Google is moving Search campaigns to AI Max automatically. Campaigns using automatically created assets or the campaign-level broad match setting began upgrading on 1 September 2026, and Dynamic Search Ads follow, with the legacy format sunsetting in February 2027. If you do nothing, Google chooses your settings for you.
What exactly is Google changing in my Search campaigns?
Google is folding three older Search features into one system called AI Max for Search.
AI Max bundles search term matching, text customization and final URL expansion inside a normal Search ad group. In plain terms: Google decides which searches you show up for beyond your keyword list, rewrites parts of your ad copy, and can send traffic to pages you did not nominate. Announced on 15 April 2026 on Google’s Ads & Commerce blog, the migration retires Dynamic Search Ads as a standalone format and absorbs automatically created assets and the campaign-level broad match setting into the same place.
The important word is automatically. Google is not waiting for you to click anything.
Which of my campaigns get upgraded, and when?
It depends on which legacy feature your campaign uses, and the dates differ.
Per an advertiser email reported by PPC Land on 5 August 2026, two groups moved first, on 1 September 2026. Dynamic Search Ads are on a longer leash:
| What your campaign uses | What happens | When | What you can still control |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automatically created assets (now "text customization") | Upgrades to AI Max with search term matching and text customization on by default | From 1 September 2026 | Turn the legacy feature off before upgrade, or enable AI Max yourself and set it manually |
| Campaign-level broad match setting | Upgrades to AI Max with search term matching on by default | From 1 September 2026 | Same — switch it off first, or migrate on your own terms |
| Dynamic Search Ads | Migrates to AI Max; new DSA campaigns can no longer be created in Google Ads, Editor or the API | Migration from September 2026; legacy DSA sunset February 2027 | Upgrade voluntarily using Google’s migration tool rather than accepting defaults |
| Standard Search campaigns using none of the above | Nothing automatic | — | Opt in when you want to test it |
Google’s guidance in that email was blunt: "We recommend transitioning to AI Max now to maintain full control over your campaign setup." Translated: the automatic path gives you less control, and Google knows it.
Will AI Max actually make my ads perform better?
Google says yes, independent testing has been less flattering, and the honest answer is that it depends heavily on your account.
Google’s published figure, in the 15 April 2026 blog post, is that "AI Max for Search campaigns see an average of 7% more conversions or conversion value at a similar CPA/ROAS when using the full feature suite." That is Google’s own number, across its own advertiser base, and it is not broken out by country — there is no Canada-specific version of it.
Against that, PPC Land reported independent testing from November 2025 finding AI Max delivered conversions at roughly 35% lower return on ad spend than traditional match types. Two numbers pointing opposite ways usually mean one thing: the feature helps accounts with plenty of conversion data and clean tracking, and hurts accounts without them.
That distinction matters more for a small advertiser than a national brand. If your account records twelve conversions a month, the automation has almost nothing to learn from, and broad search term matching mostly finds traffic you did not want.
What about the language targeting setting disappearing?
It is going away in the same window, and in a bilingual market that is not a small detail.
PPC Land reported on 14 August 2026 that Google is removing campaign-level language targeting from Search and Performance Max campaigns during September 2026, replacing it with automatic detection based on your ad copy, landing page, the query and the user’s language settings. Language exclusions were never supported and still are not.
For a business running separate English and French campaigns, the risk is not that ads stop working — it is that reporting gets muddier and cross-language serving shifts without you noticing.
What does this mean if I spend $1,000 a month, not $100,000?
It means migrating deliberately rather than letting the default happen, then watching your search terms report closely for three weeks.
Small budgets punish wasted clicks harder. A national retailer absorbing irrelevant traffic barely notices; an appliance repair business in BC’s Lower Mainland spending $1,500 a month loses real jobs to it. The controls that protect you are the ones the automatic upgrade skips: brand exclusions, negative keyword lists, text guidelines, and locking final URL expansion to the pages you want traffic hitting.
For context, a GTA mortgage brokerage we run produced 1,113 leads in August 2026 at $7.69 each. Accounts that hold up under automation do so because of the negatives, exclusions and feed hygiene underneath them, not because the automation is clever. A second pair of eyes on yours is where our Google Ads management work starts.
What to do this week
- Check every Search campaign’s settings. Look for automatically created assets or text customization, the campaign-level broad match setting, and any remaining Dynamic Search Ads campaigns. Those are the affected ones.
- Refresh your brand and negative keyword exclusions first. With search term matching on, your negative lists are the main thing between your budget and irrelevant queries.
- Set text guidelines if AI Max is writing your copy. Available since 26 February 2026, they let you specify terms to avoid and messaging restrictions — use them for anything regulated, priced or trademarked.
- Diarise search terms reviews at 7, 14 and 21 days. Upgrade effects show up in search terms well before conversion totals.
Frequently asked questions
Can I opt out of the AI Max upgrade completely?
Not indefinitely. You can avoid the automatic 1 September 2026 upgrade by turning off the legacy features — automatically created assets and the campaign-level broad match setting — before conversion, and campaigns using neither are not upgraded. But Dynamic Search Ads are being retired outright, with the legacy format sunsetting in February 2027 and no new DSA campaigns creatable in Google Ads, Editor or the API. For DSA, the choice is migrate on your terms or on Google’s.
Will my costs go up after the upgrade?
They can, and the mechanism is usually broader matching rather than higher bids. Search term matching finds queries outside your keyword list; some convert, others just spend. Google reports an average 7% lift in conversions or conversion value at a similar CPA or ROAS, while independent testing reported by PPC Land in November 2025 found a roughly 35% lower return on ad spend. Watch cost per conversion weekly for a month rather than judging after three days.
Does this affect Performance Max campaigns too?
The AI Max migration is a Search change, so Performance Max campaigns are not being converted. The language targeting removal, however, applies to both Search and Performance Max from September 2026 — so if you run both, you have one migration in Search and one setting quietly disappearing across both.
What happens if I do nothing at all?
Your affected campaigns get upgraded with Google’s defaults: search term matching switched on, plus text customization for campaigns using automatically created assets. Nothing breaks and your ads keep running. But you will be operating with broader matching and machine-written copy you did not configure, and the first place the effect shows up is your search terms report, not your dashboard.
Not sure which campaigns are affected? Book a free 48-hour audit and we will tell you.
Sources: Google Ads & Commerce Blog, 15 April 2026; PPC Land, 5 August 2026; PPC Land, 14 August 2026; PPC Land, 15 April 2026.