Google is introducing a new “prospects” targeting mode designed to help advertisers reach consumers who have never interacted with their brand before.
What’s happening. The company is expanding its New Customer Acquisition tools with a new “new prospects” mode launching this year.
Unlike traditional new customer targeting, which focuses on users who haven’t purchased before, the new mode is designed to reach people completely unfamiliar with a brand.
Google says the system automatically excludes users who have:
- purchased previously,
- searched for brand terms,
- visited a website or app,
- or engaged with brand content across Google and YouTube.
The goal is to focus ad spend entirely on “cold” audiences still in the discovery phase.
Why we care. Google is giving brands more control over how aggressively they pursue incremental customer growth instead of repeatedly targeting existing audiences. The new “prospects” mode could help advertisers reach entirely new users earlier in the buying journey while improving acquisition efficiency through AI-powered audience exclusions and automation.
The bigger picture. Google is increasingly positioning AI-driven audience targeting as a way for advertisers to balance growth with efficiency.
The company says advertisers using New Customer Acquisition Value Mode — which assigns higher value to new buyers while still reaching existing customers — saw a 9% improvement in ROAS when valuing new customers at twice average order value.
Between the lines. As AI-driven targeting expands, platforms are increasingly using behavioral signals, first-party data and automated exclusions to identify users earlier in the purchase journey.
What to watch. The effectiveness of “new prospects” mode may depend heavily on Google’s ability to accurately identify brand-unaware users while balancing reach, efficiency and privacy restrictions tied to audience tracking.
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