Microsoft Ads drops Max CPC on new campaigns

What Microsoft says

The post comes from Microsoft's Bing Ads API blog, so it describes how the API will behave. Here is what it says.

• The date. Starting January 12, 2027, Max CPC will no longer be available when creating new non-portfolio campaigns, regardless of account type.
• Which bidding strategies. The change applies to campaigns using Target CPA, Target ROAS, Max Conversions, Max Conversion Value and Max Clicks.
• What isn't changing. Target Impression Share and Enhanced CPC (eCPC) are not affected. Portfolio bid strategies continue to support Max CPC for both new and existing campaigns.
• Existing campaigns. Non-portfolio campaigns created before January 12, 2027 keep their current Max CPC settings. But if Max CPC is removed from one of them after January 12, that campaign can't set a new Max CPC later.
• What the API does. Any attempt to create or update an affected non-portfolio campaign with Max CPC will fail, and the API will return an explicit error saying Max CPC isn't supported. Max CPC won't be silently removed from the request.

Microsoft's recommended actions are to use available optimization controls: bidding targets, campaign budgets and conversion value rules.

Who has it

If you build campaigns through the API, or use a tool that does, this is the one to read twice. A request that includes Max CPC on an affected campaign will return an error, not quietly drop the cap. The post doesn't say how the change shows up in the Microsoft Advertising interface.

What I'd do this week

These are my suggestions, not steps from Microsoft.

1. List where you use a Max CPC cap today. Note which campaigns pair a cap with one of the five strategies above.
2. Don't remove a cap you may want back. Microsoft says a campaign that loses its Max CPC after January 12 can't set a new one.
3. Check your scripts and tools. If anything creates campaigns with a Max CPC value, find out before January 12 so it doesn't start returning errors.
4. Plan the replacement. Decide whether tighter targets, budgets or conversion value rules would do the job a cap does for you.