The transition to AI Max and what you should be testing now

For many advertising accounts, September was a move into ongoing operations, and Google carried out the move itself. It’s a bit like Ash Wednesday in the Rhineland: You look at the account and wonder what all has happened in the last few weeks. How AI Max works in principle and how your ads are displayed in AI search surfaces landing pages, we explained in detail in January. Now it’s time to look at what the change in your campaigns has actually done and where you should adjust.

What Google changed in September

Two features are affected that many accounts have been using for a long time: Broad Match at the campaign level and standalone automatically created assets, abbreviated as ACA. Automatically Created Assets. Google has placed both of them directly in your existing search campaigns between September 1st and 30th. Google Ads migrating to AI Max. According to Google Migration plan the system took over in this case equivalent settings, This ensures that the process runs as smoothly as possible without any interruptions. Existing brand exclusions and inclusions automatically carried over; your current brand rules therefore also apply under AI Max.

In detail, the campaigns differ significantly. Former Broad-Match campaigns are now running with Search Term Matching, Therefore, the AI-based expansion to include relevant search queries beyond your own Keywords, While text customization and URL extension remain disabled. Campaigns with ACA have additional Text Customization on board and generate advertising texts using AI that Final URL Expansion is also deactivated here. The Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) come in one second wave In the meantime, Google has pushed back its deadline to give companies more time to make the transition.

Where you can find the traces of AI Max in the account

The traces are clearly visible. In the Search term report Filter the column Keyword option On „AI Max,“ and see every search query that came in through the AI extension. The combined „Search Terms and Ad Combinations“ view additionally shows which ad title and which landing page were served for each query. On the Keyword page, Google aggregates these hits in its own totals columns at the bottom of the table, such as „Total: Advanced AI Max matches,“ and assets from Google AI are identified by the „Google AI“ note in the „Added by“ column.

Then the numbers come in. According to Google provides the full functionality package on average 7 percent more Conversions or conversion value with similar CPA or ROAS as Search Term Matching alone. This is an average over many accounts; your result may be above or below it. Comparing the weeks before and after the switch shows you which side of the average your account landed on.

You still have these adjusting screws in your hand

Control freaks can breathe a sigh of relief; AI Max can be adjusted quite finely. Search Term Matching, Text Adaptation, and URL Extension all set a conversion-based Bid strategy with Smart Bidding ahead of time. Clean Conversion Tracking is thus the basis for everything else, and with a correctly configured Consent Mode v2 The algorithm gets more complete data. These tweaks are worth a look:

• According to Google, Search Term Matching can be enabled on Ad group level Turn off, even if AI Max is active for the campaign. This is suitable for brand ad groups or very narrow product ranges, for example.
• Google confirms this in its answers to Negative keywords, that exclusive keywords still work. If you run a search campaign and Performance Max For the same query, the ad with the higher ad rank wins.
• Brand inclusions If you are targeting campaign and ad group level, mark up exclusions at the campaign level.
• URL exclusions For career pages, contact information or old blog articles, you should save them first, before you insert the URL extension. Also, check if your Tracking templates to cope with dynamically selected target pages.
• About Places of Interest You determine at the ad group level which places searchers will see your ads. This helps with location-based queries like „tax advisor Düsseldorf“, even if the searcher is currently in Cologne.
• AI Max only starts to have an effect when the campaign has enough budget. Therefore, for campaigns with permanently limited budgets, it is first advisable to take a look at the budget distribution.
• If you turn off Text Customization, the AI assets are then removed; they then stop being delivered.

The schedule until February 2027

"As tacky as it is tacky," says the Rheinländer, "for your Dynamic Search Ads, you'd better plan on doing it yourself anyway. In February 2027, Google will automatically migrate the DSA campaigns to AI Max; you therefore have about four months to prepare the structure, target pages, exclusions, and bid strategies in peace." Google explicitly recommends voluntary conversion In advance, because you then decide on the setup yourself. At the latest when the Ask Advisor Analyzing your campaigns across platforms pays off twofold with a clean account structure.

• Check which campaigns Google switched over to in September and which features of AI Max are running there, fastest via the campaign settings.
• AI Max evaluates the search term report with filters weekly for four weeks and excludes inappropriate terms.
• Read the AI-generated ad texts against your brand guidelines and pricing or advertising disclosure rules.
• Brings every Landing page, The URLs that are eligible for the URL extension are up-to-date in terms of content and technology. In the report on the target pages, you will see later which URLs AI Max has selected.
• Document any changes to the AI Max settings with a date, so that you can later easily assign them to a step in the reports.
• Test the transition of your DSA campaigns before February 2027 using an experiment; you will then have comparison data at hand.
• Creates scripts and own Tools, Those that run via the Google Ads API will be affected by the new structures. Newer API versions will no longer support Broad Match at the campaign level, and ACA will only support AI Max; older versions are expected to be deprecated in September 2027.

FAQs about the transition to AI Max

Which campaigns has Google switched to AI Max in September 2026?

Google has migrated search campaigns with Broad Match at the campaign level and campaigns with standalone automatically generated assets (ACA). The transition took place from September 1 to 30, 2026, directly within existing campaigns. For new campaigns, both settings have been disabled since August 3, 2026.

Which AI Max features are active after the switchover?

Former Broad Match campaigns use Search Term Matching. Former ACA campaigns additionally use Text Customization for AI-generated ad text. The Final URL expansion is disabled in both cases and can be turned on if needed, but requires active Text Customization.

Do exclusive keywords also apply with AI Max?

Yes. Google confirms that exclusive keywords also work with active AI Max. Well-maintained negative lists remain a central control tool for advanced search terms.

Is it possible to restrict Search Term Matching?

Yes, you can disable Search Term Matching per ad group, even if AI Max is active at the campaign level. Additionally, you control the display through brand inclusions, brand exclusions, URL exclusions, and exclusive keywords. This fine-tuning is especially useful for ad groups with a tightly defined offer.

When will Google switch to AI Max for Dynamic Search Ads?

The automatic conversion of Dynamic Search Ads is scheduled for February 2027. Google recommends performing the conversion voluntarily beforehand and managing the setup yourself. In doing so, the dynamic ad groups will be converted into standard ad groups with AI Max.