Google will use generative AI to resize Performance Max video ads
Google will automatically generate the missing aspect ratios of video ads in Performance Max campaigns. A horizontal video gets extended into vertical and square formats, opening it to new inventory. For advertisers who do not want that automation, the deadline is September 4.
Missing formats get generated automatically
Per a Search Engine Land report dated August 17, 2026, Google will use generative AI to create missing aspect ratios from existing Performance Max video ads.
The technology extends videos into vertical and square formats. The aim is letting creative reach additional inventory without manual production, so a horizontal video alone can now also appear in vertical placements.
Per the report the capability builds on existing video enhancements that convert horizontal videos into alternative formats. It is a step beyond automation already in place rather than an entirely new system.
The opt out route and the deadline
Advertisers can decline the optimization. Per the report, advertisers who do not want Google to apply the new generative AI optimization can contact their account management team or submit the Google opt out form by September 4.
There are two routes: talk to your account management team, or submit the opt out form before September 4. Video settings can also be modified at any time inside the Google Ads account.
The report carries a caution too: automatically generated versions may not suit every brand, because they add another layer of automation that brands may want to review closely for visual consistency, product accuracy and brand guidelines.
Quiet defaults are the most expensive settings
The shape of this announcement is familiar: the feature turns on by default and anyone who does not want it has to act by a specific date. An account that does nothing is enrolled automatically. That assessment is ours.
Second, where the risk sits. Extending a video into vertical format looks technically simple, but a changed crop can leave part of the product outside the frame, clip the logo or disturb the placement of subtitles. The source raises exactly that caution around visual consistency and product accuracy.
Third, the reality of the benefit. Most SMB accounts genuinely have video in one format only and never enter vertical inventory. For those accounts this automation can produce a real gain in reach. The decision sits between brand sensitivity and reach.
Fourth, the opt out is wholesale. The source does not describe a per campaign selective mechanism, the route described is account level contact or a form. An account wanting to separate brand critical campaigns from experimental ones needs to settle that first. That note is ours.
What it means for businesses in Türkiye
The assessment below is not in the source, it is our reading. The report notes no Türkiye specific exception.
Most businesses here using Performance Max produce video creative in a single format, usually horizontal. For those accounts this automation is a free entry into vertical inventory and can increase reach in practice.
For businesses with strict brand guidelines the picture differs. In categories where the look of the product drives the sale directly, such as cosmetics, jewelry, fashion and food, a cropped frame can misrepresent the product. Those categories need a decision before September 4.
Three practical steps. First, list which videos exist in which formats across your PMax campaigns. If you already have vertical versions, this automation adds little. Second, if you have brand sensitive campaigns, speak to your account manager before September 4. Third, whatever you decide, open your video asset report in mid September and check which versions actually ran.
The UNALSOFT take
On the advertising management side we put default on features like this on the calendar, because the most expensive setting is always the one left on unnoticed. The real question here is not technical: can your brand visual rules survive an automatically cropped frame? If yes, the automation buys you reach. If not, September 4 is a deadline rather than a reminder. On the ad film side we solve it upstream: designing video in the formats where it will run, rather than in one, is the simplest way to not need the automation at all.
Sources
Search Engine Land, generative AI resizing for PMax video ads
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