RecipeGoogle Ads
Build a custom Google Ads report with GAQL
A GAQL query built field-by-field, validated, then run: the escape hatch for every bespoke question.
IntentThe exact table nothing pre-built provides, validated before it runs.
- 3
- Steps
- 3
- Tools
- 1
- Rules
- 1
- Failure modes
When to use it
Use it when
- The question fits no packaged tool.
- Recurring bespoke exports.
Do not use it when
- When a dedicated tool already answers it: bespoke queries are a maintenance debt.
What it needs first
Required
Preconditions
- The account is ticked in the dashboard, confirmed via list_accounts.
Inputs
window- Analysis window.Default: last 30 days.
Procedure
In order. Every tool named is one the gateway ships, and links to its reference.
Find the right resources and fields.
Validate the query before running.
Run it.
Decision rules
The observable condition, what it lets you conclude, and what takes the conclusion back.
When
The query mixes incompatible resources
Conclude
Validation says so before the API does: fix the FROM, not the WHERE.
Evidence every conclusion must carry
- Every figure carries its account, metric and window.
- Anything below a readable sample size is reported as unjudged, not as zero.
Where the agent stops
- The readout changes nothing. Any change it motivates goes through Safe Writes: preview, human confirmation, then apply.
How it goes wrong quietly
The cases where the analysis is wrong and still looks right. Read them before trusting a number.
- Metrics without their segment context read as totals when they are slices.
What the answer contains
- 01Readout
- The figures, with windows and accounts named.
- 02Flags
- What deserves a deeper skill or a human decision.