Google announced two advertising budget distribution controls on October 14: channel prioritization and the allocation of a budget percentage to lower-priority channels. The gradual rollout starts on October 15 for Search, Shopping, Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns. The schedule extends over the coming months, and availability in an account depends on the campaign type and rollout stage.
The new settings allow channels to be differentiated without excluding them entirely. A network can remain eligible to serve ads while receiving budget after channels considered a higher priority. Some campaigns can also have a percentage allocation. However, Google specifies that the system aims to respect that percentage without guaranteeing a strict cap for every day.
Which channels can receive different priorities
In Search campaigns, Google Search, search partners and the Google Display Network can receive different priority levels. In Shopping, the options cover Google Search and search partners. Excluding a network remains a different decision from assigning it a low priority: exclusion removes it from distribution, while a lower priority still allows it to be used under the conditions set for the campaign.
In Performance Max, Search, YouTube, Maps, Gmail and Discover are handled together as Google channels. Search partners and the Google Display Network have separate levels. In Demand Gen, the control distinguishes Google channels from the Google Display Network. The update therefore does not provide an individual budget for each Google surface within the group; YouTube, for example, does not become an independent allocation line in Performance Max through this setting.
There are two levels, High priority and Low priority, and every channel defaults to high priority. Settings can be defined for an account, campaign or shared budget. A campaign or shared budget configuration can override the account defaults. For Google Ads campaign management, the distinction is between a general rule and an exception applied to a campaign or a group sharing the same budget.
Bidding strategy affects how priorities work
For strategies with cost or return targets, such as Target CPA and Target ROAS, prioritization works differently depending on budget constraints. When a campaign is limited by budget, the system funds higher-priority channels first, within the target. If further spending there would exceed the target, budget can move to lower-priority channels capable of delivering conversions under the intended conditions.
When a Target CPA or Target ROAS campaign is not limited by budget, Google pursues the target across all channels, and priority levels generally do not change spending distribution. A percentage allocation defined for a low-priority channel still applies, however. Priority and allocation are therefore separate controls, and enabling the former does not automatically produce the effect of the latter.
With Maximize Conversions, Maximize Conversion Value, Maximize Clicks and Manual CPC, higher-priority channels receive budget first. If it cannot be spent there in full, for example because of eligible traffic or campaign settings, the remainder can move to secondary channels. Campaign conditions and any defined allocations continue to apply; the update does not promise a particular conversion volume or a fixed cost.
The percentage is based on the average daily budget
The optional allocation for a low-priority channel is calculated from the campaign's average daily budget, rather than the amount actually spent that day. For example, 10% of an average daily budget of 300 Romanian lei means the system will aim to keep that channel's spending at or below 30 lei per day. This is an arithmetic illustration, not a campaign performance forecast.
Google warns that an allocation may be exceeded on some days. The percentage resets daily, and unspent or overspent amounts do not carry over. With a shared budget, the rule applies to the entire pool used by the relevant campaigns. It is not an additional percentage assigned separately to each campaign in that group, nor does it become a reserve that accumulates automatically.
This control should be distinguished from general billing limits. The average daily budget is an average, and spending can vary from day to day. For most campaigns, Google describes a daily limit of twice the average budget and a monthly limit of 30.4 times that budget. The new percentage for a secondary channel has its own best-effort basis and does not replace the overall budget mechanism.
Access restrictions and the change planned for 2027
Demand Gen supports prioritization but not the percentage budget allocation announced for other eligible campaign types. Campaign total budgets support prioritization only in Demand Gen. Campaigns must be of the same type to apply the controls to a shared budget. Google also lists restrictions for custom experiments: multi-campaign shared budgets are unsupported, and channels are treated as having the same priority tier.
Configuration is available directly in Google Ads or Search Ads 360 once the feature reaches an account. Prioritization cannot be set from a manager account; changes are made in the client account or at campaign level. Support for the Google Ads API and Google Ads Editor is planned for later, without a precise launch date in the documentation.
Another change is scheduled to begin in February 2027: Search campaigns with Display Expansion enabled will automatically migrate to the new priority and allocation system. Google says the existing configuration can be retained by assigning the Display Network a low priority and a 50% allocation, again without a guaranteed strict daily cap. Applying the new priorities before February immediately replaces the old behavior for those campaigns.
As part of the same transition, the Google Display Network will stop serving ads from Search campaigns using Target Impression Share. The stated timing for that change is February 2027, rather than October 2026. Until then, the rollout of the new controls remains gradual, and an account where the options are still absent cannot be treated as already having every announced feature.
