Google Ads brand exclusions: how brand lists work and when to use them

Google Ads brand exclusions stop a campaign from serving on searches associated with brands you choose, using a brand list instead of a long set of negative keywords. They are available for Search and Performance Max campaigns: in Search they are now set inside the AI Max settings, and in Performance Max they apply to Search, Shopping and YouTube search inventory.

The feature matters most for two jobs: keeping your own brand searches out of Performance Max and broad-match campaigns so a dedicated brand campaign handles them, and keeping competitor or unrelated brand searches out of campaigns where they waste budget. This guide explains how brand lists work, which campaign types support them, how they compare with negative keywords, how to set them up step by step, and what to check in your search terms afterwards.

What brand exclusions are

A brand exclusion is a campaign setting that points at a brand list. A brand list is a set of brands picked from Google Ads' own brand library. When a campaign has a brand list applied as an exclusion, Google will not serve that campaign's ads on queries it associates with any brand on the list.

Four mechanics define how the feature behaves:

• Brand lists live at account level. You build a list once in the account and apply it to as many campaigns as you need. The same list can serve as an exclusion in one campaign and an inclusion in another.
• Matching is by brand, not by text. You do not enter misspellings, variants or translations. Google's help documentation gives the example that the brand "YouTube" matches YouTube written in other scripts, including the Thai ยูทูบ, without a separate entry. Google ties this multilingual matching to the newest version of broad match.
• Related names need separate entries when they share no word. A simple variant often covers related names that share a common word, such as "Google" and "Google LLC". Brands with no common word, such as Google, YouTube and Alphabet, need to be added one by one.
• There is no extra cost. Google states that applying brand lists to campaigns carries no additional charge. The real cost is reach: Google also warns that brand settings limit a campaign's reach and that performance may decrease.

Which campaign types support brand exclusions

Performance Max

Brand exclusions are available on Performance Max and apply to its Search, Shopping and YouTube search inventory. There is an optional checkbox that lets Shopping ads continue to show on searches that mention excluded brands, which suits retailers who sell the brands they want to keep out of text-ad traffic. One exception: Google notes that Hotel Ads campaigns on Performance Max for travel goals do not support negative keywords or brand exclusions.

Google's AI Max change for Search, described below, does not affect Performance Max. Brand exclusions there are still set from the campaign's Additional settings.

Search campaigns and AI Max

From 27 May 2025, Google began moving brand settings for Search campaigns into the AI Max settings panel. The practical effects:

• Advertisers new to brand exclusions must turn on AI Max at campaign level to reach the brand settings panel.
• Advertisers who already had brand settings in place see a banner and can keep their existing setup. Without upgrading, they can remove brands or add brands to lists already applied, but adding a new brand list requires turning on AI Max.
• Brand exclusions in Search are a campaign-level control. Brand inclusions can be set at campaign or ad group level.

Google's help pages describe brand lists as working with the newest version of broad match. They do not spell out how brand exclusions interact with every exact- and phrase-match keyword in a campaign, so treat the search terms report, not an assumption, as the proof of what is blocked.

Other campaign types

Google's brand settings documentation covers Search and Performance Max. For Display, Video and Demand Gen campaigns, use the controls those campaigns offer, such as content suitability settings and placement exclusions, rather than expecting a brand list to apply.

Brand lists vs negative keywords

Before brand lists, the only way to keep a brand out of a campaign was a negative keyword. Negatives still have a job, but the two tools work differently.

• Negative keywords block text. You choose a match type and list every spelling you want blocked. A brand typed with a typo, a space in the wrong place or in another script slips through unless you thought of it.
• Brand lists block a brand. Google maps the query to a brand, so variants and other scripts are handled for you, as long as the brand exists in the library.
• Negatives are the right tool for intent words. Terms such as "jobs", "free", "used", "login" or "customer service" are not brands. If your brand campaign should not pay for "[brand] jobs", you still need negative keywords alongside any brand settings.
• Negatives are immediate and exact. A brand you request for the library can take weeks to be approved. A negative keyword works the moment you save it.
• Watch for conflicts. Google warns that existing negative keywords that match your brand inclusion terms may reduce performance. If you move a brand campaign to brand inclusions, review the negatives already in it.

When a campaign has both brand inclusions and brand exclusions, Google gives exclusions priority. A brand on both lists will be blocked.

How to create a brand list

1. In Google Ads, open the Tools menu, go to Shared library, then Brand lists.
2. If the account has no list yet, select Create a brand list. Otherwise, use the plus button.
3. Give the list a clear name, for example "Own brand" or "Competitors - do not serve".
4. Search for each brand and add it. Add parent and child names separately when they share no common word.
5. If a brand does not appear, type its name and choose Request a brand from the dropdown, then fill in the details. Google says requests receive a response within 3 to 6 weeks. A brand under review can already be used in campaigns, but its reach may be limited. A rejected brand shows as Not eligible and cannot be used.
6. Save. The list then appears in a table showing how many brands it holds and how many campaigns use it.

A brand qualifies for the library if it has signals such as a logo, trademark, domain name or dominant product name, or, for small and medium-sized businesses, a business name that may constitute a brand.

Applying the list as an exclusion

• Performance Max: Campaigns, then the Settings tab, select the campaign, open Additional settings and choose Brand exclusions. Pick the lists, decide on the Shopping checkbox and save.
• Search: open the campaign settings, go to AI Max, scroll to the Brands section and add the list under brand exclusions.
• Several campaigns at once: on the Settings tab, tick the campaigns, choose Edit, then Change brands and Brand exclusions. Preview before applying.

Brand inclusions and how they differ

Brand inclusions do the opposite job. A Search campaign with brand inclusions serves only on queries Google associates with the brands you select, which blocks any query without one of those brand names. They are available for Search campaigns only.

The typical use is a brand campaign running on broad match or AI Max. Without inclusions, broad match can expand a brand campaign into generic searches, which muddies brand reporting. With your own brand list as an inclusion, the campaign keeps the reach benefits of broad matching but stays on brand queries. Ad group inclusions override campaign inclusions for that ad group only, which lets you separate, say, a parent brand from a product-line brand in one campaign.

What brand exclusions do to your brand campaigns

A common account structure uses one brand list three ways:

1. As an inclusion on the brand Search campaign, so it only serves on brand queries.
2. As an exclusion on non-brand Search campaigns, so generic campaigns stop paying for brand searches.
3. As an exclusion on Performance Max, so brand searches on Search inventory go to the brand campaign, where you control the ad copy, bids and budget.

Expect the reported numbers to shift when you do this. Brand searches usually convert well, so removing them from Performance Max often lowers its reported return on ad spend while the brand campaign's numbers rise. Illustrative example, not real data: a Performance Max campaign reports 100 conversions, 30 of which came from brand searches. After the exclusion, it may report closer to 70 conversions while the brand campaign picks up most of the other 30. Total conversions are what to judge, not either campaign alone.

For competitor brands, the choice is strategic. If you run a dedicated competitor campaign, apply a competitor list as an exclusion everywhere else so those auctions only happen where you have tailored ads. Brand exclusions are a targeting control. They are not a trademark complaint and do not stop anyone else bidding on your brand.

Checking search terms afterwards

After applying brand settings, confirm what changed rather than assuming:

• Search campaigns: open the search terms report and filter for your brand and its common misspellings. Brand terms that still appear in non-brand campaigns point to a brand missing from the list, a name that needs its own entry, or a brand still under review.
• Performance Max: review search term insights for brand categories. Brand traffic should drop on Search inventory. If you left the Shopping checkbox on, brand queries can still appear through Shopping.
• Brand campaign volume: compare impressions and impression share before and after. A rise is expected when other campaigns stop competing for brand queries.
• Totals: compare account-level conversions and cost over equal periods, not campaign-level return on ad spend in isolation.

Common mistakes and what they cost

• Excluding your own brand from Performance Max without a brand campaign. Brand searches then have no campaign to serve them, and competitors can take those clicks.
• Using brand lists for intent words. "Jobs", "free" and "reviews" are not brands. Without negatives, the brand campaign keeps paying for them.
• Forgetting separate names. A company whose trading name and product names share no word needs each one listed, or some brand traffic leaks.
• Applying brand settings everywhere. Google recommends using them only on campaigns that need them, because every restriction narrows reach.
• Judging the change on one campaign's metrics. Performance Max looking worse after a brand exclusion is often the expected shift, not a failure.

Brand exclusions in the Thai market

Thai search is where brand lists save the most manual work. Thai users often type brand names in English, in Thai script, or as a mix with Thai words around them, and a single brand can have several common Thai spellings. With negative keywords, every version needs its own entry. Google's own documentation uses ยูทูบ as an example of a foreign-script form that a single brand entry covers.

Points specific to Thai accounts:

• Thai and English names. Many Thai companies trade under a Thai name and an English name that share no word. Add both.
• Local brands missing from the library. Smaller Thai brands may not be in Google's brand library yet. Request them early, since responses take 3 to 6 weeks, and keep negative keywords in place until the brand is approved.
• Marketplace queries. Searches that pair a brand with Shopee or Lazada may be associated with more than one brand. Check the search terms report to see how such queries are treated in your campaigns.
• Retailers of other brands. If you sell international brands in Thailand, think twice before excluding them from Performance Max. The Shopping checkbox lets product ads keep serving on those brand searches.

Honest limits

Brand matching is Google's model of which queries relate to which brands, and you cannot see the full list of queries it maps. Google does not publish limits such as the number of brands per list in the help pages reviewed for this guide, and brand settings are tied to broad match and AI Max in Search. For tightly controlled exact-match brand campaigns, negative keywords remain the precise tool, and the search terms report remains the only proof of what actually served.

FAQ

Do Google Ads brand exclusions cost anything?

No, Google does not charge to apply brand lists to campaigns. The trade-off is reach, since every brand you exclude removes searches the campaign could have served.

Can I use brand exclusions in Search without AI Max?

Only if the campaign already had brand settings before the change that began on 27 May 2025. New brand lists on Search campaigns require turning on AI Max at campaign level.

Do brand exclusions replace negative keywords?

No, they cover brands only. Negative keywords are still needed for intent words such as "jobs" or "free" and for brands not yet in Google's brand library.

What if my brand is not in the brand library?

Request it from the brand list editor using Request a brand. Google says it responds within 3 to 6 weeks, and a brand under review can be used in the meantime with limited reach.

If you want brand and non-brand traffic separated cleanly across Search and Performance Max, Relevant Audience's Google Ads management team plans, builds and optimises paid search campaigns for Thai businesses, with no lock-in contract. See how Relevant Search for Google Ads works, or, for online stores, how Google Shopping campaigns and e-commerce marketing fit with brand settings.