Confirmed
Google folds Local Services Ads into Google Ads as Performance Max pay-per-lead campaigns
Google is migrating Local Services Ads into Google Ads under Performance Max. Manual cost-per-lead bidding is eliminated in favor of automatic bidding, weekly budgets convert to daily averages (divided by 7), industry-level Target CPA becomes one campaign-level target, BBB callouts are discontinued in favor of at least six other structured callouts, and the lead inbox moves into Google Ads' Conversions section. Rollout starts August 2026 with home and storefront services, expands late 2026, and reaches non-U.S. accounts in 2027.
In plain termsLocal Services Ads is the pay-per-lead product for plumbers, electricians, and similar local businesses; Google is retiring its separate dashboard and folding it into the same Google Ads system everyone else already uses, with automatic bidding replacing the old manual per-lead price control.
Why it mattersLocal-service advertisers lose manual bid control and their dedicated dashboard on a fixed timeline, forcing a workflow change mid-campaign rather than at a moment they choose.
Our takeThis is a platform consolidating a bolt-on product into its core system, the same pattern as Merchant Center features migrating into Google Ads over the past two years. Advertisers who built processes around manual cost-per-lead control should expect the automatic bidding transition to be the rough edge, not the budget math.
Confirmed
Google tells Shopify merchants not to uninstall or reinstall the Google & YouTube app during the Merchant API migration
A rumor had circulated that Shopify merchants needed to reinstall the Google & YouTube app before the Merchant API replaces the Content API on August 18, 2026. Google updated its Merchant Center help document's FAQ to say the opposite: no action is needed, the app should stay installed as-is, and Google handles the Content API to Merchant API migration itself. Uninstalling and reinstalling can currently cause issues that Google says it is working to fix with Shopify.
In plain termsThe Google & YouTube app is the plugin that sends a Shopify store's product data to Google Shopping; Google is saying merchants should leave that plugin alone and let Google swap the pipes behind it, rather than removing and reinstalling it themselves.
Why it mattersAn unnecessary uninstall/reinstall driven by a rumor could break a merchant's live product-feed connection instead of fixing anything ahead of the sunset.
Our takeI flagged the August 18 sunset on July 15 and noted that Shopify's native channel usually handles this kind of migration invisibly. This FAQ update confirms that read directly and closes off the reinstall workaround that had started circulating, which is worth knowing before acting on a forum rumor instead of Google's own documentation.
Deep dive: Content API for Shopping sunsets August 18: check your store now
Confirmed
Google opens a request form for merchants who need more time off the Content API before it sunsets
Google posted a notice atop its Merchant API documentation confirming the Content API for Shopping sunsets August 18, 2026, and linked a request form for merchants who need additional migration time. The form asks for email, partner or company name, website, Google Cloud project IDs, and a business justification, and lets requesters choose October 15 or December 31, 2026 as an extended deadline.
In plain termsIf a store's engineering team can't finish swapping to the new Merchant API in time, this form is the official way to ask Google for a specific later deadline instead of just missing the original one and hoping nothing breaks.
Why it mattersMerchants who can't finish migrating by August 18 now have a documented, official process to request more time instead of guessing at Google's tolerance for lingering Content API calls.
Our takeMy July 15 piece on the sunset noted that Google's release notes referenced a formal extension process without giving detail. This form is that process made concrete, with two actual extension dates attached, which turns a vague reassurance into something a team can plan a migration timeline around.
Deep dive: Content API for Shopping sunsets August 18: check your store now
Confirmed
Google tightens its AI-content label placement guidance from a fixed margin to 'not in the corners'
Google updated the help document it created July 9 when it announced labeling for ads created or edited with AI. The guidance previously told advertisers to keep labels outside a 5.5% margin around an image's full perimeter; it now says to avoid placing labels in the very corners instead, while acknowledging that across the range of rendering formats, Google cannot fully guarantee a label won't be trimmed.
In plain termsWhen an ad image is made or edited with AI, Google requires a visible label saying so; this update just narrows exactly where on the image that label is safe to place so a browser or app doesn't accidentally crop it off.
Why it mattersAdvertisers who built label placement to the old 5.5%-margin spec should recheck it, since a rule that admits it can't guarantee trim-safety leaves real room to get technically compliant and still lose the label.
Our takeI wrote about the EU AI Act's Article 50 turning AI-content disclosure into a legal, machine-readable requirement starting August 2. Google's label-placement guidance is the same disclosure logic showing up as platform policy instead of statute, and the fact that Google itself can't guarantee the label survives rendering is a preview of how messy that disclosure layer will get once it's legally mandatory.
Deep dive: The EU AI Act just made "AI-generated" a required, machine-readable label. Here is who has to use it.