Google Ads is introducing new controls that let advertisers prioritize channels and limit how much of their campaign budgets can be spent across Google-owned inventory and partner networks.
The features, called Channel Prioritization and Budget Allocation, will roll out globally across Search, Shopping, Performance Max, and Demand Gen campaigns over the coming months.
Advertisers will be able to designate channels as high or low priority, with the option to cap spending on lower-priority inventory rather than excluding those channels entirely.
During a virtual roundtable with Google’s product team, Search Engine Journal received an early demonstration of the features and additional details about how they’ll work, including changes to existing Search campaign settings.
How Will Channel Prioritization Work?
Advertisers will be able to label channels as either “High priority” or “Low priority,” depending on where they want their budgets spent first.
Google will fund high-priority channels before moving any remaining budget to lower-priority inventory, while still considering Target CPA or Target ROAS goals.
For example, an advertiser running a Search campaign could prioritize Google Search and put Search Partners or the Display Network in a lower tier.
The options will vary depending on the campaign type:
For Performance Max and Demand Gen, Google will group its owned channels together. That includes Search, YouTube, Discover, Gmail, and Maps, so advertisers won’t be able to prioritize those placements individually.
Google’s product team confirmed during the roundtable that every channel will default to “High priority.” Advertisers will have to change those settings themselves if they want certain channels to receive less priority.
Advertisers Can Set Spending Caps On Lower-Priority Channels
The budget allocation feature lets advertisers put a percentage limit on how much of their daily budget can go toward lower-priority channels.
Say an advertiser wants to test Search Partners but doesn’t want it taking up a large share of their Search budget. They could set it to “Low priority” and limit spending to 20% of their daily budget.
Google says it will try to stay within those limits on a best-effort basis, so advertisers shouldn’t assume the percentages are hard caps.
During the roundtable, Google confirmed that 0% will also be an option. That means advertisers can prevent spending on a particular channel or channel grouping, including within Performance Max.
The budget allocation controls can also be used when campaigns aren’t limited by budget.
Google explained that channel prioritization alone generally won’t change much for Target CPA or Target ROAS campaigns that aren’t budget-constrained. The percentage limits give advertisers a way to control spending on certain networks even when there’s enough budget available.
For advertisers who have been reluctant to use Search Partners or the Display Network because of traffic quality concerns, this could make testing those networks a little more appealing.
How Can Advertisers Configure The New Controls?
Advertisers can set channel priorities at the account level, with separate defaults for each supported campaign type.
They can also make changes at the individual campaign level, which will override the account-level settings. The controls will work with shared budgets as well.
Google confirmed that API support will be available at launch. The product team also discussed campaign experiments, although it didn’t provide a specific date for when that testing functionality will be available.
For Demand Gen, limited feature testing is expected to begin in November.
Existing Search Display Network Settings Will Change In February 2027
There’s another change advertisers should be aware of, especially those running Search campaigns with the Display Network enabled.
During the roundtable, Google’s product team explained that Search campaigns already have some prioritization happening behind the scenes.
Currently, Google prioritizes Search inventory over Display when both networks are enabled. That same prioritization doesn’t apply to Search Partners.
Starting in February 2027, Google will retire that existing Display spending allocation setup.
Since the new controls will default all channels to “High priority,” advertisers who don’t make changes could see their spending shift between networks.
Google recommends setting the Display Network to “Low priority” with a 50% budget allocation to maintain the current configuration.
The product team also confirmed that advertisers will have a one-click migration option when the new controls launch.
Anyone running Search campaigns with Display enabled should review those settings before February, particularly if they want to keep their existing spending preferences.
How Do The New Controls Fit With Google’s Automated Bidding?
One of the questions raised during the roundtable was why advertisers would need to manually prioritize channels when they’re already using Target CPA or Target ROAS bidding.
After all, if conversion tracking is accurate and campaigns are meeting their targets, shouldn’t Google’s bidding system already be deciding where to spend based on performance?
Google’s product team acknowledged that AI-driven campaigns have simplified a lot of campaign management. They explained that the goal is to give advertisers more control over their spending while still allowing automation to optimize toward campaign goals.
For Performance Max, the controls won’t go as far as some advertisers might hope.
Google-owned channels like YouTube, Discover, Gmail, Search, and Maps will still be grouped together, so advertisers won’t be able to prioritize those individually.
Google is also running a separate, small alpha experiment with more advanced Performance Max channel controls. The product team confirmed that both features will operate alongside each other for now as Google continues testing.
There’s also the reporting side of this. Performance Max already has channel-level reporting, and Google expects to expand channel reporting for Search in the first quarter of 2027.
Until then, advertisers can continue using existing network segmentation in Search to review performance. Google also plans to introduce account-level budget allocation insights to help advertisers make decisions about their settings.
and Maps will remain grouped together under the new prioritization settings.
Google is separately testing more advanced Performance Max channel controls in a small alpha experiment. During the roundtable, the product team confirmed that both approaches will operate alongside each other while Google evaluates their use cases.
Reporting is another consideration. Performance Max already has channel-level reporting, and Google indicated that expanded reporting for Search is expected in the first quarter of 2027. Existing network segmentation will remain available in the meantime.
Google also plans to provide account-level budget allocation insights to help advertisers evaluate their settings.
What This Means For Advertisers
For advertisers who have been hesitant to use Search Partners or the Display Network, the new budget controls could make testing those channels more appealing. Rather than opting out completely, they can limit how much they’re willing to spend while evaluating performance.
There’s also a good reason not to immediately start putting channels into lower-priority tiers. If a campaign is already meeting its CPA or ROAS targets, restricting certain inventory could reduce the opportunities Google’s bidding system has to work with.
The budget allocation feature is where I see the most potential, particularly for advertisers who want to test additional inventory but aren’t comfortable giving it access to their entire budget. The ability to set a percentage limit gives them more room to experiment without making significant changes to their existing campaign structure.
As these features roll out, advertisers should look at how their campaigns are performing across networks before deciding where to apply the new controls. For campaigns already meeting performance targets, there may be little reason to change the existing approach. But for those who have avoided certain networks entirely, having more control over how much they’re willing to spend could make those channels worth another look.
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