Microsoft Advertising Adds Self-Serve Negative Keywords, Bidding Updates to Performance Max

Microsoft Advertising released self-serve negative keyword support for Performance Max campaigns on March 17, 2026, ending a workflow that previously required advertisers to contact a support representative before any exclusion could take effect. The update, framed as the top story in Microsoft's March product roundup, also included simplified automated bidding strategy options and diagnostics improvements for travel feeds.

The new functionality lets advertisers add, modify, or delete negative keywords directly in the Microsoft Advertising UI through campaign settings, the Ad Preview Hub, and shared negative keyword lists. Those lists can be applied at either the campaign or account level, hold up to 5,000 negative keywords per list formatted one term per line, and support CSV export. Negative match types in Performance Max follow the same rules as in traditional Search campaigns, according to Microsoft's official announcement. Support for the API, Microsoft Advertising Editor, and importing negative keywords from Google Ads all became available as of March 2026.

One critical scope limitation comes with the feature: negative keywords currently apply only to Search and Shopping inventory within Performance Max. Native placements and other PMax inventory types are not affected by these exclusions, a constraint Microsoft noted explicitly in its product post.

Ads Liaison Navah Hopkins confirmed that shared exclusion lists work across campaigns or accounts, with match types handled like standard Search. Microsoft's own announcement acknowledged the friction that preceded the change: "We've heard your feedback - you still need self-serve ways to guide and control where your ads appear and where they shouldn't. That's why we're delighted to now be releasing negative keyword support for PMax."

The change closes a meaningful gap with Google, which had already enabled negative keyword management for its own Performance Max product. Practitioner Sabarinathan R Shiyam Sunder noted on LinkedIn that the previous support-dependent process "slowed down basic campaign hygiene" and that the self-serve release "brings Microsoft closer to parity with Google." He recommended starting exclusion lists with brand terms already blocked in other campaigns, obvious irrelevant queries, and terms with no conversion history, then auditing converting versus non-converting query patterns to build a more complete starter list.

Agency guidance from Gravitate suggests pairing the new exclusion controls with weekly search term report reviews, using a threshold of at least 30 clicks or two conversions before promoting a query into a dedicated RSA ad group. The firm also recommends calibrating bids and budgets over the first seven to fourteen days before making significant adjustments, and running a tracking quality-assurance check before scaling spend.

The March product update also announced a global rollout of simplified bid strategies, described by Microsoft as a streamlining of automated bidding setup, though specific changes to individual bidding strategy options were not enumerated in the announcement. PPC News Feed characterized the overall package as a move that "further reduces friction and brings PMax closer to traditional campaign controls.