Google Ads, October 2026: you now decide how much budget goes to Display and partners

Until now, if you didn't want a Search campaign to spend on the Display Network or on Search partners, you had one option: switch them off completely. On October 14, Google announced a change that solves exactly that. You can mark these channels as low priority and cap them at a percentage of your daily budget. The settings are rolling out gradually in the Google Ads interface from October 15. In this article I explain how the new settings work, which campaigns have them, what changes in February 2027 and how I would use them before Black Friday. Below you'll also find the other Google updates from the same week that matter for an online store, plus a calculator that shows the most that can go to each channel. Channel prioritization: what's new The update has two parts, which you can use together or separately: Channel prioritization. You mark Search partners and the Display Network as "high priority" or "low priority". Google spends on high-priority channels first, working toward your target CPA or ROAS, and only then sends the rest of the budget to low-priority channels. Budget allocation. For low-priority channels, you set a maximum percentage of your average daily budget. Google's example: with a $1,000 daily budget and a 5% allocation, the campaign targets at most $50 a day on that channel. At 0%, the campaign doesn't spend there at all. In practice, you no longer have to choose between "all" and "nothing". You can keep Display for remarketing, for example, but with a clear limit. Which campaigns have it .comparison-cards { display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 1.5rem; } .comparison-card { background: #fff; border-radius: 16px; padding: 20px; border: 2px solid #efefef; } .comparison-header { display: flex; justify-content: space-between; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 12px; } .comparison-row { display: flex; justify-content: space-between; padding: 8px 0; border-top: 1px solid #efefef; font-size: 14px; color: #1f2937; } .comparison-label { font-size:…