Google has expanded its Smart Bidding Exploration documentation to include Performance Max and Shopping campaigns alongside Search. The feature allows the bidding system to pursue more opportunities within traffic a campaign is already eligible to reach, through a defined degree of flexibility in its return target. The published conditions require Target ROAS bidding and sufficient budget for exploration.
The expansion concerns how Google AI adjusts bids within existing targeting. Smart Bidding Exploration is an opt-in feature that uses a tolerance against the advertiser's target return on ad spend. The current documentation describes the traffic covered by each campaign type, restrictions on bidding strategies and the reporting metrics available to assess the feature's effect.
Performance Max with and without a product feed
For Performance Max campaigns connected to a Google Merchant Center feed, enabling exploration covers both Search and Shopping traffic. For Performance Max without such a feed, the feature applies to Search traffic. Shopping campaigns are also included in the published eligibility conditions. This distinction defines exactly where exploration operates within each of the supported campaign configurations.
The required bidding strategy is Target ROAS. Campaigns need budget headroom to participate in the additional opportunities identified by the system. If budget becomes a constraint, exploration can be temporarily paused. Google describes the feature as intended for advertisers prepared to accept a more flexible return target in pursuit of additional conversion volume.
Shopping and Performance Max campaigns use campaign-level bidding strategies for this feature. Moving them to a portfolio strategy automatically deactivates Smart Bidding Exploration. Portfolio-strategy compatibility remains available for Search. The documentation therefore distinguishes management of an individual campaign from configurations that bring multiple campaigns together under the same bidding strategy and its shared optimization settings.
The Target ROAS requirement also distinguishes exploration from maximizing conversion value without a ROAS target. The latter focuses on using a defined budget, while exploration is described for campaigns with room to grow and a return target that can be reduced in a controlled way. Google retains this requirement in its explanation of feature compatibility.
A tolerance of 5% to 30% against Target ROAS
Advertisers can select a tolerance between 5% and 30%. This reduces the effective target used by the exploration mechanism. In Google's example, an original ROAS target of 200% and a 10% tolerance produce an effective target of 180%. It is a relative adjustment to the target, providing the system with additional flexibility when bidding.
The target adjustment and the return actually achieved are different metrics. The bid strategy report incorporates the selected tolerance into average Target ROAS, so comparisons use the objective applied during the relevant period. Where separate ad-group ROAS targets are configured, the exploration tolerance also applies to those values. The report therefore reflects the adjusted target used for bidding.
According to Google, the mechanism selectively raises bids for traffic segments assessed as promising, rather than increasing bids uniformly across all eligible searches. Its stated purpose is to capture opportunities previously missed because of strict return constraints. The campaign's targeting criteria continue to define the traffic within which this selection takes place and the opportunities available to the bidding system.
Bid exploration and search matching have different roles
Google states that Smart Bidding Exploration uses searches for which a campaign already qualifies through its keywords, product targeting or other existing mechanisms. AI Max, broad match and Dynamic Search Ads establish access to relevant searches. Exploration then changes bidding within that pool, using the ROAS tolerance accepted by the advertiser for the campaign.
When combined with AI Max, the documentation describes allowing matching changes to stabilize before adding exploration. For Search, Google recommends that a substantial share of traffic use broad targeting, without requiring every keyword to have that match type. The two components are presented as complementary capabilities, addressing matching and bidding within the same advertising setup.
The feature is compatible with seasonality adjustments. Google discourages raising a ROAS target before enabling exploration to offset the selected tolerance, because this combination restricts the opportunities the algorithm pursues. When exploration is disabled, the bidding system retains available historical data. These behaviors are described separately from the commercial results measured in each individual campaign.
Reporting tracks the diversity of search intent
Traffic Diversity metrics measure distinct search categories that generated impressions, clicks and conversions. A category groups queries by meaning and intent. Spelling variations or plural forms of the same term are treated differently from categories representing separate intentions. The measurement therefore tracks traffic diversity alongside overall conversion volume and the return achieved during the campaign.
Google Ads columns can display these categories for Search, Performance Max and Shopping over the selected date range. The bid strategy report shows when exploration was active and the effective ROAS target. For detailed activation and deactivation history, the reporting document specifies current Search support and subsequent development for Performance Max. The reporting capabilities are described separately from campaign eligibility.
Google also explains differences between category counts in the bid strategy report and the Insights page. In the strategy report, query groups subject to privacy thresholds are separated for traffic-diversity calculations. In Insights, they can be combined into a single uncategorized group. The two reporting surfaces can consequently display different totals for the same traffic and the underlying query activity.
For evaluation, Google recommends campaigns with an established conversion history and a period of at least six weeks. The initial ramp-up period, equivalent to one or two conversion cycles, is separated from analysis of the test's results. The documentation also mentions collecting at least 50 conversions before evaluating ROAS. Conversion volume, conversion value and traffic diversity are considered alongside the reported return.
