Microsoft opens Excluded Content Terms to all advertisers

Microsoft Advertising has made Excluded Content Terms broadly available, giving advertisers another way to prevent their ads from appearing alongside content they consider unsuitable for their brands.

Why it matters. Brand-safety controls are increasingly important as automated campaigns expand where ads can appear. The feature gives advertisers more direct control over the types of content they want to avoid.

What’s new. Advertisers can specify up to 1,000 excluded terms based on page titles, helping prevent ads from serving alongside content associated with unwanted topics.

How it works. Exclusions can be configured at the account or campaign level. Microsoft says account-level exclusions apply across campaigns, while campaign-level exclusions provide more granular control for individual campaigns.

What changed. The feature had previously been available on a limited basis. Microsoft has now removed the limited-availability notice from its content suitability documentation, opening the control to advertisers more broadly.

Why we care: Instead of relying solely on Microsoft’s built-in content safeguards, brands can add their own terminology based on specific suitability requirements, reputational concerns or internal policies.

The bigger picture. As Microsoft puts more campaign decisions in the hands of automation, controls like content exclusions give advertisers a way to define boundaries around where that automation can place their ads.

The bottom line. Excluded Content Terms give Microsoft advertisers a straightforward new brand-safety lever: tell the platform which topics you don’t want associated with your advertising, at scale.

Dig deeper. About content suitability.