Multiple Customer Management (MCM) is how Google Ad Manager lets a partner monetize a publisher's inventory. If you are talking to an MCM partner, you will hear two terms over and over: Manage Account (MA) and Manage Inventory (MI). Here is what each one means for you.
The basics of MCM
In MCM, the parent publisher is the partner and the child publisher is the site or app owner. The parent sends an invitation, the child accepts it, and from then on the parent can help monetize the child's inventory. Google pays both sides their agreed share through auto-payment. MCM is an Ad Manager 360 feature, which is why it runs through partners.
Manage Account (MA)
With Manage Account:
- the inventory stays in your own Ad Manager network;
- the parent gets edit access inside your network to manage inventory;
- you keep access to all settings;
- reporting happens in your network, and you use your own tags;
- you can have only one Manage Account parent;
- Google requires identity verification on your payments profile, in your own legal name.
MA suits publishers who already have an Ad Manager account and want expert help without moving their setup elsewhere.
Manage Inventory (MI)
With Manage Inventory:
- you delegate inventory to the parent;
- the inventory is managed and reported in the parent's network;
- you use the parent's tags, which carry identifiers for your account;
- you can work with several Manage Inventory parents at once.
MI suits publishers who want a lighter setup and are happy for the partner to run the ad server.
Side-by-side
| Manage Account | Manage Inventory | |
|---|---|---|
| Where inventory lives | Your network | Parent's network |
| Who uses the ad server | Parent, inside your account | Parent, in its own account |
| Tags | Yours | Parent's |
| Reporting | In your network | In parent's network |
| Number of parents | One | Several |
Google notes that a child can combine one MA parent with multiple MI parents, but the same parent cannot manage you under both types.
Who is responsible for policy?
Google's Ad Manager Partner Guidelines place responsibility for policy violations on child inventory on the parent, whatever their cause. That is why serious partners screen traffic before inviting anyone, and why they may ask for verification and clean traffic sources.
Which one should you choose?
- Choose MA if you value control, already know Ad Manager and want a partner to improve what you have.
- Choose MI if you want the partner to handle the ad server end to end.
AdGlobeX Media announced in July 2026 that it onboards publishers under both models, so the choice can follow your needs.
Unsure whether MA or MI suits your setup? Tell us about your network through the account review form and our team will recommend a path once the review is done.
