Google Ads emailed advertisers on 5 August to confirm that Search campaigns using automatically created assets or the campaign-level broad match setting would be converted to AI Max for Search from 1 September, PPC Land reports. Campaigns that used neither setting were not affected.
What changes for each group
- Campaigns with automatically created assets: upgraded with search term matching and text customisation on by default.
- Campaigns with the campaign-level broad match setting: upgraded with search term matching on, and nothing else. Pinned ad text is still respected.
The first group gets more than it asked for. Automatically created assets only wrote ad text. Search term matching decides which searches an ad can appear for. So a campaign that only wanted help with headlines also gets wider targeting unless someone turns it off, PPC Land notes.
How to stay in control
Advertisers could avoid the automatic upgrade by turning off the legacy features or switching to AI Max themselves. "We recommend transitioning to AI Max now to maintain full control over your campaign setup," Google's email said, according to PPC Land. Dynamic Search Ads move on a separate schedule, now February 2027.
