Can I exclude my customers and keep Microsoft Ads Performance Max to desktop for B2B now?

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Partly. Device targeting, which lets you exclude smartphones and tablets, is rolling out to all Performance Max advertisers "in the coming weeks," Microsoft said on October 28, 2026. Audience exclusions, the control you'd use to keep customers out, are only in open pilot: ask your account team or Support to join. Microsoft's post doesn't say which audience types the pilot accepts, so confirm customer lists work first. Age and gender targeting is generally available, and search term and auction insights reports are available too.

As of November 2026.

What changed

Microsoft listed these controls in its October 28, 2026 product roundup. Two arrived earlier: its August 31, 2026 roundup said the search term report was available and age and gender targeting was rolling out, due to be generally available on September 8. A few build on API features Microsoft documented earlier in the year.

BeforeNow (as of Microsoft's October 28, 2026 post)
Audience exclusionsListed as a campaign-level exclusion in Microsoft's API guideOpen pilot. Ask your account team or Support to join
Device targetingCampaign-level device exclusions documented in the API and Bulk serviceRolling out to all advertisers "in the coming weeks." Include or exclude device types
Age and genderCampaign-level exclusions in Bulk (mapping added May 2026). Rolling out from August 31, 2026Generally available. Include or exclude age groups and genders
Search term reportRolling out from May 2026 (search term insights were already available). Available by August 31, 2026Available
Auction insights"Coming soon," Microsoft said on May 7, 2026Available. Shows how you compare with competitors
Search term landing page reportNot availableRolling out from mid-November 2026
Brand exclusionsNo text-ads-only optionPilot: apply them to text ads only, so product ads still show on those brand searches
Messaging guidelinesNot availableOpen pilot: up to 40 rules to steer AI-written ad copy
LinkedIn profile targeting (company, industry, job function)Not supported in Performance MaxStill not supported

A note on audience exclusions: Microsoft's Performance Max API guide (updated September 15, 2026) already lists audiences among the criteria you can exclude at campaign level. But the October blog calls the feature a pilot, so it may not work in your account until you're in it.

Who it affects

Anyone running Performance Max in Microsoft Advertising. Microsoft describes Performance Max as "one AI-powered campaign across all Microsoft inventory." These controls narrow who sees it and show more of where the money goes.

B2B lead gen teams most. Three common B2B asks are now partly possible: keep paying customers out, keep ads on work computers, and see the searches behind the spend.

Not every account gets everything yet. Device targeting is still rolling out. Audience exclusions and text-ads-only brand exclusions are pilots you have to ask for. Age and gender targeting is generally available, and Microsoft says the search term and auction insights reports are available.

The API and Bulk docs already describe more. Whether they work before the web app rollout or pilot reaches your account isn't clear. Microsoft's API guide lists age, audience, device, gender, location and webpage as campaign-level exclusions for Performance Max. Device exclusions accept Computers, Smartphones and Tablets, and at least one device type must stay un-excluded. Microsoft's Bulk docs say campaign-level negative device criteria are only supported for Performance Max.

Account-based targeting still lives elsewhere. Microsoft's API guide says Performance Max doesn't support Profile criteria. Those are the LinkedIn-based targets for company, industry and job function. Microsoft lists them for Search, Dynamic Search Ads, Shopping and Audience campaigns. If you target named accounts or job functions, keep that budget there.

Search-only advertisers can mostly ignore this. One exception: messaging guidelines also cover Search campaigns with AI Max turned on. See what happened to predictive matching and whether to use AI Max.

What to do now

  1. Ask to join the audience exclusions pilot. Contact your account team or Support. Ask which audience types it accepts (customer match lists, remarketing lists or both). Microsoft's October post doesn't say.
  2. Get a customer list ready. Microsoft's customer match lists take email addresses hashed with SHA-256. You accept the Customer Match terms first, in the web app or with the Bulk file's Accept Customer Match Term field. Microsoft says to check the list's audience size after 48 hours. Use current customers' work emails from your CRM. If the pilot only takes remarketing lists, a list of visitors to your login or app pages can stand in.
  3. Decide on desktop with CRM data, not clicks. If your CRM shows that phone and tablet leads rarely become pipeline, exclude Smartphones and Tablets once device targeting reaches your account. In Bulk, that's one Campaign Negative Device Criterion record per device type. Watch conversion volume after the change, and judge it on qualified leads.
  4. Leave age and gender open unless you have a clear reason. Age and gender rarely define a B2B buyer, and every exclusion shrinks reach.
  5. Read the search term report every week. Look for job seekers, students, support and login searches. Microsoft suggests using these insights to refine your search themes and update your creative assets.
  6. Check where your ads ran. Since May 2026, the Website URL (publisher) report shows conversions, clicks and spend for each site. Microsoft says you can exclude a site at account level with URL exclusion lists. It also warns that frequent manual exclusions "can interfere with the platform's ability to learn and optimize," so judge sites over a few weeks. For search ads on the Microsoft Audience Network, see how B2B advertisers opt out.
  7. Use auction insights. Microsoft says it shows where competitors outrank you and how often you appear with them, with metrics like overlap rate and outranking share.
  8. Add messaging guidelines if legal must approve copy. They're in open pilot; Microsoft's post doesn't say how to join, so ask your account team if you don't see them. Write rules on claims, themes and tone to avoid. Microsoft allows up to 40.

Not sure Performance Max fits B2B lead gen at all? Read does Performance Max work for B2B lead generation. It covers Google, but the trade-offs are the same: it needs conversions tied to pipeline.

Dates to watch

DateWhat happens
May 7, 2026Microsoft adds conversions, clicks and spend to the Performance Max Website URL report. Search term reporting starts rolling out, and auction insights are "coming soon"
May 2026API release notes: new Bulk mapping for Performance Max campaign-level negative age and gender
August 2026API release notes: the .NET SDK adds the campaign negative device criterion mapping
August 31, 2026Microsoft's August roundup: search term report available, age and gender targeting rolling out
September 8, 2026The date Microsoft set for age and gender targeting to be generally available
October 28, 2026Microsoft says age and gender targeting is generally available. Device targeting starts rolling out. Audience exclusions and messaging guidelines in open pilot. Search term and auction insights reports available
Mid-November 2026Search term landing page report starts rolling out
No date givenDevice targeting reaches every account ("in the coming weeks"). Audience exclusions and text-ads-only brand exclusions leave pilot

Microsoft's help center doesn't load for AI tools, so this page relies on Microsoft's blog and its API documentation. The menus in your account may differ from the API names used here.

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