Google’s AI Max for Search Is Here: Let’s Not Just Flip the Switch
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Is the AI hype ever going to calm down?
Every week, it feels like another platform is rolling out “smarter” tools, automated workflows, new settings, or new campaign types that promise to take the heavy lifting out of our day-to-day lives. At some point, you have to wonder: are these platforms evolving… or bloating?
Personally, I’ve noticed things getting a little clunkier. Slower load times. Settings are buried under layers of AI-driven menus. A creeping sense that we’re piling shiny new features onto systems that weren’t exactly built for this level of complexity.
Which brings us to AI Max for Search — Google’s latest initiative to automate campaign performance using its most advanced AI to date, which was announced May 6, 2025.
According to Google’s early results:
L’Oréal saw a 2x higher conversion rate and a 31% lower cost per conversion with AI Max enabled.
MyConnect drove 16% more leads while reducing CPA by 13% — all from flipping a single setting.
On the surface, it’s impressive. But underneath, it’s another sign that Google is gradually tightening its grip on campaign control, leaving marketers with fewer levers to pull. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. But it does mean we need to be testing actively, while we still can.
Because if automation is the future (and it is), strategy becomes the differentiator. It's on us to ensure the machine is pointed in the right direction, and that it ladders up to real business goals and objectives.
In this post, I’ll break down what AI Max for Search is, what it means for marketers, and why now is the time to lean in — before the black box gets any darker.
The Search Landscape is Changing
Search isn’t what it used to be… and neither are searchers. We’re no longer living in a world of simple, typed-in keywords. Today’s users are searching with voice, images, and increasingly, through AI-powered chat interfaces. They’re expecting more intuitive, personalized, and context-rich results… not just ten blue links.
With Google tools like Google Lens, AI Overviews, and AI Mode, the way people ask questions and discover information is becoming more fluid. One moment, someone’s typing in a query, the next, they’re using their camera to find a product or getting a generated summary straight from the SERP.
This shift is forcing a redefinition of how intent is captured and how advertisers show up at the right moment.
It’s not just about keywords anymore. It’s about signals, context, and responsiveness. Which is exactly why AI Max exists: it’s Google’s way of adapting Search campaigns to meet the new way people are searching.
What is AI Max for Search?
AI Max is Google’s latest setting (actively rolling out to all Google Ads accounts) designed to enhance search campaigns by layering in real-time AI capabilities, all without switching campaign types or rebuilding from scratch. It uses machine learning to interpret intent beyond exact keyword matches, fine-tune ad messaging, and guide users to the most conversion-friendly pages on your site.
In essence, it turns a standard Search campaign into something more adaptive, more dynamic, and (if all goes well) more efficient.
When you enable AI Max, it activates several features:
Intent-Based Reach: Instead of relying purely on your keyword list, AI Max analyzes search context, not just keywords, to uncover new, relevant traffic you might otherwise miss.
Dynamic Creative Generation: Your headlines and descriptions can be rewritten in real time, using cues from your website and search queries to serve messaging that’s better aligned to the user’s intent.
- Final URL Expansion: Even if you set one destination URL, AI Max can route users to another page on your site if it believes it’s a better fit for the query.
There is potential to exclude specific URLs that you do not want served. More information about how to ensure URL exclusions are set can be found in this article.
Reporting & Visibility: While it’s still more automated than traditional search, this setting doesn’t leave you in the dark. You’ll get clearer reporting on search terms and controls to protect brand and location integrity.
With AI Max for Search, Google is essentially offering a bridge between fully manual Search and fully automated Performance Max… a way to scale and optimize faster, without letting go entirely.
In my opinion, this has been a long time coming. Google has been trying to get advertisers toward broad match keyword matching for months, even when accounts were running perfectly fine on phrase and exact. AI Max just feels like the next move in that playbook.
One way or another, Google was always going to get us there. This time, it only takes a toggle.
What Should Marketers Do Next for AI Max?
AI Max might promise smarter campaigns, but smarter doesn’t always mean stronger.
As Google hands over more control to automation, we’ve seen an increase in spam and low-quality leads across some accounts, especially when the right data signals aren’t in place. When the machine is optimizing blindly, it doesn’t always optimize in your favor.
That’s why I recommend testing AI Max strategically, not just flipping the switch and hoping for the best.
The goal isn’t just to compare conversion volume — it’s to understand incremental lift and lead quality. CRM integration is a must here. If you’re not connecting back-end performance to ad platform signals, you’re flying blind.
As my colleague Erica puts it:
“My biggest hesitation with AI Max is that it's as simple as one toggle switch. Deciding to utilize AI in your advertising is more complicated than that... What Google isn’t mentioning as freely is that you can, however, turn on AI Max and then opt out of individual features—search term matching, text customization, and final URL expansion. This allows you to have more control over what's happening behind the scenes with your ads and targeting settings. Regardless, I would advise clients to test individual AI features first and to look at the number of spam leads coming into your funnel. Performance Max alone has been getting hit hard with spam, so I can only imagine something similar to happen with AI Max.”
It’s also worth acknowledging that Google has been pushing broad match hard over the last year. Many marketers were hesitant to go all in, and now, AI Max essentially bakes that philosophy in by default.
To get the most out of AI Max for Search—and avoid letting the algorithm run wild—there are a few actions every marketer should take:
1. Monitor Search Term Reports (Closely)
Yes, AI Max can expand your reach, but not always in ways you want. Keep a regular pulse on the search terms driving your traffic. Look for:
- Irrelevant queries sneaking in
- Early signs of intent mismatch
- Brand safety risks or targeting inaccuracies
2. Optimize Landing Pages for Both People and AI
AI Max uses your website content to dynamically match and direct users, so your site is now part of your targeting strategy. That means:
- Clear, structured content that aligns with key intents
- Relevant, scannable copy that helps the AI understand the page's purpose
- Fast load times and mobile usability (still table stakes, always matter)
3. Feed the Right Signals (CRM or Offline Conversions)
If you’re only optimizing for form fills or shallow on-site conversions, you’re training the AI on incomplete goals. Upload CRM outcomes, important offline conversions, and set up Enhanced Conversions wherever possible. Make it clear what success looks like after the click.
4. Be Strategic With Feature Opt-Outs
Just because AI Max enables all three features by default doesn’t mean you have to keep them all on. Depending on your goals:
- Keep final URL expansion off to maintain journey control
- Pause dynamic ad copy if it clashes with your brand tone
- Test keyword matching expansions in stages
Start with structure, then experiment with it.
Approach AI Max Strategically, Test Intentionally
AI Max for Search is part of a bigger shift… one where platforms handle more of the execution, and marketers are left with fewer buttons to push but bigger decisions to make.
That’s not a reason to resist. It’s a reason to adapt.
Yes, automation is getting better. But your competitive advantage still comes from what you feed the system, how you measure success, and how quickly you act on what you learn. Whether it’s refining landing pages, integrating your CRM, or keeping a close eye on search terms, strategy still matters—maybe more than ever.
So by all means, test AI Max. Just don’t assume that toggle is doing all the thinking for you. If I were to infer, the future of search campaign management might just become automated… but it’s still up to us to guide the strategy & make it perform.
Are you wondering if you’re getting the most out of your Google Ads account? Is your agency actively testing, learning, and optimizing? Or just coasting? If not, it might be time for a second opinion. Reach out if you’re interested in having one of our Paid Search experts take a look under the hood.
