Google AI Max Auto-Upgrade: What to Check Now

If your Google Search campaigns used campaign-level broad match or automatically created assets, Google moved them to AI Max between September 1 and 30, 2026. That switched on search term matching, which lets ads show for queries beyond your keywords, and in some cases AI-written ad text. You can keep, limit or turn off each feature.

That's the AI Max auto-upgrade in one paragraph. What matters now is whether the change is quietly spending money on searches you'd never have bid on, and whether the extra conversions are worth what they cost. This guide shows you how to check, and what to do about it.

Key takeaways

• Google auto-upgraded two kinds of Search campaigns to AI Max in September 2026: those using automatically created assets, and those using the campaign-level broad match setting. The change applied globally.
• Search term matching was switched on in both cases. Text customization was also switched on for campaigns that used automatically created assets. Final URL expansion stayed off.
• Google reports more conversions at similar efficiency. Independent data shows results vary widely, and extra conversions often cost more than your core keywords.
• Each AI Max feature can be controlled separately, at campaign or ad group level. Wait about two weeks of data before judging it.
• Dynamic Search Ads are next: they move to AI Max automatically in February 2027.

What changed in the AI Max auto-upgrade?

Google retired two older Search features and folded them into AI Max. Campaigns still using them were upgraded automatically between September 1 and 30, 2026, and advertisers couldn't create new campaigns with those features after August 3.

Which campaigns were upgraded, and what got switched on

Your campaign used	Search term matching	Text customization	Final URL expansion
Automatically created assets	On	On	Off
Campaign-level broad match setting	On	Off	Off
Neither	Unchanged	Unchanged	Unchanged

Source: PPC Land's summary of Google's migration notice.

What each AI Max feature does

Google describes AI Max as three features:

• Search term matching uses broad match and keywordless technology to find queries related to your keywords and landing pages. This is the one that changes who sees your ads.
• Text customization writes new headlines and descriptions from your existing ads and landing pages.
• Final URL expansion sends people to whichever page on your site Google judges most relevant, instead of the URL you set.

Was anything else affected?

Dynamic Search Ads weren't part of the September upgrade. Google pushed their migration to February 2027 after advertisers asked for more time. AI Max is also now the default for new Search campaigns.

Is AI Max actually good for performance?

It depends heavily on the account, and the data from Google and independent researchers points in different directions.

What Google says

When it launched AI Max in May 2025, Google said advertisers saw 14% more conversions at a similar cost per conversion, rising to 27% for campaigns that mostly used exact and phrase match keywords.

What independent data shows

Smarter Ecommerce (smec), which analyzes large volumes of retail ad spend, has published two useful studies. Both cover ecommerce, so lead generation accounts may behave differently.

• Across more than 250 AI Max campaigns, smec found a median 13% lift in conversion value but a 16% rise in cost per acquisition. Results ranged from 42% above to 35% below the campaign's previous ROAS, and only 22% of campaigns landed near their original target.
• In European ecommerce accounts, about 29% of impressions attributed to exact match keywords were actually broadened by AI Max by July 2026. In practice, "exact" no longer means exact once search term matching is on.

The pattern is familiar to anyone who has scaled paid search: extra volume usually comes from less relevant queries, and each extra conversion costs more than the last.

A worked example: why "more conversions" can still be a loss

This is an illustration built to show the math, not client data.

A software company spends $20,000 a month on a Search campaign and gets 250 sign-ups, a cost per acquisition (CPA) of $80, against an $80 target.

After the upgrade, spend rises to $23,000 and sign-ups to 280. The blended CPA is about $82, which looks almost unchanged.

But the 30 extra sign-ups cost $3,000, or $100 each. That's 25% above target. If a sign-up is worth $90 to the business, the extra volume loses money, even though the campaign dashboard looks healthy.

This is why you judge AI Max on the incremental cost of what it added, not on the blended average.

How do you check what AI Max is doing in your account?

Use three reports. Google recommends waiting at least two weeks after AI Max is switched on before making changes, so the system has time to settle.

1. Search terms report

Filter the "Match type" column for AI Max. These are queries your keywords wouldn't have matched on their own. Sort by cost and look at the top 50: are they searches you'd have chosen to pay for?

Google notes this view may show fewer terms than AI Max actually served, because some fall under "Other search terms."

2. Keywords report

Look for the summary rows labeled AI Max expanded matches and AI Max landing page matches. Compare their CPA or ROAS with your regular keywords. This is the quickest way to see the incremental cost.

3. Landing pages and assets reports

If text customization is on, check the asset reports for headlines marked Google AI. Read them. Make sure they don't make claims you can't support, or quote prices and offers you no longer run. Google notes that customized text assets can't be removed in bulk in the Google Ads interface, only through Google Ads Editor or the API.

If final URL expansion is on, the landing pages report shows which pages Google chose. Check none of them are careers pages, old blog posts or support articles.

Keep, contain or switch off: deciding what to do

This is how we decide at outrank.digital. It's our own framework, not a Google recommendation.

Keep it on when the AI Max rows hit your CPA or ROAS target and the search terms are relevant. Add brand and URL controls anyway, as a safety net.

Contain it when results are mixed: some good queries, some waste. Leave search term matching on only in ad groups where it performs, switch it off elsewhere, and add irrelevant queries as negative keywords.

Switch it off when the AI Max rows miss target by a wide margin after two to four weeks, or when you're in a regulated category where ad text must be pre-approved. Turn off search term matching and text customization.

Where the controls are

According to Google's AI Max documentation:

• Campaign level: text customization, final URL expansion, brand inclusions, URL inclusions and URL exclusions.
• Ad group level: search term matching (on or off), locations of interest, brand inclusions and URL inclusions.

That ad group switch is the most useful control. It lets you keep AI Max where it works and turn it off where it doesn't, without rebuilding the campaign.

Your 30-minute AI Max audit checklist

• Check which Search campaigns now show AI Max in their settings.
• Note your pre-September CPA or ROAS for each, as a baseline.
• Wait for at least two weeks of post-upgrade data.
• Filter the search terms report for the AI Max match type and review the top 50 by cost.
• Compare the AI Max expanded matches row with your regular keywords on CPA or ROAS.
• Read every headline marked "Google AI" for accuracy and compliance.
• Check the landing pages report if final URL expansion is on.
• Add brand exclusions if your ads are appearing on competitor or irrelevant brand searches.
• Add URL exclusions for pages that should never receive ad traffic.
• Turn search term matching off in ad groups that miss target.
• Check that conversion tracking counts the right action. AI Max optimizes toward whatever you tell it is a conversion.
• Put a reminder in your calendar for January 2027 to plan your Dynamic Search Ads migration.

Why AI Max matters beyond your current campaigns

AI Max is also how Google connects Search ads to its newer AI surfaces. Ads in AI Mode and AI Overviews are pulled from Performance Max, Shopping and Search campaigns using broad match, including AI Max. Switching AI Max off entirely may limit where your ads can appear as more searches move into those formats.

That's the real trade-off. AI Max gives up some of the precision that keyword control offered, in exchange for reach into the way search is heading. For more on how AI search chooses what to show, see our guide to SEO for AI search.

What we see at Outrank

[RAHUL: add a real example from an account you've managed, e.g. "In one B2B account, AI Max expanded matches ran at X% higher CPA than core keywords; we kept it on in two ad groups and switched it off in five." Use rough, anonymized numbers.]

Our view: the risk with AI Max isn't that it's bad. It's that the blended numbers hide where the money goes. Teams that only watch account-level CPA can miss a growing share of spend on queries they'd never have chosen. Judge it on incremental cost, ad group by ad group, and check it against your backend numbers. Our post on why Meta and GA4 never match explains why platform-reported conversions and blended MER are worth tracking side by side.

Frequently asked questions

What is the AI Max auto-upgrade?

In September 2026, Google automatically moved Search campaigns that used the campaign-level broad match setting or automatically created assets to AI Max for Search. Search term matching was switched on in both cases, and text customization was also switched on for campaigns that used automatically created assets. The change applied to Google Ads accounts globally.

How do I know if my campaign was moved to AI Max?

Open the campaign settings in Google Ads and look for the AI Max section. If it's on, check which features are enabled: search term matching, text customization and final URL expansion. In the search terms report, queries matched through AI Max show "AI Max" in the match type column.

Can I turn off AI Max?

Yes, feature by feature. Search term matching can be switched off at ad group level, while text customization and final URL expansion are controlled at campaign level. You can't go back to the old campaign-level broad match setting, because Google stopped allowing new campaigns to use it in August 2026.

Does AI Max make exact match keywords broader?

When search term matching is on, it can. A study by Smarter Ecommerce of European ecommerce accounts found about 29% of impressions attributed to exact match keywords were broadened by AI Max by July 2026. If you need strict query control in an ad group, switch search term matching off there.

Does AI Max improve results?

Google reported 14% more conversions at a similar cost per conversion when it launched AI Max. Independent data from Smarter Ecommerce found a median 13% lift in conversion value but a 16% rise in cost per acquisition, with wide variation between campaigns. Judge it on the cost of the extra conversions it adds, not the blended average.

What happens to Dynamic Search Ads?

Google plans to migrate Dynamic Search Ads campaigns to AI Max automatically in February 2027, after delaying the change from September 2026. Advertisers can upgrade voluntarily before then. Running a test of DSA against AI Max before the deadline gives you a baseline to judge the switch.

The bottom line

If your Search campaigns used broad match or auto-generated assets, AI Max is already running in your account. That isn't automatically bad, but it does change who sees your ads and what they say. Give it two weeks, look at the incremental cost rather than the blended average, and use the ad group switch to keep AI Max only where it earns its place.

If you'd rather have someone else check, our Google Ads team can audit your AI Max settings and search terms and show you exactly where the extra spend is going.