Google AdSense Adds New Triggers For Vignette Ads

Google AdSense has added additional triggers for vignette ads. There are now a total of six triggers, three old ones and three new ones. These new triggers took effect on February 9, 2026.

Google wrote, “Starting February 9, 2026, we’ll add a new control called Allow additional triggers for vignette ads in your Auto ads settings. This control will manage both the new and existing ways that vignettes are triggered. These changes are designed to unlock incremental revenue by identifying additional high-value impression opportunities.”

Here are the new triggers:

• Reaches the end of a page’s main article element and either they start scrolling back up, or 5 seconds elapse on mobile or 10 seconds on desktop.
• Is inactive for at least 30 seconds followed by user interaction (the timer starts after the last user interaction–for example, a scroll or click).
• Navigates backward using their browser’s back button on supported browsers (currently Chrome, Edge, and Opera).

The existing triggers are:

• Unhides a tab/window (for example, when they revisit a tab/window after going to another tab/window, revisit a tab/window after unlocking the device screen, or maximize a window after minimizing it)
• Clicks the browser’s navigation bar (desktop only)
• Opens a page within the same site in a new browser tab and then switches to that tab.

Google also posted these things to know:

• 1-month review period: While the new setting will appear in your account as turned on (checked) starting February 9, 2026, it will not affect your site’s actual ad delivery for one month. During this period, your existing vignette behavior will remain unchanged.
• Automatic activation: You have the option to opt out, but if you take no action during the review period, the new triggers will automatically activate on March 9, 2026.
• Guardrails: We will continue to respect your existing frequency cap settings (e.g., minimum time between vignette ads showing up) to ensure a balanced user experience.
• Opting out: You can opt out at any time. However, note that disabling this control will also turn off the existing triggers.

For more details, see this help document.

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