Google has officially increased the negative keyword limit for Performance Max (PMax) campaigns from 100 to 10,000 per campaign—after advertisers voiced strong concerns about the initial cap. This change follows months of feedback and testing and marks a major shift in how advertisers can control traffic in these AI-powered campaigns.

Why the Original Cap Existed

When Google first enabled negative keywords in PMax campaigns, the 100-keyword cap was designed to balance advertiser control with AI flexibility. PMax relies on machine learning to find high-converting queries across Google’s networks. Excessive exclusions could restrict the AI’s learning and prevent it from discovering valuable traffic.

Google’s internal analysis and beta testing showed that most advertisers didn’t exceed 100 negative keywords. Furthermore, many of the negatives added had little to no impact on ad delivery, as those queries weren’t triggering ads anyway. So, the cap seemed reasonable—until advertisers started using it in practice.

What Advertisers Said

Advertisers quickly hit the 100-limit wall, especially larger brands with complex exclusion needs. Many found the cap impractical and requested higher limits. Google listened and decided to align PMax with Search campaigns by increasing the limit to 10,000 negative keywords per campaign—providing more room without risking performance for most users.

Best Practices With The New Limit

While the expanded limit offers more control, advertisers are encouraged to use negative keywords thoughtfully:

• Be Strategic: Overusing negatives can harm performance by blocking valuable search paths. Focus on specific terms that clearly reduce ROI.
• Use Match Types Wisely: Understand how broad, phrase, and exact match negatives behave in PMax. They differ from positive match types and impact ad visibility differently.
• Monitor Performance: Keep an eye on conversion metrics to ensure your negative keywords are improving results, not hindering them.
• Avoid Conflicts: Negative keywords take precedence. If a query matches both a positive and a negative, the ad won’t serve.
• Audit Regularly: Review your list periodically to avoid unintentionally excluding high-intent traffic.

What’s Coming Next

In response to ongoing feedback, Google is also working on additional PMax enhancements. These include:

• Improved Search Term Insights: Advertisers now have access to both individual and grouped search term data with performance metrics, which can be downloaded or accessed via the API.
• Negative Keyword Lists: Google is actively working on supporting shared negative keyword lists for PMax, a feature long requested by advertisers.
• More Transparency & Controls: Google acknowledges the need for deeper insights into how PMax serves ads and continues developing tools to help advertisers guide performance without sacrificing automation.

Final Thoughts

The move to 10,000 negative keywords per PMax campaign is a major shift driven by advertiser feedback. It reflects Google’s evolving approach to balancing automation with control. With smarter tools and broader controls now in place—and more on the horizon—advertisers are better equipped than ever to steer their PMax campaigns toward meaningful results.