Google Ads Introduces Channel Prioritization and Budget Allocation Controls

Google has announced two new optional controls, Channel Prioritization and Budget Allocation, giving advertisers more flexibility in how they distribute campaign budgets across Google advertising channels and partner networks.

Announced on October 14, 2026, the features began rolling out globally on October 15 across Search, Shopping, Performance Max, and Demand Gen campaigns.

Advertisers can now choose which channels receive budget first and set spending limits for lower-priority channels, rather than turning those networks off entirely.

The update also includes upcoming changes to Display Expansion in Search campaigns, scheduled for February 2027.

How Channel Prioritization and Budget Allocation Work

The new controls allow advertisers to influence how their budgets are distributed across eligible advertising channels.

Channel Prioritization introduces two priority levels:

• High Priority: Google prioritizes spending on these channels first, within the advertiser's bidding targets when using Target CPA or Target ROAS.

• Low Priority: These channels can receive remaining budget after higher-priority channels, allowing advertisers to keep them active without giving them the same spending preference.

By default, all channels are set to High Priority, except for certain Search campaigns that continue using the existing Display Expansion behavior until February 2027.

Budget Allocation adds another level of control. Advertisers can set an optional maximum daily budget percentage for channels marked as Low Priority.

For example, with a $1,000 average daily campaign budget and a 10% allocation, Google aims to keep spending on that channel at or below $100 per day.

However, Google states that these limits operate on a best-effort basis, meaning actual daily spending may occasionally exceed the specified percentage.

Which Google Ads Campaigns Are Affected?

The new controls are being introduced across four Google Ads campaign types, with different channel options available:

For Performance Max and Demand Gen, Google's own properties, including Search, YouTube, Maps, Gmail, and Discover, are grouped under "Google channels" rather than receiving separate priority settings.

Demand Gen currently supports Channel Prioritization but not Budget Allocation.

Advertisers can configure eligible settings at the account, campaign, or shared-budget level. Google also confirms that support for Google Ads API and Google Ads Editor is coming soon.

Search Display Expansion Changes Coming in February 2027

Google has also announced changes to how Display Expansion works in Search campaigns. Starting in February 2027, Search campaigns with Display Expansion enabled will automatically transition to the new Channel Prioritization and Budget Allocation system. The existing spending allocation setup will be removed, which may change how budgets are distributed between Google Search, Search partners, and the Google Display Network.

To maintain a configuration similar to the current setup, Google recommends setting the Display Network to Low Priority with a 50% daily budget allocation.

Google also confirms that the Display Network will no longer serve ads in Search campaigns using the Target Impression Share bidding strategy after this change.

Advertisers who apply the new priority settings before February 2027 will see those settings replace the existing Display Expansion budget behavior immediately.

What This Means for Advertisers

According to Google, the new controls offer an alternative to the previous approach of either including or excluding certain advertising networks. Advertisers who previously disabled Search partners or the Google Display Network can now keep those channels active while assigning them lower priority and setting a desired spending limit. 

However, channel priority does not always change how budgets are distributed.

For campaigns using Target CPA or Target ROAS that are not limited by budget, Google says priority settings generally do not affect spending distribution because the system continues working toward the advertiser's bidding targets across channels. Any Budget Allocation limits still apply.

The controls are optional and will become available progressively over the coming months. Availability may vary by campaign type and account.

For businesses managing large advertising budgets, maintaining stable campaign operations remains important as Google introduces new spending controls. AGrowth provides Google Agency Ads Accounts with flexible spending capacity and account support to help advertisers manage and scale their Google Ads campaigns.