Brand exclusionsBrand exclusions

Brand exclusions use brand lists, built from Google's brand library, instead of keywords. A campaign with a brand excluded won't serve on searches Google associates with that brand. Google says one benefit over keywords is not having to enter misspellings, variants or versions in other languages.

• Search campaigns. Since 27 May 2025 brand settings have been moving into AI Max. Existing exclusions keep working, but adding a new brand list means turning on AI Max for the campaign.
• Performance Max. Exclusions apply to Search, Shopping and YouTube search inventory, with an option to keep Shopping ads on searches that mention excluded brands.
• Brand inclusions, the opposite, limit a Search campaign to searches for chosen brands.

For an affiliate manager, brand exclusions are an alternative to negative keywords that a publisher may already use. If your brand is in Google's library, your terms can accept an exclusion as well as negatives, with a screenshot of the setting as the record. A brand that isn't in the library can be requested.