google-adsperformance-maxcreative

Performance Max changes creative sourcing on December 4: audit image and video rights now

New Performance Max campaigns will default into broader image and video sourcing. Audit creation code, approved sources and commercial-use rights before December 4.

The short version

From December 4, 2026, newly created Performance Max campaigns will default landing-page image extraction to on—even when account-level Dynamic Image Extensions are off. Google also enables sourced videos by default for new campaigns and can add up to 10 approved videos per asset group from social, landing-page and linked-YouTube sources.

If your business requires manual creative approval, change campaign-creation code to opt out explicitly, audit the sources Google may use, and confirm commercial-use rights before the first campaign is created under the new default.

Know which defaults are changing

The image and video controls are related, but their rollout details differ.

Landing-page image extraction

Starting December 4, new Performance Max campaigns default GENERATE_IMAGE_EXTRACTION to OPTED_IN. This campaign-level default applies even when Dynamic Image Extensions are disabled at account level.

Existing campaigns keep their current image-extraction configuration. The immediate risk is therefore in campaign templates, API creation workflows and operators who assume the account-level setting still governs every new campaign.

Sourced videos

Google's sourced-videos control is enabled by default for new campaigns. Google can add up to 10 videos per asset group from advertiser-approved sources, including linked YouTube channels, social profiles and landing pages.

Google says the control may also have been activated on some existing campaigns, but its current documentation does not give one universal activation date. Audit existing campaigns rather than assuming they are unchanged.

Fix campaign creation before December 4

Inventory every path that can create a Performance Max campaign:

  • Google Ads API integrations;
  • scripts and automation platforms;
  • agency templates;
  • duplicated campaign workflows;
  • internal tools and saved setup checklists.

For workflows that require manual creative approval, set image extraction to OPTED_OUT explicitly. Do not rely on omission after December 4: omission accepts the new default.

When updating asset_automation_settings, retrieve and preserve the complete repeated field before mutating it. A narrow edit should not accidentally drop another automation setting.

Test the real creation path in a bounded account. Read the campaign back after creation and confirm that the stored automation values match the intended policy.

Audit every approved source

Create a source register for each affected account and asset group. Include:

  • landing-page domains and templates;
  • linked YouTube channels;
  • approved social profiles;
  • existing sourced videos;
  • account and campaign owners;
  • the commercial-use basis for each source.

A source being technically available does not mean every asset on it is approved for advertising. Landing pages can contain editorial photography, licensed brand imagery, customer submissions or old campaign assets with narrow usage terms. Social profiles can contain music, creators or footage licensed only for an organic post.

Remove or restrict sources that cannot support paid-ad use. For the sources you keep, document who approved them and when.

Review what Google actually added

After campaign creation and after material landing-page or social changes, inspect the resulting asset groups.

For every sourced asset, record:

  1. the source URL or linked account;
  2. the asset type and date first observed;
  3. the asset group using it;
  4. rights or approval status;
  5. whether the asset matches the current offer and brand rules;
  6. the action taken when it does not.

Do not stop at the campaign setting. The acceptance test is the set of images and videos that can actually serve.

Separate rights, accuracy and performance

A sourced asset must pass three different gates:

  • Rights: the business can use it in paid advertising.
  • Accuracy: the product, price, promotion and claim are still current.
  • Suitability: the creative fits the brand and campaign purpose.

Performance comes after those gates. A high-performing asset is not acceptable when its rights are unclear or its offer is stale.

Keep vendor-reported automation benefits separate from your own evidence. Compare approved sourced assets with the prior creative baseline over a closed period, but do not treat platform-attributed lift as proof of incremental profit.

Run the acceptance check

Before December 4:

  1. list every Performance Max creation workflow;
  2. decide the required image-extraction policy for each account;
  3. update code and templates to set that policy explicitly;
  4. inventory approved video and landing-page sources;
  5. verify commercial-use rights and remove ambiguous sources;
  6. create one bounded test campaign;
  7. read back its automation settings;
  8. inspect every generated or sourced asset in the test asset group;
  9. save the configuration and review evidence;
  10. assign an owner for post-launch asset checks.

The change is under control when new campaigns store the intended settings, every available source has an owner and rights basis, and operators can identify and remove an unsuitable sourced asset before it serves at scale.

Sources