Google Ads to remove campaign-level language targeting from Search and PMax campaigns

On 14 August 2026 Google Ads Product Liaison Ginny Marvin announced on LinkedIn that Google Ads would remove the language targeting setting from Search and Performance Max campaigns starting in September 2026, PPC Land reported. Google had originally planned the removal for the end of 2025 for Search only. Google said language will be detected automatically from the language of the ad creative and landing page, the language of the search term, and the user's language settings and preferences, including languages they regularly use or search in. When a query clearly uses one language, the system will prioritise the ad and landing page in that language. Marvin said the campaign-level setting had become redundant as language targeting evolved. Google does not translate ad creative, including AI Max text customisation, and single-language campaign structures will continue to work.

India is one of the most multilingual ad markets. Advertisers commonly run separate English, Hindi and regional-language campaigns, and users often search in Hinglish or switch between languages. Removing the manual setting means the language of your ads and landing pages now decides who sees them. A Punjabi-language landing page with English ads, or the other way round, could send mixed signals. Advertisers who relied on the setting to keep budgets separate by language need to check how their campaigns are built.

- Check that each campaign's ads and landing pages use the language you want to reach, and keep them consistent. - For Hindi or regional-language campaigns, write ad copy in that language rather than relying on English ads with a targeting setting. - Watch search terms reports after the change for queries in unexpected languages, and add negatives where needed. - Keep separate campaigns by language if you need separate budgets, since single-language structures still work.

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