Yep, I’ve tested it recently across a couple of mature search campaigns — and I’d say it’s pretty promising if your account already runs on tROAS and has consistent conversion data.
Here’s the idea: normally, Google sticks tight to your set target ROAS. But with Smart Bidding Exploration turned on, it’s allowed to slightly stretch that ROAS target (within limits you define) to explore search queries or placements that could bring in more conversions — even if they’re just under your usual ROAS threshold.
At first, I was skeptical, thinking it might just open the floodgates and burn through budget. But it didn’t. In one eCommerce account, we kept the same daily budget and saw about 15–20% more conversions, with no noticeable increase in cost per conversion. It basically unlocked some high-potential traffic that the standard tROAS would’ve skipped over.
It’s kind of like giving Google a bit of “creative freedom,” but only within a safe range. You still set your tROAS goal, you’re just letting the algorithm explore a little more intelligently.
That said, this works best if your campaign has:
A good amount of existing conversion volume
Stable performance history
Clean structure (no overlapping keywords or messed-up match types)
If your campaign is still in the learning phase or the data’s messy, I’d probably wait. But for well-optimized accounts that need scale without sacrificing ROAS? This feature can definitely help squeeze out more value.
