On October 14, 2026, Google announced two new settings in every Google Ads campaign of the Search, Shopping, Performance Max and Demand Gen types. The first is channel prioritization, and the second is budget allocation for low-priority channels. The rollout is gradual and worldwide over the coming months, and for large brands it makes it possible to decide in advance which channels get the budget first.
In brief
- מה חדש. You can mark each channel in a campaign as high or low priority, and the system funds the high-priority channels first.
- תקרה יומית. For low-priority channels you can set a maximum percentage of the daily budget. Google defines this as best effort, so there is no commitment to exact adherence.
- תאריך שכדאי לזכור. In February 2027 Google will move Search campaigns with the Display Network to the new method, and the spend split in them may change.
- ההשפעה תלויה בהגדרות. In campaigns with a CPA or ROAS target that are not budget-limited, prioritization alone hardly changes the spend split.
What is channel prioritization in Google Ads?
Channel prioritization is a setting that determines the order in which Google's AI spends the campaign budget across the different surfaces. According to the official documentation at the time of writing, every channel is set to high priority by default. Marking a channel as low priority asks the system to invest in it only after the more important channels have received their share.
Until now, an advertiser who wanted to reduce spend on search partners or the Google Display Network mainly faced a binary choice: keep the channel active or turn it off. The new setting adds a middle ground. A channel the brand is less sure about can continue to run at a limited scale, and provide data for testing.
Which channels can be prioritized in each campaign type?
The available channels vary by campaign type, and in some types several surfaces are grouped together. The table summarizes what appears on Google's help page at the time of writing.
| Campaign type | Channels to prioritize | Percentage allocation for a low-priority channel |
|---|---|---|
| Search | Google Search, search partners, Google Display Network | Supported |
| Shopping | Google Search, search partners | Supported |
| Performance Max | Google channels, search partners, Google Display Network | Supported |
| Demand Gen | Google channels, Google Display Network | Not supported, prioritization only |
"Google channels" is the name of the group that brings together Search, YouTube, Maps, Gmail and Discover in Performance Max and Demand Gen. Anyone who needs separate control over one of them will need a dedicated Search or Demand Gen campaign.
How does budget allocation work in a Google Ads campaign?
Budget allocation makes it possible to set the maximum percentage of the daily budget that can go to a low-priority channel. According to the official documentation at the time of writing, the percentage is calculated from the campaign's average daily budget. The setting resets every day, and overspend or underspend does not carry over to the next day.
Google defines the mechanism as best effort, meaning daily spend may sometimes exceed the set percentage. A setting of 0% means the system will not spend money on that channel. With a shared budget, the percentage applies to the entire shared budget.
The connection to the bidding strategy matters for understanding the impact. In campaigns with Target CPA or Target ROAS that are not budget-limited, prioritization hardly changes the split, but the allocation percentage still applies. When the campaign is budget-limited, or when it runs strategies such as Maximize Conversions, high-priority channels receive the budget first.
What changes in February 2027 in Search campaigns?
Search campaigns with Display Network expansion enabled will automatically move to the new method, and spend may shift between Search, search partners and the Display Network. According to Google, anyone who wants to keep the current state can mark the Display Network as low priority with a 50% allocation.
The help page notes that in Search campaigns with a Target Impression Share strategy, the Display Network will stop appearing. For a brand with dozens of Search campaigns, this is a good time to map which campaigns use the Display Network today and what role it plays in them, before the change takes effect.
What should you check before changing the settings?
It's worth changing the settings gradually and based on data. A possible workflow looks like this:
- Map each campaign's type, bidding strategy and whether it is budget-limited, to know where the setting will actually have an effect.
- Review the spend and conversion split by channel in existing reports, and distinguish between a channel that receives credit in attribution and a channel that contributes a real incremental lift.
- Decide in advance the goal of each low-priority channel: collecting data, increasing reach or testing a new audience.
- Start with conservative allocation percentages and compare clearly defined periods, documenting every change.
- Use custom experiments where possible. According to Google, they support the new settings, but in each experiment all channels share a single priority level.
Attribution is the method that divides credit for a conversion among touchpoints, and incrementality is the measurement of the additional lift a channel creates beyond what would have happened without it. The distinction between the two matters here, because a channel that looks weak in an attribution report may contribute to sales in ways the report doesn't show, and vice versa.
There is also an operational limitation: according to the help page, priorities can't be set from a manager account (MCC). The setting is made in each account or at the campaign level, and API and Google Ads Editor support is expected later. For a brand with several accounts, this means careful manual work.
How we approach this at CONNECT
At CONNECT, part of the Bruckner Yaar Levi advertising group, we treat channel prioritization as a media mix decision that also has a technical side in the account. Before a change we map the campaigns, agree with the brand on the role of each channel, and build a test plan with clear comparison points.
After activation we track the actual spend split against the defined percentages, because this is a best-effort mechanism. We centralize tracking of platform updates, including the change expected in February 2027, in our PlatformPulse tool.
Frequently asked questions
When will the settings be available in my account?
According to Google's help page, the rollout starts on October 15, 2026 and spreads gradually worldwide over the coming months. Availability depends on campaign type and rollout pace, so in some accounts or campaign types it may appear later. The setting is located in the account settings and the campaign settings.
Is the allocation percentage a binding cap?
No. Google defines it as a best-effort limit, and daily spend on the channel may sometimes exceed the percentage. The percentage is calculated from the average daily budget and resets every day. It's worth tracking actual spend in the reports and making sure it stays close to the setting over time.
Should channels be moved to low priority?
It depends on the brand's goals and each campaign's data. A channel that contributes less according to a structured test can get low priority with a limited allocation, instead of being turned off entirely. The decision should rely on comparing periods and understanding the difference between attribution credit and incremental contribution.
What happens if I don't change anything?
All channels are set to high priority by default, so in the short term there is no need to act. However, in February 2027 Search campaigns with the Display Network will automatically move to the new method, and their spend split may change. So it's worth checking them beforehand.
Can the setting be managed across several accounts at once?
According to the official documentation at the time of writing, priorities can't be set from a manager account. The setting is made in each account separately, as an account default or at the campaign level. Google notes that API and Google Ads Editor support will come later, which may make management at scale easier.
ראו גם: ניהול קמפיינים, Media Planning & Buying, Data & Measurement, Annual media plan: from planning to channel mix, How to read a campaign report and make decisions from it.
Sources: Google Ads announcement on channel prioritization and budget allocation (October 14, 2026), Google Ads Help Center: About channel prioritization and budget allocation.
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