TL;DR
- Microsoft Advertising said on 28 October 2026 that its Conversions API is generally available, sending website, app, CRM and point-of-sale conversions server to server alongside the UET tag.
- Age and gender targeting is generally available in Microsoft Performance Max; device targeting reaches all advertisers in the coming weeks, with no date given.
- Performance Max now has search term and auction insights reports, and search term landing page reporting starts rolling out from mid-November 2026.
- Messaging guidelines, in open pilot for Performance Max and AI Max Search campaigns, let advertisers set up to 40 rules for AI-written ad copy.
- The post names no markets and does not mention Thailand; audience and brand exclusions are pilots joined through the account team or Support.
Microsoft Advertising said on 28 October 2026 that its Conversions API is now generally available, that age and gender targeting is generally available in Performance Max, and that Performance Max now has search term and auction insights reporting. The same monthly roundup on the Microsoft Advertising blog adds AI-powered creation of a first Performance Max campaign and an open pilot of messaging guidelines, which let advertisers set up to 40 rules for AI-written ad copy.
This is Microsoft Advertising's Performance Max, not Google's campaign type of the same name. Some items in the post are fully released, some are still rolling out, and some are pilots you have to ask to join. That difference matters more than the headline list, so this article keeps the three groups apart.
What Microsoft announced on 28 October 2026
The post is titled "Build, steer, and measure your campaigns with AI: What's new in Microsoft Advertising this October". It groups the changes under four headings: launching a first Performance Max campaign faster, seeing and shaping more Performance Max results, keeping AI-generated ads on brand, and measuring with the Conversions API. Microsoft ties the timing to the holiday season and says more updates are coming next month.
The table below lists each item with the status Microsoft gave it on 28 October 2026. Items marked as a pilot are not switched on for every account.
| Feature | Status on 28 Oct 2026 | Where it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Conversions API (CAPI) | Generally available | Conversion tracking, alongside the UET tag |
| Age and gender targeting | Generally available | Performance Max |
| Search term and auction insights reporting | Now available | Performance Max |
| Device targeting | Rolling out to all advertisers in the coming weeks | Performance Max |
| Audience exclusions | Open pilot, via account team or Support | Performance Max |
| Brand exclusions for text ads only | Being refined, pilot | Performance Max |
| Search term landing page reporting | Rolling out from mid-November | Performance Max |
| Messaging guidelines (up to 40) | Open pilot | Performance Max, and Search with AI Max enabled |
| AI-powered campaign creation | Launched | A first Performance Max campaign |
Conversions API is now generally available
Microsoft said its Conversions API connects conversion data sources, which it lists as websites, apps, CRM systems and point-of-sale systems, directly to Microsoft Advertising in real time through a server-to-server connection. It works alongside the Universal Event Tracking (UET) tag. According to Microsoft, the server connection picks up activity "that may be missed due to browser limitations", and that together the tag and the API provide a stronger foundation for measurement and optimization.
The post offers three ways to set it up. Advertisers can integrate directly, connect through Google Tag Manager, or use a technology partner. The partners Microsoft names are Adobe Real-Time CDP, Commanders Act, Freshpaint, Invoca, MetaRouter, Segment by Twilio, Stape.io, Switch Growth, Tealium and Zeotap. Microsoft lists goals the API can feed, including higher-quality leads, in-store sales, app engagement and dynamic remarketing.
Relevant Audience covered the Conversions API documentation on 19 August 2026. At that point Microsoft described the API as a beta that was not yet available on every account, positioned it alongside the UET tag, and documented a shared event ID for deduplication. What is new on 28 October is the general availability status and the named partner list. The October post does not repeat the technical rules. The Microsoft Learn integration guide it links to still tells advertisers to pass the same eventId through UET and the Conversions API so the same conversion is not counted twice.
Analysis: the practical risk for most advertisers is double counting. When the tag and the server connection both report the same purchase, the platform needs a shared identifier to count it once. The October post does not discuss deduplication, though the guide it links to does. If you plan to send the same conversion through UET and the Conversions API, confirm how your setup matches events before you trust conversion totals, because automated bidding learns from whatever count it receives.
Performance Max: age, gender and device targeting
Age and gender targeting is now generally available on Microsoft's Performance Max, the company said. Advertisers can include or exclude specific age groups and genders from ad delivery. Device targeting, which lets advertisers include and exclude types of device, is rolling out to all advertisers "in the coming weeks". The post gives no date for device targeting and does not list which device types will be offered.
Analysis: in an automated campaign type, an exclusion is a hard limit on where the system can look. If a product cannot legally or practically be sold to an age group, excluding that group makes sense. If the only reason is that a segment converted less in one past report, an exclusion also removes the converting people inside that segment. Look at segment results over a reasonable period before excluding anything, and note the date of each change so later movements in performance can be read against it.
Exclusions pilots for audiences and brands
Audience exclusions for Performance Max are in open pilot, which Microsoft says lets advertisers exclude certain audiences from their campaigns. Microsoft is also refining brand exclusions so advertisers can choose to apply them to text ads only, while product ads still appear on those brand searches. Advertisers who want either pilot are told to contact their account team or Microsoft Advertising Support.
The brand change fits a common retail setup. A retailer may not want Performance Max text ads competing with its own brand Search campaign, yet still want product ads to show when someone searches its brand name. Microsoft's wording describes the plan. It does not say when the refined control will reach all accounts.
Search term reporting and auction insights in Performance Max
Search term reporting and auction insights reporting are now available for Performance Max, according to Microsoft, so advertisers can see which searches their ads showed on and how they compare with competitors in the same auctions. Search term landing page reporting begins rolling out to advertisers from mid-November 2026. Microsoft says it shows how user intent maps to the web page the user was sent to.
What to check once the report appears: brand queries, competitor names and plainly irrelevant searches that the campaign is matching. That list is what tells you whether negative keywords, the brand exclusion pilot or neither is worth the effort. The landing page view, once it arrives, is the place to see whether Performance Max is sending searchers to pages that answer the query.
Messaging guidelines for AI-generated ad copy
Messaging guidelines are in open pilot for Performance Max campaigns and for Search campaigns that have AI Max enabled. Advertisers can give up to 40 guidelines to steer the copy Microsoft's AI writes. Microsoft recommends using them mainly for broad rules about claims, themes, concepts, tone or language to avoid, and gives the example of a high-end retail brand adding "Never imply that products are low cost". Advertisers can also give positive guidance, such as preferred wording, themes or tone of voice. The post shows the guidelines being set inside the campaign creation flow.
Microsoft says the guidelines help reduce the risk of AI producing messaging that does not meet brand or business requirements. It does not say they guarantee compliance, and it does not explain whether generated copy is checked against them before or after ads serve. Advertisers in regulated categories such as health, finance or property should keep reviewing generated assets and should not treat the 40 rules as a filter they can rely on alone.
Short, testable rules are easier to audit later. "Never mention free delivery" can be checked against generated copy line by line. "Sound premium" cannot.
AI-powered campaign creation for a first Performance Max campaign
For new advertisers, Microsoft has added AI-powered campaign creation that it says takes an account from sign-up to a launched Performance Max campaign "in just minutes". The advertiser shares a website plus materials such as marketing plans, brand guidelines and product images. Microsoft turns that into an editable snapshot of the business, covering the products or services offered and how the ads should look and sound. The advertiser reviews and edits the snapshot, then either launches directly or first adjusts budget, bid strategy, ad copy and creative assets. Microsoft says the ads can reach people across Copilot, Bing Search, Outlook and more.
The post presents this as a route to a first campaign. It does not say whether existing advertisers can use the same flow for additional campaigns. Analysis: a campaign built in minutes still depends on conversion tracking that works. Without reliable conversions, automated bidding has little to optimize toward, which is why the Conversions API item in the same post deserves attention before launch, not after.
What Microsoft did not say
- Which countries or markets receive each feature. The post does not mention Thailand or any other market, so availability for a particular account is not stated by the source.
- A date for device targeting beyond "the coming weeks", or an end date for any pilot.
- Any performance figure for the new targeting, the reporting, the campaign creation flow or the Conversions API.
- Any price or fee for the Conversions API. The post mentions none.
How this fits Relevant Audience's earlier Microsoft Advertising coverage
Relevant Audience has followed Microsoft Advertising through 2026: Ad Preview Hub reaching Performance Max (28 July), the Conversions API documentation while it was a beta (19 August), Max CPC removed from new non-portfolio campaigns from 1 October (21 August), and optimization experiments reaching general availability (2 October). The October roundup is the first time in that thread that Microsoft calls the Conversions API generally available. The age, gender and device targeting, the Performance Max search term and auction insights reports, the messaging guidelines pilot and the AI campaign creation flow are new to this thread.
What this means for Thai marketers
Microsoft's post does not mention Thailand, so whether each feature is live in a Thai account is not stated. Check inside your own account, and ask your account team or Support about the exclusions pilots. Microsoft publishes no Thailand market share figure in this post, so treat any number you see quoted elsewhere with care.
For advertisers who run Microsoft Advertising campaigns, a sensible order is to confirm conversion tracking first (the UET tag, then the Conversions API if CRM or offline sales matter), then use the new search term report to clean up Performance Max, and only then consider exclusions. Relevant Audience manages search advertising campaigns and analytics and conversion tracking setups for Thai brands if you want a second pair of hands on either step.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Microsoft Advertising Conversions API generally available now?
Yes. Microsoft said on 28 October 2026 that the Conversions API is generally available. In August 2026 its documentation described the API as a beta that was not yet on every account.
Can I target by age and gender in Microsoft Performance Max?
Yes. Age and gender targeting is generally available in Microsoft's Performance Max as of 28 October 2026, with include and exclude options. Device targeting is rolling out to all advertisers in the coming weeks, and Microsoft gave no exact date.
Does Microsoft Performance Max show search terms?
Yes. Microsoft said search term reporting and auction insights reporting are now available for Performance Max. Search term landing page reporting starts rolling out from mid-November 2026.
How many messaging guidelines can an advertiser add?
Up to 40. Messaging guidelines are in open pilot for Performance Max and for Search campaigns with AI Max enabled, and they can cover both things to avoid and preferred wording or tone.
Are these features available in Thailand?
Not stated by the source. Microsoft's 28 October post lists no markets and does not mention Thailand, so check your own account. For the audience and brand exclusions pilots, Microsoft asks advertisers to contact their account team or Support.
Microsoft says more updates are due next month. Until then, the items Microsoft calls generally available or now available, rather than pilots, are the Conversions API, age and gender targeting, and the Performance Max search term and auction insights reports, and those are the ones worth checking in your account this week.
