Google Ads will pull landing-page images into new PMax ads by default

Google Ads will pull landing-page images into new PMax ads by default

21 October 2026: From 4 December 2026, every newly created Performance Max campaign in Google Ads will have image extraction switched on by default, so Google's AI will scan the campaign's landing pages for high-resolution images and use them in ads across Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail and Maps. The new default applies even when an advertiser has turned off dynamic image extensions for the whole account, which until now was enough to keep extraction off.

Not yet independently verified. Google has announced the change in its developer blog; the post does not say whether advertisers who never use the API will be told in their accounts. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

The account switch stops being enough

Today a Performance Max campaign that has no image extraction setting of its own inherits the account-level choice, the Dynamic images setting under account-level automated assets. From 4 December that inheritance ends for new campaigns: they are created as OPTED_IN at campaign level whatever the account says. The change covers campaigns created in the Google Ads API, the Google Ads web interface and Google Ads Editor. Existing campaigns keep their current configuration.

Google's own wording is direct: developers "relying on account-level controls should explicitly set OPTED_OUT on new campaigns" if they do not want images extracted. Advertisers who are happy with extraction need do nothing.

How to opt out in the API

The setting lives in the campaign's asset_automation_settings field, with the automation type GENERATE_IMAGE_EXTRACTION and the status OPTED_IN or OPTED_OUT. Agencies and tools that create campaigns by API should add the opt-out to their creation payloads before 4 December. Google points out a trap for updates to existing campaigns: the field is a repeated list, and an update replaces the whole list rather than merging, so a request that sends only the image setting clears others such as TEXT_ASSET_AUTOMATION. Any update should read the current list and send it back complete.

To audit current campaigns, Google gives a Google Ads Query Language query selecting campaign.asset_automation_settings for Performance Max campaigns. A campaign with no GENERATE_IMAGE_EXTRACTION entry is still inheriting the account setting today, and its owner should decide whether to pin an explicit value.

The rights question moves to the advertiser

The post closes with a reminder that advertisers must own, or have permission to use, every image on their landing pages and allow Google to use them for commercial advertising. That matters most for brands whose sites carry licensed stock photography, partner logos, user-generated content or images of people, where the licence often covers the website but not paid advertising. With the default flipped, an image can end up in an ad that nobody on the marketing team chose, so legal and brand teams should know about the date as well as the people who build campaigns.

Sources

• Google Ads Developer Blog: Upcoming changes to image extraction in Performance Max campaigns starting December 4, 2026, 21 October 2026