Welcome to this week’s PPC Pulse. This week’s news centers around quite a few Google updates.

Google rolled out campaign total budgets in open beta, introduced a new Direct Offers pilot inside AI Mode, and confirmed several Shopping promotion policy updates taking effect in early 2026.

The updates affect how advertisers manage fixed promotional spend, how offers surface closer to purchase decisions, and which promotion types are eligible across Shopping campaigns. None of these changes fundamentally alter PPC strategy, but they do change how much manual effort is required to execute it.

Here’s what matters for advertisers and how these updates may show up in your accounts.

Google Ads Campaign Total Budgets Enter Open Beta

Google announced that campaign total budgets are now available in open beta for Search, Performance Max, and Shopping campaigns.

Instead of managing spend through daily budgets, advertisers can now set a fixed total budget for a campaign running between three and 90 days. Google will automatically pace spend to utilize the full budget by the end date, adjusting delivery based on demand rather than forcing spend at the beginning or end of the campaign.

This option is designed for short-term initiatives like promotions, seasonal pushes, and limited-time tests. Campaign total budgets are selected during campaign creation under the Budget settings.

Why This Matters For Advertisers

For advertisers running time-bound campaigns, this removes one of the most common operational pain points.

Promotional campaigns often require frequent budget adjustments to stay on pace. Teams check spend daily, increase budgets when delivery lags, and pull back when performance spikes unexpectedly. That process is time-consuming and introduces risk.

Total budgets move that work upstream. Advertisers commit to a spend ceiling upfront and allow the system to manage pacing across the campaign window.

This is especially relevant for:

• Retail promotions tied to approved media budgets.
• Short-term tests where overspend is not an option.
• Teams managing multiple campaigns with limited hands-on time.

That said, total budgets do not guarantee delivery. If demand is limited due to targeting, bids, or inventory, spend may still fall short. Advertisers should monitor early performance signals and be ready to adjust inputs if pacing lags.

What PPC Professionals Are Saying

Early reactions have been largely positive. Jyll Saskin Gales, Google Ads Coach, is “excited to see this launch,” while Sarah Stemen, president at Paid Search Association, emphasized her support if she were still working at a large agency, stating “her media planners would’ve loved this.”

Slight critiques came from Alexandru Stambari, performance marketing specialist at ASBC Moldova, stating:

Yes, this is certainly interesting. However, it would be much more valuable to have the ability in PMax to allocate budget across the placements that are most relevant to us, rather than being limited to YouTube and Search only.

Google Tests Direct Offers Inside AI Mode

Google announced a new pilot called Direct Offers, allowing advertisers to surface exclusive discounts directly within AI Mode experiences.

As more users turn to AI-powered search for product discovery, Google is testing ways to introduce offers at the moment when purchase intent is present but not fully committed.

Advertisers participating in the pilot can set up discounts within their campaign settings. Google’s AI determines when an offer is relevant enough to display based on the query and shopping context. The initial rollout focuses on discounts, with plans to support other value-based incentives such as bundles or free shipping.

Early partners include brands like Petco, e.l.f. Cosmetics, Samsonite, Rugs USA, and Shopify merchants.

Why This Matters For Advertisers

Direct Offers push promotions closer to the point of decision.

In traditional search flows, users often click through to evaluate price, shipping, and discounts on the site itself. Direct Offers reduce that friction by bringing the incentive into the discovery experience.

This pilot also ties into Google’s broader push toward streamlined commerce infrastructure, including its recent announcements around Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). UCP is designed to standardize how product data, pricing, and checkout signals work across Google surfaces.

Direct Offers appear to be one of the visible layers built on top of that foundation. If Google can reliably combine intent, availability, and incentives within AI-driven results, promotions become part of the buying signal rather than a post-click persuader.

For advertisers, this raises new questions:

• How often do offers influence visibility, and not just conversions?
• Will discounts become more tightly linked to eligibility?
• How can retailers balance promotional pressure with margin control?

This is not an indication that every brand needs to discount. But it does suggest that offer strategy is becoming more intertwined with how AI surfaces commerce results.

What PPC Professionals Are Saying

Early commentary among PPC professionals reflects both interest and practical questions about Direct Offers and how it will work in real accounts.

In her LinkedIn announcement, Ginny Marvin, Ads Product liaison at Google, described Direct Offers as a way for advertisers to present exclusive deals “less like a standard ad and more like a salesperson negotiating a deal on your behalf,” emphasizing that the system uses intent and context signals to decide when to surface offers.

A lot of questions came in around reporting, measurement, and control. Mark Preston, performance director at Herd, asked how much control advertisers will have over the discount, as well as if “context around variables like margin or inventory be layered in i.e. via feeds?” Heidi Sturrock, lead Google strategist at OMG Commerce, asked if advertisers could “see a glimpse of what types of reporting there will be.”

These early reactions suggest that while there is interest in what Direct Offers might enable, PPC professionals are already thinking about the practical mechanics of measuring impact, retaining control, and understanding the conditions under which offers appear.

Google Updates Shopping Promotions Policy

Google confirmed several updates to its Shopping promotions policy, effective January 2026.

Key changes include:

• Support for promotion of subscription fees.
• Allowing common promotional abbreviations such as BOGO, B1G1, MSRP, and MRP.
• Support for payment method-based promotions in Brazil.

Subscription-based businesses can now promote discounted plans or free trials by selecting “Subscribe and save” as the eligibility requirement in Merchant Center.

Examples include:

• First-month free subscription trials.
• Percentage discounts on multi-month subscription plans.

The abbreviation update allows advertisers to use commonly recognized promotional language without triggering policy issues. The payment method promotion update applies only to Brazil and includes incentives like cashback to digital wallets.

Why This Matters For Advertisers

These changes reflect a more practical approach to promotions.

Subscription businesses have historically faced limitations when promoting trials or discounted plans through Shopping. This update brings Shopping policies closer to how modern commerce operates.

The abbreviation support is also meaningful from an execution standpoint. Many advertisers already use these terms across paid social, email, and onsite messaging. Aligning Shopping policies reduces setup friction and approval delays.

For advertisers operating in Brazil, payment method promotions introduce a localized incentive lever worth testing.

None of these changes overhaul Shopping strategy, but they do make promotions easier to implement without workarounds.

Theme Of The Week: Spend Control Moves Upstream

This week’s updates show Google continuing to shift how and when advertisers control spend, particularly for promotions and short-term campaigns.

Total budgets ask advertisers to commit spend upfront while relying on automated pacing. Direct Offers test whether promotions can be injected closer to purchase without manual rules. Promotion policy updates remove friction around how offers are expressed and approved.

In each case, the mechanics are being smoothed out, but the strategic inputs still matter. Budget allocation, offer design, and eligibility choices continue to shape outcomes, even as the platforms handle more of the execution.

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