Google Performance Max turns on sourced videos by default

Google now switches on "sourced videos" by default in every new Performance Max campaign. The feature lets Google AI crawl sources an advertiser approves, such as social media accounts, the campaign's landing page and the linked YouTube channel, and add up to 10 of those videos to each asset group. Google's help page also warns that the setting may already have been turned on automatically in some existing campaigns "as part of a recent platform update", so advertisers who never opted in should check their accounts now.

What Google changed on the sourced videos help page

The change sits in a Google Ads Help article titled "About sourced videos in Performance Max campaigns". The current version of Google's sourced videos help page says plainly: "Sourced videos are enabled by default for all new campaigns." It then adds a second sentence that matters more for anyone running Performance Max today: "If you notice this setting active on accounts where it wasn't manually enabled, it may have been activated automatically on some existing campaigns as part of a recent platform update."

Search Engine Roundtable's Barry Schwartz reported the setting on 23 October 2026. He credited Reva Minkoff, who asked on LinkedIn whether anyone had seen the new feature, and noted that Hana Kobzová had spotted the help document change a couple of days earlier. Kobzová's summary, quoted by Schwartz, was that the change "no longer requires advertisers to opt-in manually". The screenshot in his post shows the setting labelled "New" with the description "Use videos from other channels".

Google has not published a blog post or announcement about the switch, and the help page gives no date for the "recent platform update". What exists is the help page wording and the new checkbox in the interface.

How sourced videos work in Performance Max

Sourced videos is a campaign-level setting. According to Google, the system uses "Google AI and automated video crawling technology" to find relevant videos in sources the advertiser has approved, then adds them to Performance Max asset groups. Google's pitch is that advertisers skip the work of picking, formatting and uploading videos by hand.

Where the videos come from

Google lists three kinds of source that can be approved:

• Social media platforms
• The campaign's landing page
• The advertiser's linked YouTube channel

The help page does not name which social media platforms are crawled. It does not say whether that means a brand's own Facebook, Instagram or TikTok accounts, or something wider. Until Google says more, treat "social media platforms" as an open category and check what the Manage sources screen actually offers in your account.

How Google picks and refreshes them

Google says its system selects videos based on "relevance to your campaign, performance potential, and best practice adherence", giving aspect ratio as an example of best practice. The stated aim is full coverage of video inventory. Videos are "refreshed on a recurring basis", which means the set in a campaign can change over time without anyone in the account touching it. If a video is deleted from where it was originally hosted, such as the YouTube channel, Google says it is removed from Google Ads automatically.

How many videos, and alongside what

Up to 10 crawled videos can be added automatically to each asset group. They sit next to videos the advertiser uploaded and videos made with Google's own video generation tools. On a campaign with several asset groups, that ceiling applies per asset group, not per campaign.

The Google-owned YouTube channel

One detail on the help page deserves attention. Google says every video must be on a YouTube channel to serve in a campaign, and that "Sourced videos will be uploaded to a dedicated Google-owned YouTube channel." Google adds that the channel "will be branded with your logo and business name and will drive all viewers to your landing page."

In practice, a clip that started life as an Instagram post or a video embedded on a product page can end up hosted on YouTube, under a channel that carries the brand's name and logo but is owned by Google. The help page does not explain who can see that channel, whether the advertiser can manage it, or how long the uploaded copies stay there after a campaign ends.

Sourced videos at a glance

The table below collects the facts Google states on the help page, as read on 24 October 2026.

Where the sourced videos toggle is

Google's help page gives the path for both new and existing campaigns:

1. Go to Campaigns in the Campaigns menu.
2. Click the plus button to create a new campaign, or the gear icon next to an existing Performance Max campaign to edit its settings.
3. In the Asset group section, open the Asset optimization drop-down.
4. Tick the checkbox next to "Sourced videos" to keep it on, or untick it to turn it off.
5. Click Manage sources to review and approve the URLs Google can use to find videos.
6. Click Apply, then save the campaign.

Google says you can return to campaign settings at any time to edit approved sources. To see what has been added, go to Assets in the Campaigns menu, open the Performance Max campaign, and the sourced videos appear in the asset list with the same performance reporting as any other asset.

A practical audit before 11.11 and 12.12

The points below are analysis based on the help page, not Google instructions. They are the checks that follow from a setting that can be on without anyone choosing it.

1. Check every live Performance Max campaign

Because Google says the setting may have been activated on some existing campaigns, the default assumption should be that any campaign could be affected. Open each campaign's Asset optimization section and record whether "Sourced videos" is ticked. Campaigns created by different team members, or by a previous agency, are the ones most likely to be missed.

2. Read the approved source list line by line

The Manage sources screen is where control actually sits. Google frames approval as giving "permission to use your videos". Look at every URL listed. A landing page that hosts a supplier's product video, a partner's demo, or an embedded clip from a creator is a source of videos the brand may not own.

3. Review the asset list, then keep reviewing it

Since Google refreshes sourced videos on a recurring basis, a single check is not enough. Add the Performance Max asset list to the weekly routine during sale periods and look for videos that are off-message, out of date (an old price, a finished promotion) or simply not ad quality.

4. Clear the rights to music and creator content

The help page says nothing about licensing, music rights or user-generated content. That gap matters. A brand's social accounts can carry posts that use trending audio from a platform's music library, clips filmed by paid creators under a contract limited to organic posting, or customer videos reposted with informal permission. Whether those uses extend to paid ads on YouTube and other Google inventory depends on the original licence or contract, and Google's page does not address it. The safest reading is that the advertiser who approves a source is responsible for what comes out of it. If rights to a set of videos are unclear, leave that source unapproved or switch the feature off for the campaign until legal or the creator agreements confirm paid usage.

5. Decide on a house policy

Some brands will want sourced videos on: Google's argument is coverage of video inventory without production work, and an asset group with no video is a real gap. Others, especially in regulated categories or with strict brand guidelines, will want it off by default. Either choice is defensible. What is hard to defend is not knowing which state each campaign is in.

How this differs from image extraction

This is a separate change from the one Relevant Audience covered on 23 October 2026. That post dealt with image extraction: Google's Ads Developer Blog said on 21 October that image extraction will be switched on by default for newly created Performance Max campaigns from 4 December 2026. Image extraction pulls still images from landing pages. Sourced videos pulls video, from a wider set of sources that includes social media and YouTube, and has its own checkbox. Turning one off does not turn off the other. An advertiser who wants tight control over automated creative needs to check both settings, and the image change has a fixed date while the video change, according to Google, may already be in effect.

What Google did not say

• No announcement, blog post or date for the platform update that may have switched the setting on in existing campaigns.
• No list of the social media platforms that can be crawled.
• Nothing on how rights, licensing or music in crawled videos are handled.
• Nothing on whether an auto-enabled existing campaign serves sourced videos before the advertiser approves any sources.
• Nothing on whether the setting is exposed in the Google Ads API or Google Ads Editor.
• Which markets have it now: the page says only that the feature "is rolling out in sequences and may not be available to you yet".

What this means for Thai marketers

For advertisers who lean on Performance Max in the run-up to 11.11 and 12.12, the sale weeks are exactly when an unreviewed creative setting can do the most damage. Any brand whose social posts use platform music, creator collaborations or reposted customer clips should treat those videos as uncleared for paid use until the licence or contract says otherwise. Before the double-day sales, check each Performance Max campaign, the approved sources and the asset list. If your account does not show the setting yet, Google's rollout note means it may appear later, so add it to the pre-campaign checklist. A Google Ads management review can cover all of this in one pass, and the YouTube side of the account is worth checking alongside it, since every sourced video is hosted on YouTube; see our YouTube ads service for how that inventory is planned.

Sourced videos FAQ

Is sourced videos turned on in my existing Performance Max campaigns?

It might be, and you need to check each campaign to know. Google's help page says the feature is on by default for new campaigns and "may have been activated automatically on some existing campaigns as part of a recent platform update". The checkbox is in the Asset optimization drop-down in the campaign's asset group settings.

How many sourced videos can Google add?

Google can add up to 10 crawled videos to each asset group. These run alongside any videos you uploaded and videos made with Google's video generation tools.

Where does Google find the videos?

Google finds them in sources you approve, which can include social media platforms, the campaign's landing page and your linked YouTube channel. The help page does not list which social platforms are included.

Who owns the YouTube channel the videos are uploaded to?

Google owns it. The help page says sourced videos are uploaded to "a dedicated Google-owned YouTube channel" branded with your logo and business name, which sends viewers to your landing page.

Is sourced videos available in Thailand?

Google has not said which countries have it. The help page says only that the feature is rolling out in sequences, that it may not be available to every advertiser yet, and that campaigns need a daily budget above 5 US dollars.

Sourced videos is one checkbox, but it decides whether content from a brand's social accounts and website becomes Performance Max advertising. Check the setting and the approved sources now, then keep an eye on the asset list through the Q4 sales. If you want a second pair of eyes on your Performance Max setup before 11.11, Relevant Audience can help.