Google Ads API to Retire Ad Sharing This October: What You Need to Know!

“Wait… what do you mean I can’t share ads anymore?”

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If you’ve spent any time knee-deep in Google Ads API workflows, chances are you’ve leaned on ad sharing to streamline campaigns across accounts. 

Maybe you’ve got a tight setup with Manager accounts where you deploy a master creative across multiple client campaigns. Or, maybe your automation tools rely on shared creatives to reduce asset duplication.

So, when Google dropped its latest bombshell, “We’re sunsetting ad sharing in the Google Ads API this October,” you probably did what most of us did: stared at the screen, blinked twice, and asked, “Why now?”

In this blog, with our 13+ years of experience & expertise, we will break it all down for you. Not just the what (because yes, the Google Ads API ad sharing feature is going away) but the why, the what’s next, and how you can prep your campaigns and your codebase for the change.

We’ll also talk about what this means from a broader strategy and operations standpoint, and what it signals about Google Ads API changes coming down the pipeline.

So if you’re a PPC lead, an in-house automation dev, or just someone who refuses to get blindsided by a Google Ads API update, stick around.

Let’s demystify this together.

But first, what’s actually happening?

So, Google has officially announced the retirement of ad sharing in the Google Ads API. This change is part of a broader set of Google Ads API sunset notices aimed at modernizing and simplifying the advertising ecosystem.

To quote stuff, straight from the horse’s mouth (the Google Ads Developer Blog):

A quick refresher on what ad sharing is in Google Ads

In simple terms, ad sharing lets advertisers create one ad and link it to multiple ad groups or campaigns, without duplicating the asset. This was especially handy for large-scale account structures managed via Google Ads API or through Google Ads Editor (though Editor has also seen this functionality fade out in recent years).

Think of it as a way to “recycle” creative efficiently.

For example: Create one Responsive Search Ad (RSA) → Share it across 10 ad groups in different campaigns → Manage one central ad asset

Smart, right? But maybe too smart, especially in a world that’s rapidly shifting toward asset-level customization and AI-driven creative optimization.

But why is Google killing ad sharing?

The short answer? Well, it’s a move towards simplification and control.

According to Google’s own blog post, the ad sharing retirement in Google Ads is aimed at:

~ Encouraging explicit ad-to-ad group relationships.

~ Eliminating confusion around ad serving behavior when the same ad lives in multiple ad groups.

~ Aligning better with how assets and creatives are measured and reported today, especially with AI-driven campaigns.

And honestly? This isn’t out of the blue.

Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen Google:

~ Deprecate shared budgets across campaigns.

~ Push for asset-level customization (think: Performance Max and RSAs).

~ Prioritize creative contextualization over creative reuse.

In this new paradigm, sharing a generic ad across 30 ad groups no longer aligns with the narrative. Google wants every creative to be more tightly aligned with the ad group’s intent and audience.

It’s all part of their vision to make ad experiences more relevant, performance-focused, and trackable.

Understanding the real-world implications of the move

Let’s get tactical. Here’s what the Google Ads API ad sharing sunset means for your day-to-day ops:

1. Codebase overhaul for devs

If you’ve built internal tools, scripts, or automation workflows that rely on ad sharing logic, you’ll need to refactor. Hard stop.

• The AdGroupAdService will no longer accept shared ads.
  
• Attempts to create a shared relationship via the API will fail.
  
• Reporting tools that assume shared ad relationships may break or return partial data.
  

2. Duplicated creatives for advertisers

You are set to say goodbye to your elegant shared RSA strategy. Moving forward, if you want the same creative in multiple ad groups, you’ll have to duplicate it, either manually or via code.

That means higher creative management overhead. You’ll need better version control and governance.

If you have any changes to an ad, you’ll now need to update every instance manually.

3. Cleaner performance attribution (Finally!)

On the plus side, with shared ads gone, performance data attribution will be more accurate.

Since each ad instance belongs to one ad group, it will translate into clearer A/B testing.

Also, you’ll no longer deal with mixed signal data when the same ad performs wildly differently in two campaigns.

What happens if you do nothing?

Let’s say you ignore this change. Here’s what you are signing up for:

October 15, 2025:

All API requests that attempt to create shared ads will fail. Your dev tools, automations, or integrations using this logic will start throwing errors.

Q1 2026:

Google steps in. They’ll automatically:

~ Assign the original shared ad to the lowest ad group ID where it was being used.

~ Create duplicate ads for the other ad groups, but with newly generated asset IDs.

~ Machine-generated assets (e.g., assets created automatically from business profiles) will not transfer. You’ll lose them.

~ Ad-level performance history will not carry over to the duplicated versions.

The result?

A messy migration, replete with performance resets, data fragmentation and ultimately less control.

What you should be doing right now

If your team owns the ad stack, here’s your proactive plan:

1. Audit for shared ads

Use the ad_group_ad.ad.id relationship in the API to sniff out which ad IDs appear in multiple ad groups. Those are your shared assets.

2. Map out duplications

For each shared ad, create a plan to duplicate it across its associated ad groups, manually or programmatically.

3. Preserve history

Export performance data at the ad ID level before the sunset. This will help in benchmarking future performance of newly created ads.

4. Refactor your API logic

Update your scripts or automation tools to, remove any logic that tries to share ads.

Replace it with ad creation workflows scoped to one ad group per ad.

5. Upgrade to latest API version

Even if you’re not ready to switch to v22 in October, stay updated. Google’s versioning model means older APIs sunset fast and this change won’t backport.

Setting up a strategic rethink ~ Does this move signal the end of creative reuse?

This isn’t just about code. It’s about how we approach ad creative strategy at scale.

When ad sharing goes away, lazy creative reuse becomes harder. That’s… a good thing. It nudges us toward:

~ Tighter audience–creative alignment.

~ More granular performance insights.

~ A better foundation for AI-generated personalization.

Yes, your asset management will need to level up. But the pay-off is more agile, intent-specific creative structures that future-proof your accounts.

What this signals about Google’s direction

This isn’t a one-off. It’s part of a pattern. Google Ads is evolving into:

~ A context-aware, asset-first platform.

~ A machine learning ecosystem that rewards precision.

~ A less “manual structure” and more “input and signal-driven” model.

Today, it’s ad sharing. Tomorrow? It could be label sharing, ad group duplication logic, or audience layering standards.

The bottom line remains that the Google Ads API is no longer a mirror of the UI. It’s its own product, with its own priorities.

FAQs you’re probably asking (Because we did too)

Q: Can I still copy the same ad manually into multiple ad groups?

A: Yep, but they’ll be treated as separate instances. Meaning separate performance stats, asset IDs, and optimization signals.

Q: What if I used Google Ads Editor to share ads before?

A: You’re out of luck moving forward. The editor already deprecated some forms of ad sharing. This update cements the death knell.

Q: Will my shared ads still serve after October 2025?

A: Yes, but only until Q1 2026, after which Google will force-migrate them and end shared delivery.

Q: Will performance history transfer during Google’s auto-migration?

A: No. Only the ad assigned to the lowest ad group ID retains history. Duplicates are fresh slates.

Q: Are other shared entities affected? Like shared budgets?

A: Not directly by this update. But yes, Google has been steadily retiring shared structures in favor of asset-based, campaign-specific controls.

The road ahead

In case you’d like some strategic guidance on using AI to level up the process of creative production, we recommend reading ~ The Performance Marketer’s Guide to AI-Driven Creative Production.