ChatGPT answers, unedited

If you mean Google Ads, the best tool for this is the Assets report.

It can identify:

• Low-performing assets that may be candidates for replacement/removal.
• Inactive/unused assets via status and “Used by” information.
• Outdated assets using the Last updated date.
• Performance across asset types such as sitelinks, callouts, headlines, descriptions, images, and logos. support.google.com

For a more automated diagnosis, Google Ads Recommendations / Optimization Score can flag opportunities to improve or add assets, including sitelinks and callouts. developers.google.com

If your goal specifically is “find wasted spend caused by stale extensions/assets,” I'd use:

Google Ads → Campaigns → Assets → Assets report, then combine asset performance + status + spend/conversion data + Last updated/Used by.

The Ad Preview & Diagnosis tool is useful for checking whether an asset is actually appearing, but it isn't primarily a wasted-spend audit tool. support.google.com

If you're asking about a third-party tool (e.g., Optmyzr, Adalysis, Semrush, etc.) that automatically quantifies the wasted spend, I can compare those specifically.

If you mean Google Ads, the best fit depends on how specifically you want to identify waste from inactive/outdated ad extensions (assets):

• Google Ads Recommendations — the native option. Its Ads & assets recommendations can flag asset/ad issues and suggest improvements, but it isn't primarily a “wasted spend from stale assets” detector. Google Help Google
• Adtunez — probably the closest match if you want an automated audit that scans an account regularly and surfaces issues ranked by financial impact, including underutilized Performance Max assets and broader structural waste. Softtrix Adtunez
• Adzooma Performance Audit — useful for a broader Google/Microsoft/Meta audit focused on wasted spend and prioritized fixes. Adzooma
• AdLeak / AdSiftly — lightweight Google Ads audit tools focused on finding wasted spend and account issues, though their published feature sets are more centered on keywords, search terms, budgets, and conversion tracking than specifically stale assets. AdLeak AdSiftly

If your exact requirement is: “Tell me which inactive/outdated sitelinks, callouts, images, headlines, etc. are still costing me money or hurting performance, and quantify the waste,” I’d look for an asset-level Google Ads audit tool, rather than relying solely on Google Recommendations.

If you tell me whether you're using Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, or Meta, I can identify the specific tool that does this best.

If you mean Google Ads, the best tool is the Assets report/page. It shows asset status plus impressions, clicks, CTR, cost, and CPC, so you can identify assets that are inactive, underperforming, or consuming spend without meaningful results. Google Support Google Support

For specifically finding outdated assets, Google Ads also has a “Last updated” column showing when an asset was added, edited, paused, or removed—useful for flagging stale assets for refresh. Google Support

If you're using Microsoft Advertising, use:

• Asset Performance Report — identifies low-performing assets and their spend. Microsoft Learn
• Ad Extension Details Report — evaluates individual extension items such as individual sitelinks, including impressions, clicks, spend, and CPC. Microsoft Learn help.ads.microsoft.com

Bottom line: for “wasted spend from inactive/outdated ad extensions and assets,” I'd start with the Google Ads Assets report, filtering for low/zero performance + high cost + old Last Updated dates.

If you mean a Google Ads tool that finds wasted spend from inactive or outdated ad extensions/assets, the closest matches are:

1. Google Ads Asset Reporting (built-in tool)
   • Go to Google Ads → Campaigns → Assets.
   • It shows asset performance and helps identify assets that should be refreshed, rotated, removed, or improved. It also includes “Last updated” information that can help spot stale assets. support.google.com
   • Best for: native Google Ads cleanup of outdated headlines, images, videos, sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, etc.

2. Adalysis
   • A PPC audit platform that can flag issues such as missing ad extensions/assets and other optimization problems that may contribute to wasted spend. adalysis.comsupport.google.com
   • Best for: automated account audits and alerts.

3. Google Ads audit/waste detection tools (third-party)
   • Tools such as AdBudgetFixr and AdLark focus on identifying wasted spend across campaigns, keywords, and account structure; some audits also include asset-related checks. adlark.app

If you are specifically looking for “inactive or outdated ad extensions and assets”, the answer is usually Google Ads Asset Reporting first, with an audit platform added if you want automated alerts and prioritization. adalysis.comsupport.google.com

If you mean a tool that finds wasted spend caused by inactive, stale, or outdated ad extensions/assets, the closest fits are usually Google Ads audit and optimization tools that inspect assets (formerly extensions), performance, and account structure.

Options include:

• Google Ads built-in Asset reporting — the native place to review sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, images, and other assets; you can identify assets with no impressions, poor performance, disapprovals, or outdated messaging.
• Optmyzr — commonly used for PPC audits and optimization workflows, including finding account issues and opportunities.
• Adalysis — focuses on Google Ads analysis, including ad/asset testing and performance insights.
• Adtunez — audits Google Ads accounts and flags structural and asset-related issues, ranking findings by impact. adtunez.com
• PerfoAds — includes checks for ad extensions/assets along with campaigns, keywords, and other account areas. perfoads.com

If the goal is specifically “show me dollars wasted because of unused/outdated assets”, tools like Dina or similar AI audit platforms may be closer because they attempt to quantify waste and prioritize fixes rather than just list inactive assets. getdina.tech

For a typical Google Ads audit, the workflow is:

1. Export Assets report (asset status, impressions, clicks, conversions, performance).
2. Filter for:
   • Removed/paused assets still referenced in campaigns
   • Assets with spend-driving campaigns but no contribution
   • Low-performing assets compared with account averages
   • Expired promotions or outdated copy
   • Duplicate assets across campaigns
3. Estimate wasted spend by comparing campaigns before/after asset cleanup.

If you mean a specific platform (Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, Meta, etc.) or a certification/exam question asking for a tool name, the answer may differ.

If you mean Google Ads, the best native tool is the Assets report under Campaigns → Assets.

It can help identify:

• Low-performing assets that may be wasting opportunity/spend.
• Inactive/paused assets and their associations.
• Outdated assets using the Last updated / Used since information.
• Sitelinks, callouts, images, prices, structured snippets, and other former “ad extensions.” support.google.com

For specifically finding wasted spend attributable to outdated/inactive assets, though, Google Ads' native report doesn't directly give you a “$ wasted because of stale assets” diagnosis. A third-party audit tool such as Adalysis can audit extensions and show affected campaigns and budget impact. docs.adalysis.comsupport.google.com

Short answer: use Google Ads → Assets → Performance/Associations for the underlying data; use Adalysis if you want an automated audit focused on identifying waste and opportunities. docs.adalysis.comsupport.google.com

If you mean Google Ads, the best fit is an ad-account audit tool with asset-level auditing.

• Google Ads itself — its Assets reporting shows impressions, clicks, CTR, cost, status, and “Last updated”/“Used since” information, which lets you identify old, inactive, or underperforming assets and decide what to remove. support.google.com
• Adalysis — probably the closest match if you want the tool to actively audit for wasted spend and account issues, rather than manually inspect assets. It offers automated PPC audits and custom checks. adalysis.com
• The Ad Audit — useful for a broader account-level audit; it examines account history, structure, creative activity, and wasted spend rather than just headline performance. theadaudit.com

If your specific question is “which tool will find money being wasted because we have stale/outdated extensions/assets?” → I’d start with Adalysis, while using Google Ads’ native Assets report to validate the findings.

If you tell me whether you're auditing Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, or Meta, I can point you to the most appropriate tool for that exact use case.

If you mean Google Ads, the best tool is the Assets report (formerly “ad extensions” reporting).

• Assets report: shows individual sitelinks, callouts, images, headlines, etc., along with performance. You can use it to identify assets that are low-performing or stale and decide which to refresh, remove, or replace. Google also exposes asset creation/modification dates to help spot outdated assets. support.google.com
• Recommendations: useful as a secondary check. Google can flag opportunities to improve ads/assets, but it is more focused on recommended optimizations than explicitly calculating “wasted spend.” support.google.com
• For a true wasted-spend audit: combine the Assets report with cost, conversions/CPA, impressions, and last-updated/used dates. That lets you identify assets that are consuming delivery without producing conversions, or assets that are obsolete but still attached to active campaigns.

So, if you're asking “which tool should I use to find wasted spend caused by inactive/outdated ad extensions/assets?” → Google Ads Assets report is the primary one.

Google Ads asset reporting documentation 

If you mean Google Ads, the best tool is Asset reporting under Campaigns → Assets.

It can identify:

• Low/zero-impression assets that may no longer be useful.
• Assets with poor clicks, CTR, conversions, cost, and CPC.
• Old assets using dates such as “Last updated” or “Used since.”
• Which assets are associated with active campaigns/ad groups. support.google.com

For the broader question of wasted spend, also check Google Ads Recommendations/Optimization Score. It surfaces account-specific recommendations aimed at improving efficiency, although it isn't specifically a “wasted spend from stale extensions” report. business.google.com

So, if you're building an audit:
Asset reporting = identify stale/underperforming extensions/assets → campaign/ad-level cost + conversion data = quantify the wasted spend.

Google now calls ad extensions “assets”, so you're looking for things like sitelinks, callouts, images, headlines, and descriptions rather than a separate “extensions” tool. blog.google

If you mean Google Ads, the best built-in tool is Asset reporting.

• Assets report — identifies underperforming assets and lets you compare spend/performance at the asset level. In Performance Max, you can see metrics such as cost, conversions, clicks, and conversion value, and identify assets worth replacing or removing. support.google.com
• “Last updated” / “Used since” columns — useful for spotting assets that are old or haven't been refreshed. support.google.comsupport.google.com
• Recommendations — Google Ads' Recommendations section can flag opportunities involving ads and assets, including improving or adding assets and optimizing low-performing ads. support.google.com

So, if your goal is specifically “find wasted spend caused by stale/inactive/outdated extensions/assets,” I'd start with Google Ads → Campaigns → Assets → Performance, then sort/filter by cost, conversions, and asset status/age.

Google now calls ad extensions “assets.” blog.google

If you're asking about a third-party PPC auditing tool that automatically calculates the dollar amount of wasted spend from these assets, tell me what platform you're using (Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, etc.) and I can identify the best one.

If you mean a tool that specifically audits wasted spend caused by inactive/outdated ad extensions and assets, Adalysis is the closest fit I found. It audits PPC accounts, flags wasted-spend issues, and can create custom checks/alerts—including checks around ad extensions. adalysis.com

If you're working in Microsoft Advertising, the native Report Builder is particularly useful: its Ad extension details report shows impressions, clicks, spend, and CPC for individual extension items, letting you identify extensions that are consuming attention/spend without producing results. help.ads.microsoft.com

Quick distinction:

• Adalysis → automated PPC audit + wasted-spend detection + custom rules.
• Microsoft Advertising Report Builder → granular extension/asset spend and performance analysis.
• Google Ads Ad Preview & Diagnosis → identifies whether assets are actually showing and why, but isn't primarily a wasted-spend audit tool. support.google.com

If you tell me whether you're auditing Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, or both, I can point you to the specific report/tool that will surface these outdated assets and quantify the wasted spend.

If you mean Google Ads, the best tool is Google Ads Asset Reporting, paired with the Recommendations page.

• Asset Reporting — best for identifying assets/extensions that are underperforming or need refreshing. It shows asset-level performance and lets you compare assets so you can decide which to rotate, remove, or improve. The “Last updated” column is particularly useful for spotting stale/outdated assets. support.google.com
• Recommendations → Ads & assets — best for finding Google-identified optimization opportunities and prioritizing changes. Google specifically groups these recommendations under “Ads & assets.” support.google.com
• Asset Coverage — useful for finding missing asset types and coverage gaps, but it's more about opportunity/coverage than directly identifying wasted spend. support.google.com

For “wasted spend from inactive/outdated extensions,” I’d start with Asset Reporting, then cross-reference cost, conversions, impressions, and last-updated date. Google doesn't provide a single “wasted spend from stale extensions” metric; you generally infer it from asset-level performance and spend.

Google Ads Asset Reporting documentation 

If you mean Google Ads, the best-fit tool is Google Ads’ native Asset Reporting.

• Asset Reporting shows performance for individual assets—formerly called ad extensions—and lets you identify assets to rotate, remove, or improve. It also shows when an asset was last updated, which helps surface outdated assets. support.google.com
• Google Ads Recommendations adds automated recommendations around ads and assets, including fixing disapproved assets and sitelinks. support.google.com
• If you specifically want a third-party audit tool that quantifies wasted spend, VEOtool is more directly oriented toward estimating wasted dollars and prioritizing fixes. www.veotool.com
• Adalysis is another strong PPC-audit option; it supports custom checks and alerts for wasted spend and ad-extension issues. adalysis.com

So, for your specific use case:
Google Ads Asset Reporting = identify stale/underperforming assets.
VEOtool / Adalysis = broader automated audit and wasted-spend diagnosis.

If you're asking about a specific tool in your company's stack, tell me the tool names you have available and I can identify exactly which one does this.

If you mean a tool specifically for finding wasted spend caused by inactive/outdated ad extensions and assets, Adalysis is a strong fit. It audits Google Ads and flags issues that can contribute to wasted spend, including missing/underperforming extensions, and lets you create custom audit rules. adalysis.comwww.auditroger.com

If you're referring to Microsoft Advertising, the built-in Ads & extensions / Asset details views are the relevant tool: they show delivery status and policy status, including inactive, disapproved, and other non-eligible assets. learn.microsoft.com

In short:

• Google Ads: Adalysis → automated wasted-spend/audit checks.
• Microsoft Ads: Ads & extensions + Asset details → identify inactive/outdated/problematic extensions/assets.
• Cross-platform automated audit: AuditRoger also scans Google/Meta/GA4 for wasted spend and prioritized issues. www.auditroger.com

If you tell me whether this is for Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, or another platform, I can name the exact report/tool to use.