Google is adding two optional controls to Google Ads that let advertisers decide which channels a campaign funds first and cap how much of a daily budget lower-priority channels can use. The features, called channel prioritization and budget allocation, were announced on October 14 and begin rolling out progressively from October 15, according to Google’s Ads Help Center.

The announcement was written by Tal Akabas, director of product management for Google Ads. Google framed the controls as an alternative to all-or-nothing choices, such as switching the Google Display Network or Search partners off entirely. It said the features are rolling out to Search, Shopping, Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns “over the next months.”

How the priority tiers work

Each channel is set to “High priority” or “Low priority.” When the settings are in place, “campaigns will fully fund high-priority channels” first, within the advertiser’s target when the campaign uses Target CPA (cost per acquisition) or Target ROAS (return on ad spend), and then spend the remaining budget on lower-priority channels, Google said. The Help Center page says all channels default to High priority, and settings can be applied at the account, shared budget or campaign level.

The channels that can be ranked depend on the campaign type, according to the Help Center:

  • Search: Google Search, search partners and the Google Display Network can each have their own priority.
  • Shopping: Google Search and search partners.
  • Performance Max: “Google channels,” a grouping of surfaces such as Search, YouTube, Maps, Gmail and Discover, plus search partners and the Display Network.
  • Demand Gen: Google channels and the Display Network. Prioritization is available, but budget allocation is not.

Budget caps on a best-effort basis

Budget allocation lets advertisers set the maximum percentage of a daily budget that Low priority channels can use. “On a best-effort basis, our tools will aim to keep spend on those channels within that limit,” Google wrote. The Help Center adds that daily spend may occasionally exceed the limit, and that the percentage applies to a campaign’s average daily budget rather than actual spend. Its example: a 5% allocation on a $1,000 daily budget caps spend at about $50. Allocations reset daily, and setting a Low priority channel to 0% stops spend on that channel.

Google said the cap is most useful for Target CPA or Target ROAS campaigns that are not limited by budget, where prioritization alone has little effect. The Help Center states that for those campaigns, prioritization does not change spend, but Low priority allocations still apply.

There are limits at launch. Priorities cannot be set from a manager account, so agencies must set them in each client account or campaign. Campaign total budgets work with prioritization only for Demand Gen. Management is available in Google Ads and Search Ads 360, while “Support for the Google Ads API and Google Ads Editor is coming soon,” the Help Center says.

A forced change for Display Network spend in 2027

The new system will also replace an existing behavior. Starting in February 2027, for Search campaigns with the Google Display Network turned on, “the current spend allocation setup will go away, and advertisers may see a shift in channel spending,” Google said. Advertisers who want to keep their current setup can set the Display Network to Low priority with a 50% budget allocation. The Help Center adds that the Display Network will no longer serve on Search campaigns that use the Target Impression Share bid strategy. Until February 2027, Search campaigns with the Display Network turned on that have not set priorities keep the current behavior.

Why it matters

Google’s pitch is that advertisers no longer face an all-or-nothing choice on channels such as search partners or the Display Network. The new settings offer a way to keep those channels on with a ceiling, so testing them does not require opening a full daily budget to them. For Performance Max, the controls rank Google’s own grouped surfaces against search partners and the Display Network, not individual placements such as YouTube versus Gmail.

The February 2027 change gives advertisers with Display Network enabled on Search campaigns a deadline to review their settings, since spending patterns may shift when the current allocation ends. Advertisers who rely on automated tools or bulk edits will also need to wait for the promised Google Ads API and Editor support.

The caveats

Google describes the caps as best effort, not guarantees, and the rollout is progressive, so availability varies by account. Google has not published performance data for the new controls.