WTF has Google Been Doing This Week? 9 Nov 2026

Google wants to choose your creative. But does it know your brand?

Google is making it easier for Performance Max to find its own video content. Its new Sourced Videos feature uses AI to identify videos from approved sources, including social media platforms, campaign landing pages and linked YouTube channels, then automatically adds relevant assets to Performance Max campaigns. 

The feature is enabled by default for new Performance Max campaigns and may also have been automatically activated on some existing campaigns. Less time sourcing, formatting and uploading videos. More creative options for Google to work with. 

Sounds pretty convenient, right? 

But more creative doesn’t automatically mean better creative. 

There is a genuine opportunity here, particularly for advertisers who have plenty of existing video content but limited resources to turn it into paid media assets. 

However, there’s a difference between finding a video that is technically suitable for an ad placement and finding one that is right for the brand, audience and campaign. 

An organic social video might be great for engagement but completely wrong for an acquisition campaign. An old promotional video might still be available online but no longer reflect the current offer. And a piece of content that looks good in a YouTube placement might not translate particularly well elsewhere. 

Google is assessing relevance and performance potential. But it doesn’t necessarily understand the commercial or creative context behind every asset it finds. 

So, what are advertisers handing over? 

This is another step towards platforms taking greater control of campaign execution. We’re already seeing AI influence targeting, bidding, audience discovery and campaign optimisation. Now it’s increasingly involved in deciding which creative assets get used. 

We’re not against that. Anything that reduces repetitive work and helps advertisers get more value from their existing content is worth exploring, and right in our wheelhouse. 

But we don’t want to confuse creative volume with creative effectiveness. 

The strategy, brand standards and judgement around what should actually go live still need to sit with the advertiser and agency.  

Here’s what we’re checking in our clients’ accounts

• Campaign settings: Is Sourced Videos enabled in existing Performance Max campaigns, including any automatic activations? 
• Approved sources: Have we reviewed exactly which websites, social platforms and YouTube channels Google can draw from? 
• Creative suitability: Are the videos appropriate for paid advertising, rather than simply available online? 
• Brand consistency: Does the selected content reflect current brand guidelines, messaging, offers and positioning? 
• Creative performance: Are sourced videos actually contributing to stronger results, or simply increasing the number of assets in rotation? 
• Asset quality: Are we reviewing how videos appear across placements, formats and devices? 
• Control: Are we comfortable with the level of automation, and do we have a process for reviewing and removing unsuitable assets? 

So, what’s the opportunity?

The opportunity is to get more value from the content brands already have, without creating unnecessary production work. But AI can only work with the inputs and permissions we give it. Human judgement and context continues to remain so incredibly important. 

Contact us to make sure Google Ads automation is working for your business.