Budget-limited Target CPA and Target ROAS campaigns now bid to their target instead of beating it, since Aug 17
What changed
Starting August 17, 2026, Search, Shopping, Performance Max, Demand Gen and Travel campaigns that are "Limited by budget" and use Target CPA or Target ROAS optimize more consistently toward the target you set, instead of overperforming it because budget runs out. Google's example: a campaign with a $10 Target CPA that has been converting at $5 now delivers closer to $10. Google says the global rollout finished August 27. App, video reach and video view campaigns keep the old behavior, and Hotel and Display campaigns already worked this way. Campaigns that aren't budget-limited don't change. Google doesn't adjust your targets or budgets for you, and says the change won't directly increase spend. It was announced in June alongside a promotion mode beta and a Smart Bidding Exploration expansion. In October, r/PPC threads blamed it for Shopping and Performance Max drops on accounts that ran low targets with capped budgets (PPC Land, Oct 5).
What to do
List budget-limited Target CPA and Target ROAS campaigns and compare actual CPA or ROAS with the target for the weeks before Aug 17. Set each target to what you'd actually accept. Google says matching recent averages keeps current performance. Or switch to Maximize conversions or Maximize conversion value. Compare lost impression share (budget) with lost impression share (rank) before and after Aug 17 before blaming the drop on this. Give each change 1 to 2 conversion cycles.
Source
- Google Ads Help: Changes to target-based bid strategies ↗
- Google Ads Help: FAQ on target-based bid strategy changes (rollout completed Aug 27) ↗
- Google: Bidding and budgeting updates to scale your growth ↗
- PPC Land: rollout begins Aug 17 ↗
- PPC Land: advertiser says the Aug 17 change cut Shopping sales at 300% tROAS (Oct 5) ↗
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