AI Max for Search Campaigns: What you need to know about "Search Max"

By: Jyll Saskin Gales, Google Ads Coach

AI Max for Search Campaigns. What does this mean for your Google Ads?

I'm going to break this down for you very clearly and simply, no hype, just what you need to know.

And my credentials to do that for you are I'm a Google Ads coach, ex-Googler, and I actually spoke with the people who developed this product to answer the burning questions I knew you'd have. I've also added information from Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin's recent Q&A with PPCChat. So let's get into it.

This feature has been in a private beta for a while under the name Search Max. It's now called AI Max and it's going to be in open beta as of May 2025, with global rollout complete  by July 2025.

The way it'll work is there'll be a part of the search campaign setup process called AI Max where you can opt into or out of a set of features.

Understanding AI Max: It's an Evolution, Not a Replacement

The most noteworthy thing about AI Max is its "keyword-less technology." Now, before you think "keywords are dead" or "the future of search," let's clarify: this isn't entirely new. If you're familiar with Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) or dynamic ad groups, that's keyword-less technology that's been around for over ten years. (And if you've used broad match keywords before, you know that sometimes that feels like keyword-less technology too.)

So, AI Max brings together broad match and DSA-like features so you can advertise on the most relevant searches for your business.

• It does not replace keywords and it does not replace DSA. You continue to use whatever kind of targeting you're already using in your search campaigns.
• If you choose to use AI Max, this adds an extra layer on top. If you're already using broad match keywords, from a targeting perspective, you probably won't notice a huge difference.
• There are no plans to remove regular Search campaigns. AI Max is designed as an optional set of features, not a mandatory change or a new type of campaign you have to switch to.
• It's only compatible with Smart Bidding strategies, and works with brand inclusions / brand exclusions
• AI Max is compatible with portfolio bid strategies, drafts & experiments, page feeds, audience targeting, negative keywords... everything you expect in a Search campaign.

Beyond Keyword-less Technology: Creative and Control Differences

AI Max isn't just about how your ads match searches. There are also some new creative features and more ways for you to control things.

Text Customization: Think of this as an improved version of automatically created assets. Google can look at your other ads, your website pages, and use its AI to create new headlines, descriptions, and other ad pieces for you. These are based on your own unique content and are predicted to perform well. You are in control of the assets you give Google, and you can remove any you don't want to show. However, it's not recommended if you have very strict brand rules, are in sensitive industries, or your website changes often without updates.

Final URL Expansion: This is something you might know from Performance Max campaigns. When you opt into this, you give Google permission to pick any relevant part of your website as a landing page, not just the main one you set. You can still set rules around this, for example, to only send people to certain types of pages or to avoid others. Importantly, in AI Max, final URL expansion only sends people to pages related to the ad group's theme, not your entire website.

AI Max Prioritizes Control and Flexibility for Advertisers

And that's a really important takeaway here; AI Max will probably be the default soon, but for now, it is opt-in. There are different pieces you can pick and choose from, and you, as the advertiser, do have control.

If you turn AI Max on, you can easily turn it off again. It's just a campaign setting that you can toggle. Turning it off won't affect the rest of your campaign or its history.

When you first turn it on, all three features (expanded query matching, final URL expansion, and text customization) are activated. However, you can choose to turn off text customization and final URL expansion at the campaign level, and you can turn off "Search term matching" (which includes both broad match and keyword-less expansion) at the ad group level. While Google recommends using all three together, you don't have to.

New Exclusive Features of AI Max

Some other new features are coming to search campaigns that will only be available if you use AI Max.

Ad Group Level Location Interest Targeting

This is exciting for targeting. Let's say your campaign targets all of the United States, but you run a hotel in Los Angeles. You want people searching for hotels in Los Angeles, even if they're currently elsewhere in the States. You can set your campaign to target the US, and then at the ad group level, turn on this interest targeting for Los Angeles. This means your ads can show for general hotel keywords, and the system will understand the "Los Angeles" intent. This is great for businesses like tourism or travel, allowing you to target people interested in your location even if they aren't physically there.

Enhanced Search Terms Report

This is a big improvement for transparency. Right now, in your search terms report, you see your different search terms and what keyword they matched to. With AI Max, you'll also be able to see the headlines that were shown with those search terms, and the specific website page people landed on from that search. A new "source" column will show if the match came from a keyword, keyword-less, or broad match expansion. There will also be a new "AI Max for Search campaigns" view to show these detailed insights for keyword-less and broad match traffic.

What's next: AI Max for Search Campaigns

More information about AI Max will be coming at GML 2025. Google Marketing Live is Google's annual event where they share what's coming next in Google Ads. And I will be attending in person, so I am really looking forward to sharing everything you need to know about what's coming for your Google Ads account.

If you don't already, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you'll be notified when my GML recap goes live on Thursday, May 22nd, 2025.

So to recap, what do we know is true about AI Max for search campaigns?

• It's called AI Max
• It is not a new campaign type. It is a feature within existing search campaigns.
• It is not a new keyword match type. It's something that sits on top of your existing broad phrase or exact keywords or dynamic ad groups.
• It is not some huge revolution. It is for the most part, every packaging of existing features.
• It's going to bring more control to your search campaigns, not less.
• It's going to bring more transparency to your search campaigns, not less.

In a nutshell, AI Max for search campaigns is a bundle of three features:

1. expanded query matching
2. final URL expansion
3. text asset customization

In addition, Google is launching a few little new transparency and control features, for example, increased search term report transparency and new ad group level location intent settings.

My most succinct way to explain what this is:

• it's like DSA with RSAs
• it's like DSA and broad match on top of your existing keywords
• it's like optimized targeting for your keywords