Google is moving Search campaigns to AI Max: what to check

AI Max for Search campaigns is Google's bundle of AI features for standard Search campaigns. It launched in May 2025, left beta in April 2026 and became the default for new Search campaigns, and from 1 September 2026 it began taking over two older settings. If you advertise on Google Search in the Gulf, that upgrade is under way in your account now, and it affects both which searches your ads match and what your ads say.

What AI Max does, and the controls around it

• Search term matching: broad match combined with keywordless matching, which finds searches from your site's content and your ads, not only from your keywords.
• Text customisation: headlines and descriptions written by Google's AI, drawing on your landing page, ads and keywords.
• Final URL expansion: sending each person to whichever page on your site Google judges best fits their search, rather than the page you chose.
• Controls: brand inclusions and exclusions, locations of interest, and URL inclusions and exclusions.

What the September upgrade does

Google's help pages say that from September 2026, campaigns using the campaign-level broad match setting, and campaigns using text customisation (formerly called automatically created assets), move to AI Max automatically. The switch rolls out progressively through the month, and Google expects it to be complete by the end of September. Since 3 August, neither older setting can be created, whether in the interface, Google Ads Editor or the API.

According to Google's developer announcement, as reported by the trade press, upgraded campaigns arrive with these settings:

• Previously on campaign-level broad match: search term matching on, text customisation off, final URL expansion off.
• Previously on automatically created assets: search term matching on, text customisation on, final URL expansion off.
• Existing brand inclusion and exclusion lists carry across.

Broad match set at keyword level does not trigger the upgrade; only the campaign-level setting does. Once upgraded, each AI Max setting can be switched off, and switching AI Max back on restores the earlier configuration. The old automatically created assets, once off, cannot be switched back on. They return only through AI Max.

Dynamic Search Ads have until February 2027

Dynamic Search Ads were originally due to move in September as well. In June, Google pushed that back to February 2027, citing advertiser feedback and the holiday season. Trade reports say new DSA campaigns can still be created until January 2027. When the move happens, dynamic ad groups become standard ad groups with all three AI Max features on, and their URL rules and history carry over. Some of Google's own pages still show the old September date.

Controls worth setting today

• Brand exclusions, so a non-brand campaign is not paying for searches on your own brand, and brand inclusions to keep brand campaigns tight.
• URL exclusions, so final URL expansion cannot send people to careers pages, blog posts or offers that have expired.
• Search term matching switched off in ad groups that must stay exact.
• Negative keywords, which still apply.
• Locations of interest at ad group level, for campaigns aimed at people interested in a place rather than located in it.

Final URL expansion only works while text customisation is on. Keep text customisation off and your landing pages stay under your control.

Where to see what AI Max is doing

• The search terms report shows an AI Max match type, plus a view pairing each search term with the ad combination that ran.
• The keywords report adds summary rows for AI Max expanded matches and AI Max landing page matches.
• The landing pages report shows who selected each page, and assets Google created are marked Google AI.
• Low-volume search terms are hidden for privacy, so search term totals will not match campaign totals.

In September, Google announced a single report bringing the search term, the ad seen and the landing page together, but has given no date for it.

Do the results hold up?

Google's own figures: in 2025, advertisers who switched AI Max on typically saw 14 percent more conversions or conversion value at a similar cost, and 27 percent for campaigns mostly on exact and phrase match, excluding retail. In April 2026 it said the full set of features delivers 7 percent more than search term matching alone. Google has not published the sample sizes or methods behind these figures.

Independent tests are mixed. An analysis by Smarter Ecommerce of more than 250 Search campaigns found median conversion value up 13 percent, but median cost per acquisition up 16 percent, with return on ad spend spread widely either side of the baseline. Individual practitioners have published much worse results. The fair reading is that AI Max finds more conversions for some accounts, and more expensive ones for others.

A checklist for Gulf accounts

• Which of your campaigns were upgraded this month, and what was switched on.
• Search terms in both Arabic and English. Google is also removing the campaign language setting from Search campaigns in late September, so the language of your ad and landing page now matters more to which searches match.
• The landing pages final URL expansion is choosing, especially on bilingual sites, where Google may pick the page in the other language.
• Generated headlines, if text customisation is on. AI Brief, which lets advertisers give Google written guidelines, supports English and seven other languages, but not Arabic.
• Cost per acquisition before and after the upgrade, measured over at least four weeks.

Tag your links consistently with UTM parameters too, so your analytics show which landing pages final URL expansion is sending people to.

If AI Max has arrived in your account and you are not sure what it switched on, talk to ALXO. We can go through the settings with you and help you decide what to keep.