Google Ads is rolling out channel prioritization and budget allocation across Search, Shopping, Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns. You choose which channels get funded first and can limit spend on the others. Search campaigns with Display Expansion move to the new system automatically from February 2027. Brands Win is a Singapore-based agency that plans and runs Google Ads for consumer brands.
Checked on 22 October 2026 against Google’s Ads & Commerce blog (14 October 2026) and Google Ads Help (read 22 October 2026).
What Google announced
On 14 October 2026, Google published Guide your campaign spending with new priority and allocation features (Google Ads & Commerce blog, 14 October 2026). It says: “we’re introducing new optional controls in Google Ads: channel prioritization and budget allocation”.
The blog says these controls “roll out globally across Search, Shopping, Performance Max, and Demand Gen”, and the Help page below makes clear that this happens progressively.
The detail sits on Google’s About channel prioritization and budget allocation page (Google Ads Help, read 22 October 2026). It gives the start date: “Starting on October 15, 2026, Channel Prioritization and budget allocation controls will progressively become available”. It adds: “Feature availability in your account may vary depending on campaign type and rollout timing.”
So the rollout is progressive. The controls may not be in your account yet, and they may reach one campaign type before another.
How High and Low priority work
Every channel starts in the same place. The Help page says: “By default, all channels are set to High priority.”
For Low priority, Google says: “Google AI aims to spend on Low priority channels after your High priority channels.” The announcement puts it this way: campaigns “will fully fund high-priority channels (within their target when using Target CPA or Target ROAS) before allocating the remaining budget to lower-priority channels.”
Google pitches Low priority as an alternative to switching a channel off: “You can use low priority for channels you value less instead of opting out.”
The key caveat: “Channel prioritization has no effect when your campaign isn’t limited by budget, but any budget allocation you set still applies.”
The channels you can set depend on the campaign type:
- Search campaigns: Google Search, Search partners and the Google Display Network.
- Shopping campaigns: Google Search and Google Search partners.
- Performance Max campaigns: Google channels, Google Search partners and the Google Display Network.
- Demand Gen campaigns: Google channels and the Google Display Network.
In Performance Max and Demand Gen, Google groups Search, YouTube, Maps, Gmail and Discover together as “Google channels”, while Search partners and the Google Display Network can each have their own priority level.
Budget allocation: a limit, not a guarantee
Budget allocation only applies to Low priority channels. You set an optional daily budget allocation as a percentage of the campaign’s average daily budget, “not as a percentage of actual campaign spend”.
Google describes it as “a best-effort limit on daily spend for that channel”. It is not a hard cap: “this isn’t a guarantee, and daily spend on that channel may occasionally exceed your budget allocation.”
Also, “The allocation resets each day and unspent or overspent amounts don’t carry over.” For shared budgets, it applies to the shared budget as a whole.
One exception: “Budget allocation is not supported for Demand Gen campaigns.”
If a campaign already spends more on a Low priority channel than your allocation, Google says spend on that channel may shift once the setting applies.
The February 2027 change for Search campaigns with Display Expansion
This part does not wait for you to opt in: “Starting in February 2027, all Search campaigns with Display Expansion enabled will automatically migrate to channel prioritization and budget allocation.”
Google adds that “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 does tell advertisers how to keep their current configuration: a Low priority setting for the Google Display Network with the daily budget allocation Google specifies on its Help page (Google Ads Help, read 22 October 2026).
Also: “GDN will no longer serve on Search campaigns utilizing the Target Impression Share bid strategy.”
If you set channel priorities on Search campaigns before February 2027, the new settings apply “right away” and replace the current Display Expansion budget behaviour.
How to set channel priorities
Google gives two routes, condensed here. Follow the Help page itself when you make the change.
At account level: open Account settings, find the Channel Prioritization card, choose the campaign type, give each available channel High or Low priority, add an optional budget allocation to any Low priority channel, then save.
At campaign level: go to the Campaigns page, open the campaign’s Settings, expand the Channel Prioritization card and select “Use campaign-level settings”. Then assign priorities, add any optional allocation and save. On a shared budget, the settings apply to every campaign sharing it.
Limits, paraphrased from the same page:
- You can’t set channel prioritization from a manager account. Set it in each client account or at campaign level.
- Campaigns on a shared budget must all be the same campaign type for the settings to apply.
- Campaign total budgets work with channel prioritization for Demand Gen campaigns only.
- Support for the Google Ads API and Google Ads Editor is “coming soon”.
What Singapore brands should check before 11.11, 12.12 and Chinese New Year
The checklist below is our recommendation, not a Google requirement. These peaks all fall before the February 2027 change.
- List your Search campaigns with the Display Network turned on. Decide before February rather than letting the migration decide.
- Check bid strategies. Note any of them on Target Impression Share, where the Google Display Network will stop serving.
- Set priorities before a peak, then leave them. Avoid changing channel settings in the middle of a sale.
- Treat new channel tests as a post-peak job. If you previously opted out of Search partners or the Google Display Network, decide after the peak whether a limited Low priority test is worth trying.
- Review where spend lands by channel. After any change, check channel reporting, remembering the allocation is best effort.
Hypothetical illustration, not a client example: a Singapore homeware brand runs Search campaigns with the Display Network on. Before 11.11, it sets Google Search to High priority and keeps the Display Network at Low priority, then reviews channel spend after the sale.
Our guide to Performance Max A/B testing explains experiments. Our Google Ads page covers how we approach search campaigns, Shopping and Performance Max for consumer brands. At Brands Win, we plan settings reviews like this inside Growth System 90, so account changes are scheduled ahead of peak periods rather than made at the last minute.
FAQs: Google Ads channel prioritization
What is Google Ads channel prioritization?
It is an optional Google Ads control that lets you set channels such as Google Search, Search partners and the Google Display Network to High or Low priority. Google funds High priority channels first, within your target if you use Target CPA or Target ROAS, then spends any remaining budget on Low priority channels.
Which campaign types can use it?
Google says the controls are rolling out progressively to Search, Shopping, Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns. Availability may vary by campaign type and rollout timing, so check your account settings for the Channel Prioritization card.
What is budget allocation in Google Ads?
For Low priority channels, you can set an optional daily budget allocation as a percentage of the campaign’s average daily budget. Google treats it as a best-effort limit, so daily spend on that channel may occasionally go over it. Budget allocation is not supported for Demand Gen campaigns.
Does channel prioritization change anything if my campaign is not limited by budget?
Google says channel prioritization has no effect when a campaign isn’t limited by budget, because the campaign aims to hit its target across all channels. Any budget allocation you set on Low priority channels still applies.
What happens to Search campaigns with Display Expansion in February 2027?
Google says Search campaigns with Display Expansion enabled will automatically move to channel prioritization and budget allocation from February 2027, and channel spending may shift. Google’s Help page explains which settings keep your current configuration.
Should Singapore brands change their settings before 11.11 and 12.12?
Our view is to review settings before the peak rather than during it. List the Search campaigns that have the Display Network turned on, decide your priorities, and avoid changing channel settings in the middle of a sale.