Google Ads’ scheduled September AI Max migration window has closed, moving eligible Search campaigns that used campaign-level broad match or legacy automatically created assets into the AI Max framework.
Google’s developer notice set September 1–30, 2026, for the first migration phase, which covered a narrower group than the company’s initial AI Max transition announcement appeared to suggest. Google’s June update extended Dynamic Search Ads auto-upgrades to February 2027, but kept the September auto-upgrade path for campaigns using automatically created assets, now called text customization, and the campaign-level broad match setting.
The practical effect depends on which legacy setting triggered the migration. For campaign-level broad match, Google said existing brand inclusions and exclusions are preserved.
| Legacy setting | September AI Max default | Key implication |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign-level broad match | Search term matching on; text customization off; final URL expansion off | Query expansion remains the main change to review. |
| Standalone automatically created assets | Search term matching on; text customization on; final URL expansion off | Advertisers need to review both query matching and generated ad assets. |
| Dynamic Search Ads | Not included in the September automigration | Google’s current timeline points to February 2027. |
Google also said it blocked the creation of new campaign-level broad match configurations and legacy automatically created assets across the Google Ads interface, Google Ads Editor and all API versions on August 3, 2026. For developers, API versions released after September 1 remove the old entities used to create or manage those settings. Older active API versions continue to support them temporarily until their normal scheduled sunset, which Google describes as typically around September 2027.
What did not move yet
Dynamic Search Ads remain on a separate clock. Google’s Dynamic Search Ads Help page now says campaigns using DSA will automatically upgrade to AI Max starting in February 2027. Google’s developer timeline also lists January 15, 2027, for reminder notifications to affected accounts and February 1–28, 2027, for DSA automigration.
That means October account reviews should not treat every DSA-related change as already complete. Active legacy DSA campaigns can still serve for now, but the planned February migration would convert unmigrated DSA campaigns to standard Search ad groups with AI Max enabled. Unless Google changes the schedule again, DSA ad group creation will also end during that February window.
What the AI Max settings do
Google describes AI Max as an optimization layer inside Search campaigns, not a new campaign type. It bundles search term matching, text customization, final URL expansion, locations of interest, brand settings and reporting features.
Google’s AI Max documentation says search term matching can expand beyond existing keywords using broad match, asset-based and landing-page-based technology. Text customization uses existing ads, landing page copy, assets and generative AI to create customized ad copy for specific searches. Final URL expansion, when enabled, can send traffic to query-relevant pages on the advertiser’s site, but Google’s September defaults keep that setting off for the two migrated groups described in its developer notice.
Post-migration checks for advertisers and developers
Google’s developer blog gives API users migration date fields for checking which campaigns moved during the September window.
- Confirm which campaigns migrated. Review AI Max settings in the Google Ads interface, or use the API migration fields
campaign.aca_migration_date_timeandcampaign.broad_match_migration_date_timewhere available. - Separate the two default paths. Campaign-level broad match and standalone automatically created assets did not inherit identical settings. Only the automatically created assets path turns text customization on by default.
- Review search term matching. Google says AI Max reporting includes an AI Max match type for incremental search terms and source columns showing whether a match came from broad match expansion or keywordless matching.
- Inspect generated assets where text customization is active. Google’s text customization Help page says asset previews can show up to 10 generated headlines and descriptions before opting into text customization. Advertisers can also review generated-asset impact through the Added by column.
- Check URL and tracking behavior before enabling final URL expansion. Google warns that dynamic landing pages can cause broken expanded landing pages if tracking templates are not compatible.
- Update scripts and campaign-building workflows. New Google Ads API versions after September 1 remove the old campaign-level broad match and automatically created assets entities, so tools that still create or edit those structures need to move to AI Max settings.
Google’s reporting guidance also says advertisers should wait at least two weeks after enabling AI Max before making changes such as adding negative keywords, so early post-migration performance should be read with that ramp-up window in mind. At the same time, account reviews should still verify conversion quality, search terms, brand controls and landing-page behavior rather than judging the shift from aggregate totals alone.
For a wider look at how AI is affecting Search behaviour and marketing strategy, Tech Help Canada has covered how AI is changing search.
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