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Update (Jan 21, 2020): Clarified impact in more detail on both APIs.

On January 27, 2020, message extensions will be sunset in AdWords and Google Ads APIs and Google Ads scripts. After the sunset date:

• All existing message extensions will no longer serve.
• You will not be able to create new message extensions or update existing extensions.
• You will still be able to retrieve data for existing message extensions until the end of 2020.
• You will also be able to remove the existing message extensions until the end of 2020.

What will happen when you try to create or update message extensions after the sunset date?
If you try to create or update a message extension, you will see the following errors:

Google Ads API

• Trying to create or update a TextMessageFeedItem will result in the ExtensionSettingError.INVALID_FEED_TYPE error.
• Trying to create a message extension via FeedMapping with placeholder_type set to MESSAGE will result in the FeedMappingError.INVALID_PLACEHOLDER_TYPE error.
• Trying to create or update CampaignFeeds, AdGroupFeeds, or CustomerFeeds by specifying MESSAGE in laceholderTypes will result in the CampaignFeedError.INVALID_PLACEHOLDER_TYPE, AdGroupFeedError.INVALID_PLACEHOLDER_TYPE, and CustomerFeedError.INVALID_PLACEHOLDER_TYPE errors, respectively.

AdWords API

• Trying to create or update a MessageFeedItem will result in the ExtensionSettingError.INVALID_FEED_TYPE error.
• Trying to create a message extension via FeedMapping using placeholder type ID 31 will result in the FeedMappingError.INVALID_PLACEHOLDER_TYPE error.
• Trying to create or update CampaignFeeds, AdGroupFeeds, or CustomerFeeds by specifying ID 31 in placeholderTypes will result in the CampaignFeedError.INVALID_PLACEHOLDER_TYPES, AdGroupFeedError.INVALID_PLACEHOLDER_TYPES and CustomerFeedError.INVALID_PLACEHOLDER_TYPES errors, respectively.

Google Ads scripts
Trying to execute the following operations will result in the error, “Cannot operate on deprecated placeholder type” (translated to the language based on your locale):

• Creating a message extension via AdsApp.MessageBuilder
• Updating a message extension via any methods beginning with set of AdsApp.Message
• Attaching a message extension to Campaign or AdGroup via addMessage

What do you need to do?

• Retrieve all the data from your existing message extensions that you need. All message extension data will be deleted at the end of 2020.
• Ensure that your programs don’t contain any code trying to create or update message extensions after the sunset date.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us on the Google Ads API forum.
 - Thanet Knack Praneenararat, Google Ads API Team

With the release of version 3.16.0 of the Interactive Media Ads SDK (IMA SDK) for Android, the location where we host the SDK has changed to Google's Maven Repository.

As a result of this change, your Android project should include a reference to the google() repository (Google's Maven Repository) as a dependency. Previously, the SDK was hosted on JCenter. You can now remove the jcenter() reference from your Android project’s build.gradle file, as long as none of your other dependencies are hosted there.

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With the release of version 3.16.0 of the Interactive Media Ads SDK (IMA SDK) for Android, the location where we host the SDK has changed to Google's Maven Repository.

As a result of this change, your Android project should include a reference to the google() repository (Google's Maven Repository) as a dependency. Previously, the SDK was hosted on JCenter. You can now remove the jcenter() reference from your Android project’s build.gradle file, as long as none of your other dependencies are hosted there.

The google() repository should be referenced in the project-level build.gradle file of your project. You should then import the IMA SDK in the app/build.gradle file. See an example in the following code snippet from the Adding the IMA Android SDK to the player app section of the Android IMA SDK getting started guide.

repositories {
    google()
}

dependencies {
    implementation 'androidx.appcompat:appcompat:1.1.0'
    implementation 'com.google.ads.interactivemedia.v3:interactivemedia:3.16.0'
}

Another change that comes from this update is that the com.google.android.gms:play-services-ads-identifier target is now included as a dependency of the IMA SDK and is no longer required to be explicitly included in the app/build.gradle file.

If you have questions about the IMA SDK for Android, please see the SDK documentation, or reach out to us on the IMA SDK forum.

 - Jackson Sui, Interactive Media Ads Developer Relations

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On January 31, 2020, the AdWords API and Google Ads API will no longer allow positive user list criteria in Smart Display campaigns.

What happens to my existing Smart Display Campaigns?
Existing Smart Display campaigns with positive user list targeting:

• Will continue to serve without interruption.
• Will no longer allow adding a positive CampaignCriterion or AdGroupCriterion with a user list criterion.
• Will no longer serve if the ad group is paused and then restarted.

What code do I need to change?
Please update your code that manages Smart Display campaigns per the following updated validation rules:

AdWords API	Google Ads API
Positive CampaignCriterion.criterion set to CriterionUserList can no longer be added.	Positive CampaignCriterion.user_list can no longer be added.
Positive AdGroupCriterion.criterion set to CriterionUserList can no longer be added.	Positive AdGroupCriterion.user_list can no longer be added.

You will receive a CANNOT_TARGET_CRITERION error if you try to add one of these criteria.

Why is this changing?
Adding these criteria for Smart Display campaigns was never formally supported as outlined in our Smart Display campaigns guide. Additional validation is being put in place now to make sure that these values are not being set. Please see the guide for supporting criteria.

If you have any questions while updating your code, please reach out to us on our Google Ads API and AdWords API forum.
Nadine Wang, Google Ads API Team

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On January 31, 2020, the AdWords API and Google Ads scripts will start returning UNKNOWN for AdFormat in the Geo Performance Report. All other reports with AdFormat will not be affected. The Google Ads API is not affected as the field does not exist.

Please update your code where it uses these fields:

AdWords API	Google Ads API	Google Ads scripts
AdFormat in GEO_PERFORMANCE_REPORT	NOT AFFECTED	AdFormat in GEO_PERFORMANCE_REPORT

If you have any questions while updating your code, please reach out to us on our Google Ads API and AdWords API forum or our Google Ads scripts forum.
Nadine Wang, Google Ads API Team