Google Ads Automated Promotions: Keep or Turn Off? (2026)

Got a deal on your website, like "15% off your first order"? Starting Monday, October 12, 2026, Google Ads can put that discount into your search ads on its own, without you asking. Great when the offer is right. Not so great when it is an old banner you forgot about, or a discount meant only for new customers.

Short answer: From October 12, 2026, Google Ads turns on automated promotions by default. Google pulls discounts and deals from your website and shows them as a promotion with your ad. It only applies to Search and Performance Max campaigns that have location assets linked and no promotion of their own. To opt out, go to Assets, Account level automated assets, Advanced settings, and set Automated promotions to Off. The switch covers your whole account.

What changes on October 12?

Automated promotions first appeared in Google Ads in September 2026 as a new account level automated asset. In early October, Google emailed advertisers that from October 12 its systems would automatically identify coupons and deals on their websites and apply them to campaigns, Search Engine Roundtable reported on October 5. It is opt out. If you do nothing, you are in.

According to Google's help page, here is how it works:

• Google scans your landing pages for offers such as "20% off black sweaters" and shows them as a promotion with your ad in search results.
• It only applies to active Search and Performance Max campaigns with location assets attached (your business address), including Local Ad campaigns.
• Campaigns that already run a manual promotion are skipped.
• Each automated promotion can serve for less than 24 hours. After that, Google only switches it back on if the offer is still visible on your website.
• You can spot them by the "Google AI" label in the "Added by" column.

Think you have no location assets? Check anyway. Google says that if you have not added locations, it may match your business to known locations automatically. Whether that alone makes a campaign eligible for automated promotions, Google does not say.

Why is Google doing this? Google says it shows valid offers without manual work and drives both online sales and store visits. An ad with a discount stands out and is more likely to get clicked, and you pay per click. Google has not published a list of countries or languages, so assume it can affect your account wherever you advertise.

The risks: when an automated promotion costs you money

A discount in your ad grabs attention, but it can work against you in three ways.

An old or wrong offer. Google checks whether the offer is still visible on your website. If a summer sale banner still sits on a page you forgot, Google treats it as live. Google itself notes it cannot yet extract start and end dates. Whether the fine print (new customers only, minimum spend, in store only) makes it into the ad, Google does not say.

Your margin. A discount in the ad also reaches people who were already searching for you and would have paid full price. If someone searches "Cornerstone Bakery Austin" (a made-up example), you just gave a discount to a customer you already had. Check what a discounted sale still earns you. Our guide on how to calculate ROAS shows how to find your break-even point.

Your reporting. When sales suddenly come in at a discount, you want to know whether that came from you or from Google. Google recommends segmenting reports by click type and judging the whole campaign, not just clicks on the promotion itself.

For offers with fixed dates, like Black Friday, you want full control. See our Black Friday ads playbook.

How to check and turn off automated promotions

The setting lives at account level, not in your campaign settings. These are the steps from Google's help page.

Check whether automated promotions are already running

1. In Google Ads, go to Assets in the Campaigns menu.
2. In the filter bar, select Asset type, then Promotion.
3. Look at the Added by column. "Google AI" means Google created the promotion. Hover over it to see where Google sourced it.

Turn off automated promotions

1. Go to Assets in the Campaigns menu.
2. In the filter bar, click More (the three dots) and select Account level automated assets.
3. On that page, click the three dots again and select Advanced settings.
4. Open the Automated promotions dropdown, choose Off and give a reason if asked.

Only for one campaign? Google does not describe a per-campaign switch. It does skip campaigns that already run a manual promotion. Add your own promotion asset with your own text and dates, and you decide what shows.

Watch the name. Your campaign settings also include "Text customization". That feature used to be called automatically created assets and writes extra headlines and descriptions. According to Google, campaigns using it are being upgraded to AI Max automatically from September 2026. That is separate from automated promotions, which you only turn off with the steps above.

Keep them on or turn them off?

It depends on your website and your offers.

Not sure? Turn it off and add your own promotion when you run an offer. And if you are still deciding whether Google Ads is the right channel at all, read Google Ads vs. Meta Ads.

Frequently asked questions

The bottom line

On Google Ads, this change is about control: knowing what Google shows on your behalf. On Meta and TikTok, most of the work is in the ad itself. That is where Genly helps: you create ads and videos in your own brand style, or let the Genly Agency team make and run them for you. Curious whether that fits your business? Book a call.