Check agency reports against Ads history

Practice relevance

Cross-practice idea · A general operational method. Review the stated tool and jurisdiction limits before use.

The problem

Compare dated agency work claims with account change records and supporting files.

Why it matters: A summary report may not show which account changes support an agency's claims. A dated evidence comparison gives the firm specific questions to ask without treating edit volume as quality or missing records as misconduct.

Sources & evidence

Proposed / not tested. The public discussion supports the problem; the method source supports only the documented features. No outcome from this adapted recipe has been verified.

What’s been verified

The linked sources support the complaint and documented method components. We have not run this recipe or verified its results. The example below is synthetic, not a customer result.

What to measure: During the pilot, count findings confirmed by the reviewer, false alarms, and missing-input cases. Do not infer time or money saved.

Pain evidence: Public discussion ↗; original post 2026-01-28. A firm-side poster cannot verify what its marketing agency actually does and finds the reporting opaque.
Method: Google Ads change history ↗Google documents two years of change history and actor, type, and campaign filters. Not every type of work appears in account history.
Method: Google Ads change history · supporting guide 2 ↗Additional official capability reference. It does not validate the complete proposed recipe.

Source checked: October 15, 2026. Pain reports are self-reported and identities are unverified. Method documentation supports components, not a tested end-to-end workflow. We wrote these prompts. The adapted workflow hasn’t been tested.

Suggested approach

Start when: Monthly agency report

cross-reference dated change claims with account change-history export and deliverable links
Keep row or page references and mark missing or ambiguous evidence. Do not apply the suggested changes.
The responsible staff member checks the draft against the source records and approves any separate action.

Limits and review

The assistant drafts or reports only. Check source records and review the output before a human performs any separately approved send or change. No automatic legal decision, money movement, account connection or publication is included.

Who reviews it: This is a verification aid, not proof of negligence or campaign success. Review before sending questions; no changes to campaign state.

What you need

Excel Copilot · prepared inputs

Existing read-only account access is sufficient for the intended inspection; do not request edit access merely for this audit .
An authorized copy of the agency's dated report, relevant deliverable links, campaign scope and agreed reporting period. Preserve the agency's wording and original source location.
Firm-approved Excel Copilot or Acrobat AI access only for the named optional AI step; read-only native source acquisition is separate.
Use synthetic inputs first. Keep real data in firm-approved accounts and processing, with appropriate access, confidentiality and retention controls. Aliases alone do not anonymize records. Never paste credentials, API keys or unnecessary client details.

How to use

Official native navigation documented; editorial AI analysis and human-review chain not personally tested

Before you start

History covers the past two years. Some account-level settings and changes by Google representatives may not be listed. Entry details can be limited, particularly for large batches .
UI changes may identify the login email; automated/internal systems and API tools can use system/tool labels rather than an individual .
History includes automated rules, Ads API and Ads Editor changes, but not password changes .
An agency's work outside Ads and the quality or causal effect of its decisions require other evidence; this ledger cannot establish negligence or ROI.
The official Change history guides reviewed do not verify a Download control. This path uses manual screenshot-linked capture; it does not claim the live screen lacks export.
ads-history.csv is a manually transcribed evidence log, not a verified native export. Its change_id and actor_alias are local identifiers; preserve raw screenshots in restricted storage.

Check access and setup

Account interface, access and live report contents were not personally tested.
No native Google Ads/Business Profile AI chat is claimed by this recipe.

Open and expand the change records
Google Ads · Campaigns > Change history
Set dates at the upper right and select all relevant campaigns through the Views bar. Start with no actor filter. Expand relevant entries with the adjacent arrow. Inspect User, Tool, Change type and Item changed filters only as needed and record each applied filter.
Expected output
Visible dated change records with whatever expanded details the account supplies.
Next step
Capture screenshots and manually transcribe relevant entries into the supplied evidence table; do not search for an unverified export control.
Check before continuing
Review the correct account, dates and campaigns. Preserve truncated/missing detail as missing; do not infer an employee from a tool label.
Step documentation 1 ↗Step documentation 2 ↗
Map claims and captured evidence
Excel and original agency report · agency-claims.csv, ads-history.csv and review-scope.txt
Assign each claim a claim_id and copy its actual claimed_date, campaign reference, claimed_action and deliverable_reference. For each screenshot assign a local change_id and record displayed changed_at, known timezone, actor_alias, campaign_id, change_type and visible before_value/after_value only. Keep screenshot references in review-scope.txt or a source-index worksheet. If only campaign names are visible, assign consistent local aliases and state that they are not numeric Ads IDs.
Expected output
Claim and manual-history tables matching the kit headers, plus a capture manifest with scope, filters, timestamp, screenshot references and gaps.
Next step
Create a minimized analysis workbook from the checked tables and approved deliverable descriptions; keep identifying screenshots separately.
Check before continuing
Check every transcription against its screenshot. Distinguish outside-Ads strategy/research/creative claims from account-edit claims. Unknown dates/timezones remain unknown.
Step documentation 1 ↗Step documentation 2 ↗
Compare claims with evidence
Excel Copilot · Analysis workbook > Copilot icon at lower right > Chat only
Paste all review-scope.txt contents, capture limitations and source-index references into a visible Scope worksheet/table in this same minimized analysis workbook, or directly into the prompt. Use the prompt against the claims, history and Scope data. If Copilot is unavailable, compare claims manually using the same status definitions.
Excel Copilot promptCompare these dated agency claims with the verified manual Google Ads change-history capture and linked deliverables. For each claim return claim ID, source reference, matching evidence IDs, supported / unverified / inconsistent status, reasoning, coverage limitations, and a neutral clarification question. Use inconsistent only when affirmative evidence contradicts a claim. Separate outside-Ads work. Do not equate edit volume with quality, infer causation or misconduct, contact the agency, or undo changes. Use only this workbook and approved supplied deliverable descriptions; do not search private files, change the workbook or send anything. The complete review-scope data must be in this workbook or pasted below; if it is absent, stop and request it. [PASTE COMPLETE REVIEW-SCOPE DATA IF NOT IN SCOPE WORKSHEET]
Expected output
claim_id,source_reference,matching_evidence_ids,status,reasoning,coverage_limits,clarification_question.
Next step
Copy the ledger to the internal review sheet and reopen disputed evidence.
Check before continuing
A missing match is unverified, not proof that work was not performed. Edit counts do not measure quality or explain performance causally.
Step documentation 1 ↗Step documentation 2 ↗
Approve the factual agency questions
Final human review
Firm reviewer · Internal ledger and original agency report
Check contradictory claims against affirmative evidence, correct unsupported assessments and select neutral questions for discussion. Any external message is separately reviewed and authorized.
Expected output
Evidence-linked claim ledger, missing-evidence list and approved discussion questions.
Next step
Use the firm’s existing agency communication process; this path does not send a message.
Check before continuing
Do not undo Ads changes, accuse misconduct or claim negligence/ROI from this evidence alone.
Step documentation 1 ↗

What you’ll get

agency-claim-review.csv: claim_id, status, supporting_change_ids, supporting_files, evidence_limit, question

Inputs and a sample test Synthetic example · not a measured result

Input files

agency-claims.csv: claim_id, claimed_date, campaign_id, claimed_action, deliverable_reference
ads-history.csv: change_id, changed_at, timezone, actor_alias, campaign_id, change_type, before_value, after_value
review-scope.txt: account alias, period, timezone, capture coverage, approved campaign IDs; exclude credentials and client data

Synthetic example

CL1: budget edit with matching change record
CL2: keyword research with a supplied document but no Ads edit
CL3: campaign edit with no matching history or file

Expected output

CL1: supported by the cited history row
CL2: assess the separate deliverable; no Ads record expected
CL3: unverified, ask a neutral question

Test a failure

Use an incomplete manual capture or a claim outside the available two-year history. Report the coverage gap, not an accusation.

Try with the sample files

Follow the tool steps above and use the inputs named in each step. Where provided, native-* files are blank scaffolds and NATIVE-INPUT-MAPPING explains their fields. Original examples and the optional full review prompt use a separate prepared-input schema. Keep them separate unless the mapping explicitly connects them. Downloading a kit does not connect accounts or prove the workflow works.

Download inputs and checklist 11 files

Instructions, blank templates and separate synthetic examples; these files do not install an automation. Blank templates still need verified source data.

Download starter kit All inputs, synthetic examples and review notes in one ZIP. No automation is installed.
Start here: get the sources and prepare the review Documentation-checked acquisition, explicit manual mapping, exact prompts and human review limits
Setup and review checklist Required inputs, file use, review steps and limits
Agency claims blank CSV Blank input headers for agency-claims.csv
Agency claims synthetic example Synthetic test records for agency-claims.csv
Ads history blank CSV Blank input headers for ads-history.csv
Ads history synthetic example Synthetic test records for ads-history.csv
Review scope template Required policy or native-input preparation aid; synthetic when marked example
Review scope example Required policy or native-input preparation aid; synthetic when marked example
Keyword research example Required policy or native-input preparation aid; synthetic when marked example
Synthetic example expected results Compare a pilot result with the planted exceptions

Optional full review prompt for prepared inputs

Prepared-input review prompt with Excel Copilot · prepared inputs

Compare the agency's dated Ads work claims against this verified manual change-history capture. For each claim, link matching records or mark it unverified, and explain limits such as work done outside Ads. Summarize questions to clarify discrepancies. Do not equate edit volume with quality, accuse anyone of fraud or undo changes.

INPUTS
agency-claims.csv: claim_id, claimed_date, campaign_id, claimed_action, deliverable_reference
ads-history.csv: change_id, changed_at, timezone, actor_alias, campaign_id, change_type, before_value, after_value
review-scope.txt: account alias, period, timezone, capture coverage, approved campaign IDs; exclude credentials and client data

OUTPUT
agency-claim-review.csv: claim_id, status, supporting_change_ids, supporting_files, evidence_limit, question

Use only the supplied synthetic or firm-approved inputs. Cite source row or page IDs for each finding. Keep unknowns unresolved. Return a draft for the responsible staff reviewer. Do not send messages, connect accounts, change records, move money, or make legal decisions. Keep source files unchanged. If an input or permission is missing, list what is needed and stop that check.

Proposed / not tested · editorial prompt. This prompt uses the original prepared-input schema shown in the sample test. Step prompts may use different tables. Follow NATIVE-INPUT-MAPPING where supplied; do not mix the original examples with native-step inputs without mapping and checking every field.

Read original method Read pain evidence