Microsoft Advertising will discontinue support for the SOAP API

What Is the Microsoft Advertising API and Why Is It Needed?

The Microsoft Advertising API is a programming interface that lets external applications interact with the Microsoft advertising platform without manual work in Ads Manager.

For example, an advertising agency manages several hundred accounts. Instead of signing into every advertising account and downloading reports each day, it can use a proprietary application that automatically retrieves statistics, analyzes campaign performance, and generates recommendations.

Through the Microsoft Advertising API, developers can perform many tasks:

• Retrieve data about advertising campaigns, ad groups, keywords, and ad creatives.
• Request statistics on spending, impressions, clicks, conversions, and other metrics.
• Create and edit advertising campaigns.
• Manage budgets, bids, and targeting settings.
• Automate bulk changes through the Bulk API.
• Retrieve data for proprietary dashboards, analytics platforms, and optimization tools.

The API is especially important to companies that use Microsoft Advertising not as a standalone advertising account, but as one of the data sources in their broader marketing infrastructure.

For example, an online store can combine Google Ads, Meta Ads, and Microsoft Advertising statistics in its own analytics system, while an agency can use the API to automatically audit its clients' advertising campaigns.

These are precisely the kinds of integrations that may require technical changes.

How Does the SOAP API Differ From the REST API?

SOAP and REST are two different approaches to communication between software applications.

They can perform similar tasks, but they differ in how data is transmitted and how programmatic requests are structured.

SOAP API: The Previous Microsoft Advertising Architecture

SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is a protocol for exchanging structured messages between applications.

Microsoft Advertising used it for many years to work with various advertising platform services, including Campaign Management, Reporting, Bulk, and Customer Management.

SOAP requests use XML, a format in which data is represented as a hierarchical structure with opening and closing tags.

For example, to retrieve information about a campaign, an application creates a special XML message and sends it to the appropriate Microsoft Advertising service.

The system processes the request and returns a response, also formatted as XML.

SOAP provides developers with a strict message structure, but working with it often requires additional libraries, service descriptions, and data conversion.

REST API: A Modern Way to Interact With the Advertising Platform

REST (Representational State Transfer) is an architectural approach to building programming interfaces based on HTTP.

Instead of SOAP messages, an external application calls specific API endpoints using standard HTTP methods.

The Microsoft Advertising REST API uses JSON, a more compact data representation format.

For example, an application can submit a request to create an advertising campaign, passing its name, budget, and other parameters in JSON.

REST also simplifies working with many modern tools for API development, testing, and monitoring.

Microsoft highlights several advantages of the new architecture: more compact requests, easier debugging, support for modern SDKs, and reduced data transfer through HTTP compression.

It is important to understand that migrating to REST does not mean moving to a new advertising platform. Advertising campaigns, budgets, and statistics remain in Microsoft Advertising. What changes is how external software accesses that data.

What Changed in the SOAP API Shutdown Schedule?

Microsoft first officially announced the transition to the REST API in April 2026.

The original plan had two stages.

Starting October 1, 2026, all new Microsoft Advertising API features were expected to be available exclusively through REST. Existing SOAP integrations would continue to work but would no longer receive new functionality.

Then, on January 31, 2027, the company planned to discontinue SOAP API support completely.

However, on September 30, 2026, Microsoft revised the transition schedule following feedback from developers and advertisers.

New features and improvements will now be available through both SOAP and REST until January 31, 2027.

The final SOAP shutdown date did not change.

Microsoft has therefore given developers additional time to continue using existing integrations without losing access to new API features.

But this is not an extension of SOAP's overall lifespan.

After January 31, 2027, developers should no longer expect SOAP integrations to keep working.

Who Will Be Affected by the End of SOAP API Support?

The change is particularly important to companies that have developed proprietary software for working with Microsoft Advertising.

Advertising Agencies With Internal Analytics Systems

Large agencies often use proprietary dashboards, automated audits, and advertising account management systems.

These tools may retrieve spending, conversion, and campaign statistics every day through the API.

If an integration uses SOAP, automatic data retrieval may stop working after support ends.

The campaigns themselves will continue running in Microsoft Advertising. The problem will arise in the external system, which will no longer be able to exchange data with the advertising platform.

Developers of Advertising Management Tools

The transition is especially important for companies building bid management systems, bulk ad management tools, and automated optimization systems.

Unlike standard analytics tools, these applications not only retrieve data but also change advertising campaign settings.

When the old API stops working, they may lose the ability to update bids, change budgets, and perform other automated operations.

Developers therefore need to test not just statistical data retrieval but also every function that writes data back to Microsoft Advertising.

SaaS Platforms and Marketing Integrations

Platforms that combine data from multiple advertising systems may also use the SOAP API to work with Microsoft Advertising.

Depending on the architecture, the transition may require updating custom code, an SDK, or an integration module.

For customers of these platforms, the change may be invisible if the provider updates its integration on time.

However, companies using business-critical third-party tools are advised to ask the developer whether REST API support is ready.

How to Check Whether Your Integration Uses SOAP

The first step in the transition should be a technical audit of the existing connection.

Developers need to determine how the application communicates with Microsoft Advertising.

Check the SDKs in Use

Microsoft provides official SDKs for several programming languages, including .NET, Java, Python, and PHP.

If an application uses an official SDK, its version and REST support should be checked.

Microsoft has published specific recommendations:

Updating an SDK does not always mean simply installing a newer package version.

Depending on the programming language, class names, object structures, service invocation methods, and response handling may change.

Therefore, the application's functionality must be tested after the update.

Check for Direct SOAP Calls

If an application does not use an official SDK, the developer should inspect its source code and network requests.

Signs of a SOAP integration may include:

• Constructing XML messages containing a SOAP Envelope.
• Using WSDL to describe services.
• Calling legacy Microsoft Advertising SOAP endpoints.
• Using SOAP clients and XML serialization libraries.

The presence of XML in an application does not by itself prove that it uses the SOAP API. The specific requests sent to Microsoft Advertising must be identified.

If an integration already works entirely through REST, the transition may require no additional changes.

How to Migrate the Microsoft Advertising API From SOAP to REST

Microsoft has published separate migration documentation for developers using official SDKs and custom HTTP integrations.

The exact steps depend on the application's architecture.

Option 1. The Application Uses an Official SDK

In this case, Microsoft recommends starting with the official guide for the relevant programming language.

For example, Python developers need to migrate from the bingads package to the new msads package.

For PHP, the new REST SDK is also distributed as the microsoft/msads package, replacing the old microsoft/bingads.

The migration will involve updating library imports, API client initialization, and method calls.

Some SDKs also change data models and how advertising campaign objects are handled.

Therefore, even when using an official library, it is important to test the application after migration.

Option 2. The Application Calls the SOAP API Directly

If a developer implemented requests to Microsoft Advertising independently, migration will require more substantial changes.

Microsoft recommends replacing SOAP endpoints with the corresponding REST endpoints using the new API reference documentation.

The main steps of this migration are:

1. Inventory all SOAP methods used by the application.
2. Find the corresponding REST operations in the Microsoft Advertising API Reference.
3. Update request URLs and data formats.
4. Rewrite response and error handling.
5. Verify authorization and transmission of advertising account identifiers.
6. Test both read and write operations.
7. Move the application to REST and establish error monitoring.

Particular attention should be paid to operations that run automatically without user involvement.

For example, if an application retrieves campaign statistics every night, the updated process must correctly handle API responses and continue saving data to the database.

For automated bid management systems, it is also necessary to verify that changes are actually applied in advertising accounts.

What to Check After Migrating to the REST API

Even if the new integration successfully connects to Microsoft Advertising, that alone is not enough to confirm a complete migration.

Several areas should be checked.

Authorization. Does the application obtain and refresh access tokens correctly? Does it retain access to every connected advertising account?

Advertising data. Do the lists of campaigns, ad groups, and other objects returned by the old and new integrations match?

Reporting. Are spending, impressions, clicks, conversions, and other metrics loaded correctly? Are the required segments and dimensions preserved?

Data modification operations. Do campaign creation, bid and budget updates, ad edits, and other application functions work?

Error handling. Does the system respond appropriately to API limits, malformed requests, and temporary service outages?

Automated jobs. Do scheduled statistical data imports and advertising campaign updates continue to run?

For complex integrations, it makes sense to compare SOAP and REST results in parallel for some time while SOAP remains available.

This helps identify discrepancies before the old interface is permanently shut down.

However, differences in response formats and object structures must be considered. Directly comparing XML and JSON as text is not useful. The underlying business data should be compared instead.

What if a Company Cannot Complete the Migration on Time?

Microsoft has separately provided an option to discuss an individual transition plan for large and complex integrations.

If a company expects that it cannot finish migration by January 31, 2027, it is recommended to contact its Microsoft Advertising representative or support.

This is particularly relevant for systems serving large numbers of advertising accounts and performing business-critical operations.

However, the availability of this option does not mean SOAP support will automatically be extended for every developer.

Migration should therefore be planned around the official support end date.

Why Microsoft Advertising Is Moving to REST

The transition is part of a gradual modernization of the advertising platform's technology infrastructure.

Microsoft introduced the REST API in 2024 and has since developed it as the primary architecture for future integrations.

The company expects the new approach to simplify application development, make new features available faster, and reduce the technical cost of supporting the API.

For developers, the benefits include a more familiar HTTP/JSON architecture, modern testing tools, and updated SDKs.

In the short term, however, the transition creates additional work for development teams.

Existing integrations must be audited, code updated, automated processes retested, and continuity of client operations verified.

From a business perspective, this is an infrastructure change, not a new advertising targeting or campaign optimization capability.

By itself, it should not change CPC, CPA, or ROAS.

The key result of a successful migration is uninterrupted operation of advertising tools and continued access to future Microsoft Advertising API developments.

Sources

1. Microsoft Advertising — Less Busywork, More Growth: What's New in Microsoft Advertising This September, September 30, 2026.
2. Microsoft Learn — Migrate to REST API.
3. Microsoft Advertising — Evolving the Microsoft Advertising API Platform, April 1, 2026.
4. Microsoft Community Hub — Prepare for SOAP API Deprecation by Moving to REST, June 1, 2026.
5. Microsoft Learn — Migration Guide: SOAP to REST for PHP SDK.
6. Microsoft Learn — Microsoft Advertising API Overview.