Google Ads API v26 changes how teams inspect account-level Enhanced Conversions settings. Released on October 14, 2026, it replaces the old Enhanced Conversions for Leads enablement field with a unified configuration that distinguishes an account's own setting from the setting that actually applies.
If you maintain a Google Ads API integration, this is a migration item. If you manage a standard Google Tag Manager implementation, the field change alone is not a reason to rebuild your tags.
The practical question is whether your monitoring can tell the difference between a feature being enabled and measurement working correctly.
What changed in Google Ads API v26?
Google's v26 release notes confirm the removal of customer.conversion_tracking_setting.enhanced_conversions_for_leads_enabled. Two enum fields now expose the unified account-level Enhanced Conversions configuration:
| API field | Purpose in a v26 audit |
|---|---|
customer.conversion_tracking_setting.enablement_setting | Inspect the account's own Enhanced Conversions configuration. |
customer.conversion_tracking_setting.effective_enablement_setting | Inspect the setting that applies, including inheritance from a manager when cross-account conversion tracking is used. |
The new fields use the EnhancedConversionsConfig enum, which includes ON, OFF, UNKNOWN, and UNSPECIFIED.
Update any integration that expects a simple boolean. In your own reporting logic, preserve unknown or unspecified values as separate states rather than silently treating them as OFF. Otherwise, a monitoring dashboard can create a misleading failure alert.
This release changes the configuration surface exposed by the API. It does not establish that conversion matching, reported revenue, or return on ad spend will automatically improve after migration.
What are Enhanced Conversions?
Enhanced Conversions supplements conversion measurement with first-party information that a customer provides, such as an email address or phone number. That information can help Google associate eligible conversions with ad interactions when other measurement signals are incomplete.
For example, imagine an online store records 100 purchases in its order system. Google Ads may attribute only some of those purchases to advertising. Where the required conditions are met, Enhanced Conversions can help match additional purchases that already happened. It does not create additional orders.
At a high level, the process looks like this:
- A customer interacts with an ad and later converts.
- During the conversion journey, the customer provides information such as an email address.
- The implementation processes eligible user-provided data according to the collection method, applicable consent, and Google's requirements.
- Normalized identifiers are hashed with SHA-256 before being sent to Google; depending on the implementation, the tag or the integration handles hashing.
- Google uses the eligible data to support matching and attribution.
The v26 account fields describe configuration. They do not confirm that these steps have completed successfully for any particular conversion.
Enhanced Conversions for Web vs. Enhanced Conversions for Leads
| Implementation | Typical use case | Data flow to validate |
|---|---|---|
| Enhanced Conversions for Web | An online purchase, registration, or form submission | The website conversion and its eligible user-provided data |
| Enhanced Conversions for Leads | A website inquiry that becomes a qualified lead or sale later | Website lead data and subsequent offline conversion imports, often from a CRM |
The account configuration is becoming more unified, but these journeys still need different implementation checks. A purchase tag audit does not tell you whether a CRM import contains the correct lead outcome.
Why the effective setting matters for MCC accounts
A Google Ads manager account, often called an MCC, can manage conversion tracking across client accounts. That makes the account you are inspecting different from the account that controls its conversion tracking configuration.
Google's v26 customer field reference documents that the effective Enhanced Conversions setting is inherited from the manager when cross-account conversion tracking is used.
Consider an agency managing two brands. One brand owns its conversion tracking; the other uses conversion tracking managed through an MCC. Reading only each client's local setting would leave out an important part of the second brand's configuration.
For an account audit, I would record both new values alongside the conversion tracking owner. If they differ, investigate the account relationship before labeling the implementation as broken. The effective value is especially useful for understanding what applies to a client account today.
Who needs to take action?
Teams using the Google Ads API
Review custom scripts, account health dashboards, scheduled audits, and integrations that read Enhanced Conversions settings. A query that selects the removed field must be updated when that integration moves to v26.
Also inspect downstream code. Replacing a field name is not enough if the database, alert rules, or interface still expects true or false.
Agencies and teams managing multiple accounts
Include local and effective configuration in your audit output. Keep the conversion tracking owner visible so that the person investigating an issue knows where to review the controlling setting.
Teams using standard GTM tags
The documented API field replacement does not, by itself, require a new GTM Enhanced Conversions setup. Continue validating your existing tags and diagnostics, and check whether any separate monitoring tool depends on the API field that was removed.
If you are also reviewing container changes, my GTM October 2026 update guide covers that separate workflow.
Enhanced Conversions migration checklist
I would split validation into two passes: configuration first, then the actual conversion data flow.
1. Find dependencies on the removed field
Search your API queries, reporting jobs, and integration configuration for enhanced_conversions_for_leads_enabled. Identify which API version each integration uses before changing it.
2. Read both new account settings
Replace the old field in v26 queries with the appropriate new fields. Confirm that your client library and response mapping support the version you are calling. Store the returned enum states without collapsing them into a boolean.
3. Check the conversion tracking owner
For cross-account conversion tracking, review the manager configuration and the client's effective setting together. Compare the result with the intended account setup rather than assuming all clients manage conversions locally.
4. Validate user-provided data and consent handling
Check that eligible identifiers are available at the correct point in the conversion journey. Review normalization, hashing responsibilities, and consent handling for your collection method. An enabled account setting cannot compensate for missing or incorrectly processed identifiers.
For related implementation context, see my notes on server-side GTM and first-party data.
5. Review diagnostics and offline imports
Inspect Enhanced Conversions diagnostics in Google Ads. For lead implementations, also review import results, CRM field mappings, conversion actions, and whether the uploaded outcome corresponds to the intended stage of the lead journey.
Treat successful configuration checks and successful data delivery as separate evidence. Even accepted data does not mean every conversion can be matched.
Frequently asked questions
Did Google Ads API v26 change how Enhanced Conversions matches users?
The documented update concerns unified account configuration and the API fields used to inspect it. These changes alone do not demonstrate a new matching method or a guaranteed increase in attributed conversions.
Which field replaces enhanced_conversions_for_leads_enabled?
Google directs v26 integrations to customer.conversion_tracking_setting.enablement_setting for the account-level configuration. Read customer.conversion_tracking_setting.effective_enablement_setting as well when you need to understand the applied setting and manager inheritance.
Do I need to reinstall Enhanced Conversions in GTM?
The API field change alone does not require rebuilding your GTM tags. Review any API-based audits separately and continue testing the conversion implementation itself.
Does an ON setting prove Enhanced Conversions is working?
No. It indicates enablement, not the quality of identifiers, consent handling, conversion mapping, or matching. Use diagnostics and data-flow checks to assess those separately.
What I would prioritize after this update
For API integrations, update the removed field and preserve the new enum states throughout the reporting pipeline. For MCC audits, make the effective setting and conversion tracking owner visible. For measurement teams, keep validating the identifiers and conversion outcomes that reach Google Ads.
Enabling a measurement feature is one step. Verifying that the right data reaches it is the work that makes the setting useful.