Data-driven attribution (DDA) uses an account's own conversion data to distribute credit across the touchpoints on the path to conversion, rather than applying a fixed rule like first- or last-click. It is now the default conversion attribution model in Google Ads, which has deprecated the older rule-based models except last-click.
How it differs from rule-based models
Rule-based models such as last-click, first-click and linear apply the same fixed logic to every conversion. DDA instead learns from your account which interactions actually moved buyers toward converting and weights credit accordingly, so two campaigns with identical click counts can receive very different credit.
What to watch for
DDA needs enough data to model reliably, so low-volume conversion actions may not qualify. Because the model is specific to your account, its numbers will not match a CRM's first-touch record or Meta's window-based counts. We treat a platform's DDA number as a signal that a campaign is working, and reconcile the count of record back to the CRM.