Beginning September 1, 2026, Google Ads will start automatically upgrading Search campaigns that use automatically created assets (ACA) or the campaign-level broad match setting to AI Max, according to an August 5 advertiser email first surfaced by Search Engine Roundtable and PPC Land. The switch changes how ads get matched to queries by default, and for one cohort it also lets Google rewrite ad copy pulled from landing pages.
The two affected groups get different defaults. ACA campaigns are upgraded with search term matching and text customization enabled. Campaigns using campaign-level broad match are upgraded with search term matching enabled and nothing else. The distinction matters because ACA previously governed only creative generation, drawing headlines and descriptions from a site’s own pages, while search term matching governs which queries an ad is eligible to show against. The upgrade layers automated query expansion on top of automated copy generation for the ACA cohort unless advertisers turn features off at the ad-group level. Broad-match campaigns keep pinned responsive search ad assets and don’t get final URL expansion by default.
Google’s case for the change, published April 15 by Director of Product Management Brandon Ervin, cites internal 2026 data showing an average of 7% more conversions or conversion value at similar CPA or ROAS when the full AI Max feature suite is used versus search term matching alone. That figure excludes retail advertisers. A November 2025 analysis of more than 250 retail campaigns, reported by PPC Land, found AI Max delivering conversions at roughly 35% lower ROAS than traditional match types, a gap large enough that the retail carve-out in Google’s own number reads less like a footnote and more like a preview.
The Dynamic Search Ads leg of the same migration got extended to February 2027 in a June announcement from Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin, reported by Search Engine Journal. The extension didn’t move the September 1 date for ACA or broad match.
Advertisers have two levers. Turn the legacy features off before tomorrow, or enable AI Max manually and configure it on your own terms. Doing nothing is a decision too, and it’s the one Google is counting on.
For readers who want the operational version, we published a full breakdown of what the auto-upgrade changes and how to prepare earlier today.
The pattern is familiar. Platforms that reach saturation on advertiser count tend to grow revenue by widening the aperture of what “matching” means, migrating auction inventory from advertiser-selected to platform-selected, and framing the shift as a performance upgrade. The 2021 rollout of Performance Max followed this contour. AI Max is the same move, executed faster, with the opt-in step removed.
Sources
- https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/dsa-upgrade-to-ai-max-2026/
- https://searchengineland.com/google-to-auto-upgrade-some-search-campaigns-to-ai-max-484428
- https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-migrate-ai-max-sep1-41829.html
- https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-extends-dynamic-search-ads-migration-deadline/579074/
- https://ppc.land/google-ads-broad-match-campaigns-face-ai-max-auto-upgrade-on-september-1/