Since 12 October 2026, automated promotions have been on by default, according to Google’s email to advertisers, as reported by Search Engine Roundtable. That means Google Ads can take an offer it finds on your website and show it in some of your ads. The feature is called Google Ads automated promotions. Google switched it on by default for eligible campaigns and lets advertisers turn it off at any time.
For a UK business, the timing matters. Black Friday falls on 27 November 2026, and an offer shown in your ad is still your offer under UK consumer law.
If the offer has ended, or its conditions are missing, it is your business the customer will hold responsible.
You are probably asking:
- Is Google already showing offers from my website in my ads?
- How do I check, and how do I turn it off?
- What if it shows an offer that has ended, or leaves out the conditions?
- Should I leave it on for Black Friday?
- Does this affect me if I don’t run local campaigns?
There is no deadline. You can change the setting whenever you like.
In this guide
- What are Google Ads automated promotions?
- When did automated promotions switch on, and what are the key dates?
- Which campaigns get automated promotions?
- Is Google already showing offers from your website in your ads?
- How to turn off automated promotions in Google Ads
- What happens if Google shows an ended offer or leaves out the conditions?
- What UK rules still apply to offers in your ads?
- Should you leave automated promotions on for Black Friday?
- What does this mean for property, construction and home services businesses?
- Seven things to check before Black Friday
- Frequently asked questions
What are Google Ads automated promotions?
Automated promotions are offers that Google finds on your website landing pages and adds to eligible Search and Performance Max ads as promotion assets, without you writing them. Google gives “Buy one get one free” as an example of the kind of deal it picks up (see Google’s help page on automated promotions).
A few terms first, in plain English:
- PPC (pay-per-click): advertising where you pay when someone clicks your ad. Google Ads is the best-known example.
- Search campaign: text ads that appear on Google’s search results.
- Performance Max: a Google Ads campaign type where Google’s automation decides where your ads appear across its channels, from one campaign.
- Promotion asset: an extra line under your ad that highlights a sale or offer and links to it (see Google’s promotion assets help page). Promotion assets used to be called promotion extensions: Google renamed all ad extensions as assets in September 2022 (see Google’s September 2022 announcement).
Each automated promotion can serve for less than 24 hours. After that, Google may switch it back on if it can still see the offer on your website. Google says it expects this to change in future, once it can extract an offer’s start and end dates.
How is this different from a manual promotion asset?
A manual promotion is one you write yourself, with dates you choose. An automated promotion is written by Google from what it reads on your page.
With a manual promotion, you pick the offer, the wording and the landing page. You can choose an occasion such as Black Friday and set exact start and end dates. You can also add details such as a promo code or minimum spend.
Is this the same as automated promotions in Merchant Center?
No. Google Merchant Center, the tool retailers use to send product details to Google for Shopping ads, has a separate feature with the same name.
That feature pulls offers from product pages into free listings and Shopping ads, and has its own opt-out inside Merchant Center (see Google’s Merchant Center help page on automated promotions). Turning one off does not turn off the other. This guide covers the Google Ads setting only.
When did automated promotions switch on, and what are the key dates?
The dates below are the ones that matter for your Black Friday planning. There is no opt-out deadline: you can switch the setting off, or back on, at any time. The CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) is the UK body that enforces competition and consumer protection law.
| Date or fact | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Early September 2026 | Google’s new help page on automated promotions was first reported by trade press (2 September 2026, then 7 September 2026) | PPC News Feed (2 September 2026); Search Engine Roundtable (7 September 2026) |
| 5 October 2026 | Search Engine Roundtable reported Google’s email to advertisers about the change | Search Engine Roundtable (5 October 2026) |
| 12 October 2026 | Automated promotions switched on by default for eligible campaigns | Google’s email to advertisers, as reported by Search Engine Roundtable (above) |
| 14 October 2026 | The CMA fined three businesses £6 million in total for misleading sales tactics, including time-limited offers that did not end when stated | CMA press release, 14 October 2026 |
| 27 November 2026 | Black Friday | Calendar |
| 30 November 2026 | Cyber Monday | Calendar |
| Up to 10% of global turnover | The most the CMA can fine a business for breaking consumer protection law (or £300,000, if higher) | Same CMA press release |
Which campaigns get automated promotions?
Active Search and Performance Max campaigns that have location assets attached and no manual promotions running, and that meet Google Ads’ standard advertising policies. A campaign must meet all four of Google’s conditions; if any one is missing, Google skips it (see Google’s requirements for automated promotions).
- It is an active Search or Performance Max campaign, including local ad campaigns.
- It has location assets attached.
- It has no manual promotions running.
- It meets Google Ads’ standard advertising policies.
A location asset adds your business address, distance or directions to your ad. One way to set them up is by linking your Google Business Profile, the listing that shows your business on Google Search and Maps (see Google’s help page on location assets). If you have worked on how builders get found in local search, you may already have that link in place.
Google also says that if you haven’t added locations, it may match your business to known locations automatically (see Google’s help page on account-level automated assets). It doesn’t say whether that alone makes a campaign eligible, so check your account rather than assuming.
Does this affect you if you don’t run local campaigns?
Only if the campaign has location assets attached. No location assets means no automated promotions for that campaign. If your Business Profile hides your address because you work at customers’ homes, check your Assets view for location assets before assuming you’re in scope. Google hasn’t said whether hidden-address profiles can supply them.
Is Google already showing offers from your website in your ads?
Check your Assets view: any promotion Google created is labelled “Google AI” in the Added by column. If you see one, Google is already showing an offer from your website. It takes a few clicks.
- In Google Ads, open the Campaigns menu and go to Assets.
- In the filter bar, select Asset type, then choose Promotion.
- Look at the Added by column. Promotions Google created show as Google AI.
- Hover over Google AI to see where the offer was taken from.
- Hover over the promotion name to see more detail, such as the headline.
How to turn off automated promotions in Google Ads
You turn it off in your account-level automated assets settings. It is one setting for the whole account, so Off applies to every campaign (see Google’s instructions for turning it off).
- In Google Ads, open the Campaigns menu and go to Assets.
- In the filter bar, select the More icon (three dots) and choose Account-level automated assets.
- On the Account-level automated assets page, select the three-dot icon again.
- Select Advanced settings.
- Open the Automated promotions drop-down, choose Off, and give a reason if asked.
Can you keep control without turning it off?
Yes. Add your own manual promotion to a campaign and Google skips automated promotions for that campaign.
This works campaign by campaign. You could leave the account setting on, but run manual Black Friday promotions in Google Ads for the campaigns where your offer has conditions. Google’s promotion assets page lists Black Friday as an occasion, eligible from 15 October to 15 December.
What happens if Google shows an ended offer or leaves out the conditions?
The ad could show an offer the customer can’t actually get. This can happen in two ways.
First, an old offer is still on your website. Google’s help page says it re-checks that each offer is still visibly available on your site, and that its checks are designed to show only active offers. But if an ended offer is still on the page, it may still look active. A summer discount left on a page in November could keep appearing.
Second, a short promotion line can’t carry much detail. Conditions such as “new customers only”, “in-store only” or “while stocks last” may not make it into the ad.
One thing is still unclear: whether Google treats service lines such as “Free quote” or “Fixed fee from £999” as promotions. Google hasn’t said, so we won’t guess. Check your Assets view to see what it has picked up.
What UK rules still apply to offers in your ads?
UK consumer protection law still applies, mainly the DMCC Act (Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024) (see the Act on legislation.gov.uk). The offer in the ad is still your offer, even if Google wrote the line. This is general guidance, not legal advice.
It bans unfair commercial practices, including misleading omissions. That means leaving out or hiding information a customer needs to make a decision, or giving it unclearly or too late (see Guidance for Traders on Pricing Practices from CTSI, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute).
Falsely saying an offer is only available for a limited time, to push customers into a quick decision, is treated as unfair in all circumstances under the DMCC Act (see the CMA’s 14 October 2026 press release). On 14 October 2026, the CMA fined two retailers for time-limited offers that did not end when they said they would.
These guides explain the rules in more depth:
- The CMA’s Price transparency guidance (CMA209)
- The CMA’s Unfair commercial practices guidance (CMA207)
- CTSI Business Companion’s pricing guide, including its sections on time-limited offers and the word “free” (linked above)
- The CAP Code (the UK’s advertising rulebook, written by the Committee of Advertising Practice), Section 8, on promotional marketing, enforced by the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority)
If you’re unsure how the law applies to a specific offer, speak to a legal adviser or your local Trading Standards service.
Should you leave automated promotions on for Black Friday?
If your offers come with conditions, my advice is to turn it off and write your own manual promotions with exact dates. If your offers are simple and genuinely open to everyone, leaving it on can work, as long as you check it every week.
Here is the rule I’d give the owner of a trades business or estate agency:
“I’d turn off automated promotions if they can’t reliably account for the offer’s conditions, then write manual promotions that clearly explain who qualifies, what the offer includes and when it expires. This helps avoid misleading customers and protects the business’s reputation.”
Adeoluwa Agunlejika, Founder, Techprivy
If you leave it on, review your promotions weekly in the Assets view. Google also suggests segmenting reports by click type and judging the whole campaign’s impressions and conversions, not just clicks on the promotion itself. Segmenting by click type shows which part of the ad people clicked, such as the headline, a sitelink or the promotion (see Google’s guide to segments). A conversion is the action you want, such as an enquiry or a booking.
It’s the same pattern of more automation, and more need for guardrails, that we covered in our guide to Google’s switch to AI Max.
What does this mean for property, construction and home services businesses?
If your campaigns have location assets, often from a linked Google Business Profile, they are likely in scope. The examples below are illustrative, not real client offers.
Estate and letting agents. Fee offers usually have conditions. A line such as “Reduced selling fee for new instructions” may depend on the property type, the contract length or a closing date.
Builders and trades. Many trades websites show banners such as “Free quote” or a fixed-price offer. As we said above, it isn’t clear whether Google treats these as promotions. Here is my own view, which is an opinion, not Google’s rule:
“I’d keep a ‘Free quote’ banner because it’s a standard service offer, not necessarily a promotion. I’d only reword it if it creates confusion, making it clear what the free quote covers and whether any conditions apply.”
That fits Trading Standards guidance for England, Scotland and Wales too. CTSI’s pricing guide warns against calling a valuation or call-out “free” if customers who don’t go ahead are charged.
Home services and home retailers. Seasonal offers, such as a discount on boiler servicing before winter, have natural end dates. Stock offers end when the stock does. Both are the kind of offer that can outlive its page.
If you’d rather have someone look over the account with you, that is part of our paid ads and PPC management.
Seven things to check before Black Friday
- List every Search and Performance Max campaign that has location assets and no manual promotion running.
- Check Assets for promotions marked “Google AI”, and note what each one says.
- Decide on or off for the account, using the rule above.
- Remove expired offers from your website, and put the full conditions next to every live offer.
- Create manual Black Friday promotions with exact start and end dates.
- Segment your reports by click type, and judge the whole campaign’s results.
- Record who decided on or off, and when, for each account you manage.
Frequently asked questions
Are automated promotions available in the UK?
Google hasn’t published a list of countries, but UK agencies are already advising their clients to check the setting. The simplest way to find out is to look in your own account. Go to Assets, filter Asset type by Promotion, and check the Added by column for “Google AI”. If nothing appears, check again closer to Black Friday.
Can I turn automated promotions off for one campaign only?
Not directly. The on/off setting applies to your whole Google Ads account. But Google skips any campaign that already has a manual promotion running. So if you want automated promotions in some campaigns and not others, add your own manual promotion to the campaigns you want to control. Give it clear conditions and dates.
What if Google shows an offer that has already ended?
Remove the expired offer from your website as soon as you spot it. Each automated promotion serves for less than 24 hours before Google checks whether the offer is still visible on your site. If you’ve had an ended offer showing, consider turning the setting off while you tidy up.
Do automated promotions cost extra?
Google says there is no cost when assets show with your ads, but you are usually charged as normal for clicks on the ad. A click on a promotion asset costs the same as a click on the headline, and Google charges for no more than two clicks per ad impression. An impression is one showing of your ad.
Does turning it off affect my other automated assets?
It shouldn’t. Google’s settings page lets you choose which automated asset to turn off, and automated promotions has its own drop-down in Advanced settings. Other automated assets, such as dynamic sitelinks or dynamic callouts, have their own settings. Check the page after saving to confirm only automated promotions shows as Off.
Where does Google find the offers?
On your website landing pages, according to Google’s help page on automated promotions. Google gives examples such as “Buy one get one free” and percentage discounts. That is why the most useful thing you can do is keep offers on your site current, with the full conditions shown clearly next to each one.
Set Your Promotions Rule Before 27 November
Google Ads automated promotions can save you time, but only when the offers on your website are current and simple. If your offers carry conditions, turn the setting off and write manual promotions that say who qualifies, what’s included and when it ends. Whatever you choose, make the decision before Black Friday week, not during it.
If you’d like a second pair of eyes on your promotions setting before Black Friday, book a discovery call and we’ll go through the account with you.
