A Long-Standing Setting Disappears
Google Ads is removing the campaign-level language targeting setting from Search campaigns, with the change rolling out in late September 2026. Instead of advertisers choosing which languages to target, Search ads will automatically be matched based on the language of the ads themselves.
Google says it will also consider whether the user can understand the language of the ad and the landing page, alongside their language preferences.
What Changes and Where
Search campaigns and AI Max for Search: the campaign-level language setting is removed entirely.
Performance Max: the language setting will no longer apply to ads shown on the Google Search Network, which will behave like standard Search campaigns. The language settings you choose will still apply to the other channels within Performance Max.
Why It Matters
This is a significant change for anyone running multilingual campaigns, and particularly for advertisers in markets like the UAE, where English and Arabic campaigns often run side by side for the same audience.
Many accounts have relied on the language setting to keep English and Arabic ads in separate campaigns with separate budgets. From late September, the language of your ad copy and landing page becomes the main control.
What You Should Do
Review every campaign that relies on language targeting. Make sure each campaign’s ads and landing pages are clearly and consistently written in the intended language, with no mixed-language copy.
Check that each language points to a landing page in the same language, and monitor search terms and performance closely after the change, adjusting budgets if spend starts shifting between languages. Our PPC team manages multilingual campaigns and can review your setup before the change lands.
