• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer, Yesterday

Google will soon introduce "Journey Aware Bidding" in Google Ads, signaling a shift toward a completely new approach to bidding for leads, according to Jyll Saskin Gales, an independent Google Ads coach.

The feature appears to use machine learning and AI to optimize bids throughout the entire consumer journey, not just for one auction at a time. It is designed to support complex, multi-step conversion paths, especially those with long sales cycles.

This is an evolution from current Smart Bidding, which optimizes each auction-by-auction based on immediate signals. 

“If you’re a small business owner, a marketing manager, or anyone who runs lead-generation campaigns on Google Ads, this could change how you approach your strategy,” she wrote in a blog post.

Gales wrote that the launch for Search campaigns using Target CPA, a bidding strategy that allows advertisers to set a desired average cost for each conversion they want to achieve, is scheduled for some time in 2026.

The biggest difference from value-based bidding, she wrote, is rather than tell Google Ads to "get as many conversions as possible," marketers provide more specific instructions, such as "get me the conversions that are worth the most."

She explains how this approach moves beyond just counting conversions to focus on getting the most return on ad spend (ROAS).

“By optimizing for conversion value, you guide your campaigns to prioritize the leads that are most likely to become paying customers, helping you get a better return for every dollar you spend,” Gales wrote, emphasizing it’s the next approach to bidding strategies.

“Earlier this fall at Think Leads, a Google project manager mentioned Journey Aware Bidding in passing, and we all got VERY excited predicting what this might be,” Gales wrote in the post. “I just attended a Google Ads Academy session on Smart Bidding, and I'm happy to finally be able to share some concrete details."

Today, Smart Bidding only uses primary conversion actions for optimization. With Journey Aware Bidding, marketers can choose to have what she called secondary conversion actions that influence the bidding algorithm, without having to count as conversions.

Journey Aware Bidding will require marketers to import all conversion actions on the lead-to-sale journey into Google Ads -- meaning leads, MQLs, SQLs, opportunities, closed and won -- but the marketer categorizes the funnel.

Marketers should ensure these conversion actions are categorized accurately within Google Ads. Some categories to choose from include contact, request quote, submit lead form, book appointment, qualified lead and converted lead.

Journey Aware Bidding will optimize qualified leads, sales, or whatever it is aiming for, and will also consider the other points along the journey to help inform bidding choices.

“This evolution goes hand-in-hand with recent updates that allow you to classify conversions according to different stages, such as leads, marketing-qualified leads (MQLs), and customers,” Gales wrote. “This segmentation provides the perfect framework for a bidding system that is aware of the full journey.”