In September 2026, Google upgraded many Search campaigns to AI Max. It announced the change months earlier, but gave no opt-out.
Between 1 and 30 September, eligible campaigns moved automatically to Google’s AI-powered system for search ads. The Search Engine Land migration timeline confirms the dates. Google first announced the plan in April 2026.
If your campaigns used Google’s campaign-level broad match setting or automatically created ads, they were included. Many business owners will not have noticed. The ads kept running, and the account looked much the same.
Why did Google do this? People now search in longer, more conversational ways. Fixed keyword lists struggle to keep up. Google says AI Max reads real-time signals of what a searcher wants. And the change is not finished. Dynamic Search Ads campaigns are due to follow in February 2027.
If you run Google Ads, you are probably asking:
- What exactly did Google change in my account?
- Is AI Max spending my budget differently?
- Can I switch it off, and should I?
- Does it bring more customers or just more clicks?
- What do I need to do before February 2027?
This article answers each question in plain English. It also gives you a checklist to work through in your account this week.
What Is AI Max for Search?
AI Max for Search is a set of AI features inside Google Ads Search campaigns. It lets Google decide more about who sees your ads, what they say and where they lead.
It is not a new type of campaign. Google’s help centre describes it as a suite of targeting and creative features. It sits on top of your existing campaigns. That is why your campaign names, history and budgets stayed the same.
The three features you need to know
- Search term matching. Google can show your ad for searches you never chose. It uses your keywords, ads and website to judge what is relevant.
- Text customisation. Google writes extra headlines and descriptions from your ads and website. This feature used to be called automatically created assets.
- Final URL expansion. Google may send visitors to a different page on your site. It picks whichever page it thinks best fits the search.
AI Max does not replace your campaigns. It changes who decides how they behave.
Why Is Google Moving Search Ads to AI?
AI Max is not brand new. Google announced it in May 2025 and began rolling it out in beta that month. In April 2026, Google confirmed it would upgrade older campaign types to AI Max.
Google reports positive results. It says advertisers using AI Max typically see 14% more conversions or conversion value. Their cost per acquisition stays similar. That figure comes from Google’s own 2025 data and covers non-retail advertisers only. Cost per acquisition simply means what you pay, on average, to win one sale or lead.
Google is not alone. Other major ad platforms are making similar moves:
- Microsoft Advertising made its own AI Max generally available in August 2026. It offers similar features for Microsoft’s search network.
- TikTok says its automated Smart+ campaign option may be on by default when you build a web campaign.
- Amazon Ads launched an AI agent in September 2026. Advertisers supply budget, products and creative, and Amazon’s AI manages the rest.
- OpenAI opened a self-serve ads manager for ChatGPT in beta in May 2026.
Across major ad platforms, AI automation is increasingly part of the standard campaign setup.
What Exactly Changed in September 2026?
Google upgraded two groups of Search campaigns. Its announcement sets out what was switched on for each.
|
If your campaign used… |
What Google did |
Features switched on |
|
Automatically created assets |
Upgraded to AI Max |
Search term matching and text customisation |
|
The campaign-level broad match setting |
Upgraded to AI Max |
Search term matching |
|
Standard keywords only (no settings above) |
No change in September |
None |
|
Dynamic Search Ads |
Moving in February 2027 |
Set out by Google at migration |
Final URL expansion was not switched on for either group. Your existing brand inclusion and exclusion lists also carried over, according to Search Engine Land. From 3 August 2026, you could no longer create the old settings.
What I am trying to say is this. Google did not rebuild your campaigns. It widened what they are allowed to do.
Which Campaigns Were Not Affected?
Standard Search campaigns built on keywords, without the two settings above, were not part of the September move. Google’s announcement only lists campaigns using automatically created assets, the campaign-level broad match setting or Dynamic Search Ads.
Dynamic Search Ads, or DSA, are ads Google builds from the content of your website. They were originally due to move in September too. On 11 June 2026, Google pushed the DSA migration back to February 2027 after advertisers asked for more time.
Timing matters here. Google says new DSA campaigns cannot be created from January 2027. Search Engine Land reports that reminders start on 15 January 2027.
Can You Switch AI Max Off?
You could not refuse the September migration. But you can still turn off each feature afterwards.
Google’s help centre explains how. Search term matching can be switched off in ad group settings. Text customisation and final URL expansion can each be switched off in campaign settings.
One further change is worth knowing. In campaigns that used the old broad match setting, broad keywords no longer get exact match priority. If certain search terms matter most to you, add exact match versions of them.
Google changed the defaults. You still control the guardrails.
Does AI Max Actually Improve Results?
The honest answer is: it depends on your business. Google’s figures and independent studies tell different stories.
Google reports 14% more conversions for non-retail advertisers. It also says using all three features brings 7% more conversions than search term matching alone. Both figures come from Google’s own data.
Independent data is more mixed. Smarter Ecommerce analysed over 250 retail Search campaigns using AI Max. Search Engine Land reported in March 2026 that median revenue rose 13%, while median cost per acquisition rose 16%.
The same analysis highlighted areas to watch. In one account, competitor brand searches took 69% of Search impressions. In one campaign, Google’s Search Partner sites converted at 0.07%, against 3.04% on Google Search itself.
Brainlabs ran 23 tests across 16 established advertisers. It found that tests using all three features had a 40% higher success rate. The comparison was with search term matching alone.
Why do the numbers differ? They measure different sectors and different things. Google measures conversions. Independent studies often measure cost and profit.
How Does AI Max Affect Ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode?
Google’s AI-generated answers now sit at the top of many search results. We explained this shift in our guide to what AI Overviews mean for SEO. Increasingly, ads appear in and around those answers too.
Is AI Max required to appear there? Not strictly. Google’s Ads Liaison, Ginny Marvin, told Search Engine Land in June 2026 that AI Max isn’t required. But it widens the searches your ads can match, including longer AI-style questions.
In September 2026, Google confirmed a small test letting exact and phrase match ads serve in AI Mode. This only applies where the searcher’s intent is clear and direct.
Ads in and around AI answers are a growing opportunity, and AI Max widens your reach there.
What This Means for Your Business
AI Max can find customers you would never have reached with keywords alone. That is the opportunity. The challenge is that it can also spend money on searches that never turn into sales.
Your budget may stretch further than you expect
AI Max opens your ads to more searches. If your budget is tight, those extra searches compete for the same money. Google itself says AI Max won’t be effective when campaigns are limited by budget.
More leads is not always more customers
Razor Rank, a US legal marketing agency, tested AI Max for its law firm clients. In September 2026, it reported that conversions rose 28%, but signed cases fell 40%. The cost of each signed case rose 135%.
The sample was small, and one sector does not speak for all. But the lesson matters for any business that generates leads.
More conversions is not the same as more customers.
The Techprivy view: AI Max finds what you measure
Look closely at the studies in this article and a pattern appears. Results looked strongest where success was measured in conversions. They looked weaker where it was measured in sales, signed clients or profit.
AI Max optimises towards the goal you give it. If your goal is a form fill, it will find more form fills. If your goal is a paying customer, it can learn to find those instead.
So before you judge AI Max, check what you are asking it to find.
AI Max finds what you measure. Make sure you measure what you sell.
Your brand is now partly written by AI
Text customisation lets Google write headlines for you. Most will be fine, but some may not match your tone or your claims. If final URL expansion picks a different page, pinned headlines may not be used.
AI Max is only as good as your data
AI Max learns from the conversions you track. Brainlabs warned in June 2026 that browser restrictions can cause upwards of 20% data loss in conversion tracking. Weak data teaches the AI the wrong lessons. Our guide to data aggregation explains why joined-up data matters.
I am saying this because many small businesses track form fills, not real sales. AI Max then chases form fills, whether they become customers or not.
For larger companies, there is a reporting issue too. September data mixes old and new settings. Compare October with August when you report results to your board.
What to Check in Your Google Ads Account This Week
You do not need to be a marketer to work through this list. Each step takes minutes, not days.
- Find your migrated campaigns. Add the AI Max columns to your campaign view. Google added new columns in October 2026 covering brand inclusions and locations of interest.
- Read your search terms report. Filter by the ‘AI Max’ match type. Add irrelevant searches as negative keywords, which stops your ads showing for them. Our guide to keyword research explains how to judge search intent.
- Protect your brand searches. On non-brand campaigns, exclude your own brand name. Otherwise you may pay for customers who would have found you anyway.
- Control your landing pages. Exclude pages such as blog posts, careers pages and expired offers. This stops final URL expansion sending buyers to the wrong place.
- Review the ad copy Google writes. Check your asset report for AI-written headlines. Google now previews up to 10 example headlines and descriptions before you switch text customisation on.
- Check budgets and Search Partners. See whether campaigns are limited by budget. Compare Search Partner conversion rates with Google Search.
- Track real sales, not just enquiries. Set up enhanced conversions. Import qualified leads or sales so AI Max learns what a good customer looks like.
- Set a fair baseline. Compare October results with August, not September. Then decide which features to keep.
Before February 2027: prepare your Dynamic Search Ads
If you run DSA campaigns, do not wait for Google to move them. Google itself strongly recommends managing the move yourself rather than waiting.
- Record your current setup. List your page feeds, URL rules and exclusions before anything changes.
- Run a test before December. Use a campaign experiment with DSA against AI Max. That leaves time to read results before January.
- Upgrade on your own terms. Google’s setup guide explains the upgrade option. Some older content-based rules become read-only afterwards.
Set Your Guardrails Before February 2027
AI Max is not a reason to panic. But it is a reason to look. Google has changed the defaults on your search ads. More changes arrive in February 2027.
The businesses that benefit will be the ones that set clear guardrails. They will feed the AI accurate sales data and check what it does with their money. The same is true on Microsoft, Meta, TikTok and Amazon.
Not sure what AI Max has changed in your account? Book a discovery call with Techprivy for a Google Ads AI Max review. We will check your migrated campaigns, protect your brand and prepare your DSA campaigns before February 2027.
