According to PPC Land, since 1 October 2026 new non-portfolio Microsoft Advertising campaigns with Max Conversions, Max Conversion Value or Max Clicks no longer accept Max CPC, and in new ChatGPT Ads ad groups the “Maximize results” strategy comes pre-selected. Two platforms, same pattern: fewer points where the advertiser sets a maximum price. The answer is to control cost by other routes: budgets, CPA or ROAS targets, alerts and review.
What changed at Microsoft
From 1 October 2026, new non-portfolio campaigns using Max Conversions, Max Conversion Value or Max Clicks no longer accept the Max CPC setting. Existing campaigns keep the field. Portfolio strategies, Target Impression Share and Enhanced CPC are also unaffected. Microsoft justifies the change with the intention to simplify bidding and said further updates on Max CPC will follow.
Other sources say the removal will come first from the interface and later from Microsoft Advertising Editor, with the API later. So if you manage campaigns in bulk, follow the dates.
What changed in ChatGPT Ads
In new, eligible ad groups in ChatGPT Ads Manager Beta, the “Maximize results” strategy comes pre-selected. It adjusts bids automatically for clicks or conversions. OpenAI’s documentation says it “prioritizes result volume” and doesn’t guarantee meeting a CPA, CPC or ROAS target. The only documented option for a limit is “Manual: Max bid”, and there’s no account-level preference to change the default: you must choose in each group.
In July 2026, fixed daily budgets became seven-day averages, without opt-out, according to the same report.
Fewer points of bid control
Microsoft, since 1 October
- New campaigns without Max CPC
- Existing campaigns keep it
- Portfolio, TIS and eCPC unaffected
ChatGPT Ads
- “Maximize results” by default
- Limit only via “Manual: Max bid”
- Budget as a 7-day average
The common pattern
PPC Land sums it up like this: both changes reduce the points where the advertiser can set a maximum price. In Microsoft’s case, the change has a date; in OpenAI’s, automation is the default starting point. Google, meanwhile, changed on 17 August the behaviour of Target CPA and Target ROAS in budget-limited campaigns, and Meta switches on AI features by default.
The movement is consistent across the industry: fewer buttons, more goals, more decisions by the machine. It isn’t necessarily bad for performance, but it shifts risk: if the machine overspends, the cost is yours.
What it means to stop setting a maximum price
A maximum bid is a protection: it prevents a click, in itself, from costing more than the set value. Without it, the limit becomes indirect: the total budget, the cost-per-result target or alerts. This works if the target is well calibrated and there’s enough data for the system to learn. In small accounts or with few results, the system may oscillate.
Risk is higher on new, low-volume channels, where the machine has little information. This is where an SME should be most conservative: small budget, clear target and frequent follow-up in the first days.
Without a maximum bid, more vigilance, not less.
How to keep cost control
Four levers. Budget: set weekly and daily ceilings, even if the platform uses averages. Targets: use Target CPA or ROAS when there’s data, and review them regularly. Alerts: set up warnings for abnormal spend and cost per result above the limit. Review: look at the account often in the first days of each new campaign.
If the platform has a bid-limit option, and your volume is low, consider using it. If not, compensate with more vigilance. The rule: without a maximum bid, more vigilance, not less.
Microsoft Advertising in Portugal: what to do
If you have Microsoft Advertising campaigns imported from Google, existing ones keep Max CPC. For new campaigns, define the cost target and budget in advance. If you use the Editor to manage in bulk, see when the change reaches that tool. And keep the channel as a testable complement: less competition, but also less volume.
If the channel isn’t a priority, the change shouldn’t alter your strategy. Record it and move on.
ChatGPT Ads: how to start safely, when it arrives
When the channel is available to you, choose the bidding strategy actively in each group. Use a low test ceiling, choose a goal (clicks or conversions) that you can measure and check cost per result every two days for the first two weeks. Turn off creative enhancements if you don’t want them, and check published ads.
If results fall short, reduce the budget or stop. On a new channel, learning cheaply is a win.
Questions for your manager
What bidding strategies are you using on each platform, and why? How do we control cost without a maximum bid? What alerts do we have set up? What do we do if cost per result exceeds the limit? And how do we prepare for similar new changes?
A good manager answers with concrete rules: “if cost per lead exceeds X for two days, we cut budget by Y”. Rules like these are worth more than blind faith in automation, wherever it comes from.
Frequently asked questions
Do existing Microsoft campaigns lose Max CPC?
According to the report, no: already-existing campaigns keep the field. The change applies to new non-portfolio campaigns with the strategies mentioned.
Can I limit bids in ChatGPT Ads?
The only documented option is “Manual: Max bid”, according to the report. The default is “Maximize results”.
Is automation worse?
Not necessarily. But it shifts risk to the advertiser, who must control budgets, targets and alerts.
Sources consulted
Keep reading
- Amazon Ads Agent and DVA+: what Amazon announced on 29 September, what is claim and what to verify
- FTC complaint against Amazon over hidden ad surcharges: what is alleged and what every advertiser should learn
- Microsoft Advertising brings AI Max to all accounts and shows news at Activate 2026: is it worth testing in Portugal?