Dynamic Search Ads Become AI Max: How to Prepare Your Account

Dynamic Search Ads are ads where Google chooses the landing page and headline based on the content of your website. They are commonly used to capture searches that the keyword list misses. According to Google's announcement on 15 April 2026, they will be replaced by AI Max for Search campaigns in February 2027. The same applies to two older settings in ordinary Search campaigns, where the move already began in September.

Google explains the move by saying that searches have become more complex and harder to predict. AI Max therefore uses more signals about what the searcher wants than just the content of the landing page.

My recommendation is that you upgrade your Dynamic Search Ads to AI Max yourself before February 2027. At the same time, check which Search campaigns Google has already moved. That way you decide which settings apply when the move happens.

What is being moved and when

Google is making the move in two rounds. The first began on 1 September 2026 and the second begins in February 2027.

What is moved	When	What is switched on in AI Max
Campaigns with automatically created assets	From 1 September 2026	Search term matching and text customisation
Campaigns with the campaign-level broad match setting	From 1 September 2026	Search term matching only
Dynamic Search Ads	February 2027	All three features, with the existing URL rules carried over

The September date comes from Google's email to advertisers on 5 August and also appears on Google's help page on broad match. Google announced in an update on 11 June 2026 that Dynamic Search Ads would wait until February 2027. Broad match chosen on individual keywords is not affected. New Search campaigns also have AI Max switched on from the start, but it can be turned off.

The three features in AI Max

AI Max is a set of settings within an ordinary Search campaign. It consists of three parts that can be switched on and off separately.

• Search term matching lets Google show the ad for searches outside your keyword list when the system judges that the intent matches.
• Text customisation writes new headlines and descriptions based on your website and your existing ads.
• Final URL expansion lets Google send the visitor to a different page on your website than the one you specified when that page suits the search better.

Final URL expansion requires text customisation. If you switch off text customisation, both are turned off.

First check what has already changed

If your account used automatically created assets or campaign-level broad match, the campaigns may have moved to AI Max during the autumn. It does not always show in the results straight away, but it shows in the search terms. This review is part of the ongoing work on a Google Ads account and needs doing regardless of who manages the account.

1. Open Campaigns and the Settings tab and check which Search campaigns have AI Max switched on.
2. Open the search terms report and choose the AI Max view in the list above the table. It is now called Search terms and ad combinations and was previously called Search terms and landing pages from AI Max.
3. Go through the searches with the AI Max match type and see which headlines and landing pages they received.
4. Add negative keywords for anything that never leads to business.

According to Google's help page on the reports, a filter on the AI Max match type can show figures that are too low. The filter does not include the row for other search terms. The dedicated view therefore gives a better picture.

It is worth reading the report together with whoever writes your ads. That is where you see whether Google's own headlines promise something you cannot stand behind. The article on good ad copy for Google Ads offers a way to judge that.

Upgrade your Dynamic Search Ads yourself

Google recommends upgrading manually because, according to the company, it gives more oversight and control during the move. The upgrade is done per campaign.

1. Go to Campaigns and the Settings tab and select the campaigns.
2. Choose Upgrade in the Dynamic Search Ads panel.
3. Read the confirmation dialog. It shows how the ad groups are converted and which targets do not carry over.
4. Confirm the upgrade.

The dynamic ad groups become standard ad groups and the ads become responsive search ads. According to Google's help page on AI Max, the old ads keep running while the new ones are reviewed. Once the new ones are approved, the old ones are paused and become view-only.

Save a list of your current targets and excluded URLs before you upgrade. Then you can compare afterwards and check that nothing was lost.

The settings that give you control

This is where a well-considered account differs from the default. Five settings are worth reviewing before the campaign goes live.

• Text guidelines specify words that must never appear and messages Google should avoid. That could be price guarantees you do not offer or words that are wrong for your industry.
• Brand exclusions apply to the whole campaign. They suit you when you do not want to appear on competitors' names or when your own brand has its own campaign.
• Brand inclusions are set at campaign or ad group level and limit serving to searches related to those brands.
• URL inclusions are set per ad group and specify which pages the ad may lead to.
• URL exclusions are set per campaign. Pages for jobs, login, terms and old campaigns belong here.

Two things are worth knowing. URL exclusions only work when both text customisation and final URL expansion are switched on. When Google chooses a different landing page, the headlines you have pinned to a particular position in the ad are not used either. If a certain text must always appear, you should therefore switch off final URL expansion.

How much to switch on

According to Google, campaigns using all three features see on average 7% more conversions or conversion value at a similar cost compared with campaigns using search term matching only. The figure is based on Google's internal data for non-retail advertisers and therefore says little about your account in particular.

My assessment is that it depends on how well your website copes with Google choosing the page and text. An online store with clear product pages often has more to gain from final URL expansion than a service business where a single page receives every enquiry. If you steer bidding towards conversions, the conversions also need to be set up correctly first. Otherwise Google learns to look for the wrong thing. There is more on that in the article on Google Ads bid strategies.

A cautious approach is to start with search term matching and text customisation. Wait with final URL expansion until you have read a few weeks of search terms. Google also offers experiments where you compare campaigns with and without AI Max in the same account.

Your next step

Set aside an hour this week with whoever manages your account and go through these three questions.

1. Which Search campaigns already have AI Max switched on?
2. Which URLs and brands must never be shown?
3. Who will upgrade the Dynamic Search Ads before February 2027?

Do you know today which of your Search campaigns have already moved to AI Max?