Google has released two new help documents that introduce significant changes to how Shopping ads display time-limited deals and how advertisers can manage sensitive actions inside Google Ads accounts. Both documents were identified in Google's Merchant Center and Google Ads help systems as of August 6–7, 2025.
Google Adds Deal Ends Urgency Badges to Shopping Ads
Google has published a new help document explaining how its experimental Deal Ends annotation works, giving retailers new insight into how limited-time sale badges can appear on Product Listing Ads and what it takes to qualify.
The new documentation outlines an experimental Shopping feature that automatically displays urgency labels such as "3 days left" or "5 hours left" beneath eligible product prices. The annotations are available globally on both desktop and mobile, with the exception of the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, according to Google's help documentation.
Deal Ends annotations appear when product data includes an expiration date for sale prices, and no new technical format or tooling is required beyond what merchants already use for promotions and sale price submissions. Google considers the `sale_price` attribute for the annotation as long as both the `sale_price` and `sale_price_effective_date` attributes are present in the product feed.
Eligibility Criteria Vary by Season
Qualification thresholds differ depending on whether the offer falls within or outside the holiday shopping window, which Google defines as October 15 to January 5.
During the holiday period, products must be discounted at least 10 percent off the post-deal price and must represent the lowest effective price for that item over the preceding 60 days. Outside of that window, the minimum discount drops to 5 percent, and the pricing history window shortens to 15 days. In both cases, the deal must be scheduled to expire within seven days, according to Google's help documentation.
The required interval between annotations also differs by season. During holidays, a minimum of 60 days must pass between Deal Ends annotations for the same product. Outside the holiday period, that interval is 15 days. Google's documentation specifies that non-holiday promotions must be limited to price-affecting sales, such as a flat dollar amount or percentage off, rather than other promotion types.
No Opt-Out, No Dedicated Reporting
Advertisers cannot opt into or out of the feature. The lack of opt-out and reporting options indicates this feature is still in its experimental phase. Google's help documentation confirms that specific reporting on Deal Ends will not initially be available, as the annotations are considered an improvement upon existing sales and promotions infrastructure rather than a separate ad product.
Google dynamically decides which annotations and badges to display, based on their relevance to customers and to improve Shopping ads and free listings performance for merchants. Providing all the required information does not guarantee that an annotation will be displayed for a given product.
For retailers already submitting promotions and sale price data through Merchant Center, ensuring that sale expiration dates and pricing history are accurately configured in the product feed is the most direct path to qualifying for the annotation under the criteria Google has published.
Google Ads Pilots Corporate Email Requirement for Sensitive Account Actions
Separately, Google has published a new help document detailing a pilot program that restricts certain account management actions in Google Ads to users signed in with corporate email addresses.
Users accessing Google Ads via free domain email addresses, such as @gmail.com or @yahoo.com, will be blocked from completing sensitive actions and must transition to a corporate email domain. The update is currently being piloted for a subset of advertisers.
Google states the change is intended to "enhance account security and minimize the impact of unauthorized access." Google's documentation notes that the list of sensitive actions is non-exhaustive and subject to change without prior notice, but currently includes account linking updates and user access changes as examples.
Routine Access Unaffected; Sensitive Actions Restricted
Users with free domain emails can continue to view reports and make routine campaign edits depending on their access level, but they will be restricted from completing sensitive actions. If a user attempts a sensitive action while signed in with a free domain email, they will receive an in-app prompt instructing them to switch to an authorized corporate email domain before proceeding.
Google defines a free domain email as one provided by a public, non-corporate email service where any individual can create an account without verifying ownership of a specific business domain. Corporate email addresses, those tied to a private domain owned by a business or website, are not classified as free domain emails under the policy.
Multi-Party Approval and Passkey Requirements
Multi-Party Approval is required for adding new corporate email users if there are three or more active administrators on the account. In those cases, another existing administrator must approve the request before the new user can be granted access.
Users switching to a new corporate email account will need to set up a new passkey, as passkeys are specific to each individual Google Account. Because the new corporate email account is distinct from the previous free domain account, a new passkey must be created and associated specifically with the new corporate login credentials.
Practical Implications for Advertisers and Agencies
For Shopping advertisers, the Deal Ends annotation creates an automatic visibility benefit for qualifying time-sensitive promotions without requiring feed restructuring. Merchants whose feeds already include accurate `sale_price` and `sale_price_effective_date` data are best positioned to meet Google's eligibility thresholds as the Q3 and Q4 shopping seasons approach.
For agencies and freelancers managing Google Ads accounts through personal Gmail addresses, the corporate email pilot introduces a meaningful operational consideration. Agencies, freelancers, and small businesses that rely on personal Gmail accounts could lose the ability to make critical account changes if their accounts are included in the pilot. Auditing account user lists and confirming which team members are signed in with free domain email addresses is a practical step toward avoiding disruption before any pilot expansion.
Google has confirmed the update is currently limited to a subset of advertisers, adding that accounts enrolled in the pilot will receive an email notification confirming their inclusion in the updated security requirement.
