By the Mayab Media Team
The creative in your Performance Max campaign might not be the creative you made. Google is now pulling videos from your social accounts, landing pages and YouTube channel, plus images from your website, and running them as ads. Most advertisers won't check until someone in sales asks, "Why is that old clip in our ads?"
What actually changed
There are two related updates, both landing in late October 2026.
Sourced videos. On October 21, Google's help page started describing sourced videos in PMax as opt-out, and by October 23 the "Sourced videos" toggle was showing up in accounts. Per PPC Land's coverage:
- Google can add up to 10 crawled videos per asset group, on top of what you upload.
- Sources include approved social media platforms (not named), landing pages and linked YouTube channels.
- It's on by default for new campaigns. Some existing campaigns may have been switched on too. Google's documentation doesn't say which.
- Eligibility requires a daily budget above $5, and rollout is staged.
- The videos are hosted on a Google-owned YouTube channel branded with your logo and business name.
- To turn it off: campaign settings, Asset group section, Asset optimization, then uncheck "Sourced videos." A "Manage sources" link lets you review approved sources.
Image extraction. On October 21, Google's Ads API team posted that from December 4, 2026, new Performance Max campaigns will have image extraction set to opted in by default, across the API, the Google Ads UI and Editor. PPC Land explains that this applies even if your account-level Dynamic images setting is off. Existing campaigns keep their current settings.
Image extraction means Google scans your landing pages for high-resolution images and uses them in ads across Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail and Maps. Google also asks advertisers to confirm they hold the rights to those landing page images. So if Google picks a stock photo you only licensed for web use, the rights question is yours.
Why this matters in money terms
Creative is the biggest lever left in PMax. Bidding and targeting are mostly automated, so what you show is what moves results. When Google mixes in assets you didn't review, three things can go wrong:
- Off-message ads. An old promo reel, a casual behind-the-scenes clip, or a product you discontinued could end up in rotation. That's wasted spend on a message that doesn't sell your current offer.
- Muddier testing. If you're trying to learn which creative works, extra crawled assets make it harder to tell what's driving results.
- Rights exposure. Images from your site might include licensed photography, client photos, or partner logos. Running them as ads isn't always covered.
None of this means sourced creative is useless. For a small business with no video budget, a decent clip from Instagram might be better than nothing. The point is that you should decide, not inherit the default.
Your PMax creative check, step by step
- List every PMax campaign and asset group. Note which were created recently. Those are the most likely to have sourced videos on.
- Open Asset optimization in each campaign. Check whether "Sourced videos" is ticked. Click "Manage sources" and see what's approved.
- Look at your linked accounts with fresh eyes. Scroll your Instagram, TikTok or YouTube back a year. Would you pay to show each of those clips to a cold audience? If not, either clean up the sources or turn the toggle off.
- Audit your landing page images before December 4. Make a quick list of images on your PMax landing pages. Flag anything licensed for web only, anything showing a customer without consent, and anything outdated.
- Set your default for new campaigns. If you launch PMax campaigns after December 4 and don't want extracted images, opt out at creation. If you use the API or scripts, have your developer check the asset automation settings. PPC Land notes that updates to that field replace the whole array, so sending one entry could wipe others.
- Give Google better raw material. The best defense is good creative. Upload at least a few videos you made on purpose, even simple ones shot on a phone. If your asset group is full of strong assets, crawled ones matter less.
- Review the Assets report every two weeks during Q4. Look for assets you don't recognize and check how they're performing.
Our take
We get why Google is doing this. Lots of PMax campaigns run with weak creative, and filling the gaps probably lifts average performance across all advertisers.
But "average" isn't your business. A plumber with a goofy TikTok, or a clinic with patient photos on its website, has real reasons to keep certain content out of ads. For our clients, we leave sourced videos on only when we've checked every approved source and liked what we saw. Otherwise it's off, and we'd rather spend an afternoon making three solid videos.
Takeaway: Check your PMax Asset optimization settings today and review your landing page images before December 4, because Google will use what it finds.
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