AI Max auto-upgrade: what changed and how to opt out

Starting in September 2026, Google began moving Search campaigns that used automatically created assets or the campaign-level broad match setting over to AI Max, and said it expected every upgrade to finish by the end of that month. If one of your campaigns was moved, at least one AI Max feature is now on, and Google can match your ads to searches beyond your keywords.

AI Max is not a new campaign type. It is a group of features inside a normal Search campaign. Nothing here is a disaster, but it is worth five minutes to see what changed in your account.

What AI Max switches on

Google lists three main features:

• Search term matching. Google uses broad match, your ads and your landing pages to find searches to show for. It can reach searches your keywords would not.
• Text customization. Google writes extra headlines and descriptions from your ads, your website and your assets. This used to be called “automatically created assets.”
• Final URL expansion. Google can send people to a different page on your site than the one you chose.

What got switched on depends on what the campaign used before. Google says:

• Campaigns that used automatically created assets get search term matching and text customization.
• Campaigns that used the campaign-level broad match setting get search term matching only.

Dynamic Search Ads are a separate case. Google delayed their automatic upgrade, and says it will begin in February 2027.

Why it can cost money

More reach means more searches, and every click on a loosely related search costs the same as a good one. For a small business with a tight service list, that can mean paying for searches you would never have picked.

Text customization has a different risk. Google may show words you never wrote. If your website has an old price or a service you dropped, it can end up in an ad.

To be fair, AI Max does find some good searches you missed. The point is to know it is on and to watch what it brings in.

How to check if your campaign was upgraded

1. Go to Campaigns and open the Settings tab.
2. Find your Search campaign and look at the AI Max setting. If it is on, the campaign uses AI Max.
3. Note which features are on: search term matching, text customization and Final URL expansion.
4. Open Insights and reports, then Search terms. Add the Match type column if you don’t see it. Rows marked AI Max came from AI Max, not from your keywords.
5. Sort those rows by cost. Check whether they turned into leads or sales.

(If you can’t find it, search for “AI Max” in the Google Ads search bar.)

Check each Search campaign. Only campaigns that used the older settings were moved, so one campaign can be on AI Max while another is not. It also helps to look through your email and the notifications in Google Ads for messages about AI Max.

How to turn AI Max off

Before 1 September 2026, industry reports said the way to avoid the upgrade was to switch off the old settings first. That window has passed. Now you turn AI Max off directly.

1. Go to Campaigns and open the Settings tab.
2. Tick the checkbox next to the campaign or campaigns you want to change.
3. Select AI Max.
4. Switch the toggle to opt out of all AI Max settings.
5. Click Save.

(If you can’t find it, search for “AI Max” in the Google Ads search bar.)

Google says turning AI Max off disables all its features in that campaign. Brand exclusions and URL rules you set inside AI Max stop working too. If you turn it back on later, Google restores the features as they were.

After you turn it off, look at your Keywords list. If the campaign used the broad match setting, check that each keyword has the match type you want. Then watch the search terms report for a week or two.

Keep it, but tighten it

You don’t have to turn the whole thing off. Google lets you switch features off one at a time:

• Text customization and Final URL expansion can each be switched off in the campaign’s AI Max settings. Google says turning off text customization also turns off Final URL expansion.
• Search term matching can be switched off for single ad groups in the ad group settings.

A sensible middle path for many small businesses: keep search term matching on in one ad group, turn off text customization, and add negative keywords for the junk searches you find. See negative keywords for small business.

When it’s fine to leave on

AI Max can be worth keeping if:

• Its search terms are relevant and some of them convert at a cost you are happy with.
• Your conversion tracking works, so Google learns from real results. See how to set up conversion tracking.
• Your website is up to date, so any text Google writes is true.
• You check the search terms report every week or two.

If the AI Max rows cost money and bring nothing, turn it off and judge the campaign again after a few weeks.

Check it automatically

The free SpendCanary scan flags campaigns where Google is allowed to write headlines and descriptions for you, which is the text customization part of AI Max. It also reviews your search terms for ones that cost money and don’t match your business.