Google Ads has a new pair of controls that decide where your budget goes first. You can mark a channel as High priority or Low priority. You can also cap what Low priority channels spend.
That matters if your Search campaign quietly spends on search partners or Display. Google includes search partners by default when you create a Search campaign. So they can stay switched on even if nobody chose them on purpose.
Here is what the controls do, in Google's words, a sensible starting setup, and what to check after.
What Google has launched
Google's help page says a progressive rollout started on 15 October 2026 for Search, Shopping, Performance Max and Demand Gen. You may not see it yet.
Google gives its reason on its blog: “Marketers want more transparency into their ad campaigns and choice over how they direct their ad budgets.”
There are two parts.
1. Channel prioritisation. You set each channel to High or Low priority. Google's help page says: “Google AI prioritizes spend on High priority channels (within your target if you use Target CPA or Target ROAS) before distributing any remaining budget to Low priority channels.”
Google says that by default, all channels are set to High priority. So unless you change it, search partners sit in the same High priority tier as Google Search. Google adds that until February 2027, Search campaigns with the Display Network on that have not set priorities “continue to use current Display Expansion behavior”.
2. Budget allocation. For a Low priority channel, you set a maximum percentage of the campaign's average daily budget. Google's example: a 5% allocation on a $1,000 average daily budget means it aims to keep that channel at or below $50 a day. In GBP terms, a hypothetical £200 daily budget with a 10% cap aims for £20 or less on that channel. The cap resets each day. Unspent or overspent amounts do not carry over, so an overspend one day is not clawed back the next. For shared budgets, Google says the allocation applies to the shared budget as a whole.
Channels by campaign type:
| Campaign type | Channels you can prioritise | Budget cap available? |
|---|---|---|
| Search | Google Search, search partners, Display Network | Yes |
| Shopping | Google Search, search partners | Yes |
| Performance Max | Google channels, search partners, Display Network | Yes |
| Demand Gen | Google channels, Display Network | No |
In Performance Max and Demand Gen, Google says Search, YouTube, Maps, Gmail and Discover “are prioritized together as ‘Google channels.’” You cannot rank them separately.
You can set a default for each campaign type under Account settings, in the “Channel Prioritization” card. Google says account-level priorities “apply to every campaign of that type unless you customize them for a shared budget or campaign.” Google also warns that if a campaign already spends more than your account default percentage on a Low priority channel, “you may see a shift in spend on that channel after the setting is applied.” It cannot be set at manager account level. Google also says the controls do not apply to campaigns that use campaign total budgets, except Demand Gen.
Three details that change how you use it
Priority only bites when you are budget limited. If your campaign is not limited by budget, Google says priority has no effect. The cap still applies. Google says the cap is “particularly useful for campaigns that aren't limited by budget where channel prioritization generally won't impact your allocation.”
The cap is a target, not a hard stop. Google says: “Budget allocation works on a best-effort basis: Google AI will aim to limit the spend on that channel to within the percentage of budget that you specified, but this isn't a guarantee, and daily spend on that channel may occasionally exceed your budget allocation.” Do not assume the number you typed is the number you got.
Demand Gen gets priority, not caps. Google says: “Budget allocation is not supported for Demand Gen campaigns.”
The February 2027 change
Google says that from February 2027, Search campaigns with Display Expansion enabled will move to channel prioritisation automatically. In Google's words: “Once this takes effect, the current spend allocation setup will go away, and you may see a shift in channel spending between Google Search, Search partners, and the Google Display Network.”
Google says that to keep your current configuration, “you can set the Google Display Network to ‘Low priority’ with a 50% daily budget allocation (which operates on a best-effort basis).”
50% is Google's number for “keep things as they are”, not a recommendation for your account. If Display has never earned its place in your Search campaign, keeping it at up to half your average daily budget (best effort, so sometimes more) is not the goal.
After the migration, Google says the Display Network will stop serving on Search campaigns using Target Impression Share bidding.
So you have a choice. Set this on purpose now, using your own data, or let the migration set it for you in February. Google says that if you set channel priorities on a Search campaign before February 2027, “the new settings apply to these campaigns right away and replace current Display Expansion budget behavior.” The spend split may move from the day you save.
Check before you set anything
Base any cap on what each channel has done for you.
- Open your Search campaign. Go to the Campaigns or Ad groups table.
- Click the segment icon and choose Network (with search partners). Google says this segment lets you “compare Google Search, search partners, and Display Network performance”.
- Set the date range to at least the last 90 days.
- For each network, note cost, conversions and cost per conversion.
First, check your tracking counts real leads or sales, not page views, clicks or duplicates. If it does not, any channel can look good on paper. Our guide to where your Google Ads budget is actually going covers the usual leaks.
Surprised? That gap can be where wasted spend hides. Our wasted spend analysis reviews targeting and spend drivers across your account.
A sensible starting setup
This is a starting default, not a guarantee. Adjust it with your own data.
Google Search: High priority. It is usually where intent is clearest.
Search partners: decide from what it has earned.
- If search partners converted at a cost you are happy with, consider leaving it at High priority (the default). If you move it to Low, it only gets budget that Google Search does not use, so its spend may fall below its old share. The cap is a ceiling, not a floor.
- If it spent money with few or no real conversions, set it to Low with a low cap, or turn it off. If it brings junk leads, see how to stop spam leads in Google Ads.
Display Network inside a Search campaign: Low priority, with a low cap, or off. If you never chose it, the safest default is a low cap or off. Google says a 0% allocation on a Low priority channel means “Google won't spend on that channel.” You can also opt out in the campaign's network settings. Want Display? A dedicated campaign with its own budget and exclusions is easier to judge. Our GDN exclusion list helps there.
Performance Max: same logic, lighter touch. The controls give you a lever on search partners and Display inside PMax. Start light. Our Performance Max guide covers the wider setup.
Hypothetical example: a lead-gen business spends £150 a day on one Search campaign. Over 90 days, search partners delivered leads at a similar cost to Google Search. Display took more spend and produced almost no traceable leads. A sensible start: Google Search at High, search partners left at High (or Low with a watchful eye, since it already earns its keep), Display off or capped very low.
What to check after you set it
As a rule of thumb, give it two to four weeks. Then recheck the Network (with search partners) segment:
- The real spend split. Is each capped channel near its cap? The cap is best effort.
- Total conversions and cost per conversion. If they fell, a cap may be too tight on a channel that worked.
- Search lost IS (budget). Google says High priority channels spend first. If Google Search is limited by budget, check whether it now gets a bigger share.
- Search terms. Spend that moves to Google Search still needs clean queries. Our post on Google Ads “other” search terms shows what hides there.
Change one thing at a time. Change caps, bids and budget together and you will not know what worked.
Did you turn off search partners or Display in the past? Google says these controls let you “opt back in with more confidence about how your budget is allocated”. Try that with a small cap and a success measure set before you start.
The wider point
Because Google includes search partners by default, a Search campaign can spend on a channel its owner never chose. This control is a Google-built way to manage that. It still needs channel data you can trust, and someone who looks at it.
We apply the same rule across Google, Microsoft and Meta: budget goes where it earns its keep. For how much to spend, see our Google Ads budget guide by industry.
FAQ
Can I choose which Google Ads channel gets my budget first?
Yes. Channel prioritisation lets you set channels to High or Low priority in Search, Shopping, Performance Max and Demand Gen. Google says rollout started on 15 October 2026, so you may not see it yet.
Does the budget cap guarantee a channel will not overspend?
No. Google says budget allocation “works on a best-effort basis”. Daily spend on a capped channel “may occasionally exceed your budget allocation”. Check the Network segment.
What happens in February 2027 if I do nothing?
Google says Search campaigns with Display Expansion will move to channel prioritisation automatically, and channel spend may shift. Google says you can keep your current setup by setting the Display Network to Low priority with a 50% daily budget allocation. That may not suit your account.
Should I turn off search partners and Display completely?
Not by default. Check what each has delivered first. If a channel converts at a cost you accept, leave it at High priority or give it Low priority with a cap, and watch its spend share. If it has not, a low cap or switching it off is a reasonable start.
Not sure where your Google Ads budget is really going?
Our free Wasted Spend + Tracking Confidence Check looks at your structure, targeting, tracking and spend drivers. It also checks whether your tracking is strong enough to trust. When we manage accounts, we charge a flat fee, never a percentage of your spend. So we have no reason to tell you to spend more.