If you run Google Ads for a small business and your website advertises sales, discount codes or special offers, this guide is for you. Google Ads has a feature called automated promotions that reads offers from your landing pages and attaches them to your ads. That can be helpful, but it also means a stale banner on your site can end up in front of searchers. Below is what the feature does, where to find it, how to turn it off, and how to keep it honest.
What automated promotions do
According to Google Ads Help, automated promotions let Google find deals on your website and show them in your ads. Google extracts promotional offers from your landing pages, such as a “buy one get one free” deal, and attaches them to eligible ads as promotion assets. Google describes the feature as AI-powered and says it sources, validates and displays offers from your website and other sources, with no manual setup.
A promotion asset is the extra line of deal text that can appear with a Search ad. Manually created promotion assets have existed for years. What is new is that Google can now build one for you from what it reads on your pages.
When it started: what is official and what is reported
The feature itself is documented in Google Ads Help. The timing is a different matter. Search Engine Roundtable reported on 5 October 2026 that Google emailed some advertisers saying that, starting 12 October 2026, Google Ads would automatically identify and extract promotions from advertisers’ websites. That email was shared on social media and described by the publication, so treat the 12 October date as reported rather than confirmed by a Google Help page. The same report says the feature is opt-out, meaning eligible accounts are enrolled automatically.
There is a wrinkle worth knowing. The current Google Ads Help page lists opting in to account-level automated assets as a requirement and shows the setting as “On (recommended)”. Whether your account already has it switched on may depend on your earlier choices, so check the setting yourself rather than assuming either way.
Which campaigns are eligible
Google’s help page sets out these conditions for a campaign to receive automated promotions:
- It is an active Search or Performance Max campaign (Local Ad campaigns are included).
- It has location assets attached.
- It has no manual promotions running.
- It complies with standard Google Ads policies.
- Automated assets are enabled at the account level.
The third point matters most for control. Campaigns that already have manual promotions are skipped by the automated system.
How to find automated promotions in your account
- In Google Ads, open the Campaigns menu and select Assets.
- In the filter bar, choose Asset type and then Promotion.
- Look at the Added by column. Automated promotions carry the label Google AI.
- Hover over the label to see how the offer was sourced, or hover over the promotion name to see details such as the headline.
Google’s separate page on account-level automated assets describes a similar route: filter the Assets table by Added by, tick Google AI and apply.
How long an automated promotion runs
Google Ads Help says each automated promotion is eligible to serve for less than 24 hours, and can be re-enabled if Google’s systems verify the offer is still visible on your website. Google says verification is meant to ensure only active, non-expired offers appear, and it expects to support promotion start and end dates in future. The practical point stands either way: the offer lives or dies by what your page says on a given day.
How to turn automated promotions on or off
The control sits in the account-level automated assets settings.
- Go to Assets under the Campaigns menu.
- Open the three-dot menu and select Account level automated assets.
- Use the three-dot menu again and select Advanced settings.
- Find Automated promotions and set it to Off (or On (recommended) if you want it).
- If asked, choose a reason, add optional comments and select Save.
Be aware that this settings page covers other automated assets too, including dynamic sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, images and seller ratings. Change only the line you mean to change.
Should you leave it on?
| Situation | Reasonable choice |
|---|---|
| Offers on your site are rare, clearly worded and kept current | Leave it on and review the Google AI rows regularly |
| Site banners or pop-ups often carry old codes or ended sales | Turn it off until the site is cleaned up |
| Regulated products, strict legal wording, or deals with conditions that must be stated precisely | Turn it off and use manual promotions |
| You run a recurring sale with fixed dates | Create a manual promotion asset with those dates |
The honest trade-off is control against effort. Automation saves setup time, but you are letting a system summarise your pricing claims in an ad. If a mistake would cost you money or customer trust, manual is safer.
Why a manual promotion asset still matters
Manual promotions give you things the automated version, as currently described, does not. You choose the wording, the discount type, the final URL, the language and currency, and you can set promotion dates, days of the week and times of day. If you pick an occasion, its name appears in the ad. Google Ads Help also says that editing a promotion asset does not reset its performance statistics, and that promotions can be set at account, campaign or ad group level, with the most specific level winning.
To create one: in Assets, select the plus button and choose Promotion, pick the account, campaign or ad group, then fill in the details and the Final URL. Google notes that occasion-specific assets need to be created or edited within six months of their start date to serve, and that such assets stop serving if they are not modified for six months. For local offers in store goals campaigns, include the expiry date, how the offer is redeemed and any conditions.
Because campaigns with manual promotions are skipped by the automated system, adding one to a campaign is also a quiet way to keep Google from generating its own version there. Promotion assets are free to add; you pay for clicks as usual.
Keeping website offers accurate
Whatever you choose, treat your landing pages as ad copy. A short routine helps:
- Remove ended offers the same day. Delete the banner, the pop-up and any announcement text, not just the checkout code.
- State terms next to the offer. Include the end date, minimum spend, exclusions and where it can be redeemed.
- Keep one source of truth. If prices differ between your site, your shop and your ads, fix that first.
- Review the Google AI rows weekly. Compare each automated promotion with the live page and switch the feature off if anything is wrong.
- Check the landing page for the right ad. An offer that appears on a page unrelated to the ad’s product confuses visitors.
Also watch the results, not just the text. Our guide to the Google Ads search terms report shows how to see which queries trigger your ads, which helps you judge whether deal-seekers are the traffic you want. For broader context on Google adding automation to Search campaigns, see our small advertiser’s guide to AI Max updates.
Key takeaways
- Automated promotions let Google read offers from your landing pages and show them as promotion assets on eligible Search and Performance Max campaigns with location assets.
- Find them in Assets, filtered by Promotion, where the Added by column shows Google AI.
- Control the feature under Account level automated assets and Advanced settings.
- The 12 October 2026 start date comes from reports of a Google email, not a Help page.
- A manual promotion gives you exact control and makes the campaign ineligible for the automated version.
- Keep landing pages current, because they are now part of your ad copy.
FAQ
Does Google charge extra for automated promotions?
The automated promotions page does not mention a cost. The general promotion assets page says promotion assets are free to add and that you pay for clicks, charged for no more than two clicks per ad impression.
Can I set start and end dates on an automated promotion?
Not currently, based on the help page, which says Google expects to support start and end dates in future. For exact dates, upload a manual promotion.
I cannot see any automated promotions. Why?
Several things can explain it: the campaign has no location assets, it already runs manual promotions, the setting is off, or Google has not found a qualifying offer on your pages. Google also says automated assets show only when it predicts a benefit.
Is this the same as Merchant Center automated promotions?
No. Google Merchant Center has its own help pages on promotions for Shopping listings. This article covers the Google Ads feature only, as described in Google Ads Help.