# Microsoft Ads Performance Max: Assets, Products and Controls

> Govern Microsoft Performance Max assets, product selection, signals and current rollout-specific reporting controls.

Source: https://mentionx.ai/learn/microsoft-ads/microsoft-ads-performance-max-controls  
Author: Dipuck Jones, founder of MentionX  
Updated: 8 November 2026  
Level: Practitioner

**Microsoft Performance Max combines eligible Microsoft inventory around a chosen objective, assets and optional product data. Govern its real controls and current rollout state rather than importing Google's feature list or assuming that audience signals restrict who can see ads.**

> **Key takeaways**
> - Microsoft Performance Max currently does not support video assets in its creation documentation.
> - Product selection and Merchant Center binding require explicit review before saving.
> - Search themes and audience signals guide automation; they are not ordinary keyword or audience restrictions.
> - October 2026 updates distinguish available reports from pilots, rollouts and future features.

*Checked 8 November 2026 (CET) against Microsoft Performance Max help, bidding guidance and the 28 October 2026 product update. Recommendations are editorial judgement. Ledgerline's campaign, products and decisions are fictional and illustrative.*

## What role should Performance Max have?

Define the business question before selecting the campaign type. A merchant may want to test whether automated delivery adds profitable orders beyond an established Search and Shopping programme. A lead-generation advertiser may want qualified enquiries across eligible Microsoft contexts. These are hypotheses, not outcomes guaranteed by the product name.

Microsoft Performance Max operates across eligible Microsoft Advertising inventory, including Search, Audience and product advertising contexts. It does not manage Google, Meta or every external advertising platform. Microsoft's overview also makes clear that Netflix is not Performance Max inventory.

Avoid treating automation as a substitute for a coherent offer. The campaign still needs truthful assets, appropriate destinations, reliable goals and an approved budget. An automated campaign with a misleading purchase signal can efficiently optimise the wrong event.

The [Google Performance Max course lesson](https://mentionx.ai/learn/google-ads/google-ads-performance-max-controls) explains related concepts. It is not a Microsoft specification. In particular, Google's video, reporting, channel-control or quota guidance should not be copied into this account without Microsoft evidence.

## What must you decide before creating it?

Choose the objective, budget, conversion architecture, market and whether the campaign will use Microsoft Merchant Center products. Microsoft documents consequences for store selection: an existing store binding is not freely interchangeable, and a non-product campaign cannot simply be assumed to accept a store later without a new campaign.

If products are included, review the default product population. All products can be eligible unless filters or listing groups narrow the selection. A campaign intended for cable-management accessories should not accidentally include low-stock planners or unrelated collections.

Inspect the actual bid strategy after creation. Microsoft's documentation describes a Maximize clicks fallback when suitable conversion goals are not configured, with possible later switching as qualifying data becomes available. Do not call a campaign value-optimised merely because that was the original intention.

Record the included goals, value basis and expected feedback delay. If an offline qualified-enquiry goal is used, the upload process is part of campaign readiness. A conversion-focused label does not establish that data is arriving accurately or on a useful cadence.

## How should asset groups be designed?

Build groups around coherent products, offers and destinations that can truthfully combine. A group should give the system compatible text and images, not a mixture of unrelated propositions whose combinations become confusing.

Microsoft's current creation documentation states that Performance Max does not support video assets. Do not instruct marketers to upload a video as though Microsoft's workflow mirrors Google's. Audience online-video campaigns are a different product route with their own setup and governance.

| Input | Useful purpose | Boundary to preserve |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Text and images | Represent a coherent offer | Every generated combination must remain truthful |
| Product listing groups | Select eligible catalogue offers | Default all-product inclusion needs review |
| Audience signals | Suggest useful customer context | Signals do not define an exclusive audience |
| Search themes | Guide relevant search understanding | They are not standard match-type keywords |
| Final URL and expansion settings | Connect intent to an appropriate page | Expansion can broaden destination selection |

Keep rights, product accuracy and market conditions in the asset review. Images that imply a bundle when only one item is sold can mislead regardless of campaign automation. Track generated and supplied assets separately so responsibility remains clear.

## How do destination and text controls work?

Review final URL expansion, generated text and image automation as separate choices. An asset group's nominal final URL does not necessarily describe every destination if expansion is enabled. Exclude or otherwise constrain inappropriate pages through the supported controls and verify actual behaviour.

Microsoft's creation documentation places tracking in campaign URL options rather than allowing arbitrary UTM tags or tracking templates in the asset-group final URL. Follow the current interface and documentation; do not paste a Google tracking recipe into a field with different restrictions.

Check the relationship between the final URL domain and the selected store when product data is involved. A convenient campaign destination on another domain may not satisfy the documented requirements. Resolve the merchant and destination architecture before asking the operator to work around a validation error.

Generated text and term exclusions are not a complete legal review. A term exclusion can prevent particular wording while leaving a broader unsupported implication possible. Maintain a claim ledger, source-page review and human approval process alongside whatever automated controls the account exposes.

## Which targeting and exclusion controls are actually available?

Distinguish signals from boundaries. Audience signals and search themes help the system find opportunities; they do not prove that delivery is limited to the supplied list or phrases. A customer-acquisition goal likewise needs verified feature access and appropriate customer definitions, not just a persuasive campaign name.

Review account-level negatives and any available campaign-level negative controls in the current setup. Microsoft's creation guidance and older overview material can describe different stages of control availability. Inspect the actual supported interface and scope rather than repeating an outdated blanket rule that only account negatives exist.

Brand controls also require current access checks. Do not promise that every advertiser has every brand-exclusion refinement. The October update identifies specific text-only brand-control refinements and audience exclusions as pilot features, distinct from broader campaign availability.

Website exclusions have limitations, including first-party inventory that may not be individually excludable. Do not promise a Bing-only or fully domain-selectable Performance Max configuration. If a required placement restriction cannot be enforced, reconsider whether this campaign type is appropriate for the business obligation.

## What changed in October 2026?

Microsoft's 28 October update is useful because it distinguishes release states. It announces generally available Performance Max age and gender controls, describes device targeting as rolling out over the coming weeks and identifies audience exclusions as an open pilot. These are not equivalent availability claims on 8 November.

The same update says Performance Max search-term and auction-insights reports are available. However, the search-term landing-page report is described as starting in mid-November. As of this lesson's check date, that future rollout should not be presented as universally available.

Do not confuse the future Performance Max landing-page report with existing Search AI Max reporting. Similar report names can refer to different campaign products and release schedules. A marketer should record the campaign type, exact report and account access before promising a dashboard.

Messaging guidelines for Performance Max and Search with AI Max are also described as an open pilot. If available, they can support brand steering, but they are not a guarantee that every generated statement meets policy or internal approval standards. Recheck these volatile features at implementation time.

## How should you evaluate the campaign?

Set a business outcome, evidence window and comparison before launch. For a merchant, evaluate valid purchases, consistent revenue, contribution context and customer quality. A favourable platform return can include existing brand demand or returning customers, so do not automatically call it incremental acquisition.

Review available search terms, product diagnostics, asset sources and destination evidence together. No single report reveals the full decision process. Document gaps, especially where rollout state or aggregation prevents the requested breakdown.

Compare against an appropriate baseline or controlled design where feasible. Do not assume the native Search experiment tool can test every Performance Max configuration. If only observational comparison is possible, record concurrent changes and avoid a causal claim.

> **Pro move:** Maintain a release-state column for every requested control: generally available, account-verified, rolling out, pilot or future. This prevents product-news language from becoming an unsupported launch promise.

## How should a new-customer objective be reviewed?

If the account exposes a new-customer acquisition option, verify its current mode, eligibility and required customer definitions before using it. Do not assume every Performance Max account has identical access or that an audience signal is an enforceable existing-customer exclusion. Record how the business defines a new customer and which approved data source supports that definition.

Then review the economics. A willingness to spend more for a new customer needs evidence of contribution, retention or strategic value, not merely a larger acquisition label. Keep estimated future value separate from observed order value and confirm that the campaign's supplied values do not double count both.

Finally, define the reporting check: which outcomes can be classified with confidence, which remain uncertain and how privacy-limited matching affects interpretation. A platform setting can support the objective without proving that every attributed order came from a genuinely new customer. The approval should preserve that limitation rather than promising a perfectly exclusive acquisition programme.

## Worked example: Ledgerline

Ledgerline proposes an illustrative Performance Max campaign for cable-management products. Its draft includes the entire catalogue, a video file copied from a Google brief and an audience list described as an exclusive buyer segment. The reporting brief also expects the new landing-page report immediately.

Review corrects all four assumptions. The team plans explicit listing groups, removes the unsupported Performance Max video requirement, labels audiences as signals and records the mid-November report as a future dependency rather than an available dashboard.

### Walkthrough

1. State the campaign's commercial role and approved outcome definition.
2. Verify store selection, product filters and the consequences of the binding.
3. Build compatible text and image assets using current Microsoft support.
4. Inspect actual bidding, goals and any fallback state before serving.
5. Review URL expansion, generated text, negatives and available brand controls.
6. Record pilot and rollout access separately from generally available features.
7. Prepare an evaluation plan using reports actually available in the account.

The example is an acceptance review, not evidence that Performance Max will outperform another campaign type or appear on every Microsoft surface.

## Common mistakes

Copying Google's asset checklist can introduce unsupported video instructions. Calling search themes keywords or signals exclusive audiences overstates control. Assuming all catalogue items are intended for advertising can expose products the merchant never approved.

Another mistake is treating a product announcement as proof that a feature has reached every account. Distinguish published availability, account visibility and verified operation. Finally, do not equate attributed return with incremental profit without examining brand demand, repeat customers and the actual revenue basis.

## Try it yourself

Create a Performance Max acceptance sheet with objective, store, product set, assets, goals, strategy, budget, URL controls, exclusions and reporting. Add a release-state column for device controls, audience exclusions, brand refinements, messaging guidelines and landing-page reporting.

Mark each requirement as essential or optional. If an essential control is unavailable, write a safer alternative campaign design rather than assuming the rollout will arrive before launch. Use fictional products and leave all live settings unchanged during the exercise.

## Quick quiz

**1. Does current Microsoft Performance Max creation support video assets?**

*Answer:* No. The documentation checked for this lesson says video assets are not currently supported in that workflow.

**2. Do audience signals restrict delivery to the supplied audience?**

*Answer:* No. They guide automation and are not equivalent to an exclusive audience-targeting boundary.

**3. Was the Performance Max search-term landing-page report universally available on 8 November 2026?**

*Answer:* No. The 28 October update described its rollout as starting in mid-November, so it remained a future availability check.

## What should be rechecked before publication or launch?

Recheck current asset support, store constraints, bidding state, exclusion scope and rollout-specific controls. Preserve the check date so a future reader can distinguish the lesson's verified state from later product changes.

Previous: [Microsoft Ads Shopping: Merchant Center and Feed Operations](https://mentionx.ai/learn/microsoft-ads/microsoft-ads-shopping-merchant-center-feeds) · Next: [Microsoft Audience Campaigns: Native, Display and Online Video](https://mentionx.ai/learn/microsoft-ads/microsoft-ads-audience-native-display-video)

Or return to the [Microsoft Ads for Marketers track](https://mentionx.ai/learn/microsoft-ads/microsoft-ads-for-marketers).

Related: [Microsoft Ads Budgets and Bidding: Pacing With Reliable Goals](https://mentionx.ai/learn/microsoft-ads/microsoft-ads-budgets-bidding-pacing) · [Microsoft Ads Shopping: Merchant Center and Feed Operations](https://mentionx.ai/learn/microsoft-ads/microsoft-ads-shopping-merchant-center-feeds) · [Microsoft Ads AI Max and Copilot: Governed Paid Discovery](https://mentionx.ai/learn/microsoft-ads/microsoft-ads-ai-max-copilot-paid-discovery)

## Common questions

**Does Microsoft Performance Max currently accept video assets?** The creation documentation checked on 8 November 2026 says it does not. Do not copy Google video instructions into the Microsoft workflow.

**Do audience signals restrict Performance Max to that audience?** No. Signals guide automation and are not equivalent to an exclusive targeting boundary. Verify separate controls and their current availability.

**Was the new Performance Max landing-page report already universal?** Not on this check date. The 28 October update scheduled the search-term landing-page report to start rolling out in mid-November, requiring a fresh availability check.

## Sources

- [About Performance Max Campaigns](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/advertising/msa-help/hlp_ba_proc_aboutpmax)
- [Create a Performance Max Campaign](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/advertising/msa-help/hlp_ba_proc_createpmax)
- [Build, steer, and measure your campaigns with AI: What's new in Microsoft Advertising this October](https://about.ads.microsoft.com/en/blog/post/october-2026/build-steer-and-measure-your-campaigns-with-ai-whats-new-in-microsoft-advertising-this-october)
- [Let Microsoft Advertising manage your bids with bid strategies](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/advertising/msa-help/hlp_ba_conc_bidstrategy)
- All accessed 8 Nov 2026 (CET).

## Frequently asked questions

### Does Microsoft Performance Max currently accept video assets?

The creation documentation checked on 8 November 2026 says it does not. Do not copy Google video instructions into the Microsoft workflow.

### Do audience signals restrict Performance Max to that audience?

No. Signals guide automation and are not equivalent to an exclusive targeting boundary. Verify separate controls and their current availability.

### Was the new Performance Max landing-page report already universal?

Not on this check date. The 28 October update scheduled the search-term landing-page report to start rolling out in mid-November, requiring a fresh availability check.

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Written and reviewed by Dipuck Jones for MentionX Learn. The HTML version of this page: https://mentionx.ai/learn/microsoft-ads/microsoft-ads-performance-max-controls