Google's recommendations can rewrite an account's structure in an afternoon, whether someone clicks Apply, a third-party tool pushes them through, or auto-apply runs them daily. When results suddenly drop, open Change history before you touch anything. Google says it lists changes to your account, campaigns and ad groups for the past two years, shows who or what made each one, and maps them against your performance data.
The account that "improved" itself
We were away from one account we run for a partner company for a couple of weeks. In that time, their VP of Revenue connected an optimization tool to Google Ads. The tool surfaced the recommendations Google shows on the dashboard, and he accepted them: move keywords to broad match, raise the budget, switch bidding to Target ROAS, change the match types on negative keywords.
Each change looked reasonable on its own. Together, the account blew up, and it took us two months to fix it. Our read: with four structural changes landing at once, there was no clean way to tell which one did the damage.
It isn't a one-off. On a mentoring call, a B2B SaaS team showed us an account where AI Max had been switched on, which they put down to following Google's recommendations. They'd turned it off, but the irrelevant broad match search terms had already come through.
What auto-apply can change
Auto-apply is opt-in and set at account level. Google's current list of recommendations that can be applied automatically includes:
- Keywords and targeting: add broad match keywords, add keywords, remove conflicting negative keywords, use targeting expansion, expand to Google search partners.
- Bidding: switch to Maximize conversions, Target CPA, Target ROAS or Maximize conversion value, and adjust CPA or ROAS targets.
- Ads: improve responsive search ads and add dynamic search ads. Since January 26, 2026, auto-apply no longer adds new responsive search ads.
Google says auto-apply won't raise your budget. A person or a tool accepting recommendations can, which is what happened in our account. A bid strategy change also puts a campaign back into learning, which we cover in what actually puts a Google Ads campaign into learning.
Optimization score measures setup, not results
Google defines optimization score as "an estimate of how well your Google Ads account is set to perform." It says you can reach 100% by applying or dismissing all recommendations, and that it isn't used by Quality Score. Dismissing a recommendation that doesn't fit is as valid as applying one.
How to find what changed, and stop it
- Open Change history in the Campaigns menu. Filter by date range and change type, and read it against the performance timeline Google draws alongside.
- Check the User column. Changes made in the interface show the person's email. Google says changes made through the API, for example by a third-party tool, can show "Google Ads API" or the tool's name.
- Check auto-apply. Go to Recommendations, then Auto-apply settings. The History tab shows what's on and when it was turned on.
- Turn it off by unchecking recommendations in Auto-apply settings and saving, or selecting Disable in the History tab.
- Unwind one change at a time. Our read: switching auto-apply off stops new changes, but you reverse the old ones yourself.
A tool can read current data. It doesn't know what was tried last year or why a setting exists. Treat recommendations as a list to evaluate, not a queue to clear.
The takeaways
- Recommendations can change match types, bidding, negatives and budget fast, through you, a tool or auto-apply.
- Change history shows two years of changes, who made them, and when, against performance.
- Optimization score reaches 100% by dismissing recommendations too. It measures setup, not results.
- Turn auto-apply off in Recommendations, Auto-apply settings, and review each change yourself.
Common questions
How do I turn off auto-apply recommendations in Google Ads?
Go to Recommendations in the Campaigns menu and select Auto-apply settings. Uncheck the recommendations you want to stop and select Save, or open the History tab, select a recommendation and choose Disable. Auto-apply is set at account level.
Which recommendations can Google apply automatically?
Google's list includes adding broad match keywords and keywords, removing conflicting negative keywords, targeting expansion, Google search partners, switching to Smart Bidding strategies such as Target CPA or Target ROAS, adjusting targets, and improving responsive search ads. Google says auto-apply does not raise budgets.
How do I see what changed in my Google Ads account?
Open Change history in the Campaigns menu. Google says it lists changes to your account, campaigns and ad groups from the past two years, lets you filter by date and change type, maps changes against performance, and shows who made each change in the User column.
Can I tell if a third-party tool changed my Google Ads account?
Often, yes. Google says changes made through the Google Ads API, for example by a third-party tool, might show "Google Ads API" or the tool's name in Change history's User column, while changes made in the interface show the person's email.
Does a higher optimization score mean better performance?
No. Google defines optimization score as an estimate of how well your account is set to perform, and says you can reach 100% by applying or dismissing all recommendations. It is not used by Quality Score.