If you run Google Search campaigns, your account probably changed in September whether you clicked anything or not.
Between 1 and 30 September 2026, Google automatically upgraded eligible Search campaigns to AI Max for Search. That covers campaigns using campaign-level broad match and campaigns using automatically created assets. Since 3 August you can no longer create new campaigns with those older settings. Dynamic Search Ads are next: Google plans to migrate them between 1 and 28 February 2027.
I think AI Max can work well. But an automatic upgrade is the moment to check what changed, not to assume it’s fine. Here’s what you need to know and what I’d check first.
What AI Max actually does
AI Max is a set of features layered on top of a normal Search campaign. The main ones are:
- Search term matching. Google uses your keywords, ads and landing pages to match you to searches beyond your keyword list. In practice it works much like broad match.
- Text customisation. Google writes and adapts headlines and descriptions based on the search and your site content.
- Final URL expansion. Google can send people to a different page on your site if it thinks that page fits the search better.
- Controls. Brand inclusions and exclusions, location targeting of user intent, and text guidelines that tell Google what not to say.
Google says advertisers using AI Max typically see about 7% more conversions at a similar CPA or ROAS. That is Google’s own number, an average across many accounts. Your results depend on your conversion tracking, your landing pages and how tightly you set the controls.
What carried over and what didn’t
Google says brand inclusions and exclusions carry over during the upgrade. Your existing keywords, negatives and bidding stay in place. What’s new is the extra reach from search term matching, plus whatever Google turned on for text and URLs.
If you manage campaigns through scripts or the Google Ads API, check your tools too. Google says the old settings are not supported in API versions released after 1 September. Scripts that read or change those settings may now fail quietly.
My 7-point check after the upgrade
- Confirm which campaigns were upgraded. Look at each Search campaign’s settings and note which have AI Max turned on. Write down the date, because your before-and-after comparison starts there.
- Read the search terms report weekly. This is where AI Max shows its work. Add negatives for anything irrelevant, especially job seekers, competitors you don’t want and “free” searches.
- Check final URL expansion. Look at which pages are getting traffic. If Google is sending paid clicks to your blog, careers page or old offers, exclude those URLs or turn the feature off for that campaign.
- Review the ads Google wrote. Check the generated headlines for claims you can’t stand behind, such as wrong prices, offers you don’t run or services you don’t provide. Add text guidelines to block them.
- Set your brand controls. If you don’t want your non-brand campaigns spending on brand searches, or the other way round, set brand inclusions and exclusions on purpose.
- Check conversion tracking before you judge results. AI Max learns from your conversion data. If that data includes low-value actions, such as page views or scroll events marked as conversions, it will optimise for the wrong thing.
- Compare like with like. Give the upgraded campaign two to four weeks. Then compare conversions, cost per conversion and conversion quality (actual leads or sales, not just form fills) against the same period before the upgrade.
Should you turn AI Max off?
Not by default. If your tracking is solid and your landing pages are clear, the extra reach is often worth testing. Turn it down or off where it clearly hurts: a niche B2B service where broad matching brings in mostly unqualified searches, or a regulated business where generated ad text is a risk.
The bigger lesson is that Google keeps moving control from keyword lists to signals: your conversion data, your site content and your guidelines. The advertisers who do well with AI Max are the ones who feed it clean data and check the search terms every week.
Want a second pair of eyes?
If your Search campaigns were upgraded and you’re not sure whether performance improved or just moved around, I can review the account with you.
Sources
- Google sets AI Max migration timeline for Search campaigns (Search Engine Land)
- Upgrading Dynamic Search Ads to AI Max (Google)
Written by Sandesh Karkare, growth marketing consultant in Mumbai with 20 years in digital marketing.