What is Google Ads AI Max and when should stores use it?

What is Google Ads AI Max?

AI Max is a set of AI features for Google Ads Search campaigns: search term matching that reaches queries beyond your keywords, text customization that writes copy to fit the query, and final URL expansion that sends people to a more relevant page. It's a setting inside an existing campaign, not a new campaign type.

According to Google's help page, AI Max is on by default in new Search campaigns. So it may show up before you've made a decision about it. This article covers when turning it on makes sense for an ecommerce brand, which controls you shouldn't skip and how to test it.

How does AI Max work?

Google's AI Max help pages describe the features like this:

Feature	What it does	Control level
Search term matching	Finds new queries using broad match and keywordless technology	On at campaign level, can be turned off per ad group
Text customization	Generates copy from your ads, landing pages and assets	Campaign
Final URL expansion	Sends traffic to the page that best fits the query	Campaign, needs text customization
URL exclusions	Stops specific pages being used as landing pages	Campaign
URL inclusions	Limits an ad group to URLs you choose	Ad group
Brand inclusions and exclusions	Controls which brand queries you appear on	Exclusions campaign, inclusions both levels
Locations of interest	Targets by geographic intent	Ad group

In practice, your keyword list stops being a fence and becomes a signal. Google looks at your site content and assets and decides which queries to show on, with which copy and which page.

How is AI Max different from Dynamic Search Ads?

Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) were long the way to catch queries based on page content. Google's help page explains that when you upgrade from DSA to AI Max, dynamic ad groups become standard ad groups and dynamic ads become responsive search ads with generated static assets. Legacy URL rules turn read-only. So AI Max moves the DSA job inside a standard Search campaign and adds copy generation on top.

When does AI Max make sense for ecommerce?

Google says advertisers using AI Max typically see 14% more conversions or conversion value at a similar CPA or ROAS, based on its internal 2025 data. The same page notes that figure comes from non-retail advertisers. As an ecommerce brand, read it as a claim worth testing, not an expectation.

From what we see in accounts, AI Max makes the most sense when:

• The catalog is large. With hundreds of products and category pages, writing keywords for every query isn't possible. URL expansion earns its keep here.
• Conversion tracking is solid. Google says search term matching, URL expansion and text customization need conversion-based Smart Bidding to work well. If purchase value isn't coming through correctly, AI Max learns from the wrong signal.
• Budget isn't capped. The help page says plainly that AI Max won't be effective in budget-limited campaigns.
• The site is well structured. If category and product pages have clear titles and descriptions, the landing pages Google picks will make sense too.

When does AI Max waste budget?

Be careful in these situations:

• On thin-margin products, more conversion volume doesn't mean more profit. If your target ROAS isn't based on a break-even ROAS calculation, AI Max can push you toward more sales that earn less.
• If out-of-stock product pages, expired promo pages or blog posts are live on your site, URL expansion can send traffic there. Don't turn it on without a URL exclusion list.
• If branded traffic is a big share and you want to see non-brand performance separately, switching on AI Max without brand controls muddies the reporting.
• In categories with legal or health claims, text customization is risky. Google says text guidelines can add term exclusions and tone restrictions; use them in these categories.

What should you set up before turning on AI Max?

1. Check conversion tracking. Is the purchase event and its value coming through correctly, with no double counting?
2. Build a URL exclusion list. Blog, careers, returns policy, out-of-stock products and finished campaign pages.
3. Check tracking templates. The help page warns that incompatible tracking templates can cause 404 errors on dynamic landing pages; use the recommended {lpurl} patterns.
4. Set brand controls. In a non-brand campaign, exclude your own brand and, if needed, competitor brands.
5. Review pinned headlines. When URL expansion picks a different page, pinned assets aren't respected. If a phrase must always show, decide knowingly.
6. Add exact match copies of important broad keywords. Google says broad keywords no longer get exact match style prioritization once you move to AI Max; exact match copies keep that priority.

How do you run an AI Max experiment?

Instead of switching the whole account at once, set up an experiment. According to Google's page on AI Max experiments, the test doesn't create a copy campaign: a percentage of your existing Search campaign runs with AI Max off and the rest with it on. You can start it from the Recommendations or Experiments page, and the learning period is shorter than with custom experiments.

There are limits. You can't create an AI Max experiment on campaigns that target the Display Network, belong to a portfolio bid strategy, use shared budgets or already have an active experiment. When the test ends you can apply it automatically if results are favorable; otherwise settings revert.

An example setup: on a non-brand Search campaign spending 5,000 TL a day on tROAS, run the AI Max experiment for at least four weeks. Judge it on conversion value, the share of new queries and the spread of landing pages, not just conversion count.

How do you read AI Max results?

In the search terms report, AI Max shows up as its own match type for incremental queries, and a source column shows whether a query came from broad match expansion or keywordless matching. The "Selected by" column in the landing pages report shows whether you or Google picked the page, and the asset report shows how generated copy performs.

Checking these three reports weekly and moving irrelevant queries to negatives and wrong pages to URL exclusions is the most labor-intensive part of AI Max, and the part that matters most. Our guide to building a negative keyword list is a good place to start.

Does AI Max replace Performance Max and Shopping?

No. AI Max is a Search campaign setting; your feed-based Shopping and Performance Max campaigns stay separate. In most ecommerce accounts, feed-based campaigns carry the bulk of revenue, while Search catches category, brand and problem-led queries. Think of AI Max as a way to widen that second group's reach, not a change to the whole structure.

At Performetic we decide on AI Max account by account, alongside conversion tracking and margin data; you can read about our approach on our performance marketing service page. If you want to know whether your account is ready for AI Max, request a free growth audit.

Key takeaways

• AI Max adds search term matching, text customization and final URL expansion to Search campaigns; it isn't a new campaign type.
• It's on by default in new Search campaigns, so make the call deliberately.
• Conversion-based Smart Bidding, accurate purchase values and an uncapped budget are prerequisites.
• Don't turn it on without URL exclusions, brand controls and text guidelines.
• Test with an AI Max experiment first and judge results on conversion value and profit.
• It doesn't replace Shopping or Performance Max; it widens Search coverage.