From 17 August 2026, Google Ads changes the behaviour of Target CPA, Target ROAS and Demand Gen Target CPC automated bidding on campaigns limited by their budget. Accounts that were comfortably beating their targets will see their performance converge towards the target entered in the interface, upwards or downwards.
The facts
- Change effective on 17 August 2026, documented in the Google Ads help centre.
- Affects Search, Shopping, Performance Max, Demand Gen and Travel campaigns on Target CPA, Target ROAS or Target CPC with the “Limited by budget” status.
- Notification sent on 2 July 2026; target adjustment tool available since 6 July.
- Example given by Google: a €10 CPA target currently achieved at €5 should climb back towards €10.
- Not affected: App, Video reach, Video view, Manual CPC and Target Impression Share campaigns.
Why can your CPA climb when you have changed nothing?
Until now, a “limited by budget” campaign enjoyed an implicit safety net. To stay within the set budget, the algorithm favoured the cheapest bids, which often produced an actual CPA well below the declared target, or a ROAS well above it. This gap, common on accounts under strong budget pressure, became for many advertisers the silent norm of a Smart Bidding perceived as generous, without their knowing why their figures held.
Google is closing that margin. The target field stops being a ceiling the algorithm respects out of caution. It becomes the value the system actively seeks to reach, by widening bids to a broader range of opportunities beyond the cheapest ones. The direct consequence: a CPA that climbs, or a ROAS that falls, for accounts whose declared target no longer matches the real margin or recent performance data. A dedicated tool lets you compare, campaign by campaign, the last thirty days of actual performance with the target entered, before the change applies.
AIxH's view
On the accounts we manage, reviewing Target CPA and Target ROAS objectives against the client's real margin is part of the work of our SEA agency in Luxembourg, Google Ads certified on Search, Shopping, Video, Display and AI-Powered Performance. If you run your own Target CPA or Target ROAS campaigns, check your targets before the deadline: a figure set a year ago does not necessarily bear any relation to your current margin.