Google Consent Mode v2 explained for EU businesses

Short answer: Google Consent Mode v2 is the way your website tells Google's tags (Google Ads, GA4) what each visitor agreed to in your cookie banner. For businesses advertising to users in the European Economic Area, Google requires these consent signals to keep using features such as remarketing audiences and personalised advertising. Without it, your ads and reports lose data.

Key takeaways

  • Consent Mode v2 sends four signals: ad_storage, analytics_storage, ad_user_data and ad_personalization.
  • The last two were added in v2 and are the ones many older setups are missing.
  • A cookie banner alone is not enough — it has to pass the visitor's choice to Google's tags.
  • Consent Mode does not replace consent. It respects the visitor's choice and adjusts how Google tags behave.

Consent Mode is a Google feature that connects your cookie banner (Consent Management Platform, or CMP) with Google tags such as Google Ads, GA4 and Floodlight. When a visitor accepts or declines cookies, Consent Mode passes that choice to the tags, and they change their behaviour accordingly.

What changed in version 2?

Version 1 used two signals: ad_storage (can advertising cookies be stored?) and analytics_storage (can analytics cookies be stored?).

Version 2 added two more:

  • ad_user_data — can user data be sent to Google for advertising purposes?
  • ad_personalization — can the data be used for personalised advertising, such as remarketing?

Google introduced these in connection with the EU's Digital Markets Act and has required them for EEA traffic since March 2024.

Any business that uses Google Ads or GA4 and has visitors from the European Economic Area — which includes every business in Bulgaria. If the signals are missing, Google limits features such as remarketing lists and conversion measurement for those users.

  • Basic mode: Google tags don't load at all until the visitor gives consent. If they decline, Google receives nothing from that visit.
  • Advanced mode: Google tags load immediately with consent set to "denied" by default. If the visitor declines, the tags send limited, cookieless pings without identifiers. Google uses these to model conversions it can't observe directly.

Advanced mode usually recovers more measurement data. Basic mode is the more conservative choice. Which one is right depends on your legal assessment — discuss it with your legal or privacy advisor.

  1. Open your site in a private window. The cookie banner should appear before any marketing tags fire.
  2. Use Google Tag Assistant (tagassistant.google.com). Connect your site, then open the Consent tab. Check that the default state is set before the banner choice, and that all four signals update after you accept or decline.
  3. Test both choices. Accept everything once, decline everything once. The four signals should change accordingly.
  4. Check Google Ads. In Goals → Conversions, Google shows diagnostics for your conversion actions, including whether consent signals are being received.
  5. Check GA4. In the Admin section, GA4 shows consent settings status for your property.

If any of the four signals is missing, or the default isn't set before the banner, the setup needs fixing.

How to set it up

The most common and reliable route is:

  1. Use a Google-certified CMP (cookie banner tool). Google keeps a list of certified partners; many popular tools such as Cookiebot, CookieYes and Usercentrics are on it. Check the current list before choosing.
  2. Connect the CMP to Google Tag Manager using its official template.
  3. Set default consent states for all four signals, then let the CMP update them on the visitor's choice.
  4. Test with Tag Assistant as described above.

What about Meta (Facebook) ads?

Meta has no direct equivalent of Google's Consent Mode. For EU visitors, the Meta Pixel should only load after the visitor accepts marketing cookies — usually by firing it through Google Tag Manager with a consent condition from your CMP. The same principle applies to TikTok, LinkedIn and other ad platforms.

Where AI helps — and where it doesn't

AI can help explain error messages, compare tag configurations or summarise what a long consent log shows. But checking Consent Mode means opening the site, clicking the banner and watching what each tag does — that has to be tested by hand, in a real browser. That's how I do it in every tracking audit.

Frequently asked questions

Google requires consent signals for users in the EEA if you want to keep using personalised advertising and audience features. Consent itself is required by EU law (GDPR and ePrivacy rules). Consent Mode is Google's way of receiving that consent information.
No. Consent Mode passes consent choices to Google tags. Compliance depends on your whole setup: your cookie banner, privacy policy, which tools you use and how. This article is not legal advice.
You lose observed data from visitors who decline cookies — that happens with or without Consent Mode. Advanced mode lets Google model some of the missing conversions, which usually gives a more complete picture than having no consent signals at all.
Yes, if you have visitors in the EEA. GA4 uses the analytics and advertising consent signals too, especially if it's linked to Google Ads or uses Google signals.
GK
Geno Kirov

Performance marketing consultant with 10+ years in Google Ads, Meta Ads and tracking, $20M+ in ad spend managed.

LinkedIn ↗