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Microsoft Advertising Image Extensions vs. Google Ads Image Assets: Specs and Setup

Google calls them image assets; Microsoft calls them image extensions. Compare their image specifications, setup requirements, serving caveats, and click billing.
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Microsoft Advertising and Google Ads both let advertisers add images to Search ads, but they use different names, image specifications, and setup workflows. Google calls them image assets; Microsoft documentation calls them image extensions. Prepare each platform’s assets to its own rules, and treat eligibility as permission to serve—not a guarantee that an image will appear.

How the two features compare

The features serve a similar purpose, but their specifications come from different kinds of documentation. Google Ads Help gives Search-specific image asset requirements. Microsoft’s figures below come from its API object and Bulk Service documentation, so they describe documented implementation behavior rather than a direct match to Google’s user-facing guidance.

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What to compare Google Ads image assets Microsoft Advertising image extensions
Documented image formats and dimensions PNG or JPG. Square 1:1: 300×300 px minimum; 1200×1200 px recommended. Landscape 1.91:1: 600×314 px minimum; 1200×628 px recommended. Maximum file size: 5120 KB. Google Ads Help Microsoft Bulk Service lists landscape 1.91:1 at 703×368 px and square 1:1 at 300×300 px, alongside other supported aspect ratios. These are Bulk Service subtype specifications, not a universal user-interface requirements table. Microsoft Bulk Service documentation
Image quantity and association Google recommends at least four unique, relevant images at campaign or ad-group level, including square and landscape formats. Google Ads Help The API object allows up to six image extensions per account, campaign, or ad group. An account can associate image extensions with up to 1,000 campaigns and 1,000 ad groups. These are API limits, not recommended targets. Microsoft Campaign Management API
Eligibility and setup The image asset option is available when the account has been active for over 60 days, has a good policy compliance history, and has had active Search spend in the past 30 days. Google Ads Help Images are kept in a shared library and must be associated with the account, a campaign, or an ad group before they are eligible to serve. Microsoft Campaign Management API
Charge for adding the feature Google says image clicks are charged on a CPC basis, like text-ad clicks. Google Ads Help Microsoft’s general extension documentation says adding extensions is free and usual click charges apply; this is general extension billing guidance, not an image-only pricing study. Microsoft Campaign Management API

Which image files should you prepare?

Google Ads: prioritize square and landscape assets

For Google Search image assets, prepare square images at least 300×300 pixels and landscape images at least 600×314 pixels. Google recommends 1200×1200 for square and 1200×628 for landscape. Files must be PNG or JPG and no larger than 5120 KB. Keep the important subject matter within the center 80% of the image so it remains visible if the image is cropped.

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Google recommends uploading at least four unique, relevant images, including both aspect ratios. During setup, Google says images with digitally added text, logos, or graphic overlays are subject to immediate disapproval. The asset creator also asks advertisers to confirm they have legal rights and permission to share the images.

Microsoft Advertising: account for the documented subtype and crop

Microsoft’s Bulk Service documentation lists minimum dimensions of 703×368 pixels for landscape 1.91:1 and 300×300 pixels for square 1:1, as well as other aspect ratios. In that workflow, omitting crop settings makes the service automatically crop the largest possible centered area. Keep the important content near the center if you rely on automatic cropping.

The Bulk Service documentation says one image media ID is the minimum, while four image IDs with different aspect ratios are needed to qualify for all ad placements in the described workflow. That placement guidance belongs to this Microsoft workflow; it should not be treated as a general equivalent of Google’s recommendation to upload four relevant images.

Where to associate images and how much control you get

Google Ads: choose campaign or ad-group relevance

Google allows image assets at campaign or ad-group level. Associate them at the ad-group level when the images need to match a narrower set of ads and the account is organized to support that targeting. Campaign-level association can be quicker when the same images are appropriate across the campaign.

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Google says the combination of images that appears depends on the auction, and advertisers cannot directly control that combination. Uploading multiple appropriate options gives the system choices; it does not let you dictate the final layout on each impression.

Microsoft Advertising: associate library images with an eligible entity

Microsoft stores image extensions in a shared account-level library. Creating or storing an image there is not enough: associate it with the account, a campaign, or an ad group before it is eligible to serve. Choose the level that fits the ads the image represents, using narrower associations where that improves relevance.

The Microsoft API object describes an image with alternative text and permits associations at account, campaign, or ad-group level. Its documented limit is up to six image extensions for an entity, with the separate account-level association limits shown above. These are implementation limits, not a reason to attach every available image everywhere.

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Do images show on every eligible Search ad?

No. Meeting platform requirements and associating assets makes them eligible; it does not guarantee an image will appear on every impression. Google explicitly says the image combination is auction-dependent. The cited Microsoft documentation establishes association and eligibility requirements, but does not promise display on every impression either. Plan creative for relevance and coverage rather than assuming a fixed image layout.

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Should you use the same creative on both platforms?

You can start with the same core creative concept, but export files to each platform’s documented specifications and verify the current upload rules in the relevant interface or API before launch. Google’s Search guidance calls for square and recommended landscape files, while Microsoft’s Bulk Service lists its own subtype sizes and cropping behavior. Keep Google image files free of digitally added text, logos, and graphic overlays as directed in its setup instructions.

Adding the feature itself is not described as a separate setup fee by either platform in the cited documentation. Google bills image clicks on a CPC basis; Microsoft’s general extension guidance says usual click charges apply. Neither platform’s cited sources establish a performance lift, so treat image assets as a creative and eligibility option—not a guaranteed way to increase clicks or conversions.

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