Google has recently made an important update to its advertising platform. The company has lowered the minimum audience size needed to run audience-based campaigns across Google Ads. This change affects advertisers of all sizes, especially small businesses and niche advertisers.
What Changed in Google Ads Audience Size Limits
Previously, Google required relatively large audience lists for remarketing and customer match campaigns. For example, Search campaigns often needed audiences of at least 1,000 active users to be eligible for targeting.
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With the latest update, the minimum audience size limit has been reduced to just 100 active users across all major networks and audience types in Google Ads, including:
- Search campaigns
- Display campaigns
- YouTube ads
- Remarketing lists
- Customer match lists
- Audience Insights reporting
This means that smaller customer lists and remarketing audiences with only 100 active users in the last 30 days can now be used for targeting.
Why Google Lowered Audience Size Limits
Google’s move aims to open up advanced audience-based targeting to more advertisers. Under the old rules, many small and niche accounts could not use remarketing or audience lists because they didn’t meet the high audience size thresholds.
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By reducing the minimum requirement, Google is helping advertisers:
- Use remarketing and customer lists even when they have fewer users
- Make first-party data targeting more accessible
- Create more personalized ad campaigns without a large user base
This change also aligns audience thresholds across all networks, making it simpler for advertisers to understand and use audience targeting without worrying about platform differences.
Which Campaigns Are Affected
The lowered audience size limits apply broadly across the Google Ads ecosystem:
Search Ads
Advertisers can now use smaller audience lists for remarketing and customer match in Search campaigns.
Display and YouTube Ads
The same 100-user minimum applies to audiences used in Display and YouTube advertising.
Audience Insights
Audience reporting features like Audience Insights also now show data for segments with at least 100 users, compared to the previous 1,000 threshold.
How This Update Helps Advertisers
This update has several benefits for marketers:
1. Better Access for Small Businesses
Many small businesses struggled to build audience lists large enough for targeting. The new lower limits remove this barrier.
2. Easier Remarketing Activation
Advertisers can now run remarketing campaigns using even small lists of returning visitors or past buyers.
3. More Precise Targeting
With lower limits, advertisers can create focused segments like recent buyers, highly engaged site visitors, or specific customer lists and use them effectively.
4. Enhanced First-Party Data Use
Using your own customer data becomes easier even when dealing with smaller sets of users.
Things Advertisers Should Watch Out For
While this change is helpful, it also comes with a few considerations:
Smaller Audiences May Deliver Slowly
Very small audience lists may result in slower ad delivery or limited reach because Google still needs to match users and serve ads effectively.
Data Quality Still Matters
Advertisers still need good first-party data. Clean, up-to-date lists are essential to avoid irrelevant targeting or poor performance.
What Should Advertisers Do Next?
Here are key actions advertisers should take after this update:
Review Your Audience Lists
Check existing lists and see if smaller segments can now be activated for campaigns.
Test New Audience Strategies
Try remarketing to audiences that were previously too small. Test different segments to see what works best.
Focus on First-Party Data
Collect user information directly from your website or app to build high-quality audience lists.
Monitor Performance Closely
As smaller lists may behave differently, watch performance and adjust bids and creatives where needed.
Conclusion
Google’s decision to lower audience size limits across Search, Display, and YouTube ads is a significant update for advertisers in 2026. By reducing the minimum required audience to just 100 active users, Google has made audience-based targeting more accessible, especially for small businesses and niche campaigns.
Advertisers should take advantage of this change by testing smaller remarketing lists, refreshing customer segments, and focusing on first-party data while watching out for delivery and performance nuances.