Microsoft Advertising's Google import can run once or on a schedule. On a schedule, it keeps fetching whatever changed in Google Ads since the last run and applies it to the imported campaigns. That can include campaign status, bids, bid strategies and budgets, and it carries on until you pause or delete the schedule.
That's useful if you want both accounts to stay identical. It's a problem if you meant to copy a few campaigns once and then run Microsoft on its own plan, because a budget increase in Google can quietly become a budget increase in Microsoft.
Two days later, more than 100 changes
We learned this the hard way. In an earlier in-house role, we connected a Google Ads account to Microsoft Advertising to test a Latin American market where Bing had real potential. We ran two or three ads in Microsoft and left them in the background. The next day we launched two or three new Google campaigns with healthy budgets. On the third day the boss called: why had the Bing budget gone up, and who made all those changes late at night?
Change history showed more than 100 changes under the name of the person who had connected the import. A column marking each change as automated or manual settled it, and we unsynced the import. When a founder on a recent mentoring call, looking at Microsoft's LinkedIn profile targeting, asked whether they could simply migrate their Google setup, our answer came from that week: copy the ad copy that's proven in Google by hand, and don't leave a sync running.
One-time and scheduled imports
- Now and Once run a single time.
- Daily, Weekly and Monthly repeat until you pause or delete the schedule.
- Auto lets Microsoft Advertising set the schedule. Its Smart import flow also says it will fine-tune the settings and automate the schedule, so check what's selected before you start.
With a schedule running, Updates to existing items brings over status changes such as Paused or Enabled, and the Update bids, Update bid strategies and Update existing campaign budgets settings decide whether those follow Google too. Microsoft's own troubleshooting advice: if paused campaigns turn back on, or budgets change by themselves, look for a scheduled import, because automated imports keep resetting settings, budget included, to match Google Ads. By default the import also raises bids and budgets that fall below Microsoft's minimums.
How to copy once and keep control
- Pick Now or Once. Then open Import, then Import schedule & history, and confirm the Scheduled imports table is empty.
- Check both levels. Imports can be scheduled at the account level and the manager account level.
- Pause or delete what you find. Select the import, then Edit, then Pause or Delete. Deleting unlinks the campaigns from Google Ads. You can't edit or delete a schedule that another agency linked to the account created.
- Keep a schedule only on purpose. If you do, turn off the budget and bid updates unless you want Google's numbers in Microsoft.
Finding what an import changed
Change history lists every change from the last six months, including system-generated ones, and you can filter it by Changed by. Microsoft's change history report also records the tool behind each change, with values such as Imports and Web client (manual), which is how you tell an import from a person. What it can't do is reverse it: Microsoft says there is no way to undo imports from other platforms such as Google Ads. Every setting has to be fixed by hand, so stop the sync before it runs again.
The takeaways
- Google import in Microsoft Advertising runs once or on a schedule. Schedules keep syncing until you pause or delete them.
- A scheduled import can bring over status, bids, bid strategies and budgets from Google Ads.
- For a one-off copy, choose Now or Once and check Import schedule & history at both account and manager level.
- Change history shows what an import did, but imports from Google can't be undone.
- For a first test, copying your proven Google ad copy by hand is often the safer start.
Common questions
Does Microsoft Advertising keep syncing with Google Ads after an import?
Only if the import is scheduled. Now and Once run a single time. Daily, Weekly and Monthly imports repeat until you pause or delete the schedule, and Auto lets Microsoft Advertising set the schedule. Scheduled imports fetch items that changed in Google Ads since the last import.
Why did my Microsoft Ads budget or campaign status change by itself?
Check for a scheduled Google import. Microsoft says automated imports keep importing at the frequency you set, reactivating campaigns and modifying settings back to what they are in Google Ads, including the budget. Status, bid, bid strategy and budget updates are controlled by the import's update settings.
How do I stop a Google import in Microsoft Advertising?
Go to Import, then Import schedule & history. Under Scheduled imports, select the import, then Edit, then Pause or Delete. Deleting the schedule unlinks the campaigns from Google Ads. Check both the account level and the manager account level, since imports can be scheduled at either.
Can I undo a Google Ads import in Microsoft Advertising?
No. Microsoft's change history help says there is no way to undo imports from uploaded files or from other platforms such as Google Ads. You have to correct the imported settings yourself, which is why it's worth pausing a schedule before it runs again.
How can I see which Microsoft Ads changes came from an import?
Use Change history, which lists changes from the last six months, including system-generated ones, and can be filtered by Changed by. Microsoft's change history report also has a Tool column with values such as Imports and Web client (manual).