What Changed and What to Do
Google Ads brand guidelines let you lock in the business name and logo that appear in automated ad formats, so Google AI does not pick them for you based on past performance. What began as a Performance Max migration in 2025 is now the default way brand identity is handled across Google’s AI-driven campaign types, and the manual migration deadlines have already passed. If you never set your guidelines, Google uses the business name and logos from your top-performing asset group by default.
- What changed: Brand identity moved from asset-group-level settings to campaign-level brand guidelines, and the old asset-group approach was retired during the 2025 migration.
- Who it affects: Advertisers running Performance Max and, increasingly, Demand Gen campaigns, including recruitment teams promoting employer brands.
- The risk: If you have not confirmed your settings, candidates may see parent-company or corporate branding instead of your employer or hiring brand.
- What to do now: Audit every automated campaign, confirm the business name and logos, and treat this as an ongoing hygiene check, not a one-time deadline.
What Google Ads Brand Guidelines Actually Do
Brand guidelines are a set of controls that tell Google how your brand should look when it assembles automated ads. Rather than letting the system infer your identity ad by ad, you define it once at the campaign level and Google applies it wherever the creative format supports it.
You can set the following:
| Element | Required or optional | Notes for recruitment advertisers |
|---|---|---|
| Business name | Required | Must match exactly with your domain or verified legal name, or assets can be disapproved or marked irrelevant. Decide whether your hiring brand or your corporate name should lead. |
| Logos | Required (up to five) | Use the logo candidates recognize on your career site, not just the corporate mark. |
| Primary and secondary colors | Optional | Keep them consistent with your career-site palette for a seamless click-through experience. |
| Brand font | Optional | Reinforces recognition across the candidate journey. |
Google AI infers brand information from your final URL and pre-fills these values, then reviews submitted assets, typically within one business day. The system applies your guidelines where eligible, but not every creative type will render with your exact specifications, so review is not a substitute for monitoring live ads.
Why This Matters More for Recruitment Advertisers
For most advertisers, brand guidelines are a housekeeping task. For recruitment marketers, the stakes are higher because employer brand and corporate brand are often different, and they compete for the same automated slot.
A large employer may run consumer campaigns under a well-known corporate name while its talent team promotes a distinct careers identity. If brand guidelines are not set deliberately, Google’s automation can surface whichever name and logo performed best historically, which is usually the consumer brand. Candidates then see marketing that does not match the career site they land on, which can erode trust and lower apply rates at the exact moment intent is highest.
This is also an AI-visibility issue. As AI search surfaces and answer engines increasingly summarize employer information, consistent naming and imagery across your ads, career site, and job listings make it easier for those systems to attribute content to the right brand.
What Changed and When: A Timeline
| Milestone | What happened | Status in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Early 2025 | Google announced brand guidelines for Performance Max and began prompting advertisers to migrate. | Complete |
| Mid-April 2025 | Deadline for manual migration. After this, Google began auto-selecting the business name and logos from each campaign’s top-performing asset group. | Passed |
| June 2025 | End of the extended support period for asset-group-level branding, after which campaign-level brand guidelines became the standard. | Passed |
| 2026 | Brand guidelines are the default model and have expanded to additional AI-driven formats, including Demand Gen. | Current |
The practical takeaway: the deadlines are behind us, so the question is no longer “did you migrate in time” but “are your automated campaigns still showing the right brand today.”
How to Audit and Update Your Brand Guidelines
Run this check across every automated campaign, and repeat it whenever you launch a new one or refresh creative.
Step 1: Locate your brand guidelines
In Google Ads, open your Performance Max campaign and edit or create an asset group. Brand guidelines are available when you create or edit an asset group; follow the on-screen brand guidelines steps to review your settings. In Demand Gen, business name and logo are set at the ad level, while colors and fonts are set at the campaign level.
Step 2: Confirm the business name and logos
Check the pre-filled business name against your intended hiring or employer brand, not just the corporate default. Confirm that the correct logos are present, up to a maximum of five, and remove any that represent the wrong brand.
Step 3: Override Google’s auto-selection where needed
If the system inferred a consumer or parent-company identity, replace it with the recruitment brand you want candidates to recognize. Add optional colors and fonts to match your career site.
Step 4: Save, review, and monitor
Save your changes and wait for asset review, usually within one business day. Then monitor live ads, because not every format renders your exact guidelines. Re-audit on a set cadence rather than treating this as a one-time fix.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the 2025 migration deadlines still relevant?
No. The mid-April and June 2025 migration deadlines have passed. If you never set brand guidelines, Google has already defaulted to the business name and logos from your top-performing asset group, so the action now is to audit and correct, not to beat a deadline.
Which campaign types use brand guidelines?
Brand guidelines began with Performance Max and have expanded to Demand Gen. Confirm the current list of eligible campaign types in Google Ads Help before you plan an audit.
What happens if I do nothing?
Google’s automation selects your business name and logos for you based on past campaign performance. For recruitment advertisers, that often means candidates see a corporate or consumer brand instead of your employer brand.
Can I use my employer brand instead of my legal company name?
The business name must match exactly with your domain or verified legal name, or assets may be disapproved. Work within that constraint by choosing verified naming and reinforcing your employer identity through logos, colors, and your career-site experience.
How often should I review my brand guidelines?
Treat it as ongoing hygiene. Review whenever you launch a new automated campaign, refresh creative, rebrand, or notice a mismatch between your ads and your career site. A quarterly check is a reasonable baseline for most teams.
