Google Ads channel prioritization: how to use it

Since October 15, 2026, Google Ads lets you mark each channel a Search campaign uses (Google Search, search partners and the Display Network) as High or Low priority, and cap a Low priority channel at a share of your average daily budget. Set a channel to Low with a 0% allocation and Google stops spending on it.

What it does

Google funds High priority channels first; Low priority channels get what’s left. By default every channel is High, so nothing changes until you set it.

For a Low priority channel you can add a budget allocation: a daily cap as a percentage of the campaign’s average daily budget (not of what it actually spent). On a $100 average daily budget, a 10% allocation means about $10 a day. Three things to know:

• It’s best-effort: Google says spend on that channel can sometimes go over the cap.
• It resets daily; unspent or overspent amounts don’t carry over.
• 0% stops spend on that channel.

You can set it for the whole account, for a shared budget, or for one campaign. Campaign settings override the account default.

When it’s useful for a small business

• You want search partners or Display to get only leftovers. Set them to Low so Google Search is funded first, with a small cap.
• You want to keep a channel but limit the damage. A Low priority channel with 10% allocation is a middle way between on and off.
• Your campaign is limited by budget. That’s when priority matters most: with a target CPA or target return and a tight budget, Google spends on High priority channels first and moves budget to Low ones only when they can hit your target.

If you simply don’t want search partners or Display at all, unticking them under Settings, then Networks is still the clearest way. See should you turn off search partners? and how to turn off Display in a Search campaign.

How to set it up

For the whole account

1. In Google Ads, open Account settings.
2. Find the Channel Prioritization card and choose Search.
3. Set each channel to High or Low, add a budget allocation for Low channels if you want one, and click Save.

For one campaign

1. Click Campaigns, then the campaign name, then Settings.
2. Expand Channel Prioritization and choose Use campaign-level settings.
3. Set the priorities and any allocation, then click Save.

(If you can’t find it, search for “channel prioritization” in the Google Ads search bar. It may not have reached your account yet.)

Coming in February 2027: Display Expansion moves over

If a Search campaign uses Display Expansion (the Display Network inside a Search campaign), Google says that from February 2027 it moves to this new model and “the current spend allocation setup will go away”, which may shift money between Google Search, search partners and Display. To keep roughly today’s setup, Google suggests setting the Display Network to Low priority with a 50% daily allocation. Also from then, Display won’t serve in Search campaigns that use the Target Impression Share bid strategy. If you set priorities before February 2027, your settings apply straight away.

What it doesn’t change

• With a target CPA, target return or target CPC campaign that is not limited by budget, prioritization doesn’t change how the budget is spent (a Low priority cap still applies).
• Campaigns that use a campaign total budget ignore channel prioritization, except Demand Gen campaigns.
• It doesn’t change Google’s daily spending limit: a campaign can still spend up to twice its average daily budget on a busy day. See why Google Ads spent more than your daily budget.

Check it automatically

The free SpendCanary scan shows what search partners and the Display Network cost you in each Search campaign, with a monthly dollar figure when they bring poor results, so you know which channels to set to Low or turn off.