TL;DR: Google’s latest update to Performance Max campaigns gives advertisers visibility into which search terms trigger their ads and allows campaign-level negative keywords for the first time. This marks the end of the “black box” era of PMax, offering increased control and transparency. Use search term reports to spot wasteful or irrelevant queries, apply negative keywords to block low-intent traffic, and align PMax with your broader search strategy to maximize ROI. The update blends PMax’s automation with the control of traditional campaigns, making it essential to revisit and optimize your PMax setup.
Google’s Performance Max (PMax) campaigns have long promised broad reach and automation, but until recently, they also came with a major blind spot: limited insight into how those results were achieved. That’s changing.
In an update that many PPC professionals have been waiting for, Google has now provided visibility into search term data within PMax, and more importantly, enables advertisers to apply negative keywords directly. (One note: while the PMax search terms report is out of beta, there was a bug that prevented it from rolling out completely. As of June 25th, that bug appears to be fixed.)
Here’s what this means — and how to leverage it.
Why Does This PMax Update Matter to You?
For years, Performance Max has operated largely as a “black box.” It delivered results by dynamically serving ads across all Google channels, and while this strategy serves as a great way to show your ads using one single campaign type, advertisers were blind to much of the data, including:
- Which search queries triggered their ads,
- Whether the budget was being spent on low-intent or irrelevant traffic,
- How to exclude poor-quality searches without applying negatives at the account level.
This lack of control and insight made many marketers hesitant to fully trust PMax, especially for campaigns with specific targeting, ROI goals, or high budgets. But now that is changing.
Performance Max New Features
Search Term Reporting Within PMax Campaigns
Google now offers a search term insights report for PMax, giving advertisers a clearer view into:
- The actual queries driving impressions and clicks
- Associated performance metrics like conversions and ROAS
- Trends over time to identify new opportunities or concerns
This is a big leap forward in transparency and a vital tool for optimization.
Campaign-Level Negative Keywords
This long-requested feature is now available: campaign-level specific negative keywords.
You can now:
- Add broad, exact, or phrase match negatives directly within a PMax campaign
- Exclude brand terms (if running separate brand campaigns)
- Prevent budget waste on irrelevant or low-quality queries
- Tighten intent targeting without losing scale
While account-level negatives were always possible (with assistance from a Google rep), this new functionality gives marketers much more granular control and doesn’t require a Google rep’s intervention.
Four Strategic Takeaways for Advertisers
Here’s how to make the most of these updates:
1. Revisit Your Existing PMax Campaigns
While not every PMax campaign may have these features available to them yet, you should begin checking and check often so you can run a search term report and look for:
- High-cost queries with low return
- Brand vs non-brand overlap
- Irrelevant matches that dilute performance
Start building your negative list based on those insights.
2. Align with Search Campaigns
Use negatives in your PMax campaigns to protect your branded Search campaigns and avoid cannibalization or overlap. You can also do the inverse by using PMax to harvest new long-tail queries and add them to your keyword campaigns.
3. Watch for Misleading Queries
With broader targeting, Google’s automation sometimes stretches intent and may violate the rules you may have in mind for your campaign. Look for signals like:
- Informational searches
- Job seekers
- Competitor names
- Unrelated products
Exclude these to optimize who sees your ads and where your budget goes.
4. Test & Monitor Closely
As with all automation, test before scaling. Monitor search terms weekly at first, and then once you are comfortable with your results, move to a monthly cadence. You can also iterate on negatives and refine your asset groups to steer machine learning.
Final Thoughts: A New Era of Performance Max?
This update signals something bigger: Google is listening and collaborating with advertisers.
Performance Max is evolving from a fully automated “trust us” tool into a more collaborative platform where machine learning and human oversight can coexist.
With search term insights and negative keywords, marketers get the best of both worlds:
- The scale and automation of PMax
- The control and visibility of traditional Search campaigns
It’s time to re-evaluate your PMax strategy, not just to react to these updates, but to take full advantage of them and, most importantly, your budget.
