Google Is Reshuffling Your Ad Partners — and Most Publishers Don’t Know It’s Happening
On April 6, 2026, Google announced it will experiment with an updated set of commonly used ad technology partners (ATPs) for AdSense. The experiment starts on or after April 20, 2026. If Google decides the results are beneficial for publishers, the new list becomes permanent on or after June 5, 2026.
This matters more than most publishers realize.
The commonly used set is a default. If you haven’t gone into your AdSense settings and manually configured which ad partners can operate on your site, you’re relying on this default list. When Google changes it, the companies that automatically receive your users’ consent change too.
That means a vendor dropped from the default list will no longer automatically receive consent on your site — unless you manually add them. And a new vendor added to the default gets consent automatically, potentially before you even know they’re there.
As SE Roundtable reported, this affects publishers in the European Economic Area, the UK, and Switzerland under GDPR-governed consent flows.
What’s Actually Changing
The current commonly used set contains 199 ad technology providers. These include some of the biggest names in programmatic advertising:
- Demand platforms: Amazon, The Trade Desk, Microsoft, Meta, Google, Criteo
- Exchanges: Index Exchange, Magnite, PubMatic
- Measurement: Nielsen, comScore, Kantar, Dynata
- Brand safety: DoubleVerify, HUMAN SECURITY, Integral Ad Science
- Data providers: LiveRamp, Bombora, Neustar, Epsilon
- Retail platforms: Coupang, Mercado Livre, OTTO, eBay
Of those 199 providers, 127 carry IDs from both the IAB Global Vendor List (GVL) and Google’s Additional Consent (AC) specification. The remaining 64 carry only Google AC identifiers — meaning they operate outside the standard IAB Transparency and Consent Framework.
Google says the updated list will “reflect the partners that work most closely with publishers globally, determined by data collected from all programmatic demand sources, as well as meeting our privacy standards.”
In plain English: partners that generate the most revenue for publishers stay. Partners that don’t may get cut.
This Isn’t the First Time — It’s Becoming Annual
Google ran a nearly identical process in April 2025, with changes taking effect on or after June 2, 2025. The timeline is almost identical: announce in April, experiment in late April, make it permanent in early June.
This suggests Google has established a recurring annual refresh cycle for its ad technology partners, not a one-time update. Publishers who assumed the list was static need to rethink that assumption.
As PPC Land noted, this recurring pattern means publishers should be checking their partner lists at least annually.
How to Check Your Current Ad Partners
Here’s how to see who’s on your list right now:
- Sign in to your AdSense account
- Go to Privacy & messaging
- Click European regulations
- Select “Your ad partners” from the menu
You’ll see the current commonly used set, and once the experiment begins (April 20), you’ll also see which partners are part of the experiment.
Google also publishes the full list as a JSON file at commonly-used-providers.json, which certified consent management platforms can query programmatically.
Your Options: Stay In, Opt Out, or Go Custom
You have three choices:
Option 1: Do Nothing (Stay on the Default)
If you’re comfortable with Google managing your partner list, you don’t need to do anything. The new list will apply automatically after June 5 if the experiment is successful. This is the easiest path but gives you the least control.
Option 2: Opt Out of Automatic Updates
In your AdSense settings, select “Do not automatically include commonly used ad partners.” This creates a custom list pre-filled with your current selections. You can then add or remove partners as you see fit. Once you have a custom list, changes to the commonly used set no longer affect you automatically.
Option 3: Review and Customize
The most hands-on approach. Review the full list, remove partners you don’t trust or that don’t generate meaningful revenue for your site, and ensure your privacy policy accurately reflects the partners you’ve selected.
If You Use a Third-Party CMP
If you’re using a third-party consent management platform (CMP) to collect GDPR consent — like OneTrust, Cookiebot, or Quantcast Choice — your ad tech partner list is managed through your CMP, not through AdSense directly. You’ll need to check with your CMP provider to understand how changes to Google’s commonly used set flow through to your consent configuration.
What I’d Do If I Were You
Here’s my take:
Don’t ignore this. Even if you’re not in Europe, understanding who has access to your users’ data matters. And if you are in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, this directly affects your GDPR compliance.
I’d recommend:
- Audit your current partner list this week — before April 20
- Review the new list once the experiment starts — see who’s in and who’s out
- Decide whether to opt out — if you have specific partners you rely on for revenue, don’t risk them being dropped from the default
- Update your privacy policy — make sure it reflects your actual partner configuration
- Set a calendar reminder for June 5 — check again when the permanent update goes live
This is one of those changes that flies under the radar but directly impacts your ad revenue and compliance posture. The publishers who pay attention will maintain control. The ones who don’t will wonder why their RPMs shifted in Q2.
The Bigger Picture: Google’s Privacy Pivot
This ATP update is part of Google’s broader push to reshape how advertising works in a privacy-first world. With third-party cookies still in limbo, the Privacy Sandbox gaining traction, and regulatory pressure increasing globally, Google is tightening the screws on who gets access to user data through its ad ecosystem.
For publishers, the message is clear: pay attention to your privacy settings, or Google will make the decisions for you.
I’ll update this post once the experiment goes live on April 20 and again when the permanent list takes effect in June.
