RESOURCES / DIGITAL MARKETING

Google auto-upgraded many Search campaigns to AI Max through 30 September. Audit what switched on

·By Ven Agency
Google auto-upgraded many Search campaigns to AI Max through 30 September. Audit what switched on

If you run Google Ads, some of your Search campaigns may have changed without anyone clicking a button. Through 30 September 2026, Google progressively auto-migrated eligible Search campaigns onto AI Max. That window is now closed.

AI Max is not a new campaign type. It is a set of automated features Google can switch on inside a Search campaign you already have. Three of them matter here. Search term matching can show your ads on searches beyond the keywords you chose. Text customisation can rewrite headlines and descriptions. Final URL expansion can send people to other pages on your site.

Here is what moved, what did not, and what to check before those settings spend money you did not plan for.

What moved in September, and what did not

Google's Ads Developer Blog set the timetable on 12 August 2026. From the start of September, Search campaigns that used either of these older settings were upgraded in place, rolling out through 30 September:

  • the campaign-level broad match setting, or
  • standalone Automatically Created Assets (ACA), the older control for automatically written ad text.

Legacy Dynamic Search Ads were not part of that September wave. Google had first planned to move DSA in September as well, then pushed the DSA sunset and auto-upgrade to February 2027 so advertisers had more time. If you still run DSA, the September window was not meant to convert those campaigns. You still need a plan before February.

Campaigns that never used campaign-level broad match or standalone ACA were not forced onto AI Max. If a campaign looks unchanged, it may simply have sat outside the eligible group.

What Google typically switched on

The defaults depend on what the campaign had before the move.

  • Former ACA campaigns typically come back with search term matching and text customisation on.
  • Former campaign-level broad match campaigns typically come back with search term matching on, and with text customisation and Final URL expansion off.

Typically is the important word. Open the client account and read the AI Max columns on each Search campaign. Check each Search campaign in the client account. Two campaigns in the same account can land with different toggles because they had different histories.

A clearer view of the Search ads journey

On 23 September, Google previewed a reporting feature for AI Max: one view of the Search ads journey, from the search term, to the creative the person saw, to the landing page they reached. Google said it would share more on availability later in 2026. Treat it as coming. It is not a report every account can open today.

Until it arrives, use the reports you already have: search terms, assets, and landing pages. Those are where a new query, a generated line of ad text, or an unexpected URL will show up.

What to do now

  • List your Search campaigns and check the AI Max columns. Note which campaigns are on, and which of the three toggles Google enabled.
  • Separate them by history if you can. An old ACA campaign and an old broad match campaign were meant to land with different defaults.
  • Review search terms and any auto-generated copy. Look for queries you would not choose to pay for, and for lines that miss your brand, your offer, or a claim you are not allowed to make.
  • Tighten negatives and brand exclusions where the new queries are wrong. Remove a generated asset you would not put in an ad yourself.
  • If you still use Dynamic Search Ads, plan a controlled move to AI Max before February 2027. Doing it yourself, with your URL rules intact, is calmer than waiting for the automatic switch.

If Ven runs your Google Ads, this audit is already in scope. If you manage Search yourself or with another partner, treat early October as the check window, before spend drifts onto queries and pages you did not choose.

From Ven

Want a paid search review?

We audit Google Ads Search campaigns, including what AI Max switched on, so brand, compliance and spend stay under your control.

Ask for an Ads review

The bottom line

The September auto-upgrade is finished. Dynamic Search Ads are the piece still ahead of you, in February 2027. The useful work this week is a short audit: which campaigns moved, which toggles are on, and whether the new queries and ad text are ones you are happy to pay for.

Related reading: SEO vs PPC: which should you use.

Also this week: Google's September 2026 spam update and Cloudflare's split between search and AI training.

Sources

Ven Agency

The Ven Agency team specialises in web design, SEO, and digital marketing for Australian businesses.

Back to Resources