Since the full rollout of Performance Max (PMax) campaigns in 2022, advertisers have loved the tool’s versatility but felt a bit sidelined by its AI-driven automation. Google heard your feedback and is stepping up in 2025 to put even more control in your hands. New features are on the way that will allow you to fine-tune your PMax campaigns like never before, helping you keep up the strong results while steering your campaigns in the direction that matters most to you.
These updates include powerful new tools that boost control, improve reporting and provide more transparency — and this is just the beginning.
As with most feature rollouts, these updates will first be available for testing in Google Ads and then expand to Search Ads 360 (SA360). In the meantime, SA360 will respect the PMax configurations set in Google Ads.
Now, let’s dive into what’s new and how these updates can supercharge your campaigns to start the year strong.
As advertising enters the Generative AI era, maintaining control will be crucial to building a balanced partnership. With the rollout of these new features for PMax, Google is empowering advertisers to begin "Automation Layering." This concept introduces a blend of manual and automated tools that set boundaries for AI, allowing it to operate with the flexibility it needs to perform, while keeping you — the expert — behind the wheel.
Soon, advertisers will be able to fine-tune their Performance Max campaigns as Google introduces:
After months of gathering feedback on the current negative keyword configuration process, Google is finally rolling out campaign-level negative keyword controls for Pmax. This update allows advertisers to bypass support chats and manual requests, giving them the ability to manage negative keywords for Pmax campaigns directly within the Google Ads UI. This long-awaited feature streamlines campaign management, making it easier than ever to exclude irrelevant queries on your own terms, in real time.
Last year, Google introduced a beta feature for new customer acquisition goals designed specifically to target high-value new customers. This feature has now been fully released and is available to all advertisers.
With the high-value acquisition goal, you can define what constitutes a high-value customer based on their long-term value using Customer Match. Leveraging Google AI and your first-party data, the system predicts new users with the highest potential lifetime value (LTV) for your brand and adjusts bids accordingly to maximize their acquisition.
Advertisers can now exclude specific brands from Search ads while still including them in Shopping campaigns. In the past, brand exclusions in PMax affected both types of ads, which restricted flexibility. This new update enhances control over budget and messaging, all while maintaining the ability to attract high-intent branded traffic in Shopping ads.
If your campaigns rely on product feeds, PMax now supports "URL contains" rules to help advertisers target specific sections of their site.
Two exciting betas are set to launch for PMax. The first is a demographic beta that enables the exclusion of specific age groups, like "18-24" or "65+." The second is a device targeting beta that facilitates customized targeting based on traffic from computers, mobile devices or tablets.
Campaign performance is about more than just the big picture; it’s about understanding how different assets contribute to conversions. That’s why Google is introducing:
These features allow you to track and refine specific creative elements, ensuring that your best-performing assets get the visibility they deserve.
In addition to the new built-in features rolling out this year, Adswerve can help you create an out-of-the-box solution to optimize your campaigns. Check out PMaximizer—a best practices Looker dashboard that connects seamlessly to SA360. It consolidates your PMax campaigns, simplifying the complex metrics in the UI for a comprehensive overview of your PMax health and actionable insights for improvement. Think of it as the Fitbit for PMax, keeping your campaigns in peak shape!
More controls, insights and reporting improvements are on the way in 2025. Google is committed to empowering you with AI-driven performance, all while ensuring you remain in control.
Stay tuned for updates, and, as always, keep sharing your feedback. Google is listening, and your input is shaping the future of Performance Max!
Questions? Feel free to contact us.