads has now unlocked another powerful source."

Here is his screenshot:

He added "This means:

• Product-linked videos auto-surface during ad creation
• Faster creative setup for retail & ecom brands
• Better relevance between products and video ads
• Stronger performance for PMax retail campaigns

Forum discussion at LinkedIn.

Google can not show ads in AI Overviews with the exact match type. This is a change from back in May, where Google said otherwise. Ginny Marvin, the Google Ads Liaison, wrote on X, "We have since updated this."

Ginny Marvin explained, "The presence of the same keyword in exact match will not prevent the broad match keyword from triggering an ad in an AI Overview, since the exact match keyword is not eligible to show Ads in AI Overviews and hence not competing with the broad match keyword."

Here are those posts where she responded to this:

Great question, Toan. We have since updated this. The presence of the same keyword in exact match will not prevent the broad match keyword from triggering an ad in an AI Overview, since the exact match keyword is not eligible to show Ads in AI Overviews and hence not competing'...

'" AdsLiaison (@adsliaison) December 12, 2025

We covered the exact match comment back in May - here is that old post that said this but again, this has now changed. I am not sure when it changed:

Hi Yoav, Your ad could trigger to show either above/below AIO or within AIO, but not both at this time.

As you note, in this scenario, the exact match or broad match keyword could be eligible to trigger an ad above or below AIO, while only the broad match would be eligible to'...

'" AdsLiaison (@adsliaison) May 28, 2025

She wrote then, "only the broad match would be eligible to trigger an ad to show within AIO." But again, this is no longer the case now that exact match is now eligible for AI Overviews.

Forum discussion at X.

Brad Geddes dug into how he felt "AI Max can trump your existing exact and phrase match keywords and then claim credit for the conversions and revenue." And then Google's Ad Liaison, Ginny Marvin responded to those specific examples on why this happened and what Google is changing in the future with Google Ads AI Max.

It might be easier to first read Brad's blog post named The hidden challenges of AI Max search term reporting. Brad summed it up on LinkedIn as saying:

Many conversions from AI Max are not actually incremental. AI Max can trump your existing exact and phrase match keywords and then claim credit for the conversions and revenue.

In our latest column, we go through the challenges and logic of working with AI Max search terms.

Ginny Marvin from Google responded on LinkedIn to explain where this exactly came from, which is super transparent and makes AI Max easier to understand. Here is what she wrote:

Hi Brad Geddes, really appreciate you sharing these insights & examples. We looked into examples where it seemed AI Max wasn't following our prioritization rules. We found that the matching occurred because of an autocomplete suggestion in Maps search.

Essentially, a user started typing something like "dayca," and "daycare near me" was suggested and the user was shown an ad with the suggestions. Standard keyword matching wouldn't connect the partial query to the exact match keyword, but with AI Max enabled, it could match and deliver an incremental search.

This is different from standard matching, as we're increasingly determining relevance by inferred intent (like with Lens or AI Overviews) versus just the raw text query. We are planning updates in the next quarter or so to improve transparency around these types of matches. We are also updating the Help Center to explain this use case. Hope this clarifies!

So it was following the rules and it was just hard to understand? She said, "We found that the matching occurred because of an autocomplete suggestion in Maps search." "This is different from standard matching, as we're increasingly determining relevance by inferred intent (like with Lens or AI Overviews) versus just the raw text query," Ginny Marvin added.

But this will lead to better reporting, transparency, and help documentation. She wrote, "We are planning updates in the next quarter or so to improve transparency around these types of matches. We are also updating the Help Center to explain this use case."

Pretty cool!

Forum discussion at LinkedIn.

Google is testing incorporating Ads Advisor into the contact us page for Google Ads support. Google was doing this for policy disapproval support requests as well.

This was spotted by Thomas Eccel who posted on LinkedIn, "Ads Advisor is now your AI support agent under the new "Contact us" Beta." Here is the screenshot he shared:

This obviously can help save Google's support team time but also potentially frustrate some advertisers. Although maybe the human support team will also do the same.

Eccel added, "A real conversational agent that checks issues, asks clarifying questions and guides you through fixes directly in your account. This feels a bit like a turning point for me."

Forum discussion at LinkedIn.

Google's Vice President, Global Ads at Google, Dan Taylor, said that there are no plans to bring ads to the Gemini app. This comes after AdWeek reported based on sources that ads will be coming to Gemini in 2026.

Dan Taylor wrote on X:

This story is based on uninformed, anonymous sources who are making inaccurate claims. There are no ads in the Gemini app and there are no current plans to change that.

Those are some pretty strong words against the AdWeek story. He wrote, "uninformed, anonymous sources who are making inaccurate claims."

Ginny Marvin, the Google Ads Liaison, boosted the information on X and wrote:

Boosting this for others who may have seen the story and had questions. In short, there are no ads in the Gemini app, and there are no current plans to change that.

Ads are available in AI Overviews in the US and are expanding to more English speaking countries. We continue to test ads in AI Mode.

This doesn't mean ads will never come to the Gemini app but currently, as of right now, Google has no plans.

Here are those posts:

This story is based on uninformed, anonymous sources who are making inaccurate claims. There are no ads in the Gemini app and there are no current plans to change that.

— Dan Taylor (@edantaylor) December 8, 2025

Boosting this for others who may have seen the story and had questions. In short, there are no ads in the Gemini app, and there are no current plans to change that.

Ads are available in AI Overviews in the US and are expanding to more English speaking countries. We continue to'... https://t.co/n7hBVVxYYo

— AdsLiaison (@adsliaison) December 8, 2025

Forum discussion at X.

With Google Ads releasing AI Max globally back in September, more and more advertisers are trying it out. While some of the early data can show it underperforms, some are seeing success by using it for specific applications. That being said, one recent study showed that using AI Max helps broaden your work with exact match and phrase match keywords.

Mike Ryan posted on LinkedIn that AI Max, "effectively "broad-matchifies" exact match and phrase match keywords."

He looked at one million AI Max impressions in his Google Ads campaigns and said, "My hypothesis here is that advertisers often use exact match keywords for their own brand terms, and then AI Max comes along and says "Aha! This other term is broadly related!" Yet, that other term is categorically different: it's a competing brand."

He shared this chart showing how Al Max matches to the following keyword match types:

He wrote:

You can really see this come to life in the chart below, where exact match and phrase both get broadened by AI max, whilst broad match isn't affected at all '" because it's already broad. This also aligns with Google's statements that campaigns & accounts which rely heavily on exact match will see the strongest volume uplift. AI Max search term matching is rather starved of opportunity to find new impressions if broad match is the dominant targeting model.

He also dug in more and explained:

I also looked at the range of typical outcomes. Here I learned that exact match expansions usually accounts for between 27% and 89% of AI Max match type impressions. The 80% average below skews a bit high in that range, but ultimately the results observed in any given campaign will depend on the specific keyword match strategy and keyword volumes.

Forum discussion at LinkedIn.

Google has a bug with the Google Ads offline conversion uploads feature. Much, but not all, of the offline conversion data you upload is not being added to Google Ads. This obviously makes the reporting look off and bad for your ad campaigns.

Google is aware of the issue and working on a fix.

Prakash Chandra Durgapal posted about this on X the other day - he wrote:

We are facing a serious issue with offline conversion uploads. ~80% of the conversions uploaded to Google Ads via the offline upload method are not appearing in the Google Ads. ROAS bid strategy is malfunctioning, resulting in a significant drop in clicks.

Ginny Marvin, the Google Ads Liaison, replied to that concern last night saying the team is working on resolving the issue. She wrote:

Thank you for flagging. Our teams are working to resolve this issue with high priority.

If you notice issues with your offline conversion data, know that Google is working on it.

Here are those posts:

@GoogleAds

We are facing a serious issue with offline conversion uploads. ~80% of the conversions uploaded to Google Ads via the offline upload method are not appearing in the Google Ads. ROAS bid strategy is malfunctioning, resulting in a significant drop in clicks.

— Prakash Chandra Durgapal (@prakash_durg) December 7, 2025

Thank you for flagging. Our teams are working to resolve this issue with high priority.

— AdsLiaison (@adsliaison) December 8, 2025

Forum discussion at X.

Google rolled out Ads Advisor and Analytics Advisor a few weeks ago and did you know that it can reference and cite third-party external sources, outside of just Google's own help documentation? Well, it does.

Govind Singh Panwar spotted this where the Google Ads Advisor tool sourced a YouTube video and Jyll Saskin Gales website jyll.ca.

Here is the screenshot of this that he posted on X - he said, "Look what I found. Google Ads advisor suggesting recommendation from one of your article."

It is cool that this AI tool can do this but it makes you wonder how does it know who to source, is Google giving it a whitelist of sources?

Forum discussion at X.

Google is testing an animation, where an image asset slides into the sponsored results listing. So it turns a pure search text ad into a text ad with an image that slides in from the right side of the screen.

This seems to be on mobile, and I cannot replicate this, but Karl-Heinz Fogarascher spotted this and posted about it on LinkedIn - hat tip to PPC News Feed.

Here is a GIF of it in action:

Karl wrote, "The CTR image assets are now nicely animated into the text. At least for me on IPhone & Chrome. Has this really already been noticed? Opinions? I think Fancy!"

Forum discussion at LinkedIn.

Google Ads may be testing placing an ad extension button at the top right of the sponsored result on the desktop interface. This button, in this example, shows the text "Learn more."

I cannot replicate this but Khushal Bherwani was able to trigger and shared this screenshot on X:

I think the location of this is new? Right?

Forum discussion at X.

Google Ads may be testing the ability to subscribe to support updates via WhatsApp. Google has rolled out a new option to get real-time support case updates directly on WhatsApp, at least some folks are seeing this.

Arpan Banerjee posted about this enhancement on LinkedIn and said, "A small feature, but a big boost in convenience for anyone managing Google Ads."

Here is his screenshot:

I personally do my best not to use WhatsApp but internationally, WhatsApp is a big deal.

Arpan said these are the benefits:

• Instant notifications the moment your case is updated
• No more checking emails repeatedly
• Faster, simpler communication

Why not offer the same for texting? The cost?

Forum discussion at LinkedIn.

Back in May, Google said it will be giving advertisers more visibility into the search partner network with channel reporting for Performance Max campaigns. Well, now some are seeing it live in their accounts for some of the campaigns they manage.

Aleksejus Podpruginas posted on LinkedIn that he sees it in some of his accounts. He wrote, "Google has just rolled out a new update to Performance Max channel performance reporting, and it's now LIVE, and it helps us to see better the whole picture! For the first time, Google is showing Search Partners performance directly inside the PMAX Channel Performance report tables!"

Here is his screenshot:

As a reminder, Google wrote:

Channel'¬'­ performance'¬'­ reporting'¬'­ helps'¬'­ you'¬'­ understand'¬'­ how'¬'­ your'¬'­ Performance'¬'­ Max'¬'­ campaign'¬'­ is'¬ delivering'¬'­ results'¬'­ across'¬'­ Google's'¬'­ full'¬'­ range'¬'­of'¬'­ channels'¬'­ and'¬'­ inventory.'¬'­ On'¬'­ the'¬'­ new'¬'­ "Channel'¬'­ performance" page,'¬'­ you'll'¬'­ find'¬'­ a'¬'­ campaign-level'¬'­ performance'¬'­ summary'¬'­ along'¬'­ with'¬'­ a'¬'­ new'¬'­ data'¬ visualization'¬'­ that'¬'­ makes'¬'­ it'¬'­ easier'¬'­ to'¬'­ dive'¬'­ into'¬'­ which'¬'­ channels'¬'­ you're'¬'­ engaging'¬'­ customers'¬'­ on'¬'­ and'¬ how'¬'­ they're'¬'­ contributing'¬'­ to'¬'­ your'¬'­ conversion'¬'­ goals.'¬

Drill'¬'­ into'¬'­ specific'¬'­ channels'¬'­ to'¬'­ understand'¬'­ how'¬'­ they'¬'­ play'¬'­ a'¬'­ part'¬'­ in'¬'­ driving'¬'­ performance'¬'­ and'¬'­ to'¬'­ find'¬'­ potential'¬'­ areas'¬'­of'¬'­ improvement.'¬'­ For'¬'­ example,'¬'­ a'¬'­ home'¬'­ and'¬'­ garden'¬'­ retailer'¬'­ might'¬'­ see'¬'­ that'¬'­ they're'¬'­ performing'¬'­ well'¬'­ on'¬'­ YouTube'¬'­ and'¬'­ decide'¬'­ to'¬'­ invest'¬'­ in'¬'­ additional'¬'­ video'¬'­ assets'¬'­ to'¬'­ drive'¬'­ even'¬ more'¬'­ conversions.'¬'­ We'll'¬'­ also'¬'­ surface'¬'­other'¬'­ helpful'¬'­ reports'¬'­ on'¬'­ the'¬'­ Channel'¬'­ performance'¬'­ page.'¬ For'¬'­ instance,'¬'­ to'¬'­ further'¬'­ explore'¬'­ Display'¬'­ and'¬'­ YouTube'¬'­ results,'¬'­ you'll'¬'­ find'¬'­ a'¬'­ link'¬'­ to'¬'­ placement'¬'­ reports.'¬

Not everyone is seeing this yet but you may start to see it soon.

Forum discussion at LinkedIn.