Google turns on PMax image extraction by default from 4 December.

From 4 December 2026, every new Performance Max campaign will have image extraction switched on by default, even in accounts that turned dynamic images off. Advertisers who don't want Google lifting pictures from their landing pages will have to opt out campaign by campaign.

Google announced the change on its Google Ads Developer Blog on 21 October. It applies to new campaigns created through the Google Ads API, the Google Ads interface and Google Ads Editor. Until now, a campaign with no setting inherited the account-level choice for dynamic image extensions. From December the campaign-level default is opted in, whatever the account says. Existing Performance Max campaigns keep their current setup.

With image extraction, Google's AI scans the landing pages an advertiser provides for high-resolution images and uses them to build extra creative across Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail and Maps. To keep it off, the campaign's asset automation setting for image extraction has to be set to opted out when the campaign is created. Google's post is aimed at developers and tells anyone relying on the account-level control to set that explicitly.

The post leaves gaps. PPC Land points out that it does not say how Google decides which images qualify, whether extracted images are reviewed before they run, or whether advertisers can see and remove individual images afterwards. Agencies that build campaigns through tools or scripts will need to update them before the date.

In Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, where brands often keep tight control of imagery for cultural, legal or category reasons, this is worth acting on now. Teams should check which landing pages feed Performance Max, add the opt-out to campaign templates if they need it, and keep an eye on the creative Google generates once the default changes.