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Google says Smart Bidding "Learning" status never lasts more than 7 days, and budget or target changes never trigger it
What changed
Google rewrote its help page on the learning period, now called "About Smart Bidding learning." It says the Learning status never lasts more than 7 days and ads keep serving normally while it shows. Only three things trigger it: a new or reactivated bid strategy, campaigns, ad groups or keywords added to or removed from the strategy, and a significant change to the conversion goals. Google says changes to budgets, targets, creatives or targeting settings (location, audience, language) never remove historical data or trigger Learning. Performance still takes 1 to 2 conversion cycles to settle on a new target, and Google says to judge results over 2 conversion cycles or 2 weeks, whichever is longer.
What to do
Stop holding budget increases for Q4 out of fear of resetting learning: Google says budget changes take effect in the next auction without triggering it. Still avoid several target changes inside one conversion cycle, and wait 2 conversion cycles or 2 weeks before judging a change.
Source
- Google Ads Help: About Smart Bidding learning ↗
- Search Engine Roundtable: Google Ads updates Smart Bidding learning doc with 7-day limit ↗
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