Google Ads API now shows where an account stands against other advertisers

Google published version 25.2 of the Google Ads API on 23 September 2026. The release notes list a change to benchmark data. Percentile metrics now describe where an account sits among other advertisers, through a field called percentile_metrics on customer metrics.

Until now the same numbers read as plain averages. The new wording turns them into a position in a field of rivals.

Percentile metrics put an account next to its category rivals

Google also added category filtering to benchmark analysis. An account can be compared inside its own business category rather than against every advertiser at once. A new error, NO_METRICS_FOUND, tells a developer that no benchmark exists for the slice they asked for. Anyone building a client dashboard can now put a position on the page next to a cost figure.

One call turns a Smart campaign into a Performance Max draft

The release adds GeneratePMaxDraftCampaign to the Smart campaign service. It builds a Performance Max draft out of an existing Smart campaign. Google has been moving older campaign types into Performance Max for months, most recently when it moved Dynamic Search Ads to AI Max. Asset groups also gained tracking_url_template, url_custom_parameters and final_url_suffix, so tracking can be set at group level.

Apps can now report ad revenue as a conversion

Two Firebase conversion types appear for the first time, one for Android and one for iOS app ad impressions. A new category, IN_APP_AD_REVENUE, holds money earned from ads inside an app. Publishers who sell app inventory and also buy installs can put both sides in one account.

Hotel reports gain booking window and length of stay

Travel advertisers get itinerary segments: advance booking window, length of booking, start date, start day of week and whether the user set the dates. Loyalty membership stats can also be split out. The set answers a question a hotel chain asks every week, namely how far ahead people book. It sits alongside Microsoft’s own move when it added a landing page report to its API.

What the documentation still leaves open

Google does not say whether the percentile figures cover only accounts in the same category or every advertiser it can see. The difference decides how much a percentile is worth in a client report. Agencies will find out when the first October reports come out of the API.