Ad groups are now fully supported in the Direct interface.
Ad groups give you the option to show not one, but several ads on the same keywords and retargeting conditions. To begin with, ads from a group will be displayed in rotation, and when they've accumulated enough statistics, the system will begin to more frequently show the variant of ad with the highest CTR. This means you can test different texts, images, quick links, and other ad elements, in order to choose the most clickable one.
Before, creating ad groups was only possible through the use of mass campaign management tools. The appearance of ad groups in the interface means experiments with ads will be much easier. In addition, after making the transition to this new format, you will have more flexible impression settings. For instance, there are plans to add an option which will allow you to display different ads for different traffic types within one ad group. You will be informed when this option becomes available.
What's changed in the interface with the transition to groups
Ad groups have replaced individual ads. This means that each ad in your campaigns has become a new group which, if you want, you can add new variants of ad texts. No changes have happened in the settings and your ads continue to be shown on their set criteria.
Working on material in a group is no different to what it used to be with ads. At any time you can edit an ad, archive it, change its settings, or set its bids for phrases.
Managing via XLS
Importing campaigns in the XLS format now uses a new template, which fully supports ad groups. More information about working with ad groups can be read in the help section.