Starting September 2, 2026, Microsoft Advertising will update UTM auto-tagging to improve how your campaign performance is measured in third-party analytics platforms (e.g. Google Analytics 4).
No action is required. If you are using UTM auto‑tagging today, updated tags will be applied automatically. If you do not use UTM auto-tagging, please disregard this update.
Today, Microsoft Advertising applies a universal UTM tagging approach across campaign formats, which results in campaigns such as Audience Ads, Shopping Ads, and Performance Max being grouped under “Paid Search” reporting in analytics reports.
With this update, format specific UTM tags will be applied automatically, enabling campaign formats such as Search, Audience, Shopping, and Performance Max to be reported distinctly by campaign type within your analytics platform. You’ll begin seeing this reflected in reporting for campaign activity starting September 2, 2026.
How Microsoft Advertising traffic may appear in Google Analytics:
|
Microsoft Ads
format
|
utm_source
|
utm_medium
|
Campaign Suffix
|
Google Analytics channel
definitions
|
|
Search
|
bing
|
cpc
|
-
|
Paid Search
|
|
Audience Ads
|
msads
|
cpm
|
-
|
Display
|
|
Shopping Ads
|
msads
|
cpc
|
shopping
|
Paid Shopping
|
|
Video
|
bing_video
|
cpc
|
-
|
Paid Video
|
|
Performance Max
|
msads
|
-
|
cross-network
|
Cross-network
|
|
Default/Unknown
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
If you use a different analytics platform, it may have default channel definitions similar to Google Analytics. Refer to the table above and contact your platform representative to understand how this update may affect you.
What this means for you:
- More accurate performance reporting: Your analytics platform can attribute Microsoft Advertising traffic more specifically by campaign format.
- Better budget decisions: Format level insights make it easier to see what’s working and shift spend to higher performing campaigns.
For more information, please review our FAQs or contact support if you need further assistance.
Thank you for your continued partnership.
The Microsoft Advertising Team
