Google Performance Max enables sourced videos by default — and may switch on existing campaigns

Google's October 2026 Performance Max documentation introduces a 'Sourced videos' asset-optimisation setting that automatically discovers and reuses eligible videos from sources an advertiser approves, including social platforms, landing pages and linked YouTube channels. It is enabled by default on all newly created campaigns; Google warns it may also have been switched on automatically for some existing campaigns. The staged rollout requires daily budgets greater than US$5 and source approval, and can add up to ten crawled videos per asset group.

A campaign can start incorporating creative that was originally published elsewhere, and existing campaigns may have the setting enabled without an advertiser manually choosing it. That changes the review and provenance workflow for small advertisers, agencies and brands: approving a source can let Google's system choose which assets enter ads. Operators need to inspect the campaign-level toggle, source permissions, asset list and resulting performance rather than assuming only uploaded creative will run.

Google says sourced videos are on by default for new Performance Max campaigns and may have been automatically enabled on some existing campaigns. The system cannot freely take any public video: the advertiser must approve source URLs, and a campaign-level checkbox can turn the feature off. Rollout is sequential, so the setting is not necessarily visible in every account yet. Search Engine Roundtable documented October 23 UI sightings and linked Google's revised help page.

Approved inputs may include social media platforms, a campaign landing page and a linked YouTube channel. Google AI selects material based on relevance, predicted performance and formatting suitability, refreshes it periodically, and can add up to ten crawled videos per asset group alongside manually uploaded or AI-generated assets. Deleting a video from its original platform removes it from Google Ads automatically, according to Google's documentation.

Google says sourced videos are uploaded to a dedicated Google-owned YouTube channel branded with the advertiser's logo and business name, with viewers directed to the landing page. The daily campaign budget must exceed US$5, and the setting is currently rolling out. That is operationally distinct from an advertiser uploading a video to their own YouTube channel.

In a Performance Max campaign, open Asset optimisation, inspect the Sourced videos checkbox and Manage sources, then review the Assets list for sourced entries and their performance. Teams managing many client accounts should include source approvals and creative provenance in their campaign change logs. This October sourced-video change is separate from Google's December 4 image-extraction default, which concerns website images rather than crawled videos.