Short answer: Google Ads Editor is a free app from Google that you install on your computer to manage Google Ads campaigns. You download your account, make changes offline, check them and post them back to Google Ads. It saves the most time when many ads or keywords change at once.
What Google Ads Editor is
Google calls it a free, downloadable application for managing your Google Ads campaigns. You download one or more accounts, make changes offline on that copy, then upload the changes to Google Ads.
Any advertiser can use it, but Google says it is especially useful for accounts with multiple campaigns and long lists of keywords or ads. You can still sign in at ads.google.com and make changes there as well.
The editor can also manage several accounts at the same time. That helps when you reach clients’ accounts through a manager account, explained in our guide to the Google Ads manager account.
What you can do in Google Ads Editor
| Task | What the editor does | Our tip |
|---|---|---|
| Change many ads | Search and replace text across ad groups or campaigns | Read a few changed ads in full before you post |
| Reuse what works | Copy or move items between ad groups and campaigns | Rename each copy so you can tell them apart |
| Share a proposal | Export and import files to share proposals or make changes | Send the file to whoever approves, not screenshots |
| Fix a mistake | Undo and redo multiple changes while you edit | Undo before you post; a posted change is live |
| Work without internet | Keep working even when you’re offline | Get recent changes before you start |
The middle column sums up Google Ads Editor Help; the tips are ours.
Long keyword lists are where the editor saves the most time. Before you paste one in, our guide to keyword match types and our guide to negative keywords help you choose each entry.
Before you install it
Google Ads Editor is available for 64-bit Windows 10 or later and for macOS 13 or later. Google says it installs in seconds, and the new version doesn’t work on 32-bit Windows.
Review the settings before you start. They include default targeting for new campaigns, and they sit in Tools > Settings on Windows or in Google Ads Editor > Preferences on a Mac.
How to use Google Ads Editor
- Download Google Ads Editor for your operating system and install it.
- Review its settings, including the default targeting for new campaigns.
- Select Accounts at the top of the screen, then Add, and enter the email address or customer ID of the account.
- Check the accounts you want and select OK. Choose which campaigns to download, select OK again, then select the account and Open.
- Make your changes individually or in bulk, such as replacing text across several ads.
- Click Check changes and fix any errors. Then click Post, choose All campaigns or Selected campaigns, review the summary and click Post again.
- Sign in at ads.google.com and open a few changed ads to see them as they went live.
Steps 1 to 6 come from Google Ads Editor Help, and step 7 is ours. After a post, the editor shows a report with any errors, and campaigns or ad groups with changes that didn’t post stay in bold.
Changes that post reach your account immediately, Google says, though they can take a little longer to show across the Google Network.
Keep the editor and your online account in step
The editor works on a copy of your account. If anyone changed the account online, click Get recent changes before you edit, then choose Basic or More data.
Basic is usually faster for a few campaigns, and More data for many. More data also brings top-of-page and first-page bid estimates, plus Quality Score.
If a campaign with unposted changes is left out of the download, you lose those changes, although the editor warns you first and lets you cancel.
When you edit an ad, any field that exists online but not in the editor loses its text when you post. For those ads, Google recommends making the changes in the online interface instead.
If you rewrite many ads at once, our guide to responsive search ads covers what each headline and description should say.
Check these before you post
- You got recent changes before you started editing.
- Every campaign with unposted changes is part of your download.
- Check changes shows no errors.
- You read a few changed ads in full.
- Ads with fields the editor doesn’t support were edited online.
- You chose All campaigns or Selected campaigns on purpose.
RememberGoogle Ads Editor is a free app for Windows and Mac that edits a copy of your account. Get recent changes, edit offline, run Check changes and post, then look at the account online.
If you’d rather not edit campaigns yourself, our Google Ads service builds and runs your Google Search campaigns in English and Spanish. You add us to your Google Ads account, or we open one in your name.
Common questions about Google Ads Editor
Is Google Ads Editor free?
Yes. Google describes it as a free Google Ads campaign management application that takes seconds to install. It runs on 64-bit Windows 10 or later and on macOS 13 or later. You download your Google Ads account into it before you edit anything.
Does Google Ads Editor work on a Mac?
Yes, on macOS 13 or later, and on 64-bit Windows 10 or later. On a Mac, its settings are under Google Ads Editor > Preferences; on Windows, under Tools > Settings. Review them first, because they include default targeting for new campaigns.
Can I use the editor and the Google Ads website at the same time?
Yes. You can still sign in at ads.google.com and make changes there. Before you edit in Google Ads Editor, click Get recent changes so the editor has the latest version of the account and you don’t work on an old copy.
Why are some campaigns in bold after I post?
Because some of their changes didn’t post. After a post, Google Ads Editor shows a report with any errors, and campaigns and ad groups with changes that didn’t post stay in bold. Running Check changes first puts error icons next to items with problems.
Can I undo changes in Google Ads Editor?
Yes, while you edit: the editor lets you undo and redo multiple changes. Once you post, successful changes reach your account right away, so check them before you click Post and fix anything you missed in the editor or online.
Sources
Sources read on November 6, 2026, all from Google Ads Editor Help: About Google Ads Editor, Download and install Google Ads Editor, System requirements and 6 steps to using Google Ads Editor. Also Get started with Google Ads Editor, Check changes before posting, Post changes to Google Ads and Review recent account changes.