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PolskiSmart Campaigns After 23 September 2026: API Creation Stops, Existing Campaigns Continue
Management Summary
Smart campaigns are an advertising campaign type in Google Ads. Since 23 September 2026, external management software can no longer create new ones, although existing campaigns can continue running and be edited. This matters for agencies that automatically set up advertising for new branches or clients. Alternative campaign types need a deliberate choice based on business goals. Moving to Performance Max initially creates an unfinished draft, so the advertising and budget still need review before launch.
Contents
Since 23 September 2026, the Google Ads API no longer creates new Smart campaigns. The API is the interface that lets other software manage an advertising account. Existing Smart campaigns can still be updated and can continue serving ads. Google initially announced 5 August, then moved the date to 23 September in an update on 13 August. The change stops creation through this interface; it does not switch off existing campaigns. [1]
Where an agency can notice the change
A fictional agency has two automated jobs. One adjusts the budget of an existing local-business campaign. The other creates a new campaign whenever a branch opens. Both use the same account connection, but only the second depends on the operation being removed. A successful login and working reports therefore do not prove that creating a campaign for a new customer still works.
Each automated job needs a separate entry stating whether it creates campaigns, changes budgets, retrieves reports or updates advertising materials. This makes the affected jobs visible. A successful report request, for example, says nothing about whether a campaign can be created for a new branch.
Finding the affected creation path
Google identifies the relevant creation requests through the combination of campaign channel type SMART and channel subtype SMART_CAMPAIGN. This is a precise starting point for reviewing source code, queued jobs and request logs. A name containing “smart” is not sufficient: Smart Bidding, Smart campaigns and Dynamic Search Ads are different concepts. [1]
Operation being reviewed: campaign creation
advertising_channel_type: SMART
advertising_channel_sub_type: SMART_CAMPAIGNA request blocked by a product restriction should not be retried indefinitely as though a temporary network failure had occurred. The workflow needs a recorded failure reason and a different campaign-creation path. Repeatedly changing authentication settings would address the wrong part of the system.
A new migration method creates a draft
Google Ads API v25.2 introduced GeneratePMaxDraftCampaign. The call creates a new Performance Max draft from an existing Smart campaign. The draft is paused (status = PAUSED) and not yet fully configured (creation_status = INCOMPLETE). Settings and advertising materials need review and completion before launch. [2, 3]
The response contains the technical identifiers of the new campaign, budget, asset group and individual assets. Assets are advertising materials such as text and images; an asset group brings those materials together. These identifiers belong in the migration log immediately. If the response is lost, whether Google has already created the draft remains unknown. A second call could then create another draft.
Validation and creation are separate steps
With validate_only: true, Google checks the request without creating a draft. The resource_name field identifies the settings of the existing Smart campaign. The following valid YAML shows the request data with fictional account numbers and the field names used in the API documentation. An actual request still requires authentication and a call to the API service.
resource_name: customers/1234567890/smartCampaignSettings/987654321
validate_only: true
gbp_enabled: false
image_enabled: falseThe current guide requires gbp_enabled and image_enabled to be omitted or set to false; true causes an error. These options do not yet provide automatic Google Business Profile transfer or image generation. The draft contains placeholder images. Before launch, suitable images need to be linked and the links to the placeholders removed. [2]
What belongs in the review before activation
Before the new branch campaign starts, the review needs to cover budget, advertised location, destination page and advertising materials. The conversion goal also needs to fit: should the campaign encourage submitted enquiries, for example, or merely page views? A technically valid request does not confirm that choice. This checklist is an editorial recommendation for operating the campaign.
The migration log also needs to record when the new campaign should start and the old campaign should pause. Creating a draft does not stop the old campaign. If both campaigns serve ads at the same time, additional spending can result. The previous settings should remain traceable for later corrections.
Performance Max is an option, not a universal substitute
The original announcement names Performance Max as an alternative and also mentions Search and Demand Gen depending on business goals. That is a planning choice rather than a mechanical field mapping. A workflow built for one campaign type cannot become suitable for another merely by changing the field that identifies the campaign type. [1]
Three separate tasks provide a starting point: replace the blocked creation call, keep monitoring existing campaigns and review new drafts before launch. A log containing campaign identifiers, results and unresolved errors shows which steps have already completed, even after an interruption.
Related tool
GoogleAds – GAQL Query Explorer
Questions and answers
How can the Smart campaigns in an account be listed?
GAQL is the Google Ads query language. This query lists campaign identifiers, names and status values, filtered to the SMART channel type: SELECT campaign.id, campaign.name, campaign.status FROM campaign WHERE campaign.advertising_channel_type = 'SMART'. The list shows which campaigns are candidates for a later migration; their IDs belong in the migration record before the first draft is created.
What helps prevent duplicate drafts after an interrupted call?
A missing response alone cannot establish that repeating the call will avoid duplicates. The workflow should therefore stop after an uncertain outcome. A practical sequence:
- Prevent concurrent migrations of the same source campaign, and record the account, campaign identifier and time before each run.
- Check the request with
validate_only: truefirst. Correct any reported error; repeated checks still need to respect the usual API limits. - Save the state “creation requested” before the actual creation call. After a successful response, persist the returned identifiers and set the state to “created”.
- After a timeout or interruption, set the state to “outcome unknown” and do not automatically request another draft. Reconcile the account and logs; an operational review is required if a definite match cannot be established.
change_status helps with the search, but cannot prove that no draft exists. Changes can take up to three minutes to appear. When several changes affect the same resource, only the latest change is shown; an added campaign can consequently appear as changed. A timestamp also does not uniquely link a draft to a particular job. After an uncertain outcome, automatic creation remains blocked until the existing draft or the confirmed failure of the call has been established. [4]
Sources
- Google Ads: Changes to Support for Smart Campaigns, updated 13 August 2026
- Convert Smart campaigns to Performance Max
- Google Ads API release notes, v25.2
- Google Ads API: Change Status
Sources checked: 25 October 2026.
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