Microsoft Advertising launches Performance Max campaigns globally

Performance Max campaigns will be available on Microsoft Advertising globally from March 5.

PMax explained. PMax is an automated campaign type that uses AI to optimize and manage your ads across different formats and channels in Microsoft Advertising. It can be used to create campaign assets and ensure your ad reaches your target audience to maximize conversions for your campaign.

Why we care. PMax campaigns can help you reach a wider audince and automate online advertising optimization, making them ideal for those lacking time or resources for manual channel optimization. However, some advertisers may be uneasy with the diminished control and entrusting AI to make decisions on their behalf.

Getting started. You can get started with Microsoft PMax campaigns by importing your existing campaigns from Google Ads or by setting up our own new Microsoft campaign in three easy steps.

1. Define your goals: PMax optimizes your campaigns by focusing on the specific types of conversions that you identify as the most valuable for your business.
2. Add creative assets: Microsoft Advertising’s AI, guided by your initial inputs and final URL, can generate additional asset recommendations for your campaign. You have the option to incorporate these suggestions, expanding the range of ad formats and increasing the potential inventory where your ads can be displayed.
3. Create audience signals: Specify the types of customers who are most valuable to your goals and likely to convert, and Performance Max will tailor its optimization efforts towards reaching those users across the exclusive Microsoft network. While setting up audience signals is optional, doing so can expedite the learning and optimization process as your Performance Max campaign begins.

What Microsoft is saying.: Microsoft said in a statement:

• “If you’ve imported a PMax campaign from Google Ads that originally came over as a smart shopping campaign or dynamic search ads (DSA) campaign, we’ll upgrade it to a Performance Max campaign in phased approaches over the next few weeks.”
• “If you are currently using a third-party platform that does not yet support Performance Max, they will continue to be imported as smart shopping or DSA.”
• “In the coming months, we’ll be adding many new capabilities to our Performance Max campaigns such as brand exclusions, search insights reports, search themes, and video assets. As we share more information about what new capabilities are available, we’ll also share more success stories of how advertisers are seeing great success with Performance Max on Microsoft Advertising.”

Deep dive. Read Microsoft’s announcement in full for more information.