How far back does Google Ads change history go?

Google says change history covers the last 2 years. Older changes are not available.

Can I undo a change my agency made?

Usually, if it was made in the last 30 days. Google says you can undo most types of changes from that window using the Undo link in change history. Older changes have to be reversed by hand.

Why does change history show Google Ads system instead of a name?

Google says automated or internal changes can show a system name such as Google Ads system instead of an email address. Changes made through the Google Ads API can show Google Ads API or the name of an outside tool.

How do I remove an agency from my Google Ads account?

Go to Admin, then Access and security. Remove any users you don't recognize, then open the Managers tab and select Remove access next to the agency's manager account.

See what your agency changed in Google Ads

Google Ads keeps a log of every change made to your account over the last 2 years, with who made each one. You can undo most changes made in the last 30 days, so if an agency, a freelancer or Google itself changed something, you can usually see it and reverse it in a few minutes.

Why it’s worth checking

If someone else ran your ads, you may not know what they changed. Changes also come from places other than people: auto-applied recommendations, automated rules and outside tools. Any of these can raise spend overnight. A budget raise, a new network or a switch to broad match (a looser keyword setting) are common examples.

Change history is how you see it. It’s especially useful if:

An agency or freelancer runs your ads now, or used to.
Several people have access.
Your costs or leads shifted and you don’t know why.

How to check what changed

In Google Ads, open the Campaigns menu and select Change history.
Set the date range. Start with the last 30 days, or the days just before costs changed.
To look at one campaign, go to Campaigns, tick its box and select Change history in the menu bar. The changes open in a panel on the right.
Read the User column next to each change.
Use the filters to narrow it down (see below).

(If you can’t find it, search for “change history” in the Google Ads search bar.)

How to read the User column

The User column tells you who or what made each change. Google says:

Changes made in the Google Ads website show the person’s email address. This is where you’ll see your agency’s staff.
Automated or internal Google changes may show a system name such as “Google Ads system.”
Changes made through the Google Ads API (the way outside software connects to your account) may show “Google Ads API” or the name of the tool.

Change history also records changes made by automated rules and by Google Ads Editor, Google’s desktop app.

Go down the column and ask about each name. Is this person still working with you? Did an old agency keep access? Is a tool you don’t use making changes?

Filters that help

Google lists these filters:

Change type: for example, only budget changes or keyword edits. Start with budgets and bidding.
User: only changes by certain people. Use it to see everything your agency did.
Tool: only changes made with a certain tool.
Campaign and Ad group: only changes in certain places.
Item changed and Campaign experiment.

Changes Google made for you

Google Ads can apply some recommendations for you automatically. This is called auto-apply. Google says auto-apply won’t increase your budget, but it can change keywords, bidding and other settings.

Go to Recommendations in the Campaigns menu.
Select Auto-apply settings, then the History tab. It shows when each type was turned on and a summary of recent changes.
To find out who turned auto-apply on, go back to Change history and filter to that date. Google says you can confirm the user who opted in there.

(If you can’t find it, search for “auto-apply” in the Google Ads search bar.)

How to fix it

Undo a recent change

Find the change in Change history.
Select Undo in the User / Date & Time column.
Select Undo again to confirm. The row should then read “Changes undone.”

Google says you can undo most types of changes made in the last 30 days. If several changes share one row, Undo reverses all of them. Some rows say “Changes can’t be undone.” Fix those by hand in the campaign’s settings.

Stop future surprises

Turn off auto-apply for anything you wouldn’t approve yourself. See how to turn off auto-apply recommendations.
Go to Admin, then Access and security. Remove anyone who no longer works with you.
On the same page, open the Managers tab. If a past agency’s manager account is still linked, select Remove access in the Actions column.

(If you can’t find it, search for “access and security” in the Google Ads search bar.)

Limits to know about

Google says some account-level settings changes, and changes made by Google representatives during consultations, may not be listed.
Large bulk edits show less detail. Google suggests changes that touch fewer than 2,000 items if you want the full record.
Outside tools see less. Google’s developer docs say tools that read changes through the Google Ads API can only look back 30 days, even though the website shows 2 years.

When to leave it alone

Not every change by an agency or by Google is bad. A good agency makes changes all the time. What matters is whether each one fits your goals and whether you knew about it. If a change brought more leads at a cost you’re happy with, keep it.

A simple habit helps: once a week, open change history, set the last 7 days and scan the User column. If spend jumped and you’re not sure why, see why Google Ads spend suddenly jumps.

Check it automatically

The free SpendCanary scan reads the last 30 days of your account’s changes and looks for auto-applied recommendations that raise spend.

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