What is Google Consent Mode v2 and do I need it?

A plain-English explanation of the signals Google expects from your cookie banner.

ℹ️Short answer: if you use Google Analytics 4, Google Ads or Google Tag Manager and have visitors from the EEA or UK, you need it. KukiBot sends it automatically on every plan — there is nothing to switch on.

What it is

Google Consent Mode is a way for your cookie banner to tell Google's tags what each visitor agreed to. Version 2 has four signals, each set to granted or denied:

analytics_storage — may Google Analytics use cookies?
ad_storage — may Google Ads use cookies?
ad_user_data — may user data be sent to Google for advertising?
ad_personalization — may ads be personalised (remarketing)?

Google's tags read these signals and change their behaviour: with denied they don't set advertising or analytics cookies.

Who needs it

You run Google Ads and have EEA/UK traffic — without consent signals, remarketing and conversion measurement for those visitors are limited.
You use GA4 — consent signals let GA4 respect each visitor's choice.
You use neither — it does no harm; KukiBot's signals are simply unused.

How KukiBot handles it

Before any choice: KukiBot sets all four signals to denied as the default, as soon as the script runs.
When the visitor decides: KukiBot sends an update — Accept all grants everything, Reject all keeps everything denied, and Customise grants only the categories they chose (Analytics → analytics_storage, Marketing → the three ad signals).
On every later visit: KukiBot re-applies the visitor's stored choice as the default, so their decision keeps being respected without showing the banner again.

💡For the signals to take effect, the KukiBot script must load before your Google tags. See Google Tag Manager: correct setup order and how to verify it's working.