- Microsoft is turning on age and gender exclusions for Performance Max, generally available September 8.
- Microsoft’s live age bands are 18 to 24, 25 to 34, 35 to 49, 50 to 64, and 65 and over, plus Unknown. They do not line up one for one with the bands you exclude on other platforms.
- A separate Microsoft rule says advertisers in financial, insurance, education, career and employment, and housing services cannot use demographics to personalize, segment or profile customers. We read that as closing this lever to health insurance and Gold IRA, and the tool will still let those advertisers switch it on, so it is on you not to.
- Microsoft’s launch announcement never mentions that rule. Neither did the trade coverage we read.
Quick answers: Can insurance advertisers use it? · What are the age brackets? · Is an exclusion different from not targeting? · Where do you set it?
What Microsoft actually shipped
Microsoft’s August product announcement states it directly: “For advertisers that want to limit their PMax delivery to certain demographics, age and gender targeting exclusions are now available. You can now explicitly include or exclude age brackets (e.g., 18-24, 25-34) and gender groups (Male, Female, Unknown), just like with other campaign types.” Microsoft says it is rolling out now and generally available by September 8.
The words are include and exclude. That is a delivery control, not a bid hint you hope the machine respects. Performance Max has spent most of its life deciding for you who sees the ad, and now you get one hard lever.
The announcement does not say where the control lives. PPC Land, in its August roundup of Microsoft changes, places it at the asset group level. If you go looking, note that Microsoft’s help page describes age exclusions at the ad group level, which is the closest equivalent tier in the older campaign types.
Microsoft’s age bands are not the ones you know
Microsoft’s own API reference documents the usable ranges as 18 to 24, 25 to 34, 35 to 49, 50 to 64, and 65 and over, plus Unknown, and the splits at 49 and 64 are not where other ad platforms put them. The announcement itself names only two brackets, as examples. PPC News Feed reports the same numeric split, including the distinctive 35 to 49 and 50 to 64 bands.
Look at the middle of that list. Microsoft splits at 49, then at 64. If you already run a clean age exclusion on another ad platform, you cannot port it across one for one, because the boundaries fall in different places. A 48 year old homeowner sits in the same Microsoft band as a 36 year old renter.
Two more values in that same list, ThirtyFiveToFiftyFour and FiftyFiveAndAbove, are marked “Reserved.” If you script exclusions rather than clicking them, they are not yours to use.
One more trap, and this one comes with a scope warning. Microsoft’s age criterion reference says ad group level age criteria override campaign level ones, and that they are “not applied as a union”, so the narrower level replaces the broader one instead of stacking with it. That page describes the older campaign structure, though. It never mentions asset groups or Performance Max, so read it as documented behavior for standard campaigns and an open question for the new feature. Microsoft’s documentation has not caught up with what Microsoft just shipped.
The five industries Microsoft’s rule closes this to
Insurance, financial, education, career and employment, and housing advertisers cannot use demographics on Microsoft at all. The note saying so is the first thing on Microsoft’s page on age and gender targeting, sitting above every instruction: “If you’re advertising in connection with any financial, insurance, education, career and employment, and/or housing services, you cannot use individuals’ demographics … for the purpose of personalizing advertising, segmenting, or profiling customers.” The part behind that ellipsis names three things: age, gender, and location.
Location is the one that surprises people. The rule is wider than most operators assume, and it sweeps in ZIP level targeting for the named industries.
This is not a stray line on one help page either. The identical note is repeated on Microsoft’s API reference for the age criterion.
Now hold that note against the new feature. Microsoft never connects the two itself, so what follows is our reading, not a Microsoft ruling. Excluding the 18 to 24 band is still a decision about who gets served, and that is segmenting. An exclusion is the same act from the other side. If you buy insurance or financial leads, leave this lever alone and ask your Microsoft rep in writing first.
| Vertical | Named in Microsoft’s restricted list? | Our read on using the September 8 lever |
|---|---|---|
| HVAC | No | Use it |
| Pest control | No | Use it |
| Solar | Not by name | Use it, unless the offer leads with financing |
| U65 and ACA health insurance | Yes, as insurance | We would not, and would ask your rep first |
| Gold IRA | Yes, as financial | We would not, and would ask your rep first |
Solar earns the one hedge in that table. Solar sold with a loan or a lease attached can sit inside financial services, and Microsoft does not draw that line for you. If financing is the offer, treat the lever as closed until your rep says otherwise. Microsoft also puts no geography on the note, so assume it covers your market.
Here is the part worth sitting with. Microsoft’s launch announcement does not mention the restriction anywhere. We read it looking for it. We then read two independent trade write ups of the same launch, and neither raises it either. An advertiser running health insurance campaigns who read only that coverage would switch this on and never learn there was a rule to check.
Where the lever pays, and what to watch
HVAC, pest control and solar are where this earns its keep, and we have written separately on splitting HVAC campaigns during the Local Services Ads migration and on what a pest control lead actually costs. In a keywordless campaign the wrong age band is not a rounding error. It is spend. A 22 year old renter clicking a furnace replacement ad is a cost with no path to a booked job.
If it has not fallen, the band you excluded was not the waste, and you should put it back. An exclusion that does not lower your cost per qualified lead has not saved you money. It has just made your campaign smaller.
One other date sits on that same Microsoft announcement: Max CPC changes take effect October 1, which we work through in our Microsoft Max CPC test plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can insurance advertisers use Microsoft Performance Max age and gender exclusions?
Our answer is no, and you should confirm it with your Microsoft rep. Microsoft’s targeting documentation says advertisers connected with financial, insurance, education, career and employment, or housing services cannot use demographics to personalize, segment or profile customers. Health insurance is insurance and Gold IRA is financial, so both sit inside that rule. Microsoft has not said in writing that this specific September 8 feature is covered, which is exactly why we treat it as covered. The restriction is not new, but the feature that tempts you to test it is.
What age brackets does Microsoft Advertising support?
Microsoft’s API reference documents the usable bands as 18 to 24, 25 to 34, 35 to 49, 50 to 64, and 65 and over, plus an Unknown bucket for people whose age Microsoft cannot determine. Two further values in the same list are marked “Reserved” and cannot be used.
Is an exclusion different from not targeting a group?
Operationally, no. Both decide who is eligible to see the ad. That is why we do not think an exclusion gets an insurance or financial advertiser around Microsoft’s demographics rule. The rule is written about using demographics to segment delivery, and an exclusion segments delivery. Microsoft has not ruled on the point, so ask your rep rather than relying on us.
Where do you set the exclusion in a Performance Max campaign?
Microsoft’s announcement does not say. PPC Land reports the control at the asset group level. One caution if you set exclusions in more than one place: Microsoft documents an override rule where the narrower level replaces the broader one rather than stacking, but that page covers the older ad group structure and does not mention Performance Max, so confirm the behavior in your own account.
Getting this right in your account
The lever is genuinely useful in home services and looks closed in insurance and finance. Microsoft published those two facts in two different places and never connected them. If you buy leads in HVAC, pest or solar, the work this month is small and worth doing: switch the exclusion on, hold everything else still, and read cost per qualified lead in two weeks.
If you run health insurance or Gold IRA campaigns on Microsoft and you are not sure how your account is targeted today, that is worth a look before someone switches this on for you. Book a free consultation and we will go through it with you.
