Google this week released version 24 of the Google Ads API, introducing a set of technical changes that touch cart data reporting, lead generation conversions, Shopping campaign targeting, and video ad controls. The announcement, published April 22, 2026, on the Google Ads Developer Blog by Anash P. Oommen of the Google Ads API Team, marks the second major release of 2026 under the monthly release cadence Google adopted in January.

The release carries breaking changes alongside additive features. Developers integrating with the API must upgrade client libraries and update code before relying on v24 functionality. Google has published updated client libraries and code examples alongside the announcement.

Cart data reporting gets a dedicated view

One of the more substantive additions in v24 is the new CartDataSalesView resource. Until now, conversion reporting through the API could segment metrics by the product a user clicked on. With this resource, developers can segment conversion metrics by the product actually sold - even when that product differs from the one featured in the ad that drove the click.

According to the release documentation, the view supports segments such as product_sold_brand, enabling advertisers to track what customers purchased after clicking through, regardless of which product the ad promoted. This matters in practice for retailers running broad catalog campaigns: a user might click an ad for a camera bag but purchase a lens, and the new view surfaces that outcome in reporting data.

v24 also introduces several non-biddable metrics - labeled with the "all" prefix, such as all_cost_of_goods_sold_micros - to all resources that already support corresponding biddable metrics. These metrics capture conversion activity from campaigns not actively optimizing for a given goal, which extends visibility into assisted conversion paths. The conversion_attribution_event_type segment has also been added to ShoppingPerformanceView, making it possible to distinguish cart data statistics generated by click-based versus view-through conversions within the same report.

As PPC Land has covered, the direction of API development over the past year has consistently pushed toward more granular visibility, with channel-level reporting for Performance Max introduced in v23 in January 2026. The cart data sales view follows that pattern by extending product-level transparency deeper into the post-click purchase funnel.

Nine new lead gen conversion types

Version 24 adds support for Lead Gen conversion types across three platforms and three funnel stages. The new ConversionActionType enumerations cover Google Analytics 4, Firebase Android, and Firebase iOS - each with three variants: generate lead, qualify lead, and close/convert lead.

The full list of new enums is:

  • GOOGLE_ANALYTICS_4_GENERATE_LEAD
  • GOOGLE_ANALYTICS_4_QUALIFY_LEAD
  • GOOGLE_ANALYTICS_4_CLOSE_CONVERT_LEAD
  • FIREBASE_ANDROID_GENERATE_LEAD
  • FIREBASE_ANDROID_QUALIFY_LEAD
  • FIREBASE_ANDROID_CLOSE_CONVERT_LEAD
  • FIREBASE_IOS_GENERATE_LEAD
  • FIREBASE_IOS_QUALIFY_LEAD
  • FIREBASE_IOS_CLOSE_CONVERT_LEAD

This structure allows developers to map conversion events to distinct stages of a lead pipeline, from initial contact through qualification to close. For B2B advertisers and service-sector companies managing multi-step sales processes, this gives the API the vocabulary to represent funnel progression programmatically, rather than treating lead events as a single undifferentiated conversion action.

Retail filter targeting for Shopping campaigns

A more complex addition arrives in the Shopping section: tag-based product filtering using logical expressions. The feature introduces two new criterion types, RETAIL_FILTER_BUNDLE and RETAIL_FILTER, along with RETAIL_FILTER as a new SharedSetType. The implementation allows AdGroupCriterion to reference a SharedSet of type RETAIL_FILTER via the retail_filter_bundle field, while SharedCriterion defines individual tag rules or expressions within that set.

Additional changes include RETAIL added to ListingGroupFilterListingSource and a new RetailFilter dimension in AssetGroupListingGroupFilter. According to the release notes, new error codes have been added to CriterionError and AssetGroupListingGroupFilterError for validation. This feature is only available to allowlisted users.

The practical utility is considerable for large-scale retail advertisers managing complex product catalogs. Rather than relying entirely on product group hierarchies built around fixed attributes like brand, category, or custom labels, advertisers with access to this feature can build shared filter sets based on tag logic and apply them across multiple ad groups. That reusability reduces duplication and offers more flexible product targeting without reconstructing listing group trees from scratch.

VTC optimization comes to Demand Gen and App campaigns

The new Campaign.view_through_conversion_optimization_enabled field, which defaults to false, enables View-Through Conversion (VTC) Optimization for Demand Gen and App campaigns. Before this update, VTC signals could be tracked and attributed, but they could not directly inform bidding optimization for these campaign types.

Enabling this field allows campaigns to factor in view-through conversions when optimizing bids, a capability that is particularly relevant for upper-funnel Demand Gen activity where users may see an ad, not click, and convert later. The role of Demand Gen within Google's campaign architecture has been evolving steadily, with Google positioning it as the primary visual surface for YouTube, Discover, and Gmail advertising following the phase-out of Video Action Campaigns.

Gender exclusions now available in Performance Max

Version 24 enables gender exclusions for Performance Max campaigns across all supported Google Ads API versions, not just v24. This means that accounts running older supported versions can also use this capability once it is enabled. The release notes confirm the exclusion is now available globally across API versions.

This follows the addition of age exclusions to Performance Max in 2025, which addressed a long-standing advertiser request for demographic controls in a campaign type that had historically resisted manual targeting constraints. Gender exclusion extends that control surface, though Performance Max still does not support positive demographic targeting in the same granular way as standard campaign types.

Video ad changes: required fields and mutable assets

The VideoResponsiveAdInfo object is now mutable in v24, a change that removes a previous constraint. To accompany that change, the fields videos, business_name, and logo_images are now marked as required in both VideoResponsiveAdInfo and DemandGenVideoResponsiveAdInfo. Developers upgrading from earlier versions will need to ensure these fields are populated in all relevant ad objects.

The ShareablePreviewService.GenerateShareablePreviews endpoint has also been updated to abandon partial failure handling. Previously, the service could return partial results when some IDs failed. Under the new behavior, a failure on any ID causes the entire request to throw an error. Two new error codes accompany this change: MutateErrorEnum.RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND replaces ShareablePreviewError.ASSET_GROUP_DOES_NOT_EXIST_UNDER_THIS_CUSTOMER, and ShareablePreviewError.TOO_MANY_RESOURCES_IN_REQUEST replaces ShareablePreviewError.TOO_MANY_ASSET_GROUPS_IN_REQUEST. Developers relying on partial failure to handle mixed-result preview requests will need to update their error handling logic.

Travel feed data now readable through the API

A new travel_feed_data field has been added to the AssetSet resource, exposing read-only travel feed information. The new field surfaces metadata including hotel_center_account_id, merchant_center_id, partner_center_id, subset_id, and travel_feed_vertical_type. Previously, this data was not directly accessible through the API, requiring workarounds or manual lookups for advertisers building programmatic travel campaign management.

Breaking changes require developer attention

Several removals in v24 require active code changes before upgrading. The Campaign.video_brand_safety_suitability field has been removed at the campaign level. According to the Google Ads Developer Blog, the control is still available at the customer level via Customer.video_brand_safety_suitability. Developers who set this field at the campaign level must migrate to the customer-level field.

The youtube_select_lineups field has been removed from ReachPlanService.ListPlannableProducts. Lineups are now available through youtube_select_lineup_targeting. Separately, is_brand_connect_creator has been removed from ContentCreatorInsightsService.GenerateCreatorInsights and ContentCreatorInsightsService.GenerateTrendingInsights. Developers should instead check whether a creator has the CREATOR_PARTNERSHIPS option in partnership_opportunities.

The KeywordPlanIdeaService.GenerateKeywordForecastMetrics method sees the largest structural change in the release. Multiple fields have been removed: CampaignToForecast.geo_modifiers[] is replaced by CampaignToForecast.geo_target_constants[]; ForecastAdGroup.biddable_keywords[] is replaced by ForecastAdGroup.keywords[]. Several other fields have been removed outright: CampaignToForecast.keyword_plan_network, CampaignToForecast.negative_keywords, ForecastAdGroup.max_cpc_bid_micros, ForecastAdGroup.negative_keywords, BiddableKeyword, CriterionBidModifier, KeywordForecastMetrics.impressions, and KeywordForecastMetrics.click_through_rate. According to the announcement, Google has "unified our forecasting infrastructure" and a detailed blog post explaining the method changes will be published separately.

Additional removals include the ad_sub_network_type segment from the campaign_budget resource, and the click_type segment from AdGroupAsset, CampaignAsset, and CustomerAsset views. The blog post notes that the click_type segmentation remains available in the ad_group_ad resource for ad performance detail.

Planning service additions

The ReachPlanService.ListPlannableProducts response now includes three new fields within a new ProductCoreAttributes structure: marketing_objective, cost_model, and buying_method. These supplement the existing ProductMetadata.plannable_product_descriptionfield, giving developers richer product metadata for planning integrations without requiring additional API calls.

Reporting additions

The new CartDataSalesView joins other reporting resources that have expanded significantly since v22, when the API added generative AI asset creation capabilities and several Performance Max-specific segments. In v24, the addition of non-biddable "all" metrics broadens what advertisers can see in reports without requiring separate queries for each optimization target.

Context for marketing developers

The v24 release arrives as the fourth major version under Google's monthly release schedule that began with v23 in January 2026. Under that structure, major versions are supported for one year after launch, meaning v24 will remain supported until approximately May 2027. Minor versions v24.1 and v24.2 are scheduled to follow in May and June 2026 respectively.

For teams managing large-scale Shopping campaigns, the retail filter feature - despite its allowlist restriction - signals a direction toward more expressive, reusable targeting logic. The cart data sales view, meanwhile, addresses a genuine gap in post-click attribution reporting that has limited how precisely retail advertisers could attribute revenue at the product level. And the nine new lead gen conversion types bring the API's vocabulary closer to the multi-stage pipeline structures that B2B and service-sector advertisers already manage in their CRM systems.

According to The Spend, a publication covering advertising investment trends, the programmatic advertising industry continues to demand more granular data access through API infrastructure as campaign management complexity increases. The trend toward richer API reporting - visible in v24's cart data additions - reflects that broader industry pressure.

Timeline

Summary

Who: Google's Ads API Team, led by Anash P. Oommen, developers using the Google Ads API, marketing technology vendors, retail advertisers, and B2B advertisers managing lead generation campaigns programmatically.

What: Google released version 24 of the Google Ads API, introducing the CartDataSalesView resource for product-sold reporting, nine new lead gen conversion type enumerations across Google Analytics 4 and Firebase, tag-based retail filter targeting for Shopping campaigns (allowlist only), VTC Optimization support for Demand Gen and App campaigns, gender exclusions for Performance Max across all supported versions, and multiple breaking changes to video ad objects, planning services, and keyword forecasting.

When: The release was announced and published on April 22, 2026. A live developer walkthrough was scheduled for April 23, 2026 at 10 a.m. Eastern Time on Discord, YouTube Live, and LinkedIn Live.

Where: The release applies to the Google Ads API globally. Documentation is available through the Google Ads Developer Blog and the Google Advertising and Measurement Developers Hub. Developers must upgrade client libraries to access v24 features.

Why: The release continues Google's monthly API cadence established in January 2026, which was designed to close the gap between features available in the Google Ads interface and features accessible programmatically. The specific additions in v24 address retail attribution gaps in cart data reporting, expand lead generation conversion tracking to GA4 and Firebase pipelines, and give advertisers more precise demographic exclusion controls in automated campaign types.

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