Google Ads Bidding Update Hits August 17: What Every Advertiser Needs to Do Now

Google Ads announced three bidding and budgeting updates on June 15, 2026, and the biggest one changes Smart Bidding on August 17, 2026. If your campaign is budget-limited, your actual CPA or ROAS may move closer to the target you set. That means a campaign getting leads at $5.00 with a $10.00 Target CPA could start paying more per lead after the update.

Two of the three updates are optional features you opt into. The August 17 change is the one that applies automatically, so that's where most of your attention should go. Here's the short version of what I'd do now:

• Find budget-limited campaigns using Target CPA, Target ROAS, or target-based Maximize strategies
• Compare targets vs. actual results over the last 30 to 90 days
• Lower CPA targets or increase ROAS targets when current performance is much better than the target
• Check conversion tracking so bidding uses the right lead, sale, call, or revenue data
• Watch results daily from August 17 through August 31
• Change one thing at a time and keep edits small, around 5% to 10%

If your budget is tight, this update can mean higher costs, fewer conversions, or both. Google is not changing your targets for you, so your setup now matters more than ever. The main risk is simple: if your campaign has been outperforming an old target, Google may now spend harder to get closer to that older number.

The August 17 change applies to Search, Shopping, Performance Max, Demand Gen, and Travel campaigns. Display and Hotel campaigns already use the new bidding behavior, so nothing changes for them on that date. App, Video reach, and Video view campaigns keep their previous behavior. Also, the bid strategy labels changed in June 2026 with no change in how they work, so expect to see "Maximize conversions with a Target CPA" renamed to "Target CPA" and "Maximize conversion value with a Target ROAS" renamed to "Target ROAS."

So if I had to boil the whole thing down to one line, it would be this: audit your target-based campaigns now, reset weak targets, and don't wait until after August 17 to clean up tracking or budgets.

Google Ads Announces Three Bidding and Budgeting Updates for 2026

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Ginny Marvin, Google's Ads Product Liaison, announced three bidding and budgeting changes on LinkedIn. Here's the quick rundown of all three so you know what's automatic and what's optional:

• Bidding target optimization (August 17): a backend change that pulls budget-limited, target-based campaigns closer to the target you set. This one is automatic. You don't opt in.
• Smart Bidding Exploration (expanded): an opt-in feature that lets campaigns chase converting searches outside your current targeting. Now broader than before.
• Promotion Mode (new beta): an opt-in tool for temporarily loosening ROAS and adding budget during peak periods like sales and seasonal spikes.

I like that these give advertisers more levers to pull. But they pull in different directions, so don't read them as one thing. The August 17 change asks you to tighten and confirm your targets. The other two ask you to deliberately loosen them for a window or a query frontier. The rest of this post starts with the August 17 change, since that's the one with a deadline, then covers the two opt-in features.

Checklist 1: Audit Every Campaign Using Smart Bidding

Start with budget-limited campaigns that use target-based bidding. Those are the campaigns most likely to move on August 17. Pull a list of every campaign using Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize Conversions with a target, or Maximize Conversion Value with a target. For each one, note the set target, actual CPA or ROAS over the last 30 days, conversion volume, and whether the campaign shows Limited by budget. Once you group them, the biggest fixes usually come from target and budget changes.

Group Campaigns by Bid Strategy and Campaign Type

In Google Ads, filter by bid strategy and sort campaigns by type. Then log the set target, actual performance, conversion volume, and budget status for each campaign. If you manage Demand Gen campaigns, include any that use Target CPC too. The campaigns that need the closest look are the ones that are both target-based and budget-constrained.

Flag Campaigns That Are Far Above or Below Target

The riskiest campaigns are often the ones beating their targets by a wide margin. Say a campaign has a $10.00 Target CPA but is coming in at $5.00. That kind of gap can shift after August 17, because Google may bid more aggressively to move performance closer to the set target.

Flag campaigns that are well below CPA target or well above ROAS target, especially if they are marked Limited by budget. The bigger the gap between the target and actual performance, the more risk you have around CPA, ROAS, and volume.

Check Bid Strategy Status and Recent Account Changes

Use bid strategy status as a gut check before making changes. Also look for recent edits like budget changes, target updates, new ad assets, and conversion setting changes. Any of these can stretch out the learning phase or cause spend swings right as the update rolls out. If a campaign is still in learning, make a note of that before changing anything else ahead of August 17.

Use this audit to spot which targets and budgets need attention next. Then move to the campaigns you flagged and adjust those targets and budgets first.

Checklist 2: Adjust Targets, Budgets, and Strategy Settings

Use the audit from Checklist 1 to figure out which campaigns need tighter targets, more budget room, or no target at all. For the campaigns you flagged, the next step is to adjust targets, budgets, and bidding settings before August 17.

Reset Target CPA and Target ROAS to Realistic Levels

If your target is higher than your current CPA or lower than your current ROAS, August 17 can pull performance back toward that target.

That's the key idea here: the system will try to move toward the target you gave it, not the better results you happened to get.

So if your actual CPA is already lower than target, lower the target. If your actual ROAS is already higher than target, lift the target.

Pull the last 30 days of data and compare the stated target with actual performance. If a campaign is delivering a $35.00 CPA against a $50.00 Target CPA, lower the target to about $35.00 to help keep the efficiency you already have. The same applies to ROAS. If actual ROAS is at 4.5x against a 3.0x target, move the target up so it reflects what the campaign is already doing.

Decide When Maximize Conversions or Maximize Conversion Value Should Stay Untargeted

Adding a Target CPA or Target ROAS changes the goal. The campaign starts prioritizing that efficiency mark, even if it means not spending the full budget.

That's why untargeted bidding often makes more sense for low-volume or new campaigns. If conversion data is still thin, a target can box the campaign in too early. Let it gather enough data first.

Once the data set is stronger, adding a target can help smooth out performance and support steadier growth.

Match Daily Budgets to Bidding Goals

A tight budget with a loose target is a common mismatch going into August 17. After the update, that setup is more likely to lead to fewer conversions at a higher cost, as the system spends toward the target you set.

Here's the simple way to think about it:

• If the budget is fixed, switch to untargeted bidding so delivery is driven by volume, not efficiency.
• If the budget can move, Google recommends leaving room above daily spend so the campaign does not keep running into its daily cap.

Don't rush the read on performance. Wait 1–2 conversion cycles before judging results, and change one setting at a time.

Once targets and budgets line up, validate conversion tracking before August 17.

Checklist 3: Validate Conversion Tracking Before August 17

Smart Bidding is only as good as the conversion data feeding it. If you're tracking the wrong actions, missing revenue values, or counting the same conversion twice, August 17 can make that problem worse. Google will optimize based on bad inputs.

Confirm the Right Primary Conversions and Values Are Active

The most common tracking mistake is bidding toward the wrong conversion. Only bottom-of-funnel actions, like purchases, qualified leads, and qualified calls, should be marked as Primary. Micro-conversions like "Add to Cart" or page views should be moved to Secondary so they don't shape bidding.

If you're using Target ROAS or Max Conversion Value, check that correct revenue values are passing through your tags. If those values are off, the system can't tell the difference between a low-value sale and a high-value one.

For B2B or sales-assisted campaigns, offline conversion imports often matter most. Deals may close days or weeks after the first click. When you import MQL, SQL, or closed-deal data from your CRM back into Google Ads, you give the system a cleaner signal for value-based bidding.

Once the conversion signal is fixed, look at whether your tags, attribution, and volume can support the new bidding behavior.

Check Tags, Attribution Settings, and Conversion Volume

Review your Google Ads tags, linked GA4 events, phone call tracking, and form submissions for two things: deduplication and attribution consistency. Duplicate conversions can make your reported CPA look lower than it is, which pushes the system to bid too aggressively. For e-commerce tags, using unique Transaction IDs is the standard fix.

If your consent banner is set up the wrong way, ad signals may already be incomplete.

Then check conversion volume. Low-volume campaigns, or campaigns where offline imports create a major reporting lag, are more likely to get shaky under Target CPA or Target ROAS.

With tracking checked, the next step is to watch how the update affects spend, efficiency, and volume in the first few weeks. Once tracking is clean, move to post-launch monitoring and keep an eye on shifts in CPA, ROAS, and conversion volume.

Checklist 4: Monitor Performance from August 17 Through the Next 2 to 4 Weeks

Once your targets and tracking are clean, spend the first two weeks after August 17 measuring impact, not hunting for setup issues.

Track the Core Metrics That Show Whether the Update Is Helping or Hurting

For the first two weeks after August 17, check your main metrics every day. Pay close attention to CPA, ROAS, spend, conversion volume, conversion value, click volume, and impression share. Those numbers will show whether the update is helping or quietly dragging performance down.

If you run Performance Max or Demand Gen campaigns, keep an eye on channel mix changes across Search, Shopping, Display, and Video. That shift can come straight from the update, even if overall CPA looks steady.

Give the system time before you judge results. Wait 1–2 conversion cycles; if your lag is 7 days, use at least 14 days. Also, avoid using Performance Planner forecasts from August 17–31.

At that point, you can use what you see to decide if a campaign needs a small target reset.

Make Target and Budget Changes in Small, Controlled Steps

If performance softens after the observation window, change only one target or budget at a time.

If CPA or ROAS moves outside your tolerance after that window, make small adjustments, around 5% to 10% to Target CPA or Target ROAS per change. Then wait another full conversion cycle before you touch anything else.

This is where a lot of advertisers get in trouble. They change targets, budgets, and conversion settings all at once. When that happens, it becomes almost impossible to tell whether the shift came from the August 17 update or from your own manual edits.

Conclusion: The Minimum Actions Every Advertiser Should Take Now

Before August 17, find Smart Bidding campaigns that are budget-limited, compare 90-day targets against actual results, and reset Target CPA or Target ROAS values that no longer make sense. After launch, monitor performance daily for 2 weeks, wait 1–2 conversion cycles, and make target changes only in 5%–10% steps when performance clearly drifts.

The Two Opt-In Updates: Smart Bidding Exploration and Promotion Mode

The August 17 change is automatic, but the other two updates are features you choose to turn on. Neither one is required, and both are worth understanding before you decide whether they fit your account.

Smart Bidding Exploration Now Reaches More Campaigns

Smart Bidding Exploration lets you set a ROAS tolerance so your campaigns can chase converting searches outside your current targeting, without you rebuilding your setup. It has been available for Search since 2024. As of the June 15 announcement, it's now globally available for Performance Max campaigns without a product feed, and there's a separate beta for Shopping and Performance Max campaigns with a product feed. To get into the beta, you contact your Google Ads account team.

Google says campaigns using the feature see, on average, an 18% increase in unique converting search query categories and a 19% increase in conversions. Those are Google's own numbers, so treat them as the ceiling, not a promise. The feature also works best with unconstrained budgets and without CPC bid caps in the way.

My honest take: this is a way for Google to go beyond your existing targeting and spend more to find conversions. It reminds me a little of how broad match keywords promise the world, and then you look at your data and it didn't work out exactly how you pictured. If you have really good conversion data, I can see this being a strong feature. If your conversion data is weak, I can see it burning budget. Test it on one campaign before you roll it out across an account.

Promotion Mode: A Scheduled Boost for Peak Periods

Promotion Mode is a new beta for Search and Performance Max campaigns. It lets you schedule a temporary boost, loosening your ROAS tolerance and adding extra daily budget across a defined window, then reverting on its own when the window closes. Think seasonal events, product launches, and flash sales.

It's different from a seasonality adjustment. A seasonality adjustment tells Smart Bidding to expect a change in conversion rate. Promotion Mode actually loosens your efficiency target and hands the campaign more budget for the window. They solve different problems.

This one looks like a genuinely useful update to me. When your Target ROAS is set high, it can be hard to actually spend your budget, because the system won't chase auctions that don't meet that target. Promotion Mode lets you say, during this specific window, I'm willing to give up some ROAS to capture more volume. That's great for e-commerce when demand picks up and for seasonal businesses. If you sell pool equipment, you get most of your sales in spring, summer, and early fall, so you might loosen things in season and tighten back up when volume drops. It's opt-in and off by default, so nothing happens here unless you set it up.

FAQs

What are the three bidding updates Google announced?

On June 15, 2026, Google announced a bidding target optimization change that takes effect August 17, an expansion of Smart Bidding Exploration, and a new Promotion Mode beta.

The August 17 change is automatic and applies to budget-limited campaigns using target-based bidding. The other two are optional features you opt into. If you only have time for one, focus on the August 17 change, because it's the only one with a deadline.

Do I have to use Smart Bidding Exploration or Promotion Mode?

No. Both are optional. Smart Bidding Exploration and Promotion Mode are features you turn on, so nothing changes in those areas unless you choose to use them.

The only update that applies automatically is the August 17 bidding target optimization change, which affects budget-limited campaigns on target-based bid strategies whether or not you adopt anything new.

Will this update raise my CPA?

It may.

If a campaign has a tight budget and is now beating your stated target, Google may adjust bidding after August 17 to line up more closely with that target.

So if you want to keep your current lower CPA, update your target to match what the campaign is actually hitting before the change takes effect.

If you don't, the campaign may drift toward the higher target you set earlier.

Should I change my Target CPA or ROAS now?

Review your Target CPA or Target ROAS before August 17, 2026 if your campaigns are often limited by budget and are beating your current targets.

After this update, Google Ads will optimize more strictly to the targets you set. That means performance may move closer to those numbers.

If you want to keep efficiency closer to where it is now, use the Bid Target Adjustment Tool, which became available on July 6. The tool can help you match your targets to recent actual performance.

How do I know if my campaign is budget-limited?

Check your Google Ads account for the Limited by budget status. You can also compare actual results, like cost per conversion or ROAS, against your target.

If performance is much better than your target, there's a good chance the campaign is being held back by budget. Starting July 6, 2026, Google also began showing in-account notifications and a Bid Target Adjustment Tool based on historical performance data.

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