If you’re running Microsoft Ads campaigns in the European Economic Area (EEA), UK, or Switzerland, there’s a big change coming your way. Starting on May 5, 2025, Microsoft will fully enforce its Consent Mode policy, which means you’ll need to provide explicit consent signals to track conversions and retarget users.
This update is crucial because, without it, you’ll lose key campaign features like conversion tracking and retargeting. For advertisers, that’s a massive blow to your ability to optimize campaigns and measure their success.
If you’re relying on UET (Universal Event Tracking) to monitor performance, you need to act fast—implementing Consent Mode or the Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF 2.0) is now a must if you want to keep your campaigns running smoothly.
So, if you haven’t made the necessary adjustments yet, now’s the time to get on top of it!
What is Consent Mode? Why Microsoft’s Update Matters
Consent Mode is a feature that adjusts how Microsoft’s tags (like the UET tag) behave based on whether users have given consent for data collection. It ensures Microsoft only collects and processes data when a user has explicitly agreed to it, following user privacy laws (like the GDPR) in the EEA, UK, and Switzerland, where consent is a legal requirement before collecting personal data.
For PPC marketers who rely heavily on UET for conversion tracking and retargeting, this update is a game-changer. UET tags help track crucial campaign actions, like purchases or form submissions, and retarget visitors who have interacted with your site. But without Consent Mode, you won’t be able to track these activities if users haven’t given their consent. That means losing access to conversion tracking, remarketing lists, and ad performance insights—all of which are key to optimizing your campaigns and improving ROI.
If you fail to implement Consent Mode (or the Transparency and Consent Framework — TCF 2.0), Microsoft will stop tracking conversions and populating remarketing lists. This means you’ll be left in the dark about how well your ads are performing and missing out on key retargeting opportunities.
TCF 2.0: How It Fits Into the Picture
On top of Consent Mode, the Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF 2.0) plays a key role in making sure you’re aligned with the GDPR and other privacy regulations. TCF 2.0 is a framework that allows you to collect consent signals from your website visitors in a standardized way. It integrates with a third-party Consent Management Platform (CMP), ensuring that when users opt in or out of tracking, you pass that consent signal to Microsoft Ads.
Essentially, it’s a more formal way of ensuring compliance with the GDPR’s consent requirements, providing a structured method to collect and manage user consent.
Which option should you choose? If you’re looking for an integrated solution within Microsoft Ads itself, UET Consent Mode is probably the easiest path. However, if you have a more complex setup or if you’re already using a CMP for compliance across multiple platforms, TCF 2.0 might be a better fit.
How to Implement UET Consent Mode
Implementing UET Consent Mode and staying compliant with Microsoft’s new rules doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does require attention to detail. Here’s a step-by-step guide to make sure you’re ready for the May 5, 2025 deadline.
Step 1: Choose and Set Up a Compliant CMP (Consent Management Platform)
To comply with Microsoft’s new rules, you’ll need a Consent Management Platform (CMP) that integrates with UET Consent Mode. One popular choice is Cookiebot Web CMP, which is supported by Microsoft Ads. Here’s how you can set it up:
- Sign up for a CMP: Choose a CMP.
- Install the CMP on your website: Follow the instructions provided by the CMP to add it to your site. Typically, this involves inserting a small script or plugin into your website’s code.
- Configure the consent banner: Customize your CMP to display a banner asking visitors for consent to track their data. You can define what kind of data you want to collect, such as analytics or marketing cookies, and ensure users can easily give or withdraw consent.
- Set up consent logging: Your CMP should be able to log user consent and provide the necessary signals to Microsoft Ads. This logging ensures compliance with GDPR and other privacy laws.
Step 2: Integrate UET Tags
Once your CMP is set up, you need to ensure the UET tags are implemented on your site. These tags will track conversions and retargeting and must respect user consent. Here’s how you can integrate the UET tags:
- Access Microsoft Ads Account: Log into your Microsoft Ads account and navigate to the UET tags section.
- Create or Edit UET Tag: If you haven’t created one yet, set up a new UET tag. This tag will track important actions, like conversions or page views, and pass the data back to Microsoft Ads.
- Set up Tag Behavior Based on Consent: Configure the UET tag to only trigger if the user has given consent. If the user opts out, the tag will not fire, ensuring you’re compliant with the new rules. Your CMP will send these signals to Microsoft Ads, adjusting the tag’s behavior accordingly.
- Link UET Tag to Consent Mode: Integrate the UET tag with your CMP. This will ensure that the tag behaves in compliance with the user’s consent preferences, making it easy to track conversions or retargeting only when allowed by the user.
- Test your Setup: Before going live, use the preview mode in your CMP and UET setup to make sure everything is working as expected. The UET tag should only fire when consent is granted, and you should be able to track conversions and retarget users based on their preferences.
Step 3: Double-check and Monitor Your Setup
It’s also important to double-check that your remarketing lists are only based on users who have given consent and update outdated tracking scripts that don’t respect Consent Mode.
Additionally, after implementing Consent Mode, monitor your campaign data. You may notice a decrease in volume due to users opting out of cookies, but this is part of the process and will help you stay compliant.
Consequences of Not Implementing Consent Mode
If you don’t implement UET Consent Mode, the way you track conversions and run retargeting campaigns in Microsoft Ads will be significantly impacted, especially since user consent is a key factor. Without Consent Mode, you won’t be able to capture that data for future analysis, and it won’t count toward your conversions.
This can severely impact your ability to measure campaign success, optimize bids, or determine which ads are performing well. Without this crucial data, tracking conversions and campaign performance becomes incomplete and unreliable.
Without the Consent Mode properly implemented, retargeting will also suffer. If users don’t consent to tracking, they won’t be added to your remarketing lists, meaning you lose the chance to show them targeted ads to bring them back to your site and convert them.
The impact of missing consent extends throughout the customer journey. Without tracking actions from users who opt out, you lose visibility of where they are in the sales funnel, from browsing to adding items to their cart and completing a purchase.
This critical lack of data will stop you from fully understanding where users drop off and make it harder to optimize your campaign and make data-driven decisions about ad creative, targeting, and pricing strategies.
Microsoft Ads vs. Google Ads: What’s the Difference in Terms of Consent Mode?
One major difference between Microsoft Ads and Google Ads is how they’re rolling out Consent Mode compliance. Microsoft Ads has set a firm deadline of May 5, 2025, meaning advertisers who don’t implement UET Consent Mode or use a compliant CMP by then risk losing conversion tracking and retargeting capabilities.
On the other hand, while Google has been encouraging advertisers to adopt Consent Mode, it hasn’t announced a strict deadline for similar updates—yet. This gives Google Ads advertisers more time to adapt, but it also creates uncertainty about when stricter enforcement might come.
Despite Google’s lack of a deadline, it’s smart for advertisers to prepare now. Privacy regulations are only getting stricter, and platforms like Google will likely follow Microsoft’s lead sooner rather than later. Advertisers who start aligning their tracking setup with Consent Mode now will be in a stronger position when (not if) Google enforces similar rules.
Bottom Line
The deadline is approaching fast—don’t wait until May 5, 2025, to act. Make the necessary updates now to protect your data, maintain your ad performance, and stay compliant in an evolving PPC landscape.If you need extra information, make sure to visit Microsoft Ads’ special FAQ page.
