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How to turn off auto-apply recommendations in Google Ads

Updated

What auto-apply recommendations are

Google Ads shows recommendations, which are suggested changes to your account. You can apply them, dismiss them, or ignore them.

Auto-apply goes one step further. When it’s on, Google applies selected recommendations for you on a regular schedule. You don’t approve each change.

Auto-apply is set for the whole account. Google says only a select set of recommendation types can be auto-applied, and you choose which ones.

What it can change

Google’s help lists the types that can be auto-applied. They include changes like these:

  • Keywords and reach: add keywords, add broad match keywords, expand your reach with Google search partners, use Display expansion, use targeting expansion, add audiences, and remove keywords that are redundant or not serving.
  • Bidding: switch to a strategy such as Maximize clicks, Maximize conversions, target CPA or target ROAS, and adjust your CPA or ROAS targets.
  • Ads: improve responsive search ads, add dynamic search ads, and use optimized ad rotation.
  • Measurement: upgrade your conversion tracking.

Google’s help also says auto-apply does not raise your budget.

Why it matters for your money

Some of these changes can widen where your ads show and what you pay for. For example:

  • Search partners are other websites that show Google search ads. Results there can differ from Google Search itself.
  • The Display Network shows ads on websites and apps, not search results. Clicks there often behave very differently from search clicks.
  • Broad match (the loosest keyword setting) can show your ad for searches only loosely related to your keywords.
  • Maximize clicks is a bid strategy that aims for as many clicks as possible, not leads or sales.

Each of these can be right for some businesses. But if they’re switched on without you noticing, your spend can drift toward traffic you didn’t plan for.

How to see what was applied

  1. Go to Recommendations. (If you can’t find it, search for “recommendations” in the Google Ads search bar.)
  2. Open Auto-apply settings.
  3. Click the History tab. It shows when each recommendation was first turned on, how many times it was applied in the past week, and when it was last applied.

For the details of each change, use change history:

  1. Open Change history. (If you can’t find it, search for “change history” in the Google Ads search bar.)
  2. Set the date range to the last 30 to 90 days.
  3. Use the filters, such as user or tool, to separate automatic changes from changes made by people.
  4. Look for changes to networks, keyword match types and bid strategies.

Change history keeps up to two years of changes.

How to turn auto-apply off

  1. Go to Recommendations.
  2. Open Auto-apply settings.
  3. On the Manage tab, uncheck the recommendation types you don’t want applied.
  4. Click Save.

You can also turn off a type from the History tab. Select it and click Disable.

Turning off auto-apply stops future changes. It does not undo changes already made. To reverse those, fix them by hand:

  • Search partners or Display Network: open the campaign’s settings, go to Networks, and uncheck the network you don’t want.
  • Broad match keywords: review new keywords and change or pause the ones you didn’t add.
  • Bid strategy: open the campaign’s bidding settings and switch back to the strategy you chose.

When it’s fine

Auto-apply is not bad by itself. Some types are low risk, such as removing keywords that never show. If you check your account often and like the results, leaving a few on can save time.

The key is knowing what’s on. Review your auto-apply settings now and then. Keep only the types you’d approve anyway. For anything that changes networks, match types or bidding, consider reviewing it by hand before it goes live.

SpendCanary flags auto-applied recommendations that switched on Search Partners, the Display Network, broad match or Maximize Clicks in the last 30 days.