Open Bidding Direct Pay Terms Due October 1, 2026: The Accept-By and Auto-Revert Checklist for Google Ad Manager
If your Google Ad Manager 360 network does not accept the updated Open Bidding Direct Pay terms by October 1, 2026, Google will automatically revert your Direct Pay connections to standard Open Bidding, the revenue-share model where Google handles payment. To avoid that, a user with the Administrator or Legal manager role (or the "Sign and accept contracts" permission) goes to Admin, then Advanced features, finds Open Bidding direct pay, accepts the updated terms, and keeps the Status switch on. The updated terms have been available since August 13, 2026, the %-media fee applies from the first day of the month after you accept, and the move to net-bidding auction mechanics is a separate clock that completes by November 1, 2026.
Open Bidding Direct Pay lets a publisher get paid directly by a participating SSP instead of through Google. It is only available in Google Ad Manager 360. Google's September 21, 2026 release notes put it plainly: publishers that accept the updated terms in September see them take effect on October 1, and partners that do not accept will see their Direct Pay connections revert to classic Open Bidding on or shortly after October 1.
This is the operator checklist for the next few days: confirm whether you are in scope, get the right person to accept at the network level, keep that step separate from partner-level requests, and know what to check if a connection reverts anyway.
Official source: Set up Open Bidding Direct Pay (Beta) in the Google Ad Manager Help Center, plus the What's new in Google Ad Manager release notes for September 21, 2026.
What changes on October 1, 2026
Google's Help Center FAQ for Open Bidding Direct Pay answers the timeline question in two sentences:
Terms must be accepted by October 1, 2026. Connections that have not accepted the new terms by this date will automatically revert to standard Open Bidding.
The What's New entry for September 21, 2026 ("Update terms now to continue use of Open Bidding Direct Pay (Beta)") adds the operational detail:
The updated terms are available to accept (or re-accept) in the Advanced features tab for all Ad Manager 360 partners.
Publishers that accept in September see the new terms become effective on October 1.
Partners that do not accept see their Direct Pay connections revert to classic Open Bidding on or shortly after October 1.
What "revert" means in practice, based on how Google describes the two models:
Under Direct Pay, the SSP pays you directly under your own contract with that SSP. Google does not collect or disburse the bid amount, and bills you a %-media fee on Direct Pay impressions.
Under standard Open Bidding, the relationship runs on revenue share with Google in the payment path, and your inventory shows as INTERMEDIARY rather than PUBLISHER in the SSP's sellers.json.
So missing the deadline does not switch Open Bidding off. It switches your Direct Pay connections back to the classic payment model. That still matters to finance, to your SSP contracts, and to anyone reconciling who paid for which impressions.
What the updated terms cover: Google's Help page describes a %-media fee that replaced the beta period's flat CPM fee, billed monthly as a line item on your ad serving invoice, in addition to applicable rate card ad serving fees. Google does not publish the percentage on the Help page. You can review associated costs under Costs next to the feature in Advanced features.
Three separate clocks: Aug 13, Oct 1, Nov 1
Three dates show up on Google's page. They are easy to blur together in a status meeting, so keep them apart:
August 13, 2026 - terms available. Administrators can review and accept the updated billing and payment terms from this date.
October 1, 2026 - accept-by deadline. Connections without accepted terms automatically revert to standard Open Bidding. Google's Help page also says the media fee applies on the first day of the month following acceptance, which is why September acceptances take effect October 1.
November 1, 2026 - net-bidding mechanics. Direct Pay bids compete on a net basis, with the hard transition completed by November 1, 2026. Google says this aligns Direct Pay with standard Open Bidding mechanics and SPO transparency requirements.
Accepting the terms handles clock 2. It does not change clock 3. Plan to annotate your reporting for both dates so an October or November shift in Open Bidding numbers has a known explanation on file.
Who this affects
You are in scope if all of the following are true:
Your network is on Google Ad Manager 360. Direct Pay is not available in standard Ad Manager.
Open Bidding direct pay is turned on under Admin, then Advanced features, or you intend to keep using it.
At least one Open Bidding partner has a Direct Pay relationship with you (status Enabled), or you have requests in flight that you want to keep.
You are mostly out of scope for this deadline if:
You use Open Bidding only on the standard revenue-share model and have never enabled Direct Pay. There is nothing to revert.
You are not on Ad Manager 360.
If you are not sure which bucket you are in, the fastest check is the feature row itself in Advanced features, followed by the Payment options on each Open Bidding partner. Do that check today, not on October 1.
Accept-by checklist
Work this in order. The network step is the one on the clock.
1. Find the person who can accept
Google requires the Administrator or Legal manager user role, or the "Sign and accept contracts" permission, to enable Open Bidding Direct Pay at the network level. In many publisher orgs that person is not the ad ops lead who noticed the deadline. Line them up first, and loop in whoever owns SSP contracts and the Google invoice so the %-media fee is not a surprise.
2. Accept the updated terms in Advanced features
Google's Step 1 path:
Sign in to Google Ad Manager.
Click Admin, then Advanced features.
Under "Feature," locate Open Bidding direct pay. Review associated costs under Costs.
Review and accept the updated terms and conditions regarding the %-media fee (required for administrators starting August 13, 2026).
Under "Status," make sure the switch is on.
Google frames the last step directly: review and accept the terms to prevent the automatic reversion of connections to standard Open Bidding on October 1, 2026. Google has not published a grace period on the Help page, so treat September 30 as your practical last day rather than testing October 1.
3. Record what you accepted
Write a short note for finance and the next person on the team:
Date and time of acceptance, and who accepted
The Costs shown for the feature at the time
Which Open Bidding partners are currently Enabled for Direct Pay
The expected first invoice month for the %-media fee (the first day of the month after acceptance)
4. Check each Direct Pay partner's Payment options
Google's Step 2 path, for confirming state rather than starting new relationships in a hurry:
Click Delivery, then Bidders, then Go to Open Bidding.
Click a bidder's name.
Under Payment options, check the Enable Direct Pay status: Pending, Enabled, or Rejected.
If you see View terms, Direct Pay terms have not been signed for that view. Review and accept them there.
5. Annotate your reporting for October 1 and November 1
Add both dates to whatever calendar or annotation layer your team uses for reporting. If Open Bidding revenue by partner moves in early October or early November, the first question should be "which clock was that?" rather than "what broke?"
Network terms vs partner requests
This is the distinction most likely to cause a wasted afternoon this week.
A few Google rules worth knowing on the partner side:
A regular Open Bidding relationship must already be in place before Direct Pay can be used with that partner.
If the SSP approves, the relationship switches to direct payments immediately, including billing changes. If it declines, your existing Open Bidding relationship continues uninterrupted.
Either party can revert to Google payment at any time with immediate effect. On your side, that is the Enable Direct Pay switch.
There is no hybrid per SSP. All bid requests between you and a given SSP follow one payment structure, either standard Open Bidding with revenue share or Direct Pay with the %-media fee, because the model depends on the inventory classification in that SSP's sellers.json.
Google also publishes a table of SSP bidders available for Direct Pay, each with contact details and its own instructions. Google strongly advises coordinating offline with the SSP, not just clicking the request in the UI. Several entries ask for advance notice (some mention up to a week of internal processing), a signed or amended supply agreement, and in some cases specific ads.txt or app-ads.txt entries. Read the row for each partner you actually work with on the Help page before you enable or disable anything.
The practical takeaway at T-3: do not try to beat October 1 by firing off new partner requests. The deadline is about your network accepting the updated terms. New partner relationships run on the SSP's schedule.
Symptom, check, action
Use this when someone asks "are we covered for October 1?" or "why did our Direct Pay partner flip back?"
What not to do
Do not assume someone already accepted. The terms were available from August 13, 2026, and it is easy for everyone to believe legal or the Google account team handled it. Look at the feature row in Advanced features yourself.
Do not confuse partner requests with the deadline. Sending new Enable Direct Pay requests this week does not satisfy the network-level terms, and SSPs set their own approval timelines.
Do not flip Direct Pay off and on with an SSP to "test." Google says either party can revert to Google payment with immediate effect, and approval switches billing immediately. Several SSPs in Google's table ask for advance notice and written confirmation before changes in either direction.
Do not expect a hybrid. One SSP, one payment structure. You cannot run some transactions on revenue share and others on Direct Pay with the same partner.
Do not read an October or November dip as a demand problem first. Check which clock you just crossed.
Where Ads Tracker fits around the deadline
Accepting the terms happens in Google Ad Manager, by a person with the right role. Nothing replaces that step. The follow-through is noticing, the morning after, whether anything moved that nobody expected.
ProOps Ads Tracker HQ is a read-only Chrome sidepanel beside Google Ad Manager. Around October 1 and November 1, use it for your operator morning prep: a ranked list of overnight exceptions, such as revenue and delivery moves that deserve a look, so your team starts the day on what changed instead of hunting for it.
To be clear about scope: Ads Tracker does not accept terms for you, does not read your Direct Pay status, and does not send Direct Pay alerts. It helps you see whether yesterday looked normal.
Pricing: $249/month per Google Ad Manager network, 3 seats included, extra seats $49, 30-day trial with no card.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if my Google Ad Manager network does not accept the updated Open Bidding Direct Pay terms by October 1, 2026?
Google says terms must be accepted by October 1, 2026, and connections that have not accepted the new terms by that date automatically revert to standard Open Bidding. Google's September 21, 2026 release notes say the reversion happens on or shortly after October 1. Standard Open Bidding keeps running on the revenue-share model with Google in the payment path, so the SSP no longer pays you directly for those impressions.
Where do I accept the updated Open Bidding Direct Pay terms in Google Ad Manager?
Sign in to Google Ad Manager, click Admin, then Advanced features, and locate Open Bidding direct pay under Feature. Review the Costs, review and accept the updated terms regarding the %-media fee, and make sure the Status switch is on.
Who can accept the Open Bidding Direct Pay terms?
Enabling Open Bidding Direct Pay at the network level requires the Administrator or Legal manager user role, or the "Sign and accept contracts" permission. If your ad ops lead does not have one of these, hand the task to someone who does before October 1.
When does the Open Bidding Direct Pay %-media fee start?
Google says the media fee applies on the first day of the month following acceptance, and publishers that accept in September see the new terms become effective on October 1. The fee is billed monthly as a line item on your Google Ad Manager ad serving invoice. Google does not publish the percentage on the Help page; review it under Costs in Advanced features.
Do I need to re-request Direct Pay with each SSP before October 1?
Google ties the October 1 reversion to accepting the updated terms at the network level in Advanced features. Partner-level Enable Direct Pay requests are a separate step under Delivery, then Bidders, then Go to Open Bidding, and each SSP approves or declines on its own schedule. If a bidder's Payment options show View terms, review and accept the terms there as well.
Is the October 1 deadline the same as the November 1 net-bidding change?
No. October 1, 2026 is the deadline to accept the updated terms. November 1, 2026 is when Google completes the hard transition to net-bidding auction mechanics for Direct Pay, where bids compete on a net basis. Accepting the terms does not change the November 1 timeline.
Is Open Bidding Direct Pay available in standard Google Ad Manager?
No. Google lists Open Bidding Direct Pay as only available in Google Ad Manager 360, for 360 publishers and participating Open Bidding SSP buyers.