Google Ads moves campaigns to AI Max on 1 September: what to check
From 1 September 2026 Google moves Search campaigns with auto-created assets or broad match to AI Max. What changes, the risks and what to check first.
Nikolay Tolmachev, Founder, Tolman Studios
6 min readNews
In short
1 Sep 2026Search campaigns with auto-created assets or broad match move to AI Max
- From 1 September 2026 Google upgrades Search campaigns that use automatically created assets or the campaign-level broad match setting to AI Max.
- Your ads can then show for searches beyond your keywords, with text Google writes. Dynamic Search Ads move later, from February 2027.
- Before 1 September, check your search terms, negative keywords, brand and URL settings and conversion tracking.
On this page
From 1 September 2026 Google moves some Search campaigns to AI Max on its own. It affects campaigns that use automatically created assets or the campaign-level broad match setting. Dynamic Search Ads are not in this round. Google moved them to February 2027.
If you run Google Ads yourself, you have three weeks. That is enough time to open your account and see whether you are affected. Then you can choose the settings before Google chooses them for you.
What happened and when?
Google first announced the plan in April. In June it took Dynamic Search Ads out of the September date. In early August advertisers with affected campaigns got an email, which Search Engine Roundtable published on 7 August.
15 Apr 2026
Google announces that Dynamic Search Ads, automatically created assets and campaign-level broad match will be upgraded to AI Max, starting in September.
11 Jun 2026
Google updates the plan: Dynamic Search Ads move later, to February 2027. The other two stay on September.
Early Aug 2026
Google emails advertisers whose campaigns will be upgraded on 1 September.
11 Aug 2026
Today. About three weeks left to check your settings or upgrade by hand.
1 Sep 2026
Automatic upgrades start. Google expects to finish them by the end of September.
Feb 2027
Dynamic Search Ads campaigns start moving to AI Max.
What is AI Max, in plain words?
AI Max is a set of switches inside a normal Search campaign. It is not a new campaign type. These are the three main switches:
- Search term matching. Your ads can show for searches that go beyond your keywords. Google uses broad match and reads your ads and website to guess which searches fit.
- Text customization. Google writes headlines and descriptions from your ads, your website and generative AI. This used to be called automatically created assets.
- Final URL expansion. Google sends people to the page on your site that it thinks fits the search best, instead of the page you chose. It only works when text customization is on. When it picks another page, it ignores pinned headlines.
There are new controls too. You can exclude brands and pages of your site. You can also target "locations of interest", which means people who search for your city from somewhere else.
Google says advertisers who switch on AI Max typically get 14% more conversions at a similar cost (its own 2025 data, without retail). That is an average across many accounts. It says nothing about yours.
What changes in your account on 1 September?
According to Google's email, the upgraded campaigns keep settings close to what they had. What gets switched on depends on what you used before.
| Your campaign today | On 1 September | Switched on |
|---|---|---|
| Search, automatically created assets on | Upgraded to AI Max | Search term matching, text customization |
| Search, campaign-level broad match on | Upgraded to AI Max | Search term matching |
| Search with both settings on | Upgraded to AI Max | Search term matching, text customization |
| Dynamic Search Ads | Nothing yet, upgrade from February 2027 | All three, under Google's April plan |
| Search with keywords only, neither setting on | Nothing | Nothing |
Final URL expansion is not in the email's list for September. Check it anyway after the upgrade, because it is one click away.
Where can this cost you money?
Broader searches. A physiotherapy practice in Bratislava pays for "physiotherapy Bratislava". With search term matching, the same ad can also show for "physiotherapy course" or "physiotherapist job". Those clicks cost the same and bring no patients.
Text you didn't write. Google builds ads from your website. If an old page still mentions a discount you stopped offering, it can end up in an ad. For clinics, lawyers and anyone with strict rules on advertising, this matters more than the money.
Budget. AI Max does not raise your budget. As before, Google may spend up to twice your average daily budget on a single day, and no more than 30.4 times it in a month. But the same money is now spread over more searches. Google's own help page says AI Max won't be effective in a campaign that is limited by budget. Small daily budgets often are, so check yours.
What should you check before 1 September?
Before 1 September
- Search terms report. Look at the last 30-90 days. Which searches brought calls or forms, and which only cost money? This is your baseline for comparing after the upgrade.
- Negative keywords. Add the searches you never want to pay for: jobs, courses, "free", "DIY", competitor names if you don't bid on them. With broader matching this list does more work than before.
- Final URL expansion. Decide if Google may send people to other pages. If yes, exclude pages that don't sell: blog posts, careers, privacy notice, old offers.
- Brand settings. Add brand exclusions for competitors you don't want to appear next to. If you sell other companies' brands, brand inclusions limit your ads to those brands.
- Conversion tracking. Make one test enquiry and check that it shows up in Google Ads. AI Max learns from conversions. If tracking is broken, it learns from wrong data.
- Budget. Check whether the campaign shows "Limited by budget". If it does, decide which searches matter most before Google spreads the money wider.
After the upgrade, open the search terms report and filter the match type for "AI Max". It shows which searches came from the new matching. Google suggests waiting at least two weeks before you add negative keywords, so that the system can learn. With a small budget I check after one week anyway. Two weeks of wrong clicks is real money for a small business.
How do I handle it?
I prefer to upgrade by hand a week or so before 1 September. Then I choose each switch myself and set brand and URL exclusions first. Waiting for the automatic upgrade gives the same result with less control.
For a small local business I usually start with search term matching on, but only if conversion tracking works. I leave text customization off for clinics and law firms until I have read what Google writes. Then I look at the search terms every few days for the first month. That is my habit. Google doesn't require it.
If you're not sure what a sensible budget is in the first place, I wrote about what Google Ads cost a small business in 2026.
Do you need to do anything at all?
If your campaigns use keywords only, without automatically created assets or campaign-level broad match, nothing changes on 1 September. The same is true if you only run ads on Instagram and Facebook. If you use Dynamic Search Ads, you have until February 2027, but the checklist above will apply then too.
If you'd like me to look at your account, this is part of my ads and growth work. The ad account stays in your name. You can also just send me a message with a screenshot of your campaign settings, and I'll tell you whether you're affected.
Questions people ask
How do I know if my campaign will be upgraded?
Open the campaign settings of each Search campaign. If automatically created assets or the campaign-level broad match setting is on, it is in the 1 September group. Google also sends an email and shows a notice in the account.
Will AI Max spend more of my money?
Your budget stays the same. As with any campaign, Google may spend up to twice your average daily budget on one day, but not more than 30.4 times it in a month. The money can go to different searches, though.
Can I switch AI Max off after the upgrade?
You can switch its parts off one by one: search term matching in the ad group settings, text customization and final URL expansion in the campaign settings. Google does not promise a way back to the old settings, so decide before 1 September.
My account uses Dynamic Search Ads. What happens to them?
Nothing on 1 September. In June Google moved the Dynamic Search Ads upgrade to February 2027. You have time, but the same checks will apply then.
Sources
- Google's Dynamic Search Ads are upgrading to AI Max (15 April 2026, updated 11 June 2026), Google Ads & Commerce Blog, checked 11 August 2026
- Google Ads To Migrate Automatically Created Assets & Campaign-Level Broad Match To AI Max September 1, Search Engine Roundtable (quotes Google's email to advertisers), checked 11 August 2026
- How AI Max for Search campaigns works, Google Ads Help, checked 11 August 2026
- About AI Max for Search campaigns, Google Ads Help, checked 11 August 2026
- About reporting in AI Max for Search campaigns, Google Ads Help, checked 11 August 2026
- About overdelivery and your average daily budget, Google Ads Help, checked 11 August 2026
Facts and prices are as of the dates in the sources.
Nikolay Tolmachev
Founder, Tolman Studios
I build websites, AI chatbots and ads for small businesses, working from Slovakia. Before that I spent over 4 years managing IT projects. I hold PMP and Certified ScrumMaster certificates.