Google Ads AI Max Auto Upgrade: What Changed and What to Check

The Google Ads AI Max auto upgrade rolled out in September 2026. Google began moving eligible Search campaigns that used automatically created assets (ACA) or the campaign-level broad match setting into AI Max for Search, and said it expected those upgrades to conclude by the end of September.¹ Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) were not part of the September wave. Google pushed the DSA sunset and auto-upgrade to February 2027.¹²

If you ran either legacy setting, your campaign now matches more searches and may write some of its own ad text. Here is how to confirm it, what each AI Max feature does to your spend, and the audit to run this week.

The short version

• Starting September 1, 2026, Google began auto-upgrading Search campaigns that used automatically created assets or the campaign-level broad match setting to AI Max. Google expected all eligible upgrades to conclude by the end of September.¹³
• ACA campaigns got search term matching and text customization. Broad match setting campaigns got search term matching.¹
• DSA campaigns were not auto-upgraded in September. Google moved the DSA sunset and auto-upgrade to February 2027.¹² When DSA campaigns upgrade, all three AI Max features turn on with your legacy URL controls preserved.¹
• Google's Ads Liaison said new DSA creation was restored on June 15, 2026 and goes away in January 2027, as reported by Search Engine Roundtable.⁴
• Your negative keywords still apply under AI Max.⁵ Turning AI Max off disables every AI Max feature, including brand exclusions.⁵
• Google says AI Max drives more conversions at a similar CPA or ROAS. Those figures are Google's internal data, so verify against your own account.¹⁶

What happened, and when?

Date	What happened	Source
April 15, 2026	Google announces that DSA, ACA and broad match setting campaigns will auto-upgrade to AI Max starting in September.	Google blog1
June 11, 2026	Google extends the DSA sunset and auto-upgrade to February 2027. ACA and broad match setting upgrades stay on the September schedule.	Google blog update1
June 15, 2026	New DSA campaign creation restored, per Google's Ads Liaison.	Search Engine Roundtable4
August 5, 2026	Google Ads emails advertisers that ACA and broad match setting campaigns upgrade from September 1.	PPC Land3
September 2026	Auto-upgrades start September 1, per Google's email. Google expected them to conclude by the end of September.	PPC Land,3 Search Engine Roundtable,15 Google blog1
January 2027	New DSA campaign creation removed, per Google's Ads Liaison.	Search Engine Roundtable4
February 2027	DSA sunset and auto-upgrade to AI Max begin.	Google blog,1 Google Ads Help2

Google's sources and Search Engine Roundtable differ on two points.

When DSA creation ends. The body of Google's blog post still carries the April line that, starting in September, you "won't be able to create new campaigns with DSA."¹ The June 11 note at the top of that post moves the sunset and auto-upgrade to February 2027 but says nothing about creation. Search Engine Roundtable reports Google's Ads Liaison saying creation was restored on June 15, 2026 and will be removed in January 2027.⁴ We did not find the January 2027 cutoff on a Google Ads Help page as of October 2, 2026. Treat it as likely, not confirmed.

Where DSA campaigns end up. Google's blog and help center say DSA campaigns upgrade to AI Max starting in February 2027.¹² Search Engine Roundtable's timeline says remaining DSA campaigns migrate to "Performance Max or AI-powered Search campaigns."⁴ Where the two disagree, this guide follows Google's own pages.

Which campaigns did the Google Ads AI Max auto upgrade touch?

Two kinds of Search campaigns were in scope in September 2026.¹

Campaigns with automatically created assets. Google renamed ACA to text customization. These campaigns came over with search term matching and text customization on.¹⁷

Campaigns with the campaign-level broad match setting. That setting already forced every keyword to broad match and required conversion-based Smart Bidding.⁸ Google says these campaigns upgrade with search term matching enabled by default.¹ PPC Land reads Google's notice as search term matching "and nothing else."³

Brand settings also moved into AI Max. Google lists text customization, brand settings and the broad match campaign setting as features "upgraded into AI Max."⁹

A Search campaign that used plain keywords with neither legacy setting was not in the September group.¹ New Search campaigns are a separate case. AI Max is selected by default when you create one.¹⁰

What does each AI Max feature do to your spend?

AI Max for Search is a set of features you turn on inside an existing Search campaign.⁶ Each feature changes a different part of the auction.

Feature	What it changes	Where you control it
Search term matching	Uses broad match and keywordless technology to show your ads on searches your keywords didn't cover.9	Campaign level, then per ad group under Ad groups > Search term matching.10
Text customization	Writes headlines and descriptions from your ads, landing pages and assets with generative AI.9	Campaigns > Settings > AI Max > Asset optimization.10
Final URL expansion	Sends clicks to the page on your site Google judges most relevant, not only the final URL you set.9	Same panel. It needs text customization on.10

Search term matching decides which searches you pay for. Text customization decides what the ad says. Final URL expansion decides where the click lands.

Google also changed keyword priority. Under the broad match setting, keywords were prioritized as if each one were both exact and broad.⁸ Under AI Max, Google says broad keywords "are not treated as exact match keywords in prioritization," and it suggests adding exact match copies if you want the old behavior back.⁹ So a former broad match setting campaign may route searches through different keywords than it did in August (our inference).

How do you tell if your campaign was upgraded?

Five checks, no developer needed.

1. Open the AI Max section. Go to Campaigns > Settings, pick the Search campaign and find AI Max in the section menu.¹⁰ If the toggle is on and you didn't turn it on, the upgrade did.
2. Read the bottom of the Keywords report. AI Max campaigns show two summary rows, "Total: AI Max expanded matches" and "Total: AI Max landing page matches."¹¹
3. Filter the search terms report. Set the Match type column to "AI Max."¹¹ Any rows there are searches you didn't target with a keyword.
4. Search your inbox for the August 5 notice from Google Ads about the AI Max upgrade.³ Check every login with access to the account.
5. Check change history for September and filter to campaign setting changes (practitioner judgment). It shows when the switch happened, which you need to compare before and after.

The 30-minute audit: what to check first

Run these in order. The times assume one or two campaigns. "Practitioner judgment" marks our advice, not Google's.

Today (about 15 minutes)

1. Read the AI Max search terms (5 min). Open the search terms report, filter Match type to "AI Max" and add the Source column. The Source column tells you whether a match came from broad match expansion or keywordless matching.⁹¹¹ Sort by cost. Google warns that this filter "may show lower numbers for AI Max," so treat the totals as a floor.¹¹

2. Add negatives for the waste (5 min). Google says negative keywords "will be respected even with AI Max turned on."⁵ Add the irrelevant terms from step 1 at the campaign level or to a shared list. Job seekers, free-seekers, DIY queries and wrong-service terms are the usual first batch (practitioner judgment).

3. Check where the clicks landed (5 min). Open the Landing pages report and look at the "Selected by" column, which shows whether AI Max chose the URL.¹¹ The "Search terms and ad combinations" view of the search terms report, formerly "Search terms and landing pages from AI Max," pairs each search with the headline and page served.¹¹ If you see blog posts, careers pages, login pages or old offers, fix it in step 6.

This week (about 15 minutes)

4. Set brand controls (3 min). In Campaign settings > AI Max, scroll to Brands. Brand inclusions work at campaign and ad group level. Brand exclusions are campaign level only.⁹¹⁰ Use exclusions to keep a non-brand campaign off your own brand or competitor brand searches, and inclusions to keep a brand campaign on your name.

5. Check location intent (3 min). Your campaign location option still matters. "Presence or interest" is the default and also reaches people who have shown interest in your targeted locations. "Presence" limits ads to people likely to be located, or regularly located, there.¹² AI Max also offers locations of interest at the ad group level, which reaches people based on their "geographical intent."⁹ A local service business that only serves its own metro should usually be on Presence (practitioner judgment).

6. Lock down landing pages (3 min). If final URL expansion is on, add URL exclusions in the AI Max section under Final URL expansion. URL exclusions are a campaign-level control.¹⁰ If you need specific pages, add URL inclusions at the ad group level.¹⁰ Google notes that pinned responsive search ad assets are not respected when text customization and final URL expansion are both on, or when URL inclusions are set.⁵ If your ads rely on pinned headlines, check them after the upgrade.

7. Review generated ad text (3 min). Open Ads, find each responsive search ad and select "View assets details." You can remove any generated asset there.⁷ For standing rules, add text guidelines under Asset optimization. Google allows up to 25 term exclusions and 40 messaging restrictions per campaign, and the feature is still a beta.¹³

8. Sanity-check conversion tracking (3 min). Google says search term matching, text customization and final URL expansion need conversion-based Smart Bidding to work well, and search term matching does not work with manual CPC.¹⁰⁵ The bidder now chases whatever your primary conversion action counts. Confirm your primary goals are real leads or sales, not page views or button clicks, and that a test lead records once (practitioner judgment). If you need a deeper review of the pages those clicks reach, our website conversion audit guide covers it.

Before February 2027

9. Decide on DSA yourself. Google is rolling out upgrade tools that port your historical settings and data into new standard ad groups.¹ Upgrading on your own schedule lets you set brand controls, URL exclusions and negatives before full AI Max traffic starts (practitioner judgment).

10. Clean up DSA targets first. When DSA campaigns auto-upgrade, Google keeps your legacy URL controls.¹ Whatever page feeds and URL rules you have today will carry over. Remove dead pages and pages you don't want ads to reach before the move (practitioner judgment).

11. If you need a new DSA campaign, build it before January 2027. That is the creation cutoff Google's Ads Liaison gave, as reported by Search Engine Roundtable.⁴ We would not start a new DSA campaign this late unless you need it for a short seasonal push (practitioner judgment).

When should you keep AI Max on, and when should you turn features off?

Keep it on when the basics are solid (practitioner judgment):

• Your conversion tracking counts real leads or sales.
• You bid with conversion-based Smart Bidding.¹⁰
• The AI Max search terms from step 1 are mostly relevant after negatives.
• Your landing pages all make sense as ad destinations.

Turn individual features off when one of them is the problem. You don't have to turn off all of AI Max.

• Search term matching off in one ad group when that ad group needs tight control, such as a narrow high-cost service. Search term matching must stay on at the campaign level for ad group settings to apply.¹⁰
• Final URL expansion off when exclusions can't keep traffic off the wrong pages.
• Text customization off when legal or compliance review must approve every line. That also turns off final URL expansion.¹⁰⁷

Think twice before turning AI Max off completely. Google says that disables all AI Max features, and gives the example that brand exclusions are disabled too.⁵ If a campaign still shows the legacy automatically created assets setting, turning it off is one-way. Google says you "won't be able to enable it again."⁷

If you are unsure, test before you decide. Google's AI Max experiments split one campaign into a control arm with AI Max off and a trial arm with it on.¹⁴ Among other limits, your campaign can't already have text customization on, use a portfolio bid strategy or a shared budget, or have another active experiment.¹⁴ Former ACA campaigns already have text customization on, so they won't qualify unless you turn it off first. For those, compare the weeks before and after the switch instead (practitioner judgment).

What does Google say about performance?

Google publishes two figures, both from its own data and both for non-retail advertisers.

• Advertisers who turn on AI Max "will typically see 14% more conversions or conversion value at a similar CPA/ROAS" (Google internal data, 2025).⁶
• Using the full feature suite brings "an average of 7% more conversions or conversion value at a similar CPA/ROAS" compared with search term matching alone (Google internal data, 2026).¹

PPC Land's coverage cites independent agency tests from 2025, including one by Monks, that found much weaker results.³ We could not review the underlying data for either side. Your own search terms and cost per lead before and after the switch are the numbers that count.

How do you undo the broad match setting change?

If you want your exact and phrase keywords back, plan to change match types by hand.

Start with a record of what you had. Google's help page for the broad match setting says that when you select "All" in the Keyword status filter, your old non-broad keywords show the status "Removed" with their historical stats still visible.⁸ Export that list before you change anything else (practitioner judgment).

Google documents the revert this way. In Campaigns > Settings, open the "Broad match keywords" setting and select "Off: Use keyword match types." Then, in Keywords, select the keywords, choose Edit > Change match types and pick the original match type. If the campaign had a mix, change each keyword's match type one by one.⁸ Google's page does not say whether that setting still appears once a campaign has been upgraded to AI Max. If you can't find it, try the Edit > Change match types step on its own, and confirm in the Keywords report that the new match types stuck.

PPC Land describes the revert differently. It says the removed keywords "must be reinstated at their original match types."³ Google's instructions change the match type of the current broad keywords instead. Follow Google's steps.

Changing match types alone does not turn off AI Max search term matching. If you want the old, tighter reach, turn search term matching off for the campaign or the ad group too (our inference from Google's setup page).¹⁰ Restoring exact match keywords also brings back the keyword priority you lost, which is what Google's exact match copy advice is for.⁹

If you run several accounts or your search terms report looks unfamiliar, a structured Google Ads management review is faster than guessing. Our PPC management page covers what that work looks like across platforms. And if the clicks are fine but leads aren't, the problem may be on the page, which our landing page diagnostic walks through.

If you want help

We have shipped 300+ websites since 2019 for clients in 4 countries. If you want a second set of eyes on an upgraded campaign or a DSA plan before February 2027, request a scoped estimate and you'll have it within 48 hours.

Frequently asked questions

Did Google automatically switch my Search campaign to AI Max?

If the campaign used automatically created assets or the campaign-level broad match setting, Google scheduled it for auto-upgrade starting September 2026 and expected the upgrades to conclude by the end of that month. Check Campaigns > Settings > AI Max for the toggle, or filter the search terms report for the "AI Max" match type. Plain keyword campaigns without those settings were not in the September group.

Can I turn off AI Max after the automatic upgrade?

Yes. Go to Campaigns > Settings, select the campaign, open AI Max and toggle to opt out. Google says this disables every AI Max feature, including brand exclusions. You can also turn off single features, such as search term matching for one ad group, instead.

When are Dynamic Search Ads being retired?

Google's blog and help center say DSA campaigns auto-upgrade to AI Max starting in February 2027. Google's Ads Liaison said new DSA campaign creation ends in January 2027, as reported by Search Engine Roundtable, though we did not find that date on a Google help page. When DSA campaigns upgrade, all three AI Max features turn on and legacy URL controls are kept.

Do negative keywords still work with AI Max?

Yes. Google says negative keywords are respected with AI Max turned on. Review the "AI Max" rows in your search terms report and add negatives for irrelevant searches as you find them.

What is final URL expansion in Google Ads?

Final URL expansion lets Google send a click to the page on your site it judges most relevant, instead of only the final URL you set. It needs text customization on. You can block pages with URL exclusions at the campaign level and see Google's choices in the Landing pages report under "Selected by."

Why are my exact and phrase match keywords showing as removed?

The campaign-level broad match setting converted them to broad match. Google's help page says the original non-broad keywords appear with the status "Removed" when you set the Keyword status filter to "All," with history intact. Google's revert steps turn the setting to "Off: Use keyword match types" and then change the match type of each current keyword back with Edit > Change match types.

Does AI Max work with manual CPC bidding?

Only partly. Google says search term matching does not work with manual CPC, and it recommends conversion-based Smart Bidding for AI Max features to work well. If you bid manually, move to a conversion-based strategy before you judge AI Max.

Sources

Facts checked on October 2, 2026.