Channel prioritization in Google Ads: what to set before Google does it for you
Google has added channel priority and budget caps. From February 2027 Search campaigns with Display Expansion migrate automatically and the old setup disappears. What the two settings do and how to go through an account before that happens.
- Every channel is marked high or low priority and Google funds the high-priority ones first. By default, according to the help, every channel is set to high priority.
- For a low-priority channel you can set a cap as a percentage of the daily budget. Google does not guarantee it, so it is not a hard limit.
- From February 2027 Search campaigns with Display Expansion migrate to the new system on their own and the current spend allocation disappears.
In October 2026 two settings appeared in Google Ads: channel prioritization and budget allocation. They cover Search campaigns, Shopping campaigns, Performance Max and Demand Gen.
Most interface news can be left alone. Not this one, because it has a date after which part of the accounts resets itself.
What the two settings do
Channel priority
You mark each channel in a campaign as high or low priority. According to the help, Google funds high-priority channels first and only sends the remaining budget to the low-priority ones. Priority on its own therefore does not limit spend; it sets the order in which money is handed out.
An important detail: by default every channel is set to high priority. The default here does not mean "nothing happens", it means "everything is equally preferred".
Budget allocation
For a low-priority channel you set the maximum percentage of the daily budget it may receive. Zero means nothing is spent on it.
It is not a hard cap though. Google's help states explicitly that this is not a guarantee and that daily spend on the channel may occasionally exceed the percentage you set. Treat it as a direction, not a safety catch. And note that budget allocation is not supported for Demand Gen, although priority is.
What happens in February 2027
This is why it cannot be postponed. According to Google's help, Search campaigns that have Display Expansion enabled will in February 2027 migrate to channel prioritization and budget allocation automatically. The current spend allocation setup in them disappears.
Google adds that advertisers who do not act could see spend shift between networks. It gives no figure and nobody knows it in advance, because it depends on the account. Only the combination is certain: the default is high priority for everything and the old setup is removed.
The exception people forget. On Search campaigns using the Target Impression Share bid strategy, the help says the Display Network will stop serving altogether. There is nothing to configure there, but you should expect lower volume.
How to review an account
- Find Search campaigns with Display Expansion enabled. It is often on for years without anyone knowing, because it hides inside the campaign totals.
- Split performance by network. Not by campaign. What you want is how much money went through Display over the last 90 days and what came back.
- Decide on numbers, not on impressions. Judge it by orders in the shop or by qualified enquiries, not by conversions the ad platform credits to itself.
- Set the priority deliberately. Even if you only confirm today's state. A default is not a recommendation.
- Put a check in the calendar for January 2027. February is far off and this is the kind of change that gets forgotten.
Three common situations
| What you want | How to set it |
|---|---|
| Keep today's behaviour | Display Network at low priority with 50 % of the daily budget. It is Google's official guidance on getting closest to the current state. |
| You do not want Display on Search | Low priority and budget allocation at zero. |
| You want to leave it room | High priority, and then watch the share of spend by network week by week. |
If you are unsure how to set up that monitoring for the third option, the overview in the article on reporting and KPIs helps.
What it means across several accounts
On one account this is half an hour. Across ten markets it becomes a project, and there it pays to have campaigns built the same way. What such a skeleton looks like is covered in the articles on account structure and on one campaign structure for every market.
What to take from this
Channel prioritization in itself is not a big piece of news. What matters is the date: from February 2027 part of the accounts tips into a default unless somebody decides otherwise. A default is not a recommendation, it is the vendor's choice.
The practical minimum is to go through the accounts now, confirm or change the setting deliberately, and write down a check for January. It takes less time than making a note to do it later.
Common questions
Do I need to set channel priority if I only run Search without Display?
If you do not have Display Expansion enabled, the automatic February change does not concern you, because according to the help it applies precisely to Search campaigns with that expansion. Even so it is worth looking at the setting and confirming that the expansion really is off. On plenty of accounts it has been on for years without anyone knowing, because in the campaign view it disappears into the totals.
Is the budget allocation percentage a hard cap?
It is not. Google’s help states explicitly that it is not a guarantee and that daily spend on the channel may occasionally exceed the percentage you set. It is a direction for where money should flow first. That is why it makes sense to watch the share of spend by network in the data after setting it, rather than trusting that it holds on its own. Budget allocation is also not supported for Demand Gen, although priority can be set there.
What happens to campaigns on Target Impression Share?
On Search campaigns using the Target Impression Share bid strategy, the help says the Display Network will stop serving altogether after the change. So this is not about resetting a priority but about a channel that will not be available in such a campaign. If a noticeable share of volume goes through it today, expect the volume to drop, and consider whether Target Impression Share is still the right strategy for that campaign.
- About channel prioritisation and budget allocation, Google Ads HelpGoogle documentation on channel priority, budget allocation, the default state and the automatic February change. It describes the product as of this article’s revision date and Google changes it without notice.
- New Google Ads channel prioritization and budget controls, Google (blog)The announcement on Google’s blog, which is where the launch date comes from. It is the vendor’s marketing text, so details are better taken from the help pages.