Google Is Removing Manual Language Targeting for Search Ads: Why It Matters

Google recently announced that it will eliminate manual language targeting for Search campaigns by the end of 2025. Instead, the platform will automatically detect user language using AI-driven signals. While this is part of Google’s broader push toward automation, it has particularly meaningful implications for international advertisers – as well as some potential pitfalls to keep an eye on.

Why This Update Could Be a Win for International Campaigns

Historically, advertisers had to manually select languages for each campaign. This created a barrier for international expansion, especially for lean teams without localization resources.

With this update, Google’s AI will detect and serve ads in the language it deems most appropriate, even if a user’s device isn’t explicitly set to that language. This change could expand reach, helping advertisers capture users who speak the ad’s language but were previously excluded by device settings.

It also simplifies setup. For global brands running multilingual campaigns, managing language targeting per campaign was tedious. Automating this with AI can reduce complexity and open new markets, particularly when paired with future translation capabilities (more on that below).

Potential Risks: When AI Gets It Wrong

Of course, AI isn’t perfect. Language detection errors could result in:

• Ads being shown to users in a language they don’t understand
• Wasted impressions and lower engagement
• Confusion or frustration for end users
  
  

Unfortunately, advertisers won’t be able to opt out of this feature for Search. That means control is shifting more firmly into Google’s hands, raising the stakes for good creative and conversion paths that can flex across language barriers.

If language mismatches begin to impact performance, advertisers do have the option to shift budget toward Display, PMax, or YouTube campaigns, which retain manual language targeting (for now). Generally, those campaign types haven’t shown nearly the performance that search campaigns have, so we’re not recommending you shift without testing first.

A Step Toward Auto-Translation?

This update raises a compelling question: Will Google launch an automatic translation feature for ads next?

Meta already offers this within its Advantage+ campaign suite. If Google follows suit, we may see translation support baked into ad creation, reducing the need for multilingual ad versions altogether.

That could be a game-changer for small and mid-sized advertisers without localization resources, as long as translations are accurate and context-aware – which, again, is not something we can assume.

What to Watch

• Rollout Timeline: This change will be complete by the end of 2025, so advertisers have time to plan and test.
• Search-Only for Now: Manual language targeting remains intact for PMax, Display, and YouTube.
• Signal Reliance: Google will use “AI signals” to determine language, but they haven’t clarified what those signals include. Expect refinements over time.

Bottom line: This move toward AI-based language targeting is part of a larger trend: less manual control, more automation. For many advertisers, especially those running international campaigns, this could be a welcome simplification. But with AI in the driver’s seat, keeping a close eye on performance will be more important than ever.