Imagine suddenly losing your go-to resource for solving critical problems with your Google Ads campaigns. That's the reality facing many developers as Google prepares to sunset its long-standing advertising developer support forums in 2026. This move signals a significant shift in how Google will handle technical support, and it's essential to understand what it means for you.
The End of an Era: Google Groups Forums Shutting Down
Google will be closing three Google Groups forums dedicated to supporting advertising developers. These forums have been a valuable resource for troubleshooting issues related to the Google Ads API, Ads Scripts, and the Campaign Manager 360 API for years.
Here's the timeline: Google will cease responding to new posts on January 28th of next year. The forums will remain online as read-only archives until sometime in 2026, at which point posting will be completely disabled.
What Happens After January 28th?
- No More Forum Replies from Google: Google support agents will no longer actively participate in the Google Groups forums.
- Existing Threads Trigger Email Support: Replying to existing threads will automatically generate a new email ticket with Google support, effectively bypassing the community forum.
- Archives Remain: All existing content, including past discussions and solutions, will still be accessible for reference... at least until 2026.
Why the Change? Streamlining Support (Or Something Else?)
Google states that this transition is part of an effort to "streamline technical support channels." The goal is to direct developers toward official tools that offer better tracking and more efficient response workflows. This could mean faster resolutions in some cases, but many worry about the loss of the community-driven support that these forums offered. But here's where it gets controversial... Some speculate that Google is also aiming to gain more control over the support process, ensuring that all issues are handled directly and consistently.
Where Should Developers Go Now?
Google's documentation has been updated to point developers to the following official support channels:
- Google Ads API: https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/support/contact
- Google Ads Scripts: https://developers.google.com/google-ads/scripts/docs/support/contact
- Campaign Manager 360 API: Contact the Campaign Manager 360 support team directly via dcmapi-support@google.com.
Why This Matters to You: Adapting to the New Landscape
These forums have been invaluable open Q&A resources, enabling developers to quickly find solutions and share knowledge. With their disappearance, the troubleshooting process will shift entirely to official support channels. This means:
- Workflow Adjustments: Developers will need to adapt their troubleshooting processes.
- Detailed Logs Required: Expect to share more comprehensive logs and diagnostic information.
- Less Community Reliance: The reliance on community-driven fixes will decrease.
The way advertisers solve problems is evolving, so preparation is key to preventing downtime and performance issues.
What Google Wants From You: Providing the Right Information
To expedite resolutions, Google emphasizes the importance of including complete diagnostic details when submitting support tickets. This includes:
- Google Ads API: Request ID, full request + response logs. For example, specify the mutations being made to an ad group and the resulting server response with any error codes.
- Ads Scripts: Script name, customer ID, execution logs, UI error messages. Be sure to indicate the exact line of code causing the error and the context in which it's being used.
- CM360 API: Profile/account IDs, API method, request + response logs. Provide specific examples of the API calls that are failing.
- All Products: Clear issue description, expected behavior, reproduction steps, code snippets, and error messages. The more detail you provide, the faster the support team can understand and resolve your issue.
A New Home for Community: Discord
For those seeking updates, event information, or general discussions, Google recommends its "Google Advertising and Measurement Community" Discord server: http://goo.gle/ads-and-measurement-discord. Importantly, this Discord server is not directly tied to official technical support. It's more of a community space for networking and sharing ideas. And this is the part most people miss... while the Discord server offers a place for community interaction, it doesn't replace the structured problem-solving and readily available historical solutions found in the Google Groups forums.
The Bottom Line: A Trade-Off Between Efficiency and Community
Google's decision to close the public troubleshooting forums in favor of standardized, direct support represents a trade-off. While it may lead to more efficient issue handling in some cases, it could potentially diminish the wealth of community-shared knowledge over time.
Food for Thought:
Do you think this change will ultimately benefit or hinder developers? Will the official support channels be able to effectively replace the community-driven problem-solving that the forums provided? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below! What strategies will you implement to ensure a smooth transition and minimize any potential disruptions to your workflow?
Source:
Google’s announcement: Sunsetting Google Ads API, Google Ads Scripts, and Campaign Manager 360 API Developer Support Forums on Google Groups (http://ads-developers.googleblog.com/2025/12/sunsetting-google-ads-api-google-ads.html)
