Microsoft Advertising Is Removing Max CPC From New Standalone Bidding Campaigns

Microsoft Advertising is phasing out a manual safeguard: from October 1, 2026, advertisers creating new campaigns on standalone Maximize Conversions, Maximize Conversion Value or Maximize Clicks bidding strategies won't be able to add a Max CPC limit.

What's changing

• New campaigns on those three standalone strategies lose the Max CPC option from October 1
• Existing campaigns created before the deadline keep their Max CPC settings — there's no forced migration
• Target Impression Share, eCPC and portfolio bidding strategies continue to support Max CPC
• The restriction also extends to Target CPA and Target ROAS campaigns, beyond what Microsoft first flagged in August
• A January 12 deadline applies to API users, tool providers and Google Import: after that, Max CPC won't be supported for new campaigns or for existing campaigns that don't already have it — and once removed after October 1, it can't be added back

Microsoft Advertising Product Liaison Navah Hopkins confirmed the details and is encouraging advertisers to run optimization experiments now, testing campaigns without Max CPC before the option disappears for new builds.

Why Microsoft says it's doing this

Microsoft's position is that Max CPC limits can override an advertiser's stated performance goals and create pacing irregularities, and that advertisers using tCPA/tROAS conversion-based bidding tend to hit their goals more reliably than those relying on manual CPC caps. The company wants budgets, conversion targets, conversion value rules and seasonality adjustments to do the job Max CPC used to do.

What this means for you

If you use Max CPC as a safety net against unexpectedly expensive clicks, that safety net disappears for anything you build fresh after October 1. Worth testing removal on a live campaign now — via an experiment, not a blind switch — so you have your own data on how your account's automated bidding behaves before the option is gone for new campaigns. This is particularly relevant heading into the holiday season, when many accounts restructure or launch new campaigns regardless.

Sources

• Microsoft Advertising removes Max CPC from new standalone bidding campaigns — Search Engine Land
• Navah Hopkins on LinkedIn — updates to Max CPC for new campaigns