Text guidelines are a campaign-level control in Google Ads that tells Google's generative systems what not to write when they produce ad copy on an advertiser's behalf. They apply to Performance Max campaigns and to Search campaigns running AI Max, and they take two forms: term exclusions, a list of words and phrases that must never appear, and messaging restrictions, plain-language instructions about concepts, claims or tone to avoid. The feature exists because Google now writes a growing share of the headlines and descriptions in those campaigns itself, and advertisers wanted a way to keep that copy within legal, brand and regulatory limits without switching the automation off.

Google introduced the feature on September 10, 2025. As of October 2026 it is still labelled an "experimental beta" on Google's help page, and Google has said it will fold it into a broader tool, AI Brief.

Where text guidelines sit

Text guidelines do nothing on their own. They act only on copy produced by text customization, the AI Max setting formerly called automatically created assets. According to Google's help documentation, text customization builds extra headlines and descriptions from an advertiser's landing pages, existing ads and keywords, and refreshes them at least every 48 hours. Google calls the output Google-optimized text assets, and the help page is blunt about the dependency: "You must have text customization set to 'ON' to use text guidelines."

In Performance Max, the control sits inside brand guidelines, the campaign-level settings for business name and logo that Google made the default for new UI campaigns during 2025. Existing campaigns reach text guidelines through Settings, Campaign settings, Brand guidelines, under "Brand identity". In Search, the advertiser must first opt in to AI Max; text customization is then on by default, and an "Add text guidelines" option appears in the asset optimization panel.

The settings can be managed in the Google Ads interface, Google Ads Editor and the Google Ads API, according to Google. The API reference lists a Campaign.TextGuidelines object with a nested MessagingRestriction type; Google has not published, in the release notes reviewed for this article, which API version first carried it.

How the two controls work

Term exclusions are literal. An advertiser enters up to 25 words or phrases per campaign, and generated assets containing them are blocked. Matching is not case sensitive. Google's examples include "Cheap" and "Cheapest in Paris". The original PPC Land report described the matching as exact, with no partial-word blocking or pattern matching. Exclusions are also language-specific. An English term does not block its Japanese or German equivalent. They cannot block prices: entering a currency symbol such as "$" does not work, and Google directs advertisers to a messaging restriction instead.

Messaging restrictions are interpreted rather than matched. Up to 40 are allowed per campaign, each written as a sentence. Google's documented examples include "Don't imply our products are discounted", "Don't generate assets with prices" and "If promoting a discount, always include 'T&C apply'". Unlike term exclusions, a restriction written in English applies to assets generated in other languages in the same campaign, so one rule can govern German and Dutch copy. Restrictions can also define a tone of voice, and Google says adding examples improves results.

The documentation sets out what the model will not accept:

  • Compound rules. One restriction should carry one instruction.
  • Conditional wording. "Mention free shipping whenever possible" is rejected as too soft; the model only handles firm requirements.
  • Subjective goals. "My ads should bring joy" is Google's own example of an instruction unlikely to produce consistent output.
  • Targeting. Rules such as "Don't target purely informational queries", or messaging aimed at a particular age group or location, are out of scope because text guidelines govern asset generation only. Separate ad groups or campaigns are the documented route.

When guidelines are added or changed, existing Google-optimized assets that no longer comply stop serving and are marked as removed. Google warns that "adding inefficient or counterintuitive guidelines may cause removal of a large number of good text customization assets". Compliance is checked after the fact, in asset reporting.

A worked example shows the division of labour. A bank might exclude "guaranteed" and "risk-free", and add the restriction "Don't state or imply an interest rate". The exclusions are caught by string matching, in English only. The restriction depends on Google's model reading intent in every language the campaign serves.

Origin and evolution

The control grew out of advertiser resistance to automated copy. Google began requiring brand guidelines in new Performance Max campaigns on January 20, 2025, after announcing them on December 18, 2024. AI Max for Search followed as a beta on May 6, 2025, bundling search term matching with text customization and final URL expansion, according to Google's implementation guide.

Text guidelines were announced at Google's Think Week event on September 10, 2025, with Ginny Marvin, Google's Ads Product Liaison, saying on LinkedIn that the feature "will start rolling out to more advertisers this fall." Brandon Ervin, Director of Product Management at Google Ads, said it would help advertisers "create even more brand-safe creative, steering Google AI to create high-performing text assets." A limited beta appeared in accounts in October 2025, according to PPC News Feed.

The sources disagree on when language coverage widened. PPC News Feed reported on January 23, 2026 that the feature had moved from English, then seven further languages, to all supported languages. Google's own blog post of February 26, 2026, by Group Product Manager Rushil Grover, presented "full language and vertical support" as part of that day's global beta expansion to all advertisers. In April 2026, advertisers gained a "Copy guidelines from existing campaign" option, first spotted by paid media specialist Arpan Banerjee, according to Search Engine Land.

The next step was announced on April 30, 2026. AI Brief adds positive instructions on what ads should say, "matching guidelines" for which searches to pursue or avoid, and audience guidelines. Google said existing text guidelines "will automatically move to messaging guidelines within AI Brief." Google extended AI Max, including text customization, to Shopping campaigns, and Google Ads Editor 2.13 lists text guidelines among the AI Max for Shopping controls.

Why it matters to marketers

Text guidelines are the main lever advertisers hold over copy they did not write. That lever became more important on September 1, 2026, when Google began moving campaigns that used automatically created assets into AI Max with text customization on by default, a change PPC Land covered alongside industry worries that ads would all start to look alike. Every campaign pulled into text customization is a campaign where generated headlines can run, and where text guidelines are the only pre-emptive filter short of opting out.

For regulated categories such as finance and health, the stakes are compliance rather than tone. Google's only published evidence is a case study in which BYD reported 24% more leads at 26% lower cost using AI Max with text guidelines and related controls, with no measurement period or control group given.

Limitations and disputes

The control is reactive and narrow. It can veto copy but, until AI Brief, could not instruct the system on what to say. A 25-term cap is small for brands with long compliance lists, and because exclusions are language-specific, a multilingual advertiser must spend that allowance on translations. Messaging restrictions rely on a model's undocumented reading of intent.

Google's own labelling is inconsistent. The text guidelines help page calls the feature an "experimental beta", while the text customization page calls it a "pilot feature". Both warn of limits on its capabilities. Overly strict rules carry a cost Google itself flags, removal of good assets, with no published data on its size.

The broader dispute concerns AI Max itself. In November 2025, Smarter Ecommerce found AI Max conversions at roughly 35% lower return on ad spend than broad, phrase and exact match across more than 250 retail campaigns. Text guidelines govern what generated copy says, not whether the traffic converts.

Text guidelines and related terms

  • Brand guidelines. The Performance Max container for business name and logos, set at campaign level. Text guidelines sit inside it in Performance Max but control generated wording, not visual identity.
  • Negative keywords and brand exclusions. These decide which searches trigger an ad. Text guidelines decide what the ad says once it is triggered. Microsoft Advertising, which brought AI Max to all accounts on August 19, 2026, offers term exclusions for text generation but has not documented an equivalent of messaging restrictions.
  • AI Brief messaging guidelines. The successor container. Messaging guidelines cover what ads should and should not say, and existing text guidelines are due to migrate into them.
  • Other senses. Outside Google's AI controls, "text guidelines" can mean editorial rules on ad copy, such as character limits and capitalisation, or Facebook's former rule penalising ad images with more than 20% text, which the company dropped in September 2020 along with its Text Overlay tool, according to Social Media Today.

Recent developments

October 2026 has tied text guidelines more closely to pre-launch review. Google added text customization asset previews for AI Max for Search, showing up to 10 sample headlines and descriptions, usually generated in under 30 seconds, without requiring an opt-in, according to Search Engine Roundtable on October 9. Previews are filtered by any text guidelines in place. On September 23, Google said AI Brief's closed beta was expanding to Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish, and that it would share "additional details and availability later this year." Performance Max and AI Max for Shopping have no AI Brief date.

Timeline

  • September 22, 2020 - Facebook ends its 20% image text penalty and retires the Text Overlay tool (other sense).
  • December 18, 2024 - Google announces brand guidelines for Performance Max.
  • January 20, 2025 - Brand guidelines become required for new UI-created Performance Max campaigns.
  • May 6, 2025 - AI Max for Search enters beta, with text customization replacing automatically created assets.
  • July 14, 2025 - Google completes the Performance Max brand guidelines rollout for new UI campaigns.
  • September 10, 2025 - Text guidelines announced at Think Week, with 25 term exclusions and 40 messaging restrictions per campaign.
  • October 2025 - Limited beta spotted in advertiser accounts.
  • November 2025 - Google publishes the full text guidelines help page.
  • January 23, 2026 - Expansion to all supported languages reported.
  • February 26, 2026 - Beta opened to all advertisers globally for AI Max for Search and Performance Max.
  • April 2026 - Copying guidelines between campaigns spotted.
  • April 30, 2026 - Google announces AI Brief, with text guidelines to migrate into messaging guidelines, and AI Max for Shopping.
  • August 19, 2026 - Microsoft Advertising extends AI Max, with term exclusions for text generation, to all accounts.
  • September 1, 2026 - Google begins auto-upgrading eligible Search campaigns to AI Max with text customization on by default.
  • September 23, 2026 - AI Brief closed beta expands to seven more languages.
  • October 9, 2026 - Text customization previews, filtered by text guidelines, reported live.

Summary

Who: Google built and operates text guidelines; advertisers running Performance Max or AI Max for Search set them, and Google's generative models apply them.

What: A campaign-level control with up to 25 literal term exclusions and up to 40 natural-language messaging restrictions that filter Google-optimized text assets.

When: Announced September 10, 2025, opened to all advertisers globally on February 26, 2026, and scheduled to migrate into AI Brief's messaging guidelines, which remained in closed beta as of October 2026.

Where: In Google Ads campaign settings, inside brand guidelines for Performance Max and the asset optimization panel for AI Max Search, and in Google Ads Editor and the API.

Why: Google writes a growing share of ad copy through text customization, and advertisers need a way to keep banned words, unapproved claims and off-brand tone out of it without giving up the automation.