Google AdSense announced a new feature to "Fill empty in-page ads" by showing "contextually-relevant suggestions related to your page and site inside unfilled ad spaces." In short, if an ad is not filled by Google on your page, then Google will look for other ways to monetize that ad spot.
I should note at the top, that Google will turn this on by default for all AdSense publishers within 30 days. So if you want, you can opt out of it.
Google wrote, "An "unfilled ad space" occurs when AdSense is unable to find a suitable ad to show in a specific ad space on your page. You don't make any revenue from an unfilled ad space." So Google came up with a new "Fill empty in-page ads" setting.
When you select that setting, Google will try to fill it in other ways.
Google can show "contextually-relevant suggestions related to your page and site inside unfilled ad spaces." Here is the example provided by Google:
Let's say your page is about baking, in an unfilled ad space we might show suggestions that relate to baking such as ingredients or cooking utensils, etc. If a user clicks on any of these, we'll try to show display ads relevant to the suggestion the user clicked on inside a dialog.
The other method? Well, Google didn't say, they just wrote, "Other ways to improve the targeting of ads in the future and increase your long-term earnings."
To turn this on, there is a new setting called Fill empty in-page ads to the "Ad serving" page in Blocking controls. You don't need to take any action.
Google said it will turn on this new setting on for all publishers over the next 30 days.
If you don't want AdSense to optimize your empty in-page ad spaces, you can opt out by taking these steps:
- Sign in to your AdSense account.
- Click Brand safety.
- Click Content, then Blocking controls.
- Click Manage Ad serving.
- In the "Display ads" section, turn off Fill empty in-page ads.
I spotted this first via Bruno Ramos Lara on X and then Mayank Parmar also sent me his:
@rustybrick AdSense link ads reborn pic.twitter.com/VEbME0WLpV
— Mayank Parmar (@mayank_jee) July 3, 2025
Forum discussion at X.
