Google has officially announced that Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs) are being upgraded to AI Max in 2026. This is not an optional feature. Google is actively migrating DSA campaigns to the AI Max framework, and advertisers who do not prepare risk losing campaign performance during the transition.
AI Max represents Google’s most significant change to Search campaign automation since the introduction of Responsive Search Ads. Here is everything you need to know about the migration, what changes, and how to protect your campaign performance.
What Is AI Max and How Does It Differ From DSAs?
Dynamic Search Ads used your website content to automatically target relevant searches and generate ad headlines. AI Max takes this concept significantly further. It uses Google’s AI to dynamically generate and customize ad copy, expand keyword targeting beyond your explicitly set terms, and optimize landing page selection in real time.
AI Max text guidelines became universally available in April 2026, allowing all advertisers running Search campaigns to control how Google’s AI generates and customizes their ad copy. This is a critical control mechanism that you need to configure properly before the migration.
The biggest difference from DSAs is the level of AI autonomy. Where DSAs matched your landing pages to search queries and generated headlines, AI Max can modify your ad copy, expand your targeting, and select different landing pages based on what its model predicts will perform best. This can drive strong results but requires careful guardrails.
What Changes During the Migration
When your DSA campaigns migrate to AI Max, several things happen. Your existing targeting settings transfer over, but AI Max will expand beyond them based on its performance predictions. Your ad copy may be dynamically modified by AI, combining elements from your existing assets in new ways. Landing page selection becomes dynamic, with AI choosing the page it determines is most relevant for each query.
Budget and bidding strategies carry over, but the way your budget is allocated across queries will shift as AI Max optimizes for conversions rather than matching strict keyword targets. Campaign reporting changes as well, with new AI-specific metrics available in the reporting interface.
Google’s real-time policy review system now provides instant feedback as you build ads, reducing review times from hours to seconds for Responsive Search Ads. This is a welcome change that allows faster iteration during the transition period.
Step-by-Step Migration Guide
We recommend a proactive migration rather than waiting for Google to auto-migrate your campaigns. A controlled transition lets you set up proper guardrails and monitor performance changes in real time.
Step one is to audit your current DSA campaigns. Document your current targeting pages, exclusions, negative keywords, and performance benchmarks. You need clear baseline metrics to evaluate AI Max performance against.
Step two is to configure AI Max text guidelines. These controls determine how aggressively AI can modify your ad copy. We recommend starting with conservative settings, allowing AI to combine your existing headlines and descriptions but restricting fully AI-generated copy until you have performance data.
Step three is to set up proper negative keywords and brand safety controls. AI Max will expand your targeting, which means it may match to queries you do not want. Transfer your existing negative keyword lists and add additional negatives based on the broader targeting AI Max will use.
Step four is to run AI Max alongside your existing DSAs for at least two weeks. Compare performance metrics side by side before pausing your DSA campaigns. This overlap period is critical for identifying any performance gaps.
Common Migration Pitfalls to Avoid
The biggest mistake we see is letting AI Max run without proper guardrails. Without configured text guidelines and robust negative keyword lists, AI Max can spend budget on irrelevant queries and generate ad copy that does not match your brand voice. Set up controls before you migrate, not after you notice performance drops.
Another common pitfall is judging AI Max performance too quickly. The system needs a learning period to optimize effectively. Give it at least two to four weeks of data before making significant adjustments. Monitor daily but make changes weekly based on trends rather than daily fluctuations.
Do not forget to update your conversion tracking. AI Max optimizes heavily toward conversion signals, so inaccurate or incomplete conversion tracking will degrade campaign performance. Ensure all your conversion actions, values, and attribution windows are correctly configured before migration.
Performance Max Integration
AI Max for Search works alongside Performance Max, not as a replacement. PMax asset-level A/B testing is now generally available in April 2026, along with asset experiments for Performance Max. This means you can test different creative approaches within PMax while running AI Max on your Search campaigns.
The combination of AI Max Search campaigns and Performance Max gives Google’s AI the broadest possible signal set to optimize across. If you are running both campaign types, ensure your budgets are balanced and your conversion goals are aligned across both to avoid internal competition.
What to Monitor Post-Migration
After migrating to AI Max, monitor these metrics weekly. Track your search term reports closely to identify any irrelevant query expansion. Watch your cost per conversion against your DSA baseline. Review AI-generated ad copy to ensure brand consistency. Check landing page performance to verify AI is directing traffic to your best-converting pages.
The transition from DSAs to AI Max is inevitable, but a well-planned migration protects your campaign performance and positions you to benefit from the expanded capabilities AI Max offers. The advertisers who prepare now will outperform those who wait for the forced migration.