How to use the Google Ads Account Diagnostics agent skill

What is an agent skill?

An agent skill is a folder of instructions that an AI agent can load when a task matches it. This skill lives in a single file, SKILL.md, which contains a structured playbook for Google Ads investigations. The agent reads it when you ask a relevant question, and then follows its steps.

The skill does not add new abilities to the agent by itself. Live account access comes from a separate tool, the Google Ads MCP Server, which the skill uses when it is connected.

What the skill makes the agent do

The skill covers two kinds of problem. The first is conversion or conversion value loss. The agent checks conversions and conversion value over time and breaks them down by device or conversion action to see where the drop is concentrated. If you use offline conversion imports, it also checks whether those uploads are healthy.

The second is lost impression share. The agent looks at search impression share and separates the share lost to low ad rank from the share lost to limited budgets, so you can see whether to work on ad quality or bids, or on campaign budgets.

• Compares a period of decline with an earlier period
• Checks whether the loss is limited to certain devices or conversion actions
• Reports whether no offline uploads exist when the upload query returns no results
• Splits lost impression share into rank-related and budget-related causes

Install the skill

Download the skill as a ZIP file from this page. Then choose one of the two options below.

For a personal setup, unzip the file into ~/.claude/skills/. To keep the skill inside one project, unzip it into that project's .claude/skills/ folder instead.

If you use the Claude apps, you can upload the ZIP instead. Go to Settings, then Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the file there.

Connect the Google Ads MCP Server for live diagnostics

Live diagnostics need the Google Ads MCP Server with three tools available: search, list_accessible_customers and get_resource_metadata. Some setups prefix these names with the server name, for example customers_list_accessible_customers. You also need Google Ads account access through that server.

If the tools are not set up, the skill points you to its companion skill, google-ads-api-mcp-setup, which covers installing the server. Install that companion skill first if you want live queries.

• Required tools: search, list_accessible_customers, get_resource_metadata
• Required access: a Google Ads account you can query through the MCP server
• Companion skill: google-ads-api-mcp-setup

Ask for a diagnosis with natural requests

You do not need a special command. Describe the problem in plain words and the agent should match it to this skill. The skill is written to trigger on requests about sudden performance drops, impression share, low lead flow, and bidding or budget limits.

Give the agent a customer ID and a date range when you have them. If you do not give a customer ID, the agent first lists the accounts you can access and then finds the enabled client accounts to query.

• Example: My conversions fell by half last week. Find out why.
• Example: Show me how much impression share we lost to budget versus ad rank on our search campaigns this month.
• Example: Check whether our offline conversion uploads are working.
• Example: Give me a manual plan to investigate our lead drop, I do not have the MCP server connected.

What happens with and without the MCP server

With the MCP server connected, the agent runs read-only GAQL queries against the account and reports what it finds. It first looks up the enabled client accounts and skips manager accounts, because querying those causes API errors.

Without it, the agent does not try to access account data through local scripts or database commands, since those would fail without credentials. Instead it writes a full manual plan with the GAQL queries, the date comparisons and the next steps for each branch, so a person can run them in the Google Ads Query Builder or through an API integration.

Safety notes and tips

The skill does not run scripts. It does use the network, because it sends queries to the Google Ads account through the connected MCP server. Only point it at accounts you have authority to query, since live diagnostics read account data.

Keep the scope in mind. The skill does not set up new campaigns, upload conversion events directly, or fix Google Mobile Ads SDK or Android app integration problems. For SDK issues, use the separate gma-android-integrate skill.

• Read the query results yourself. The skill's conclusions depend on the data it retrieved.
• Expect cost to need conversion: metrics.cost_micros must be divided by 1,000,000 to get currency amounts.
• Expect impression share values as decimals (0.35 means 35%) or as strings such as "< 0.10".