Google Ads API v26 Released: What Changed and What to Do

Google Ads API v26 is out: who needs to recheck what

Google Ads API v26 is a new version released on October 14, 2026. It removes some fields, so changing only the version number in v25 code can cause errors. Google lists every changed field in the v26 release notes. The API is the connection that lets a program read and change a Google Ads account directly. Teams that manage accounts with their own code or automation tools should first check which version they use and which fields changed. Think of a building office changing its key standard. Some households only need a new front door key. Others also have to replace the lock on a storage room that used the same key. A new Google Ads API version does not cut off your current version right away, so the first job is to find out which case your code is in.

What changed in Google Ads API v26

According to the Google Ads API release notes, v26 includes both breaking changes and new features. The table below covers the items that ad operations code meets most often. Field names are written exactly as in the release notes.

Area	What changed (release notes)	What to do
Local services Performance Max campaigns (automated campaigns for local service businesses)	country_code and listing_id are now required when you create a campaign	Add both values to your creation code
Enhanced conversions (for leads)	The ConversionTrackingSetting.enhanced_conversions_for_leads_enabled field was removed	Switch to enablement_setting in Customer.conversion_tracking_setting
Hotel bid adjustments	Hotel-only fields became user_set_dates, advance_booking_window, length_of_booking, start_day_of_week and start_date_range, and min_nights and max_nights became min_days and max_days. Values and existing bid adjustments stay the same	Rename the fields in code that handles hotel bid adjustments
Enums and error reasons	HotelDateSelectionType was replaced by DateSelectionType, and six hotel-only error reasons were replaced by travel-wide names	If your code branches on error names, switch to the new names

The same release notes also list additions that do not break compatibility. The ones advertisers are most likely to notice are 15 search lift metrics (a measurement of how much more people search after seeing a search ad), a lookup for the minimum daily budget by currency for Demand Gen (in Korean) campaigns, and listing_type support for Shopping campaigns. The European Union political advertising declaration is now optional for some campaigns that do not target the EU, so accounts that advertise only in Korea have less reason to fill in that field. LINE and SMS providers were added to business message assets. In Korea, KakaoTalk is the main messaging app, so there is not much use for them yet.

Google Ads API version sunset dates: do you need to upgrade now

The release of v26 does not cut off your current version right away. The Google Ads API sunset dates page lists the dates below. It says a sunset can happen on any day within the stated month, and that dates may change.

API version	Release date	Planned sunset
v23	January 28, 2026	February 2027
v24	April 22, 2026	May 2027
v25	July 22, 2026	August 2027
v26	October 14, 2026	November 2027

Requests to v22 have failed since October 7. If you still have v22 calls, do not wait for v26. Move to a supported version first, following the v22 sunset response steps. The other versions have more than three months left. MCPY recommends that teams that do not need the new v26 features upgrade in one step, two to three months before the earliest sunset, which is v23 in February 2027. Renaming fields is the same work whenever you do it, so there is little reason to rush while you do not need the new features.

Google Ads API releases are going to two a month

In its October 12 developer blog post, Google said it will increase Google Ads API releases to twice a month starting with v26. Major releases, which carry big changes, stay at four a year as they are now. The rest are minor releases that only add new features. A major release stays available for one year after launch, and a minor release sunsets together with its parent major release. Google explained that the sunset schedule is unchanged, so you do not need to migrate more often.

The next major release, v27, is planned for January 2027 and v28 for April, and all of these dates are estimates. Google said minor releases only add features, so your own code can follow major releases and skip each minor one. Teams that use external tools can ask the tool vendor when it will support v26.

How to check before you move to Google Ads API v26

To check v26 compatibility, search your code for the changed fields, then call the API on a test account. The steps below are based on the change table above.

1. Search your code repository for enhanced_conversions_for_leads_enabled, HotelDateSelectionType, min_nights and max_nights (for example, grep -rn "min_nights" .). If you get zero results, this change does not affect you. If even one result appears, fix it as shown in the table above.
2. If you create local services Performance Max campaigns in code, check that you pass country_code and listing_id. If you do not use this campaign type, skip this step.
3. Open the upgrade guide for the Google Ads API, find the section for moving from v25.2 to v26, and compare it with the changes for the services you use.
4. Switch the API version to v26, then run one read call and one mutate call on a test account. As a read example, send SELECT campaign.id, campaign.name FROM campaign LIMIT 5. If a campaign list comes back, the read passes. Then send a mutate call that renames one test campaign. If you get a normal response with no field error, treat that code path as passed. If an error appears, first check whether the field name in the message matches an old name in the table above.

The most common mistake is changing only the client library and the API version number to v26 while leaving the field names as they are. Calling a removed field makes the request fail, so run the search in step 1 before you change the version. If you use an external ad automation or reporting tool, you have no code to fix. Asking the tool vendor when it will support v26 is enough.

What to watch from here

Two minor releases a month will bring new features faster. Google also said it can add or drop releases and change which are major or minor, so sunset months may change too. Once a quarter, open the sunset dates page and check the planned sunset month for the version you use. This week, start with the search in step 1 to find out whether any of your code is affected.