"As of 23 March 2026, the Google Ads Gambling and games policy will introduce additional certification eligibility requirements," the email states. "Applicants for gambling certifications must now demonstrate good policy health to advertise in any gambling and games category." Specifically, advertising certification will not be granted if the site is hosted on a free platform, if it uses a subdomain of a third-party platform, if the advertiser doesn't own and operate the second-level domain, and/or if the site has no real association with gambling.
Google is Watching/Listening: By using these features, you agree that Google can record and monitor a sample of your calls, texts, and chats. They do this to check the quality of their ad programs. Take it or Leave it: If you don't agree to being recorded, you aren't allowed to use the "Communication Features" (like click-to-call or click-to-message ads). You Are Responsible for Warning People: You must tell your employees, agents, or anyone answering these communications that they are being recorded.
Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web. Google Business Profiles adds new help page for requesting reviews via links or QR codes. Google Ads search term report has quick filters, even if you don't use them. I posted a bunch of roundup posts including the 2025 Google algorithm update infographic.
This does not seem to have been rolled out to all advertisers yet, but Mike Ryan noticed it was rolling out on some of his MCC accounts. Channel performance reporting helps you understand how your Performance Max campaign is delivering results across Google's full range of channels and inventory. On the channel performance page, you'll find a campaign-level performance summary along with data visualization to help you determine which channels you're engaging customers on and how they're contributing to your conversion goals.
Google has a bug with the Google Ads offline conversion uploads feature. Much, but not all, of the offline conversion data you upload is not being added to Google Ads. This obviously makes the reporting look off and bad for your ad campaigns. Google is aware of the issue and working on a fix. Prakash Chandra Durgapal posted about this on X the other day - he wrote: We are facing a serious issue with offline conversion uploads.
Google Ads may be testing the ability to subscribe to support updates via WhatsApp. Google has rolled out a new option to get real-time support case updates directly on WhatsApp, at least some folks are seeing this. Arpan Banerjee posted about this enhancement on LinkedIn and said, "A small feature, but a big boost in convenience for anyone managing Google Ads."
Google has launched a new link on some search / sponsored ads named "Products at this location." Google confirmed this "relatively new feature" and can show up on listings for service businesses and other types of businesses.
Neither I nor anyone on my team can access it, or any of our accounts. We received emails of an unknown administrative user being added. This person then linked their own MCC to many of our accounts. That's all we know. We have 2FA enabled on all accounts. No idea how this happened. Is there anyone who has dealt with this and can help?
Search continues to ship 🚀 Built on Gemini 3 Pro, Nano Banana Pro is available in Search, starting with AI Mode, on day 1 for Google AI Pro or Ultra subscribers in the U.S. https://t.co/OrkyHrNMzS- Robby Stein (@rmstein) November 20, 2025 AI Mode query ⬆️ Create a detailed infographic for college students on trophic levels and energy transfer in ecosystems. The infographic should feature an ecological pyramid (energy or biomass), with definitions of producers, primary, secondary, and tertiary consumers, and...- Nick Fox (@thefox) November 20, 2025
Google Ads is bringing brand controls, like brand inclusion support, to Standard Shopping campaigns. This was supported for PMax and AI Max camapigns but now are showing up for Standard Shopping campaigns.
Google Opal tool encourages you to create optimized AI content at scale. Google said it is working on fixing the Google Discover fake AI news spam. Google launched a bunch of AI shopping features before the holidays. Microsoft launched search within Copilot. Google lets you add shipping and return policies without a Merchant Account in Search Console and/or structured data markup.
These AI agents are powered by Gemini and bring AI agents into Google's core advertising and analytics platforms. They are designed to help marketers improve performance, better understand measurement insights and grow at scale, while also solving key challenges by taking the guesswork out of campaign building. Ultimately, Google's Dan Taylor told us this should help businesses achieve better results, with less effort, while keeping marketers in control.
Google is now embedding its AI chat feature within the Google Ads advertiser console, specifically in some screens. The "Guide me" button that triggers an AI chat feature was spotted in the policy disapprovals screen.
Google is testing showing normal search ads in an ad carousel at the top of the image search results on mobile. The ads take up a lot of the top real estate of the image results and can be scrolled from side to side. This test was spotted by Anthony Higman last week, sorry for taking so much time to report on it, but he posted about it on X and wrote, "Your literally cramming ads into every other nook and cranny on Google Search."
Not allowed Providing false or fraudulent information as part of our Advertiser verification programs is not allowed. Examples (non-exhaustive): If you violate Google Ads policies or provide false or fraudulent information during the verification program, you will not be verified or will lose your verified status, and your account will be suspended. Why this isn't allowed: It's harmful to people: When advertisers hide their true identity, users can't make informed choices to avoid scams, misleading information, and dangerous products or services.
Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web. Google local reviews are disappearing, it appears to be a bug Google is working to fix. Google Posts is testing a scheduler option. Google Ads has a new investment strategy tab. Google Ads may soon support campaign level audience exclusions in Performance Max campaigns. Google Merchant Center for Agencies is now available.
