AI Max for Search: Setup, Controls and Risks

What is AI Max for Search?

AI Max for Search is a suite of targeting and creative features that you turn on inside an existing Search campaign. Google calls it an optimization layer, not a new campaign type, so your campaigns, ad groups, keywords and budgets stay where they are (Set up AI Max for Search campaigns).

It does three jobs. Search term matching decides which searches trigger your ads, text customization writes ad text from your site and existing ads, and final URL expansion picks the landing page (How AI Max for Search campaigns works).

May 2025Google announces AI Max and starts a global beta

Apr 15, 2026Google says AI Max is moving out of beta

Sep 2026Campaigns with automatically created assets or the broad match setting are upgraded

Feb 2027Dynamic Search Ads sunset and automatic upgrade begin

As of November 2026, new Search campaigns have AI Max selected by default. If you built a Search campaign recently, or one used automatically created assets or the broad match setting before September 2026, open its AI Max settings today. It may already match searches none of your keywords cover.

What does AI Max change in a Search campaign?

AI Max changes three things: which searches you pay for, what your ad says and which page the click lands on. Each feature has its own switch, and Google's setup guide says all three need conversion-based Smart Bidding to work well.

Search term matchingWhich searches: broad match plus keywordless matching from your ads and pages

Text customizationWhat the ad says: text written from your pages, ads and keywords

Final URL expansionWhere the click lands: the page Google predicts will perform best

Google's FAQ says generated text assets are fully automated, so you steer them with text guidelines, a beta that allows up to 25 term exclusions and 40 messaging restrictions per campaign. A term exclusion cannot stop prices from appearing; use the restriction "Don't generate assets with prices".

Final URL expansion only uses pages relevant to the search and themed to the ad group, Google says. If your account uses a tracking template, it must pass the page through {lpurl}, or expanded pages can return a 404 error.

AI Max vs Dynamic Search Ads vs Performance Max: what is the difference?

AI Max is Google's replacement for Dynamic Search Ads inside Search campaigns, while Performance Max is a separate campaign type. Google's AI Max FAQ calls it an evolution of DSA and of Performance Max final URL expansion, with the convenience and control of a Search campaign.

The two can compete. When a query can match both an AI Max campaign and Performance Max, the one with the higher Ad Rank serves, the same rule as for broad match keywords. If you run both, give them the same brand exclusions and read their results together. Our guide to Performance Max campaigns covers that campaign type in full.

Who should turn on AI Max, and who should wait?

Turn AI Max on, or test it, when the campaign bids on real conversions with Smart Bidding, has steady conversion volume, is not limited by budget and points to a site where most pages make fine landing pages. Wait when any of those is missing, because AI Max widens reach faster than a weak setup can absorb.

The 30-conversion line is our own rule of thumb for broad matching, the same one in our guide to Google Ads match types. To leave Manual CPC, see our guide to Google Ads bidding strategies. And confirm your conversions count real sales or leads with Google Ads conversion tracking, because AI Max chases whatever your primary conversion action counts.

Google publishes three performance figures for AI Max. These are Google's numbers, not ours:

14%More conversions or conversion value at a similar CPA/ROAS for advertisers that activate AI Max (Google internal data, 2025)

27%Typical uplift for campaigns still mostly on exact and phrase keywords (Google internal data, 2025)

7%More conversions or value with all three features vs search term matching alone (Google internal data, 2026)

How do you set up AI Max for Search step by step?

Fix bidding, budget and tracking first, then turn AI Max on and set the fences before traffic arrives: brand lists, URL exclusions, text guidelines and exact match copies of your best keywords. This is the order we use.

1. Check the basics. Maximize conversions or Maximize conversion value, no budget limit, and a primary conversion action that counts real orders or leads.
2. Check the tracking template. It should use {lpurl}, or {lpurl}?, {lpurl}& or {lpurl}# when parameters follow.
3. Build brand lists. In Tools, open Shared library, then Brand lists. Make one list with your brand and one with competitors you never want to appear for.
4. Turn on AI Max. In the Campaigns menu, open Settings, select the Search campaign, choose AI Max in the section menu and switch it on.
5. Pick the features. Text customization and final URL expansion are on by default in the Asset optimization panel. Turning off text customization also turns off final URL expansion.
6. Add URL exclusions and text guidelines. Under Final URL expansion, select Add URL exclusions. Then exclude claims you cannot back, such as "cheapest".
7. Set ad group controls. Switch search term matching off where an ad group must stay tight, and add URL inclusions, brand inclusions or locations of interest where they help.
8. Add exact match copies of key keywords. Campaigns that used the broad match setting lose exact match priority for their keywords under AI Max; Google suggests exact copies to keep it.
9. Write down the date and wait. Google's reporting guide says to wait at least 2 weeks before changes such as adding negative keywords.

To turn AI Max off, use the same path. Google warns that this disables every AI Max feature, including brand exclusions, and that URL exclusions and inclusions are ignored while it is off. Switching it back on restores your previous settings.

How do brand inclusions and brand exclusions work in AI Max?

Brand inclusions keep a Search campaign on searches that contain the brands you list, and brand exclusions stop it from serving on searches that contain them. Both use brand lists, which Google matches across misspellings, variants and other languages, so you do not type every version as a keyword (About brand settings for Search and Performance Max).

Brand exclusions are a campaign control and also work in Performance Max. Brand inclusions are for Search only, at campaign or ad group level, and an ad group's inclusions override the campaign's. When a campaign has both, exclusions win. Brand settings cost nothing extra, but they limit reach, so use them only where a campaign needs them.

How do URL exclusions and URL inclusions control landing pages?

URL exclusions keep final URL expansion away from pages you name, at the campaign level. URL inclusions, set per ad group, point AI Max at the pages you want; with final URL expansion off, the ad group uses only those URLs. Exclusions need text customization and final URL expansion on, and both controls are ignored while AI Max is off.

You can exclude pages three ways: exact URLs, custom labels from a page feed, or "URL Contains" rules. The rules trip people up, because Google matches whole words, not parts of words (About URL exclusions in AI Max):

• Whole tokens only. A rule for "auto" does not exclude a URL containing "automation".
• Separators. Hyphens, periods and slashes split a URL into tokens. Underscores do not, so promo_page is one token.
• No plurals. "FAQ" blocks /FAQ/page but not /faqs or /FAQ11.
• Spaces mean AND. A space splits your rule into separate words that can match anywhere in the URL, so leave spaces out.

https://example.com/blogs/news/cast-iron-care

https://example.com/policies/refund-policy

These are the rules we start from. Check each token against your product handles first: since hyphens split tokens, "search" would also exclude /products/search-light.

One side effect: with text customization and final URL expansion both on, or with URL inclusions set, Google stops respecting pinned responsive search ad assets. If you must pin, keep both off.

How does AI Max work with match types and negative keywords?

Your keywords and negatives keep working, and AI Max adds matches on top of them. Google confirms negative keywords are respected with AI Max on, but negatives still skip close variants, so add plurals and synonyms yourself (About negative keywords).

• A new match type. The search terms report shows "AI Max" as a match type, and a Source column says whether a match came from broad match expansion or keywordless matching.
• Keyword priority changes. Campaigns that move off the broad match setting lose exact match treatment for their broad keywords. Add exact match copies to keep it, as our match types guide explains.
• New ad groups widen too. Google's FAQ says a new standard ad group with at least one broad match keyword gets keywordless matching.
• Ad group switch. You can turn search term matching off for one ad group, but only if it is on at campaign level.
• Brand names belong in brand lists. A brand exclusion covers misspellings and variants that a negative keyword misses.

Our guide to negative keywords has starter lists for stores and service businesses that work under AI Max too.

How do you read the search terms and landing pages AI Max adds?

Review four reports once a week: the search terms report filtered to AI Max, the search terms and ad combinations view, the landing pages report and the asset report. Wait two weeks after turning AI Max on before acting, as Google advises, then add negatives and exclusions for whatever spends without converting.

Google's AI Max reporting guide warns that the "AI Max" match type filter can undercount, because it leaves out "Other search terms". The reports also show what Google counted as a conversion, not what your store or CRM kept, so check refunds and lead quality monthly. These reports fit the keyword step of our Google Ads audit checklist.

What does the DSA sunset mean for stores that run Dynamic Search Ads?

Starting in February 2027, Google will upgrade Dynamic Search Ads campaigns to AI Max automatically. Dynamic ad groups become standard ad groups, all three AI Max features turn on, and your legacy URL controls are kept (Google's DSA upgrade announcement, which moved the date from September 2026 on June 11). Stores that run DSA should move on their own schedule, with the controls set first.

In our standard ecommerce build, the DSA campaign has two ad groups: one targets product pages (URL contains "products") and one targets collection pages (URL contains "collections"). Both are whole tokens between slashes in a Shopify URL, so they map cleanly to AI Max URL rules. This is the checklist we follow to move it:

• Export the "Search terms and landing pages from Dynamic Search Ads" view for the last 90 days as a baseline
• Rewrite page title and page content rules as URL rules or page feed labels before you upgrade
• Write one responsive search ad per ad group, so the ads are not built only from generated assets
• Add text guidelines, including "Don't generate assets with prices" if prices change often
• Add URL exclusions for blogs, policies, cart, account, search and collections you do not advertise
• Exclude your own brand with a brand list, and keep the brands you stock
• Move off Manual CPC, clear any budget limit and check the tracking template
• Upgrade through an experiment, then review the AI Max reports weekly

One catch: a campaign made entirely of dynamic ad groups cannot use the AI Max experiment template. Google's About Dynamic Search Ads page says to build a custom experiment and select "Upgrade campaign" in the draft's Dynamic Search Ads settings. If DSA brings in a real share of your holiday sales, leave it alone through December and start the experiment in early January 2027.

How do you test AI Max before you commit?

Run an AI Max experiment that splits one campaign 50/50, leave it untouched for two weeks, and judge it after four to six weeks on conversion value or leads, cost per conversion and the quality of the new searches. Apply it only if the trial arm adds profit, not just volume.

Google offers three ways to run the test (About AI Max experiments):

• One-click recommendation. Eligible accounts see a 50/50 test against an AI Max version on the Recommendations page.
• Experiments page. Choose Campaign features and settings, then AI Max for Search campaigns. You can switch off single features in the trial arm; brand settings you add apply to both arms.
• Custom experiment. Copies the campaign into a separate trial, and is the route for all-DSA campaigns.

The templated test is blocked when text customization is already on, or the campaign targets the Display Network, uses a portfolio bid strategy, a shared budget or bidding exploration, or has an active experiment.

Before day 1Record 30 days of conversions, value and lead quality

Weeks 1 to 2No changes; Google advises at least 2 weeks before edits

Weeks 3 to 6Weekly report review; add negatives and exclusions

Week 6 or laterDecide on incremental profit, or run longer

Google's notes on custom experiments say a 50/50 split does not guarantee equal impressions or spend. So judge what the extra spend bought:

For example, a store selling cast iron cookware with a 40% contribution margin, so a break-even ROAS of 2.5, runs a six-week test. These numbers are illustrative:

The trial's 4.03 ROAS looks healthy, but the extra $400 bought $1,100 in value, an incremental ROAS of 2.75. At a 40% margin that $1,100 leaves $440, so the store keeps $40 after the extra spend: barely above break-even. Our call would be to tighten URL exclusions, switch off search term matching in the weakest ad group and test again. Check whether a gap in conversions is real with our A/B test significance calculator.

A lead-gen business runs the same math with leads: divide the extra cost by the extra qualified leads in your CRM and compare it with the most you can pay for one lead. If the experiment ends without being applied, Google reverts the campaign to its pre-test settings. To have us run the test and the DSA move before February 2027, see how we manage Google Ads for online stores.