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Google Ads API removes shared ad functionality in October 2025

Google announces phased elimination of ad sharing feature, pushing advertisers toward asset-based advertising model by Q1 2026.

Luis Rijo

• 5 min read
Google Ads API
Google Ads API

Google announced on July 9, 2025, the upcoming deprecation of ad sharing functionality within the Google Ads API. According to the company's official developer blog, the ability to create shared ads will be removed completely with the October 2025 release of API version 22 on October 15, 2025.

The ad sharing feature allowed advertisers to create a single advertisement and deploy it across multiple ad groups simultaneously. Rather than building identical ads repeatedly for each ad group, the functionality enabled marketers to construct one ad and link it wherever needed. This approach provided efficiency for campaigns requiring consistent messaging across multiple ad groups.

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Summary

Who: Google Ads API developers, digital marketing agencies, e-commerce platforms, and software-as-a-service providers managing Google Ads campaigns programmatically

What: Deprecation of ad sharing functionality that allowed single advertisements to be used across multiple ad groups, forcing migration to unique ads per ad group and asset-based advertising formats

When: Announced July 9, 2025, with implementation beginning October 15, 2025, and complete elimination by Q1 2026

Where: Google Ads API platform affecting all versions and developers using shared ad functionality globally

Why: Alignment with Google's strategic shift toward asset-based advertising formats like Responsive Search Ads and Performance Max campaigns that use dynamic ad assembly from asset pools rather than static shareable ad objects

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Bob Hancock from the Google Ads API Team explained the technical specifics of the change: "With the October 2025 release of v22, the ability to create shared ads will be removed from all supported versions on October 15, 2025." The deprecation follows a structured three-phase timeline extending into the first quarter of 2026.

The elimination aligns with Google's strategic movement toward asset-based advertising formats. "This change aligns with the movement to Asset-Based Ads," Hancock stated in the announcement. The platform's future centers on formats like Responsive Search Ads and Performance Max campaigns. In these systems, advertisements are dynamically assembled from asset pools containing headlines, descriptions, and images, making static shareable ad objects less efficient.

Google's API versioning strategy typically maintains three major versions concurrently, with each version operating for approximately 12 months. The company releases new versions every three to four months on average. When newer versions launch, the oldest versions receive deprecation notices and sunset dates. This process ensures developers work with relatively current API versions while benefiting from latest features and security updates.

The deprecation impacts several technical workflows currently used by developers and advertising platforms. Current logic for shared ad creation involves three steps: creating an AdGroupAd containing an Ad, creating an AdGroup, and creating another AdGroupAd using the embedded Ad from the first step with the AdGroup from the second step. The third step represents the functionality Google will eliminate.

Developers must refactor their code to create unique ads for every ad group instead of sharing advertisements. The new compliant workflow requires loops that create distinct ads for each target ad group. Advertisers will no longer create standalone ads; instead, they must specify ad parameters as part of AdGroup creation processes.

Performance implications accompany the technical changes. Performance statistics including impressions, clicks, and conversions are tied to unique ads. New ads created during the migration will start with zero performance history. Historical data from existing shared ads will remain accessible but will not transfer to replacement ads.

The migration process requires developers to identify shared ads across their implementations. Google provides specific query syntax for locating ads shared across multiple ad groups. The query examines ad_group_ad.ad.id values associated with multiple ad_group.id entries to identify shared advertisements.

For each identified shared ad, developers must retrieve content including headlines and descriptions, plus lists of active ad groups. The migration involves creating new ResponsiveSearchAds within each affected ad group. Google recommends expanding beyond simple content copying when migrating from Expanded Text Ads, suggesting advertisers add more assets to leverage ResponsiveSearchAds' optimization capabilities.

ResponsiveSearchAd specifications allow up to five short headlines with 30-character limits, one long headline with 90-character capacity, and up to five descriptions with 90-character maximums. Google's best practices recommend providing all five short headlines, one long headline, and five descriptions to maximize automated optimization opportunities.

The implementation timeline provides structured migration periods. Phase one begins October 15, 2025, when new shared ad creation becomes impossible. Attempts to link single ads to new ad groups will generate errors, breaking automated tools and scripts using this functionality. Phase two covers the period between October 15, 2025, and Q1 2026, when existing shared ads continue serving normally without immediate action requirements.

Phase three occurs during Q1 2026 when Google automatically converts remaining shared ads. The automated process will keep original ads in ad groups with lowest ad group IDs. Other ad groups will receive new copies of original ads. Asset automation settings transfer to new ads, but machine-generated assets like automatically created headlines or images will not transfer. The system will create new asset sets for each copied ad, potentially affecting initial performance.

Legacy Expanded Text Ads still serving as shared ads require conversion to Responsive Search Ads with each shared instance assigned to single AdGroups. This conversion must occur before the automated migration period to ensure smooth transitions.

The change reflects broader industry trends toward automated campaign management and simplified workflow processes. Google's strategic direction emphasizes AI-powered optimization tools introduced throughout 2024 and 2025. Similar deprecations have affected other Google advertising platforms, including recent elimination of legacy ad customizers from Google Ads scripts on July 14, 2025.

The deprecation follows Google's pattern of systematic feature elimination to improve platform efficiency. Previous API changes have included conversion environment field requirements and regular version sunsets that force developer migrations to newer API versions.

Digital marketing agencies, e-commerce platforms, and software-as-a-service providers offering Google Ads management tools face potential disruptions without proper preparation. The changes affect businesses managing large-scale advertising operations where shared ads provided efficiency advantages for campaigns with consistent messaging requirements.

Google recommends manual migration over automatic conversion processes. Manual migration allows creation of ads with unique images and headlines tailored specifically to audiences in each ad group. More relevant advertisements typically generate better performance results compared to generic shared content.

The announcement provides developers with ample preparation time before the October 15, 2025 implementation. Google encourages starting audit processes immediately to identify shared ad usage and begin migration planning. The company recommends consulting official Google Ads API documentation and monitoring the Google Ads Developer Blog for additional details as implementation dates approach.

Asset-based advertising represents Google's long-term vision for campaign management. Dynamic ad assembly from asset pools enables more sophisticated optimization compared to static ad sharing approaches. Machine learning algorithms can test various asset combinations to identify optimal performance configurations for different audience segments and search contexts.

The elimination of ad sharing functionality underscores Google's commitment to automation-driven advertising solutions. While the change requires technical implementation effort from developers, it aligns with platform improvements designed to enhance campaign performance through advanced asset optimization capabilities.

Timeline