Google Ads is changing budget pacing for ad-scheduled campaigns (watch your monthly caps)

Original article (source): Search Engine Land - “Google to change budget pacing for campaigns using ad scheduling” (Feb 25, 2026)

• https://searchengineland.com/google-to-change-budget-pacing-for-campaigns-using-ad-scheduling-470214

What’s changing (starting March 1)

Google Ads will proactively pace campaigns that use ad scheduling to spend up to the full 30.4x monthly cap.

Key details:

• The 2x daily overspend rule still applies.
• Campaigns won’t run outside the hours/days you set.
• But within the scheduled window, Google can push harder to reach the monthly ceiling.

Why app marketers should care

Lots of app teams use scheduling as a “soft brake” (e.g., weekends only, or business hours only).

Under the new pacing logic, you can end up with:

• higher-than-expected monthly spend
• distorted learning (your conversion mix shifts because you’re spending more aggressively on fewer days)
• pacing surprises right before month-end reporting

The simple mental model: scheduling no longer implies lower monthly spend unless you also adjust daily budgets.

What to do (boring, effective)

• List campaigns that use ad scheduling.
• Recalculate daily budgets based on your actual monthly target.
• Watch for spend spikes in the first week of March, especially on “limited days” campaigns.

Read the original: https://searchengineland.com/google-to-change-budget-pacing-for-campaigns-using-ad-scheduling-470214