Since 12 October 2026, Google Ads can read the offers published on your website (discount, promo code, deal of the month) and show them in your ads, without you setting anything up. The feature is called automated promotions, it is on by default and can be switched off with one setting. If your site shows an expired deal or a wrongly calculated struck-through price, that is the first thing your prospects will see.
Google announced it by email to some advertisers, a message published by Search Engine Roundtable on 5 October 2026. According to that notice, the feature covers Search and Performance Max campaigns linked to location assets that do not yet have a manually added promotion asset. The Google Ads help page states that these promotions can come from your website "and other sources".
For a Belgian SME with a shop, a showroom or a practice, this is very concrete: your ads can carry an offer that nobody has reviewed.
If your site shows an expired deal, that is the first thing your prospects will see.
What Google actually does, and what it does not say
How the offer moves from your site to your ad
Google scans the landing pages of your ads, spots active offers (for example "20% off the winter collection") and turns them into a promotion asset shown under your ad. According to the documentation reported by the trade press, each promotion found is served for less than 24 hours before being checked again on the site.
What you will not see in the account
Added promotions appear in the Assets section, with "Google AI" in the "Added by" column. But Google warns that assets with zero impressions do not appear there: you only discover an offer once it has already been shown. And the setting applies to the whole account, with no campaign-level option.
It is the same logic as the AI that rewrites your ad copy, explained in our article on Google Ads and the AI that runs your campaigns: more automation, less control if nobody is watching.
Why this really matters in Belgium
The reference price rule
In Belgium, a price reduction announcement must comply with articles VI.18 and VI.19 of the Code of Economic Law, introduced by the law of 8 May 2022 transposing the European Omnibus directive. The struck-through reference price must be the lowest price applied during the previous 30 days. The Court of Justice of the European Union confirmed this in 2024 in the Aldi case, including for a discount shown as a percentage. These rules cover sales to consumers, not B2B.
If your page shows "30% off" calculated on an inflated old price, that error can now appear in Google, at the exact moment the prospect is comparing. The FPS Economy guidelines on these announcements are the document to keep at hand.
The three situations that cause problems
The forgotten deal: September's promotion is still at the top of the home page, and Google picks it up in October.
The conditional offer: "15% off from €500 spent" becomes a short label where the condition is hard to read.
The restricted discount: a discount for members or loyal customers, which Google presents as an offer open to everyone.
The same reflexes as for the mandatory information on your website apply: what is published commits the business, even when a robot is the one repeating it.
Leave it on or switch it off: how to decide
Leave it on if your site is well maintained
If your offers are rare, dated, removed the day they end and correctly calculated, the feature can help: a visible offer gives people a reason to click. A website where deals linger for months is not compatible with this setting.
Switch it off if you want to stay in control
The path, according to Google Ads help: Campaigns, Assets, three-dot menu, Account level automated assets, then Advanced settings. Select "Automated promotions" and turn it off. Alternative: create a promotion asset yourself in the relevant campaigns. Google does not replace it, and you choose the text, dates and conditions.
Frequently asked questions
I did not receive Google's email, am I affected?
Possibly. Google wrote to "some advertisers", and not receiving the email does not prove your account is out of scope. The criterion is a Search or Performance Max campaign with a location asset and no manual promotion.
Can Google invent a promotion that does not exist?
Google says it only uses valid offers found on your website or other sources. But an offer left online stays "valid" for the algorithm, even if it has expired for you. The only reliable protection is a site where every deal has an end date.
Does a promotion shown by Google commit my business?
The ad runs in your name, on your account. For the customer and for the Economic Inspection, it is your offer. Hence the value of deciding yourself rather than leaving the default setting.
Priority action plan
Check eligibility: find the Search and Performance Max campaigns linked to a location asset and without a promotion asset.
Filter on "Google AI": in Assets, add the "Added by" filter to see what Google has already added.
Review the deals on your site: remove expired offers and check every struck-through price against the 30-day rule.
Decide for the account: leave it on if the site is well maintained, otherwise switch it off and create your promotions manually.
Your ads draw more and more on the content of your website: the more accurate and up to date it is, the more automation works in your favour.
Want a fresh pair of eyes on your settings? We audit and manage Google Ads campaigns for Belgian SMEs, setting by setting.
Advertising
October 24, 2026
5 min read
