Google Ads has never really had a feature problem. It has a visibility problem.
Most advertisers assume that if something matters, Google will put it up front and centre. A big button. A clear prompt. A warning banner. In reality, it’s not like that. As automation has taken over, many of the tools that still shape performance haven’t gone away. They’ve just slipped out of sight.
Some have moved into account-level settings. Others have been renamed quietly. A few now live behind dropdowns you might only open when you feel something’s off. The result is the same: important controls exist, but they’re easy to miss.
That’s where this article comes in.
Rather than covering headline updates or brand-new releases here, we’re focusing on the parts of Google Ads that still matter but don’t get much press. These are things that continue to influence performance, guide bidding systems and affect where and how your ads show, yet they’re often overlooked, even by experienced advertisers.
In fact, these are the exact features we most often uncover during account audits. Not because clients are careless, but because Google no longer highlights them. If you know where to look, they’re there. And used properly, they still make a difference.
1. Automatically Created Assets (ACAs) – And Why You Should Check Them
Automatically Created Assets are Google’s way of “helping” when it thinks your ads could do with more material. Headlines, descriptions and in some cases images, are generated on your behalf using content pulled from your website, landing pages or existing ads. This is a feature that’s often switched on by default, particularly in Performance Max, Responsive Search Ads and Responsive Display Ads.
The reason many advertisers miss it is simple: it’s hidden in campaign-level settings. There’s no loud notification or warning banner. Unless an asset causes a problem, it can sit there unnoticed for months.
And this matters more than it sounds.
When these assets are active, Google isn’t just rearranging what you’ve written. It’s creating new messaging you haven’t reviewed or approved. That can mean headlines that don’t match your brand tone, descriptions that oversimplify your offer or phrasing that creates compliance risks in regulated industries.
There are situations where assets can be genuinely useful. Early-stage campaigns with limited creative resources or test accounts can benefit from the extra variation. Google gets you more to work with, faster.
But in brand-sensitive or regulated accounts, this feature can do quiet damage. Messaging accuracy slips. Tone drifts. And ads that don’t say what you think they say.
The practical takeaway is simple. Don’t assume asset creation is fully manual anymore. Check your settings. Review what Google is allowed to generate. If you want help figuring out these hidden features or need a fresh pair of eyes to look over your campaigns, a strategy session is a good place to start.
2. Video Usage in Responsive Display Ads
Most advertisers think they know when they’re running video. They uploaded a YouTube creative, selected a video campaign type and set expectations accordingly. What often gets missed is that Responsive Display Ads can serve video even when you’ve never created one intentionally.
If there are video assets available on the account, or if Google can generate them from images and text, Responsive Display Ads may use video formats by default. There’s no flag waving that says, “Your ads are now running as video.” It just… happens.
Why does this matter?
Because Display video inventory isn’t limited to neat, brand-safe environments. It can include in-app placements, game placements and video units across Google’s partner sites. These aren’t always bad placements but they’re often lower context and faster-moving. If the video being shown is auto-generated or poorly adapted, the brand impression can suffer.
The real risk is visibility. Most advertisers don’t realise video is live until performance dips or a client spots an odd-looking placement. At that point, the damage is already done. Unlike text or static display, video creates a stronger emotional response (that’s why it’s used so often too). But if it feels off-brand, rushed or low-quality, it reflects badly very quickly.
Best practice? Intention. Either upload a controlled video asset you’re happy to have shown widely or restrict video usage entirely if you’re not ready for it. Don’t leave the decision to default settings.
3. Call Reporting, Call Recording & Call Conversion Detail
Phone calls are still one of the highest-intent actions a user can take. Despite this, Google’s own call reporting tools are often ignored and misunderstood. Many people even replace these by third-party software before they really look at what’s already there.
Inside Google Ads, native call reporting gives you more than a simple “call happened” metric. You can see:
- Call duration.
- Caller area code.
- Call status.
- Recordings of calls (if enabled).
All of this sits within Google Ads and feeds directly into how campaigns learn and optimise.
So, why is it underused? Mostly because it’s buried. Call data is across several places: conversion settings, call assets (formerly extensions) and reporting views that aren’t surfaced by default. Many advertisers assume external call tracking is always superior and never properly configure what Google already offers on its system.
That’s a missed opportunity. Smart Bidding, as well as counting calls, uses call duration thresholds to determine what qualifies as a meaningful conversation. A 10-second misdial and a three-minute enquiry are not treated the same. When call conversions are set up correctly, they’re strong intent signals for bidding, especially in lead generation and local service accounts.
Call reporting is valuable for businesses where the phone is the sale: trades, clinics, professional services, dealerships. You can see which campaigns drive serious conversations, not just clicks.
A work of caution, though. Call recording comes with legal responsibilities. In the UK, GDPR and consent rules apply. Callers must be informed, and records must be handled correctly. It’s powerful data—but only when used properly.
4. Search Partners — The Network Most Accounts Forget to Review
They’ve been there for years in the background of most Google Ads accounts. Enabled by default, rarely questioned. And because they don’t look like a separate campaign or placement, they’re easy to forget entirely.
In simple terms, Search Partners extend your search ads beyond Google itself. Your ads can appear on a mix of directory sites, ISP portals, toolbars and other secondary search experiences that license Google’s search technology. You don’t get a list of where ads show. You get a blended line in the report.
That’s where the problem starts.
Because performance is aggregated, Search Partner traffic often looks fine at a surface level. Clicks come in. Conversions tick up. Dig deeper and the picture can change. For some industries, Search Partners bring incremental, low-cost volume. For others, they inflate numbers but drag down lead quality.
It’s particularly noticeable in lead generation. You may see more form fills or calls, but they come with poorer follow-up rates, lower intent or higher no-show percentages. And because Google doesn’t separate placement data, those issues can be hard to trace unless you’re looking at downstream behaviour.
The mistake is treating Search Partners as either “good” or “bad” by default. They’re neither. They’re variable.
Best practice is to review them deliberately. Look at conversion quality. Not just volume. Compare assisted performance. Run controlled tests where Search Partners are excluded, then reintroduced. Let real outcomes guide the decision, not assumptions.
They’re not a secret weapon. But they shouldn’t be a blind spot either.
5. Overlap & Outranking Insights (Auction Insights)
Auction Insights feels observational rather than practical. One of those reports people open, look at, then forget. Interesting, maybe, but not something that changes day-to-day decisions. That assumption is where value gets left on the table.
At its core, it shows who you’re competing against, how often your ads appear alongside theirs and who tends to outrank whom. It covers metrics like:
- Impression.
- Share.
- Overlap rate.
- Position above rate.
- Top of page presence.
On the surface, that can feel abstract. In reality, it’s one of the clearest windows into what’s actually happening in your auction.
A sudden drop in impression share? Auction Insights will often reveal a new aggressive bidder entering the space.
Rising costs on brand terms? You may see competitors creeping into what used to be “safe” territory.
Performance MAX campaigns are also part of this story. PMAX can capture brand traffic quietly, making it look like growth. In fact, you’re just paying more to win clicks you would have earned anyway.
Where this really earns its place is in strategic decisions. Brand defence, for example. If competitors are consistently overlapping on brand terms, you may need to adjust bids, budgets or campaign structure. In competitive verticals, Auction Insights can highlight when you’re being outspent, outbid or simply outpaced.
It also informs where not to push. If a rival dominates a category and your overlap rate is high with poor outcomes, that’s a signal to rethink budget allocation. Rather than brute-forcing your way through.
6. Content Suitability, Topics & Game Placements (Display & Video)
Content suitability controls aren’t flashy. They don’t promise performance gains. Google doesn’t push you towards them (which is exactly why they get missed).
These settings say where your ads are allowed to appear:
- Inventory types (expanded, standard, limited).
- Sensitive content categories.
- Topic exclusions.
- Whether your ads can show in mobile apps and games.
They sit away from campaign setup, buried under account-level content controls and safety settings. Unless something goes wrong, most advertisers never touch them.
That’s the problem.
Display and Performance Max campaigns can serve ads inside games, apps and low-quality environments by default. Sometimes that’s fine. Sometimes it’s a disaster. A B2B software brand appearing inside a hyper-casual mobile game. A professional services firm running alongside clickbait content. A premium brand diluted by junk inventory it never intended to buy.
PMAX makes this more important, not less. Because placements are automated, the system will chase volume wherever it can find it. If your content suitability settings are widely open, that volume may come at the cost of perception, trust or lead quality.
It’s not always obvious in terms of metric impact. CTR might look fine. Spend might increase. But conversion quality drops, sales teams complain and suddenly “the leads just aren’t as good as they used to be.”
Best practice here is simple and preventative:
- Review content suitability settings early.
- Decide what level of inventory fits your brand.
- Exclude topics and placements that don’t align with your audience.
- Be especially cautious about game and app placements if you’re B2B, regulated or selling high-consideration services.
It’s not about being restrictive for the sake of it. It’s making sure automation operates inside boundaries you’re comfortable with. Don’t wait for brand damage to force the conversation. Set the rules first. The PPC team at Key Principles are always here to help you dig deeper.
7. Account Notes Panel & Overview Views
The notes panel inside Google Ads isn’t new and it’s not exciting. Hence why it gets ignored.
Notes let you record what changed, when it changed and why. Directly inside the account. They sit alongside overview dashboards that surface change history, automated recommendations, performance spikes and dips. On paper, it sounds like admin. In practice, it’s a clear way to keep control in a system that’s increasingly automated.
Most advertisers just look at performance graphs. They don’t look at what happened around them. A sudden rise in spend. A drop in lead quality. A shift in impression share. Without context, you’re guessing. With notes, you’re tracing cause and effect.
This matters when accounts change hands. New starters. Agency transitions. Even just a different internal owner. Accounts without notes almost always lose their story over time. Decisions get repeated. Tests get rerun. Mistakes resurface because no one remembers they were mistakes.
Overview views are another layer. They show when Google applied automation, surfaced suggestions or adjusted behaviour behind the scenes. When performance shifts, these often explain why. Even if the answer isn’t flattering.
Used properly, both are an audit trail. They help explain results to stakeholders. They protect teams from being blamed for automated changes they didn’t make. And they bring a level of professional discipline that’s still surprisingly rare.
Conclusion: Features that Guide Rather than Beat Automation
These features may be harder to spot, easier to forget and rarely explained but they’re where the real edge sits. It’s not about chasing secret hacks or fighting automation but in knowing where insight still lives, which levers still influence outcomes and when human judgement should step in.
None of these features override Google’s systems. They guide them and help you understand why performance shifts, where quality is slipping and when the volume is coming in at the wrong cost. Most importantly, they restore context. Something automated platforms are very bad at preserving.
These are the exact areas we review when accounts start to feel “out of control” or disconnected from real business outcomes. If that sounds familiar, it’s worth getting in touch with our team.
