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Google Ads API will stop creating new Smart Campaigns on September 23

From September 23, 2026, Google Ads API clients can no longer create Smart Campaigns. Existing Smart Campaigns keep serving and remain editable, so SaaS tools and agencies that still provision them need to route new campaign creation to another type without assuming the old campaigns disappear.

Reviewed and published by Lars Jansen Updated 5 min read
First published

Key details

  1. New Smart Campaigns cannot be created through the Google Ads API starting September 23, 2026.
  2. Google moved the cutoff from its earlier August date in an August 13 update.
  3. Existing Smart Campaigns continue serving and can still be updated.
  4. Google recommends considering Performance Max, Search or Demand Gen for new campaigns.
  5. Google Ads API v24 returns SmartCampaignError.CREATION_FAILED for blocked create operations.
  6. Google Ads API v23 and earlier return OperationAccessDeniedError.CREATE_OPERATION_NOT_PERMITTED.

What builders should take away

  1. Search your campaign-provisioning code for create operations using advertising_channel_type=SMART and advertising_channel_sub_type=SMART_CAMPAIGN before September 23.
  2. Keep legacy-management and new-creation capabilities separate; do not remove edit/reporting support just because new Smart Campaign creation is blocked.
  3. Choose a replacement campaign type based on the actual product workflow rather than automatically substituting Performance Max.
  4. Update error handling and customer-facing messaging so the post-cutoff API response produces a migration path instead of repeated failed retries.
  5. Test any replacement flow for required assets, conversion setup, bidding controls and reporting differences before changing the default for customers.

What changed

Google has set September 23, 2026 as the date when the Google Ads API will stop allowing creation of new Smart Campaigns. The cutoff was previously scheduled for August and was moved on August 13. Existing Smart Campaigns are not being shut down: they can continue serving and can still be updated through the API. Google recommends other campaign types such as Performance Max, Search or Demand Gen for new campaigns. In v24, attempted Smart Campaign create operations will fail with SmartCampaignError.CREATION_FAILED; v23 and earlier return OperationAccessDeniedError.CREATE_OPERATION_NOT_PERMITTED.

Why it matters

This is a breaking provisioning change for products and internal automation that create campaigns on behalf of small advertisers. It does not require an immediate migration of every existing Smart Campaign, but any workflow that assumes it can create one after September 23 will fail. Builders need to separate legacy campaign management from new-campaign creation and decide which replacement type matches the original product promise, because Performance Max, Search and Demand Gen have different inventory, controls and data requirements.

The cutoff affects creation, not existing campaign operation

Google is drawing a line between new Smart Campaign provisioning and management of campaigns that already exist. Existing Smart Campaigns will continue to serve and remain updatable, so migration pressure is concentrated in onboarding and campaign-creation flows rather than a forced shutdown of live campaigns.

API failures are version-specific

After the cutoff, v24 clients attempting to create a Smart Campaign receive SmartCampaignError.CREATION_FAILED. Google says v23 and earlier return OperationAccessDeniedError.CREATE_OPERATION_NOT_PERMITTED. Tools that surface generic provisioning errors should map these responses into an explicit product-level migration message rather than retrying the same request.

There is no one-to-one replacement

Google suggests Performance Max, Search and Demand Gen as alternatives, but those campaign types are not interchangeable. A SaaS product that previously sold a simplified Smart Campaign workflow needs to decide whether it wants cross-channel automation, search-specific control or demand-generation inventory and then collect the required assets, targeting and conversion signals accordingly.

Existing-campaign support creates a split architecture

For some time, platforms may need to support two paths: read and update legacy Smart Campaigns while creating new accounts or campaigns through a different type. That means data models, UI copy and reporting should avoid treating Smart Campaign support as a binary enabled/disabled feature.

What to watch next

  • Whether Google later announces a retirement path for existing Smart Campaigns, not just creation.
  • Whether UI-based Smart Campaign creation follows a different timetable from the API restriction.
  • Whether Google publishes migration tooling or mapping guidance for products that previously automated Smart Campaign onboarding.
  • How Google Ads API client libraries and third-party campaign-management platforms expose the cutoff.

Still unclear

  • Google’s current developer guidance blocks API creation but does not announce an end date for serving or updating existing Smart Campaigns.
  • The recommended alternatives are examples rather than a prescribed migration mapping, so replacement behavior depends on each advertiser’s goals and implementation.

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