Google Ads has announced a bidding change taking effect August 17, 2026, and if you use Target CPA (Cost per Acquisition) or Target ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) campaigns that are limited by budget rather than bid, you need to pay attention.

Google describes the change as a way to provide “more consistent and predictable performance based on the targets you set.” They can really make a bad thing sound good. But what does it actually mean for you?

Google Will Stop Beating Your Targets

Let’s say your Target CPA is $100. Until now, if Google could get you leads for $70, it would. You told Google you were willing to pay up to $100, but it was able to do better. Starting August 17, Google says affected campaigns will optimize more consistently toward the target you set.

For example:
Target CPA is $100
Actual CPA is $70

Google may now push your actual cost closer to $100 per lead. Google calls the current situation “over-performing on bidding targets.” I call it getting a better deal for our clients.

Google is presenting this change as a way to make campaign performance more “consistent and predictable.” But if your campaign is currently beating its target, more predictable really means more expensive.

Why This Matters

The target you’ve entered into Google Ads is about to become much more important.

Google says:

“If you’re happy with your current bidding targets, no action is needed.”

But being happy with your target isn’t necessarily the same thing as being happy with your performance.

If your campaign is currently outperforming its Target CPA or Target ROAS, leaving that target alone will probably mean paying more for the same number of leads or sales.

Who Is Affected?

This change specifically applies to any campaigns that are limited by budget and use target-based bidding strategies such as Target CPA or Target ROAS.

Google says the change applies across Search, Shopping, Performance Max, Demand Gen, and Travel campaigns, with Target CPC also affected for Demand Gen.

If your target-based campaign isn’t budget-constrained, Google says its behavior isn’t changing as part of this update.

What Should You Do?

Review any Google Ads campaigns using Target CPA or Target ROAS that are limited by budget.

Compare your bidding targets with your actual performance. If Google is consistently outperforming your target, you might want to immediately adjust it to reflect the results you want to maintain.

Google has also released a Bid Target Adjustment Tool to help identify campaigns that may be affected.

And don’t base your targets solely on what Google recommends. Your Google Ads bidding strategy should be based on what your business needs such as: bookings, sales, revenue, margin, and customer acquisition.

The Bottom Line

Automated bidding is only as good as the targets you set and data you give it.

Make sure your targets reflect the performance you actually want, not simply what you’re willing to tolerate, because Google is about to start taking those targets much more literally.

Latest posts by Vi Wickam (see all)