Smart Bidding Exploration
Smart Bidding Exploration lets Google pursue relevant queries beyond a campaign's historical conversion patterns to find incremental conversions. It reached all feed-less PMax campaigns globally around June 15, 2026.
Updated July 2026.
Smart Bidding Exploration is a Google Ads capability that lets Smart Bidding pursue relevant queries beyond a campaign’s historical conversion patterns, aiming to find incremental conversions the model would otherwise skip.
When did it roll out?
Google rolled Smart Bidding Exploration out to all feed-less Performance Max campaigns globally around June 15, 2026 (Google, 2026). It is part of the same 2026 wave of Smart Bidding changes that returned tCPA and tROAS as standalone strategy names.
Why it matters
Exploration trades some short-term efficiency for reach into new, potentially incremental demand — so measure it on incremental conversions, not last-click CPA alone.