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Use bulk actions in Ads Manager

Bulk actions let you apply operations to multiple items at the same time across any layer of Ads Manager. Instead of opening each item individually, you select multiple rows and choose an action from the Actions menu, activating campaigns, pausing keywords, downloading data, updating bids, and more. 

This article explains what bulk actions are available at each layer and how to use them.

How to perform bulk actions

From any layer in Ads Manager, select the checkboxes next to the rows you want to act on. You can select individual rows or use the checkbox in the column header to select all visible rows at once. Once your selection is made, click the Actions dropdown above the table to see the operations available for the current layer.

Select the action you want to apply. Some actions, such as Activate or Pause, apply immediately. Others, such as Edit, Upload, or Update Keyword Bids, open a follow-up panel where you review or configure the change before confirming. Actions like uploads or edits may prompt you to review your inputs before saving.

Available bulk actions by layer

The actions available in the Actions menu change depending on which layer you are on. Here is what is available at each level:

Layer

Available bulk actions

Campaign Groups

Duplicate, Compare Items, Update Keyword Bids, Download Data, Download Share of Voice Report

Campaigns

Activate, Pause, Edit, Delete, Duplicate, Update Keyword Bids, Upload Data, Download Data

Ad Groups

Activate, Pause, Edit, Delete, Duplicate, Update Keyword Bids, Copy Keywords, Upload Data, Download Data

Keywords

Activate, Pause, Copy, Copy Selected, Update Keyword Bids, Add As a Negative Keyword, Upload Keywords, Download Data, Automation Cart, AI Smart Bidding Settings

Search Terms

Add as Keywords, Add as Negative Keywords, Add as Campaign Negative Keywords, Copy Selected Terms, Compare Items

Ads

Activate, Pause, Compare Items

CPP

Download Data, Compare Items

Negative Keywords

Delete, Copy Selected, Copy All, Upload, Download Data

Actions worth noting

Update Keyword Bids is available at the Campaign Groups, Campaigns, Ad Groups, and Keywords layers. It lets you apply a bid change across all keywords within the selected items simultaneously, useful when you want to increase or decrease bids by a percentage or set a fixed value across a large keyword set.

Copy Keywords at the Ad Groups layer copies all keywords from the selected ad groups so you can paste them into a different ad group. This is useful when building a new ad group that shares a similar keyword strategy with an existing one.

Add As a Negative Keyword at the Keywords layer converts selected keywords into negative keywords and lets you choose whether to apply them at the campaign or ad group level.

AI Smart Bidding Settings at the Keywords layer opens the Smart Bidding configuration panel for the selected keywords, where you can set up or adjust AI-powered bid management for those terms.

Automation Cart at the Keywords layer is a staging area where you can queue keywords for automation rules before applying them.

Compare Items is available at the Campaign Groups, Search Terms, Ads, and CPP layers. It opens a side-by-side comparison view of the selected items and their performance metrics.

Upload Data and Download Data are available at the Campaigns, Ad Groups, Keywords, and Negative Keywords layers. Download Data exports the current table data as a CSV. Upload Data lets you apply changes in bulk using a CSV file, useful for large-scale bid updates or keyword additions that are easier to manage in a spreadsheet.

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