Google released version 25.2 of its Ads API on September 23, 2026, introducing significant new features for competitive benchmarking and expanded controls for Performance Max campaigns. These updates provide marketing operators and developers with enhanced programmatic capabilities for campaign management and optimization, offering deeper insights into market position and more granular control over campaign targeting.
Before this release, competitive benchmark data was not directly accessible via the API, often requiring external analysis. Performance Max campaigns also had fewer granular controls for asset groups and targeting. With v25.2, developers can now integrate competitive benchmark percentile data directly into their reporting tools and dashboards, while advertisers gain more programmatic visibility and control over Performance Max asset groups, URL tracking, gender exclusions, and the strategic use of search themes.
Google Ads API v25.2: An Overview of Key Updates
The Google Ads API v25.2 update, launched on September 23, 2026, brings competitive benchmarking, expanded Performance Max controls, and new developer-focused reporting and recommendation features. This release is designed to give advertisers and platforms greater programmatic visibility into their market standing and more precise control over Performance Max (PMax) asset groups and URL tracking, according to SEOteric Digital Marketing. The update also introduces percentile-based benchmarks and enables AssetGroup-level URL options.
This version is supported until August 2027, with version 26 scheduled for release in October 2026. Developers are advised to update their client libraries to v25.2 to access these new functionalities. The enhancements aim to streamline the integration of market insights and offer more refined control over automated campaign types, directly impacting how advertisers can programmatically manage and optimize their campaigns.
Competitive Benchmarks: Gaining Market Insight
A key new feature in Google Ads API v25.2 is the availability of competitive benchmark percentile data. The Google Benchmarks Service now allows developers to see how a client's performance compares to other advertisers within specific ranges, using percentiles. This provides an additional layer of comparison for account performance that was previously unavailable directly through the API, as reported by ALM Corp. Developers can now integrate this perspective directly into their existing campaign data retrieval processes, moving beyond manual analysis.
This benchmark data allows developers to request percentile information to see how an advertiser ranks against an "all advertisers" benchmark. They can also apply category filters, which lets the comparison focus on a specific market segment instead of the entire pool of advertisers, according to ALM Corp. Integrating competitive benchmarking into agency dashboards and reporting tools can offer a significant advantage, allowing agencies to display benchmark views alongside campaign results rather than performing separate comparisons. This programmatic access to competitive data enables more informed strategic adjustments and performance analysis.
Performance Max Enhancements: Deeper Control and Optimization
Google Ads API v25.2 significantly enhances Performance Max campaigns by integrating new controls for search themes and enabling gender exclusions. These additions provide advertisers with more granular programmatic control, allowing for better guidance of Google AI and more refined audience targeting. The updates aim to improve campaign performance, especially in scenarios where AI might not have extensive historical data or complete information, thereby accelerating optimization and expanding reach.
These new controls address previous limitations in Performance Max campaigns, where advertisers had less direct influence over certain targeting aspects. By offering API access to these features, Google empowers developers and marketing operators to build more sophisticated programmatic solutions that can dynamically adjust campaign parameters based on real-time performance and strategic objectives.
Leveraging Search Themes in Performance Max
Search themes in Performance Max campaigns allow you to provide Google AI with information about customer search queries and topics that lead to conversions for your business. This feature is particularly useful when your landing page lacks complete details, you're entering a new market, launching a new product, or running a new promotion without extensive performance history, as explained by Google for Developers. By using search themes, you can expand your reach within Performance Max, including on Search inventory, and ensure comprehensive coverage on important business themes.
The API now supports the integration of search themes through the `search_theme` field, which is added to `AssetGroupListingGroupFilter` for Performance Max. This allows for the programmatic definition of important business themes, helping campaigns ramp up and optimize performance faster. Advertisers can also monitor the impact of these themes by reviewing the search term insights report at a campaign or customer level to identify new search terms being reached, ensuring that the AI's learning aligns with business goals.
Implementing Gender Exclusions for Refined Targeting
Performance Max campaigns now offer the ability to implement gender exclusions, providing advertisers with more precise control over audience targeting. This new feature is enabled across all Google Ads API versions for Performance Max campaigns. According to Google for Developers release notes, the `gender_exclusion` field has been added to `CampaignCriterion` for Performance Max. This allows advertisers to programmatically exclude specific genders from their campaign targeting, enabling a more refined approach to audience segmentation within Performance Max campaigns.
This capability is crucial for advertisers who need to ensure their campaigns align with specific product lines, services, or brand messaging that may be gender-specific. By integrating gender exclusions via the API, developers can automate the application of these targeting refinements across multiple campaigns, ensuring consistency and compliance with marketing strategies. This enhances the overall efficiency and effectiveness of Performance Max campaigns by allowing for more tailored audience engagement.
Practical Applications for Developers and Operators
For developers, the introduction of competitive benchmark percentile data means they can now build custom dashboards and reporting tools that natively display how an advertiser's performance stacks up against competitors. This eliminates the need for manual data extraction and external analysis, streamlining performance reviews and enabling quicker strategic adjustments. The ability to apply category filters further refines this insight, allowing for comparisons within specific, relevant market segments.
Marketing operators gain significant advantages through the enhanced Performance Max controls. The integration of search themes via the `search_theme` field in `AssetGroupListingGroupFilter` allows them to proactively guide Google AI, especially when launching new products or entering new markets where historical data is scarce. This ensures campaigns quickly achieve comprehensive coverage on important business themes. Furthermore, the `gender_exclusion` field in `CampaignCriterion` provides a programmatic way to refine audience targeting, ensuring ads reach the most relevant demographics and align with specific campaign objectives, ultimately leading to more optimized campaign performance and resource allocation.
Google Ads API v25.2: New Features at a Glance
Developers and marketing operators can use this table as a quick reference to identify new API fields and their functionalities for competitive benchmarking and Performance Max optimization.
| API Feature | New API Field/Method | Description | Practical Application |
|---|---|---|---|
| Competitive Benchmarks | Google Benchmarks Service (percentile information, category filters) | Provides visibility into advertiser performance relative to others in specific ranges via percentiles. | Programmatically integrate market performance insights into dashboards and reporting tools for performance comparison. |
| Performance Max Search Themes | search_theme field in AssetGroupListingGroupFilter |
Allows providing Google AI with information about customer searches and conversion-leading topics. | Guide Google AI for better campaign performance, expand reach, and ensure comprehensive coverage on important business themes, especially in new markets or with new promotions. |
| Performance Max Gender Exclusions | gender_exclusion field in CampaignCriterion |
Enables the exclusion of specific genders from campaign targeting. | Refine audience targeting within Performance Max campaigns for more precise segmentation. |
Next Steps for API Integration and Optimization
Developers and marketing operators should update their Google Ads API client libraries to v25.2 to leverage the new competitive benchmark data and Performance Max controls. Successful integration of new API fields for competitive benchmarks and Performance Max search themes/gender exclusions, reflected in updated dashboards and campaign performance metrics, will be a measurable indicator of adoption.
Sources
- Google Ads API v25.2 Adds Competitive Benchmarks and Deeper Performance Max Controls — SEOteric Digital Marketing
- Release notes | Google Ads API — Google for Developers
- Google Rolls Out New Benchmark and Performance Max Tools in Its Ads API — ALM Corp
- Enhance a campaign | Google Ads API — Google for Developers
