Google Ads moved percentage multipliers out of beta on October 22, 2026, so you can now bid 1.1x to 5x more for a predicted new customer instead of adding a flat dollar amount. Customer retention goals and High Value Mode are rolling out the same month. All of it needs purchase tracking and a Customer Match list.
What exactly did Google change on October 22?
Three things, announced in one AdsLiaison thread on October 22, 2026 and all described by Google as rolling out “this month” — so the window closes October 31.
First, percentage multipliers left beta. Until now, telling Google a new customer was worth more than a repeat one meant adding a flat figure: $20 extra. Google’s own words on the problem, quoted by PPC Land: “A static $20 incremental conversion value set on a small $50 checkout might be too aggressive.” Now you pick a percentage and the bid scales with the predicted cart, from 1.1x to 5x. It appears in your account as “Multiply by”, beside the older “Increase by”.
Second, New Customer High Value Mode came to Shopping campaigns, having already worked in Search and Performance Max.
Third, customer retention goals left beta with three modes — Re-engagement, Loyalty and Retention Only — across Performance Max, Search and Shopping.
Does this apply to my business, or only to online stores?
Mostly online stores, and that is worth saying plainly before you go looking for the setting.
All of these features rest on two things: Google Ads knowing the dollar value of each purchase, and a Customer Match list of people who have already bought. If you sell online and pass purchase value back to Google Ads, this is useful to you this week.
If you run lead-generation campaigns — home services, appliance repair, optical, mortgage, real estate — it mostly is not. Your conversion is a phone call or a form, not a $340 cart, so there is no cart size for a multiplier to scale against. The GTA mortgage brokerage we run at 1,113 leads a month at $7.69 per lead (August 2026) uses none of this; the equivalent lever there is offline conversion imports.
One piece does cross over. The “New customer only” setting works with Maximize conversions and Target CPA, not just value-based bidding, and Google’s Help Centre says a purchase goal is recommended rather than required for it. If you want Google chasing first-time buyers instead of your existing list, that is reachable without a revenue feed.
Which mode is right for which goal?
Match the mode to the outcome, not to whichever one sounds most advanced.
| Feature | What it does | Campaign types Google listed | What it needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage multipliers (“Multiply by”) | Raises new-customer bids 1.1x–5x, scaled to predicted cart size | Search, Shopping, Performance Max, Demand Gen | Purchase value tracking; segments of 1,000+ active members |
| New Customer High Value Mode | Bids toward the new customers predicted to be worth most | Search, Performance Max, now Shopping | Target ROAS or Maximize conversion value; purchase goal |
| Re-engagement | Pushes harder at lapsed buyers, still serves everyone else | PMax, Search, Shopping (announcement); PMax only (Help Centre) | Lapsed-customer Customer Match list; purchase goal |
| Loyalty | Member pricing or messaging for a loyalty list | Performance Max, Shopping | Loyalty list; purchase goal not required |
| Retention Only | Runs purely at existing customers, no prospecting | PMax, Search, Shopping | Customer Match segments; separate budget |
Why does Google’s own documentation disagree with the announcement?
Because the Help Centre has not caught up, and that gap is the practical problem this week.
PPC Land checked Google’s support pages on October 25, 2026 and found several mismatches with the October 22 announcement. The retention goal page describes Performance Max only and lists one mode, re-engagement. High-value new customer is documented for Performance Max and Search, not Shopping. Retention Only Mode and percentage multipliers are not documented at all.
None of that means the features are not shipping — it means availability is uneven mid-rollout. Treat your own account as the source of truth, and do not rebuild a campaign around a setting you have only read about.
What is the realistic risk here?
Overpaying for the wrong customers, quietly, for a fortnight.
A multiplier is a bid increase. Set 5x on a thin-margin line and you will win more first-time buyers at a cost per acquisition your margin cannot support — and because it scales with cart size, the biggest overbids land on your most expensive products. Common Thread Collective, in vendor commentary published October 22, 2026, suggests starting at 15–25% for average order values above $100 and reviewing after two weeks. That is their recommendation, not a Google requirement, but the shape is right: start low, wait two weeks, read blended cost per acquisition rather than campaign ROAS.
The second risk is stale lists. A Customer Match list you uploaded eight months ago describes a customer base you no longer have. Refresh before you enable, not after.
What to do this week
- Check you have the raw material. Confirm purchase conversions are importing with a value, not just a count. No value, no lifecycle goals — fix tracking first.
- Refresh your Customer Match lists. Re-upload your buyer list and build a second one of people whose last order was roughly 3 to 12 months ago, at 1,000+ members.
- Swap one flat boost for a percentage. In a single campaign, change “Increase by $X” to “Multiply by” and start near the bottom of the range.
- Diarise a review two weeks out. Compare cost per new customer and blended cost per acquisition. Roll it back if the blended number moved the wrong way — it is a bid change, reversible in a click.
Our Google Ads management work covers exactly this sort of mid-rollout change, including deciding when a new setting is not worth touching.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need Customer Match to use percentage multipliers?
Yes, in practice. Google identifies a new customer by comparing the user against audience segments of your existing customers, so you must supply at least one. Google’s interface asks for segments of at least 1,000 active members, managed in Audience manager. Without a list it falls back on broader conversion history — a weaker signal, which makes the multiplier a blunter instrument than it should be.
Can I run High Value Mode and a retention goal in the same campaign?
No. Commentary published alongside the October 22, 2026 announcement is clear that the two cannot be combined in one campaign — you need separate campaigns and separate budgets, one chasing new customers and one working your existing list. That is a sensible split anyway: the two jobs carry different acceptable costs per conversion, and a shared budget hides which one is working.
Is this available in Canada?
Google described the multiplier rollout as global, across Search, Shopping, Performance Max and Demand Gen in both Google Ads and SA360, during October 2026. It did not publish a country-by-country schedule, and mid-rollout availability has been uneven. Check your own account rather than assuming, and note that the figures in this post are Google’s own and US-sourced vendor commentary, not Canadian benchmark data.
What happens if I do nothing before October 31?
Nothing breaks. These are opt-in settings, not forced migrations, and your existing flat-dollar new-customer values keep working exactly as they do today. October is a rollout window, not a deadline. The only real cost of waiting is that retailers who set this up before Black Friday will be bidding more intelligently on high-value carts through your busiest four weeks, and you will not be.
Running $500 to $10k a month and not sure whether any of this applies to your account? We will tell you straight in a free 48-hour audit — get in touch.
Sources: PPC Land, 22 October 2026; PPC Land, 25 October 2026; Search Engine Roundtable, 22 October 2026; Google Ads Help: About the retention goal; Common Thread Collective, 22 October 2026.