If you opened content suitability recently and found options you did not recognize, nothing broke. Google renamed the tiers: Expanded inventory is now Maximum inventory, and Standard inventory is now Moderate inventory. The in-product notice is explicit that only the names changed, not the inventory or the exclusions.
Worth knowing that the interface moved first. Google's help documentation has since caught up and uses Maximum, Moderate and Limited, but older guides and colleagues will still say Expanded and Standard. They mean the same thing.
What each tier excludes
Inventory type applies to YouTube, the Display Network and Google Video Partners, and depending on setup it can reach Discover and the Search Partner Network too.
- Maximum (was Expanded). All available inventory, subject to Google's content policies, with highly sensitive content excluded automatically.
- Moderate (was Standard). Most available inventory. Additionally excludes strong profanity, dramatized violence, and sexually suggestive themes.
- Limited. Excludes as much sensitive content as possible, including moderate profanity and sexually suggestive themes even inside mainstream content like music videos or makeup tutorials.
The part most advertisers get wrong
People treat Maximum as reckless. It is not the free-for-all it sounds like, because the Video Ad Safety Promise applies to all three tiers. Across every setting, Google excludes profanity in the title or thumbnail, full nudity or sexual content in the thumbnail, content showing abusing, buying, making or selling drugs, and content discussing terrorism or sensitive current events like war, death or tragedy.
So the choice is not "safe versus unsafe". The worst content is off the table regardless. What you are actually trading is reach against a band of mid-sensitivity content: strong profanity in a documentary, gore in a gaming video, a music video with sexual content.
What tightening costs
Google quantifies this for you. Move down a tier and the estimated impact panel shows the trade in three numbers: reduced inventory, reduced impressions, and increased CPM. That last one is the one people miss. Restricting inventory does not just cost you reach, it makes the reach you keep more expensive, because you are competing for a smaller pool.
In practice the tightening is single-digit percentages, not catastrophic. But it is a real cost paid every day, in exchange for excluding content most B2B buyers were never going to see your ad next to anyway.
What we run
Moderate, for almost every B2B account. It clears the content that creates genuine brand risk while keeping the reach that makes the channel work.
The more important point: inventory type is a blunt instrument. It cannot tell you that your Performance Max campaign is quietly serving on a mobile game. For that you need placement exclusions and a weekly look at where ads actually showed, which is exactly the fix in Performance Max is leaking your budget into mobile apps. Set the tier once, then do the real work in the placement report.
The takeaways
- Expanded is now Maximum, Standard is now Moderate. Names changed, exclusions did not.
- Older docs and guides still use Expanded and Standard; they are the same tiers.
- The Video Ad Safety Promise excludes the worst content across all three tiers, so Maximum is not a free-for-all.
- Tightening costs reach and raises CPM. Moderate is the sensible B2B default, with placement exclusions doing the precise work.
Common questions
What is Maximum inventory in Google Ads?
Maximum inventory is the new name for Expanded inventory. It shows ads across all available inventory, subject to Google's content policies, and automatically excludes highly sensitive content. Only the name changed; the inventory and exclusions are the same.
What is the difference between Maximum, Moderate and Limited inventory?
Maximum shows across all available inventory with only Google's baseline policy exclusions. Moderate, formerly Standard, additionally excludes strong profanity, dramatized violence and sexually suggestive themes. Limited excludes moderate profanity and sexually suggestive themes even in mainstream content such as music videos and makeup tutorials.
Does Maximum inventory mean my ads run next to anything?
No. The Video Ad Safety Promise applies to all three tiers. Across Maximum, Moderate and Limited, Google excludes profanity in the title or thumbnail, full nudity and sexual content in thumbnails, content about abusing or selling drugs, and content discussing terrorism or sensitive events like war, death or tragedy.
Which inventory type should a B2B advertiser choose?
Moderate is the sensible default for most B2B brands: it removes the content that creates genuine brand risk while keeping most reach. Tightening to Limited costs reach and raises CPM for exclusions that rarely matter to a B2B buyer, and it is a blunt tool compared with placement exclusions.