Google Ads API v25.2 adds competitive benchmarks and PMax upgrades

Google is rolling out version 25.2 of the Google Ads API, adding competitive benchmarking, new Performance Max controls, creator discovery improvements and additional bidding recommendations.

The release gives developers and advertisers more programmatic access to features that can influence campaign strategy particularly competitive performance data, Performance Max management and bidding decisions.

What’s new. One of the biggest additions is competitive benchmark percentile data. Google’s BenchmarksService can now show where an advertiser sits relative to other advertisers using percentile tiers, providing another way to evaluate performance against the broader market.

How it works. Developers can request percentile data and compare an advertiser’s position against the “all advertisers” benchmark while applying category filters. That could make competitive benchmarking easier to incorporate directly into agency dashboards and reporting tools.

For Performance Max. Google is also making it easier to move advertisers away from Smart campaigns. A new API method can automatically generate a Performance Max draft from an existing Smart campaign, giving developers a programmatic path for handling campaign upgrades.

Also new. Performance Max advertisers can now configure tracking templates, custom URL parameters and final URL suffixes directly at the asset-group level. Google confirms these new AssetGroup URL controls in its v25.2 release notes.

For creator campaigns. Google’s Content Creator Insights service can now search for creators using YouTube channel handles rather than requiring channel IDs, potentially simplifying creator discovery workflows.

For travel advertisers. Google is adding more granular hotel and travel reporting, including dimensions for advance booking windows, length of stay, start dates and whether dates were explicitly selected by the user. New metrics also provide information around price differences, price tiers and potential impressions.

For Search advertisers. Google is introducing recommendations that flag when Target CPA or Target ROAS settings may be too restrictive for a campaign to enter auctions. That gives advertisers another automated signal when bidding targets could be limiting reach.

Why we care. Individually, most of these are developer-focused additions. Together, though, they expose more of Google’s advertising intelligence through the API, from competitive positioning and pricing to bidding recommendations and campaign migration.

The bigger picture. Google continues to make Performance Max a central destination for campaign automation. The ability to generate PMax drafts directly from Smart campaigns is another example of Google building migration paths from simpler campaign types into its more automated campaign system.

For developers. Accessing the new capabilities requires updating client libraries and client code. Google recommends keeping integrations current with the latest API versions, while v25.2 itself is a minor release and does not introduce breaking changes.

What’s next. Google released v25.2 on Sept. 23rd, and its current schedule lists v26 for October. Version 25.2 is scheduled to remain supported until August 2027.

The bottom line. Google Ads API v25.2 isn’t a dramatic overhaul, but it gives sophisticated advertisers and platforms more data and more control — particularly around competitive benchmarking, Performance Max and automated bidding.