Google contacts advertisers with a mandatory EU political ads deadline

Google is reaching out directly to advertisers via email, requiring them to confirm whether their campaigns contain EU political ads — with a hard deadline of March 31st.

Why we care. This isn’t optional. EU regulation now requires Google to verify political ad status across all active campaigns, and advertisers who don’t act before the deadline could face compliance issues.

What’s happening. Google is asking every advertiser to declare whether their existing campaigns include EU political ads. The requirement applies to all current campaigns and must be completed by March 31, 2026.

How to comply: Google has outlined three ways to submit the confirmation:

• Campaign level — Go to Campaign Settings and select “EU political ads” to confirm individual campaigns.
• Multiple campaigns — Go to the Campaigns tab and use the “EU political ads” option to confirm several at once.
• Account level — Confirm for all new and existing campaigns in one go. Selecting “No” at account level automatically applies that answer to every campaign, including future ones. You can still override this for individual campaigns at any time.

Between the lines. The account-level option is the most efficient route for most advertisers who are confident none of their campaigns fall under the EU political ads definition. Google has made it straightforward to reverse or adjust the selection at any point, so there’s no risk in acting early.

The bottom line. Check your inbox — Google is contacting advertisers directly. If you run campaigns targeting EU audiences, log in and complete the confirmation before March 31st to stay compliant.

First seen. This update was spotted by Paid Search expert, Arpan Banerjee, who shared the details of the comms on Linkedin.

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