Google announced the Merchant API is now generally available and will be the primary way to manage products and business data in Merchant Center. It offers a simplified interface for managing accounts and showcasing products at scale, replacing the Content API for Shopping. The new API enables faster product rollouts, easier updates, and features like Google Product Studio. The Content API will be supported until August 18, 2026, then discontinued.
Google updated fourteen Google Ads policy help center documents to improve organization and readability. The updates cover policies on abusing the ad network, alcohol, child and teen protections, counterfeit goods, dangerous products, healthcare, inappropriate content, legal requirements, restricted businesses, trademarks, technical requirements, and third-party policies. Enforcement remains unchanged; the updates clarify information for advertisers.
Ad load latency in AdMob measures the time from ad request to response, including SDK loading but excluding bidding auction and display time. It has two types: ad source latency, the time to get a response from an ad source, and mediation group latency, the time through the mediation waterfall. Latency excludes timeouts over 60 seconds, usually from app backgrounding. Reports vary by selected dimensions.
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From August 2025, vehicle ads will be available to advertisers in France and the Netherlands, with future expansion planned. These ads let auto advertisers showcase their inventory on Google, directing shoppers to a Vehicle Description Page with car details and dealer info. Vehicle parts and services are excluded. Advertisers must upload vehicle feeds in Merchant Center and run Performance Max campaigns.
Google Ads improved Performance Max with campaign-level negative keyword lists for easier exclusions and increased search theme limits from 25 to 50 per asset group to expand reach. Device, age, and beta gender targeting enhance audience precision. Reporting better identifies new customers for improved bidding. New diagnostics address goal issues. Creative reporting shows asset stats and final URL expansion assets, with AI-driven image improvement suggestions.
In September 2025, Google will restrict political ads in the EU under EU Regulation 2024/900, banning ads by political actors or those influencing elections, referendums, or legislative processes. Exceptions include official election messages and public communications by authorities. Advertisers must self-declare political ads from August 2025. Violations get warnings before suspension. The EU Political Ads Transparency report ends; past data stays accessible.
The readAnalyticsStorage sandbox API lets developers safely read Google Analytics client and session IDs in custom templates, replacing unreliable reverse-engineering methods. This prevents issues from cookie format changes. It is part of Google Tag Manager's custom template APIs, which use sandboxed JavaScript with require() statements. Another API, addConsentListener, registers functions to track consent state changes.
Google affinity Audiences are now available for Netflix campaigns in Display & Video 360, letting advertisers target viewers based on interests like "auto enthusiasts" or "fashionistas." These audiences are formed from user activity on Google and third-party sites. This helps advertisers expand reach to users likely to convert, matching offline or TV campaign targets by selecting brand categories and demographics.
Google AdMob has introduced a new Privacy & messaging report type that shows how users interact with messages in apps. This report helps understand which messages reach users and their interactions. It includes data for all apps in Ad Manager and AdMob. European regulation messages may appear globally if 'Everywhere' targeting is selected. Consent choices may not sum to total message impressions if users don't respond.
