Take Control of Your Google Performance Max Campaigns with New Updates

Google continues to listen to user feedback and roll out new features for Performance Max, giving advertisers more control over their Google Ads campaigns. Our experts at Productcaster have put together a rundown of all the new features which have arrived for Performance Max, as well as given their top tips for making the most of these updates in your campaigns.  

What is Performance Max?

Performance Max is a Google Ads campaign type that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to automate processes across the whole Google advertising network. With one Performance Max campaign, marketers can reach customers across Search, Display, Discover, YouTube and more. Performance Max is goal-orientated and drives performance towards what matters most to you, whether that’s pushing conversions, maximising ROAS, or prioritising local promotions through omnichannel marketing campaigns.  

The State of Performance Max in 2025

The last major update to Performance Max arrived earlier this year. These changes were introduced to give advertisers further insight into the ads and channels that are performing best. This update was rolled out as a reaction to feedback from users, as many found it difficult to see what was and wasn’t performing well in their campaigns. This meant they were limited in terms of their ability to take any effective action to improve their performance. 

Google’s transparency for reporting on Performance Max campaigns has been welcomed; however, there’s still room for improvement. Google’s last update didn’t allow for reporting across channels, making leads harder to capture and conversions more difficult to measure. But Google’s latest update aims to address these concerns by giving advertisers more control over who they’re targeting and monitoring the performance of their campaigns. 

What Are the New Performance Max Features?

While some of these features remain in beta testing and are yet to launch for all users, Google’s newest updates provide users with a clear roadmap for the future of Performance Max. From greater visibility and control to advanced AI automation, these newest updates are a sign of Google’s commitment and trust in Performance Max campaigns as an essential part of any Google Ads strategy. 

More tools for audience targeting

Targeting in Performance Max has always prioritised automation over handpicking an audience, however, with this latest update, advertisers are able to take more control. 

• Advanced demographic controls: Advertisers can now apply age exclusions to their campaigns, with gender exclusions currently in beta. 

• Device targeting: You can now target specific device types to further specialise your campaigns. For example, SaaS businesses may choose to only display their ads on desktop rather than mobile. 

Add negative keyword lists across campaigns

• Negative keywords allow you to prevent certain keywords from triggering your ads which is ideal for increasing audience relevancy and boosting conversions.  

• Previously, you could only add negative keywords on an individual basis which made excluding certain phrases from being associated with your ads a time-consuming activity. Now, you can apply negative keyword lists across your Performance Max campaigns.  

• This means advertisers can exclude certain qualifiers from being associated with their products. Think a luxury clothing brand being able to exclude the word ‘cheap’ from triggering their ads. 

AI-powered creative recommendations

AI functionality for Performance Max is arriving in the form of further creative recommendations for campaigns. 

• Asset best practice recommendations: Provides insights and suggestions for image features to identify what elements drive the best results. 

• Google Ads AI image generator: You can use the Google AI-powered image editor to generate and modify images for your campaigns instantly based on recommendations from Performance Max. 

Smarter reporting for clicks and conversions 

Previously, a major pain point for advertisers using Performance Max was a lack of detailed metrics in terms of conversions and leads. This new update aims to change this by offering users more insights into their performance. 

• No more “unknown” customers: Previously, when comparing new vs. returning customers, some conversions were classified as “unknown”. This label is now less likely to appear within the platform, providing advertisers with more accurate customer signals. 

• More campaign diagnostics tools: Goal diagnostics will now flag setup issues with conversions such as missing or broken tags which could be impacting the performance of your campaigns. 

These changes should make campaigns feel more purposeful and controlled, removing some of the more random elements of Performance Mx. 

What Does this Mean for your Campaigns?

These updates are part of Google’s commitment to pulling the curtain back on Performance Max, giving advertisers better visibility and control over their campaigns. Through improved audience targeting and reporting, marketers will have more control over the typically hands-free elements of Performance Max.  

These updates will give advertisers the tools to make smarter decisions when it comes to their campaigns, reducing wasted ad spend and offering more measurable results.  

Make the Most of Performance Max with Productcaster

Since launching in 2021, Performance Max has only continued to grow, incorporating the latest AI tools from Google to streamline campaigns and optimise smart bidding. At Productcaster, we know that product feed management and AI go hand-in-hand. Productcaster FeedManager provides advertisers with AI-optimised titles and descriptions, as well as analysis and feedback on any campaign to maximise your performance.  

If you’re interested in finding out more about how Productcaster can help you improve your performance and drive engagement, get in touch with us at info@productcaster.com.