PMax Sourced Videos Are On by Default: How to Turn Them Off

PMax sourced videos is a feature where Google AI finds videos on an advertiser's landing page, social media, and connected YouTube channel and adds them to a Performance Max (Performance Max, PMax) campaign automatically. It is on by default in new campaigns. Even an account that never uploaded a video can end up running video ads, so advertisers need to decide once whether to keep this setting. The Google Ads Help page says some existing campaigns may also have been turned on automatically during a platform update.

What changed with PMax sourced videos

Think of a restaurant owner who hands over photos, and a delivery app then makes and posts menu videos on its own. You did not upload them, yet videos with your shop name are showing. So you need to check whether you like them. Google works the same way: it pulls videos from sources the advertiser approved and uses them in ads. The feature is rolling out in stages, so it may not appear in every account.

According to the Google Help page, sourced videos lets Google AI and automatic video collection technology find relevant videos from approved sources and add them to PMax campaigns. The sources are social media, the campaign's landing page, and the connected YouTube channel. Up to 10 go into one asset group, and they run alongside videos you upload yourself or make with Google's video generation tools. PPC Land first reported on the feature on October 21, 2026. Google has not given a full launch date or the list of countries. Google says the feature is rolling out in stages and may not be visible in some accounts yet.

The collected videos are posted to a dedicated YouTube channel owned by Google, not to the advertiser's YouTube channel. That channel carries the advertiser's logo and business name, and viewers are sent to the landing page. If a video is deleted from the original platform, it is removed from Google Ads automatically, and the video list is refreshed regularly.

Does this apply to your account: how to check if it is on

It depends on the campaign type and when it was created. The Google Help page says it is on by default in new campaigns. Existing campaigns may have been turned on even if you never enabled it, so open each one and check. The Help page also says the campaign's daily budget must be above 5 US dollars to use the feature.

Situation	Sourced videos status	What to do
New PMax campaign	On by default	Check the source approval and the checkbox during setup
Existing PMax with no uploaded videos	May be on	Check the setting for each asset group
Existing PMax with your own videos	May run alongside your uploaded videos	Decide whether to allow automatic videos too
Daily budget of 5 US dollars or less	Condition not met per the Help page	No action needed

What to do now: how to turn off sourced videos

Turning it off takes five steps, based on the Google Help page. The on-screen wording may differ depending on your account language.

1. Open the campaign list in Google Ads.
2. Click the gear icon next to the target PMax campaign.
3. Find the video option (Source videos) in the asset group section.
4. Open the Asset optimization dropdown.
5. Clear the Sourced videos checkbox, then click Apply and save.

If you decide to keep it on, review the addresses Google can use under Manage sources on the same screen. The Help page says the advertiser must approve the sources of the video portfolio before Google can use the videos. Videos from approved sources become candidates, so remove any address that hosts videos you do not want in your ads from the approved list.

After you change the setting, first reopen the same menu and confirm the checkbox stayed cleared. Next, check that the automatically collected videos in the asset group's video section are no longer increasing. If videos have already been added, play them one by one and remove any you do not want to use. Judge whether the setting was saved by reopening the same menu and seeing that the checkbox is cleared.

How uploaded videos differ from automatic videos

Automatic videos are convenient, but who picks the videos and which channel they go to are different. The table below lists only the differences the Help page describes.

Item	Videos you upload	Sourced videos
Who picks the videos	The advertiser	Google AI (advertiser approves sources)
YouTube channel used	The advertiser's channel	A dedicated channel owned by Google
Number of videos	As many as the advertiser uploads	Up to 10 per asset group
Updates	The advertiser replaces them	Refreshed regularly

Advertisers who manage brand tone strictly are better off turning it off. Small advertisers with no capacity to produce video can keep it on and narrow the approved sources to the official channel and the landing page.

What to watch next

Google has not given a full launch date or the list of countries, and it is opening the feature in stages. If you do not see the same setting in your ad account, it has not reached your account yet. Just check whether the item appears the next time you create a new campaign.