Google Is Moving Search Campaigns to AI Max: 7 Checks for Small Advertisers

Google has been moving Search campaigns onto AI Max, its set of AI features for Search ads, and many advertisers did not choose it themselves. Since September 2026, campaigns that used certain older settings have been upgraded automatically, and Dynamic Search Ads campaigns are scheduled to follow from February 2027. If you run Google Ads for a local business, here is what AI Max does, which campaigns it affects, and the checks worth making now.

What AI Max for Search does#

AI Max is a bundle of three features that sit on top of a normal Search campaign:

• Search term matching. Your ads can show for searches beyond your keyword list, using broad match and “keywordless” matching based on your landing pages and ads.
• Text customization. Google can write headlines and descriptions for your ads based on your site and existing ads. This replaces the older “automatically created assets” setting. Generated assets are labeled “Google AI” in asset reporting.
• Final URL expansion. Google can send a click to a different page on your website than the one you chose, if it judges that page more relevant to the search. This can be turned off.

Budgets and bidding stay where they were. AI Max changes which searches you appear for, what your ad says and where the click lands.

Which campaigns move automatically#

According to Google’s documentation and its advertiser notices:

Your campaign uses	What happens	When
Automatically created assets (text customization)	Upgraded to AI Max	From September 2026
Campaign-level broad match	Upgraded to AI Max	From September 2026
Dynamic Search Ads	Upgraded to AI Max, with all three features on by default	From February 2027
None of these settings	Not upgraded wholesale	No date announced

Google pushed the Dynamic Search Ads deadline back from September 2026 to February 2027 after feedback from advertisers. It also says creating new Dynamic Search Ads campaigns will be switched off again in January 2027. Google sends account notifications before a migration, so check your account messages.

Seven checks to make now#

1. Find out which campaigns are already on AI Max

Open each Search campaign’s settings and look for AI Max. If your campaigns used automatically created assets or campaign-level broad match, they may already have been running AI Max since September.

2. Read the search terms report

This is the single most important check. The search terms report now has separate views for searches matched by AI Max, so you can see exactly which new searches you are paying for. Look for searches that will never book a job: wrong services, wrong locations, job seekers, people looking for free help or DIY instructions.

3. Add negative keywords, but give it two weeks first

Google recommends waiting at least two weeks after AI Max is switched on before making changes such as adding negative keywords, so the system has time to learn. After that, review the search terms report weekly at first, and add negatives for anything irrelevant.

4. Set brand controls

If you only want to appear for searches about your own brand, or never for competitors’ brands, use the brand inclusion and exclusion controls. Without them, broader matching can put your ads in front of searches you would never have chosen.

5. Control where clicks land

If you leave final URL expansion on, Google may send people to pages you never designed as landing pages, such as a blog post, a careers page or an old offer. Either turn the feature off, or add URL exclusions for every page that should never receive paid traffic.

6. Review every AI-written ad

Open the asset report and read the headlines and descriptions labeled “Google AI”. Remove anything inaccurate, off-brand, or that promises something you do not offer, such as a price, a guarantee or a service area. You are responsible for what your ads say, whoever wrote them.

7. Make sure conversion tracking counts real business

AI Max optimizes toward whatever you tell Google is a conversion. If that is a page view or a click on a phone number, it will find more of those, not more customers. Count calls of a meaningful length, submitted forms and bookings, and import booked or won jobs from your CRM where you can. We explain why that matters in Google Ads or Meta Ads.

Should you keep AI Max on?#

It depends on your account, which is the honest answer. AI Max can find searches your keyword list missed, and for some advertisers those convert well. For others, especially small local businesses with tight budgets and a narrow service area, broader matching can spend money on searches that were never going to book.

The way to decide is to measure it:

• Compare cost per booked job before and after AI Max, not cost per click.
• Look at what share of spend goes to AI Max-matched searches, and how those searches convert.
• If results are worse after a fair test period, you can turn AI Max off for that campaign, or switch off individual features.

What AI Max does not change#

• Your landing pages still decide whether people book. A fast page about the exact service, with a clear way to call or book, matters more than any match type.
• Speed of reply still matters. Paid leads go cold as fast as any other, so answer every enquiry fast.
• Local Services Ads are a separate change. They are also moving into Google Ads in 2026, as a pay-per-lead version of Performance Max.

Where we come in#

We run Google and Meta ads that scale what already works, tracked to every enquiry and sale. If your campaigns were upgraded to AI Max and you are not sure what they are spending on, we can audit the search terms, settings and tracking and show you exactly where the money went. See how we work on our growth marketing page, or start a project.