On October 21, 2026, Google announced that image extraction will be on by default for new Performance Max campaigns starting December 4, 2026. Image extraction means Google looks at the landing pages in your campaign, picks out high-resolution photos and uses them in your ads.
The part that catches people out: the new default applies even if you switched off dynamic images for your whole account. Until now, a campaign with no setting of its own followed the account. From December 4, a new campaign starts opted in and you have to opt it out yourself.
If you run Google Ads, or someone runs them for you, here is what changes and what I'd check.
What changes on December 4
- New Performance Max campaigns start with image extraction turned on.
- The account setting no longer protects you for those new campaigns. Dynamic images being off at the account level does not stop it.
- Existing Performance Max campaigns keep their current configuration. Nothing to rebuild.
- Every way of creating a campaign is affected: the Google Ads website, Google Ads Editor and the Google Ads API.
Google says extracted images can appear across Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail and Maps. So a photo on your service page could end up in an ad on any of them.
Why this is a photo question, not just an ads setting
Google's own announcement tells advertisers to confirm they hold the rights to their landing page images and permission for Google to use them for commercial and advertising purposes. Having a photo on your website does not always mean you can put it in an ad. Some examples of photos worth a second look:
- A customer's house or project that they agreed to let you show on your site.
- A photographer's shots, licensed for your website under terms that may not cover ads.
- Stock photos, where the license may treat ads differently from web pages.
- Staff photos from your About page that nobody signed off on for advertising.
None of these is automatically a problem. The point is to decide on purpose, before Google decides for you on the next campaign.
What to check
- See your account setting. Google gives this path: Campaigns, then Assets, then More, then Account-level automated assets, then Advanced settings. Check whether “Dynamic images” is on or off. Remember it will not carry over to new Performance Max campaigns after December 4.
- List your landing pages. Every page a Performance Max campaign sends people to is a page Google can take photos from. Look at the photos on each one.
- Decide per campaign. If you want Google using those photos, you don't have to do anything. If you don't, opt the new campaign out of image extraction when you create it, then open the campaign afterwards and confirm the setting stuck.
- Tell whoever builds your campaigns. If an agency or a tool creates campaigns for you, give a clear instruction. “Leave it how it was” is not the same as “opt out.”
- Write the choice down. Note which pages you reviewed and who approved the photos, so the next campaign doesn't start from guesswork.
For agencies and anyone creating campaigns through the API
Google's post names the setting. It lives in campaign.asset_automation_settings on the campaign, with the type GENERATE_IMAGE_EXTRACTION and a status of OPTED_IN or OPTED_OUT. To opt a new campaign out, include GENERATE_IMAGE_EXTRACTION with OPTED_OUT in the request that creates it. Google says to update those creation requests before December 4, 2026.
One trap Google calls out: updating this field replaces the whole list. If you change it on an existing campaign, read the current entries first, such as TEXT_ASSET_AUTOMATION, and send them back with your change, or you will clear them. To audit, query campaign.asset_automation_settings for PERFORMANCE_MAX campaigns. A campaign with no GENERATE_IMAGE_EXTRACTION entry is still following the account setting.
The checklist
- Account-level Dynamic images setting checked
- Landing pages for each Performance Max campaign listed
- Photos on those pages checked for ad use rights
- Decision made: allow or opt out on new campaigns
- Agency or tool told the decision in writing
- New campaign settings confirmed after creation
Where the website comes in
With image extraction on, your landing pages do two jobs: they supply pictures for the ad, and they still have to turn the click into a call or a quote request. Clear photos you own, a phone number that's easy to tap and a page that loads fast on a phone help with both. If you want us to look at yours, send it over and we'll tell you what we'd fix first. Our lead checklist covers what we look at.
Questions
What is Google Ads image extraction?
Google scans the landing pages in your campaign for high-resolution images and uses them as ad images. Google says those images can show across Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail and Maps.
Does this change my existing Performance Max campaigns?
No. Google says existing Performance Max campaigns keep their current configuration. The new default applies to Performance Max campaigns created on or after December 4, 2026.
I turned off dynamic images for my account. Am I covered?
Not for new campaigns. Starting December 4, a new Performance Max campaign starts opted in even when dynamic images are off at the account level. You have to opt out on the campaign itself.
Does it apply if my campaigns are built by software or an agency?
Yes. Google says the default applies in the Google Ads website, Google Ads Editor and the Google Ads API, so campaigns created by tools and agencies are included.
Sources
Drafted with AI assistance and checked against Google's announcement on November 13, 2026.
