Google Ads Editor 2.11 gets campaign-level negatives and smarter automation

Google Ads Editor just got a major upgrade. The 2025 release of version 2.11 introduces smarter automation, better visibility, and tighter controls for advertisers managing large-scale accounts. The update focuses on control and transparency — giving advertisers more say in how Performance Max, Search, and account-wide settings behave.

Campaign-level negative keywords for Performance Max. Advertisers can now add negative keyword lists directly to Performance Max campaigns, giving finer control over where ads appear. It’s a long-awaited feature that prevents wasted spend on irrelevant searches — a crucial step toward performance parity with Search and Shopping campaigns.

Search term reporting for Performance Max. A new search term report shows which queries trigger PMax ads, giving advertisers transparency into performance drivers and irrelevant queries.

Scheduled link checks. Automated link scanning will now flag broken URLs on a set schedule, saving manual work and protecting conversion flows.

Account-level placement and IP exclusions. Advertisers can now apply exclusions globally across an account instead of manually updating each campaign, ensuring faster setup and consistent brand safety.

Smart Bidding Exploration (Search). A new opt-in tool lets Google’s AI test high-performing queries using flexible ROAS targets, driving incremental conversions from new search categories without manual adjustments.

Editable lead forms. Users can now edit existing lead form assets directly instead of rebuilding them from scratch, reducing setup friction.

Video generation from assets. Google can now automatically generate on-brand video creatives using your existing assets and brand styles. This feature, enabled by default, lowers the barrier to YouTube advertising.

Streamlined Search campaign creation. A new guided “construction flow” brings AI-assisted campaign setup to Search, helping advertisers build optimized campaigns through a step-by-step process.

More granular tracking control. Asset groups now support their own tracking URL templates, suffixes, and custom parameters for improved measurement precision.

CSV and download enhancements. The improved interface allows selective campaign syncing and more efficient management of large accounts.

Other notables. Additional updates include expanded ad preview support for Demand Gen and responsive video ads, new Agency/Provider user lists for third-party audience targeting, high LTV targeting expansion for Search campaigns, updated “TrueView” metric names, and nudges to link Merchant Center feeds for Demand Gen setup.

Why we care. This update gives advertisers more control over where their ads appear, greater transparency into Performance Max performance, and new automation tools that save time and improve campaign efficiency—all leading to smarter spending and stronger ROI.

What’s gone. On the deprecation side, legacy App install and certain Display ad types are being phased out, though existing ads remain editable for status and labels. Manual CPV bidding is also retired in favor of Video View Campaigns with Target CPV, supported by a built-in upgrade tool.

The bottom line: Google Ads Editor 2.11 strengthens advertisers’ control and efficiency with new automation, transparency, and management tools—particularly the long-requested ability to add campaign-level negative keywords in Performance Max campaigns.