Google AI Max replaces Dynamic Search Ads: what changes and what to do now

Is Google getting rid of Dynamic Search Ads?

Yes. In April 2026 Google announced that Dynamic Search Ads would be folded into AI Max for Search, which it calls the next generation of DSA. Two older automation settings are going the same way: automatically created assets (ACA) and the campaign-level broad match setting.

DSA used your website content to decide which searches to show for and wrote the headline for you. AI Max does the same jobs, plus more, but inside a normal Search campaign with keywords and responsive search ads. So you do not lose the idea of DSA. You lose the separate campaign type and dynamic ad groups.

The timeline, after Google’s June 2026 delay

The first plan was to auto-upgrade everything in September 2026. On June 11, 2026, Google pushed the DSA part back after advertisers asked for more time before the holiday season. Here is where things stand.

What is AI Max for Search, in plain English?

AI Max is not a new campaign type. It is a switch in your Search campaign settings that turns on three features. Each one can be controlled separately.

Final URL expansion only works when text customization is on, because Google needs to write copy that matches the page it picks. If you turn off text customization, URL expansion turns off too.

What gets turned on when you upgrade

Google’s announcement spells out the defaults for each legacy setting:

• DSA campaigns: dynamic ad groups become standard ad groups, all three AI Max features are on, and your existing URL rules are kept.
• Automatically created assets: search term matching and text customization are on.
• Campaign-level broad match: only search term matching is on.

Does AI Max actually perform better than DSA?

Both numbers are Google’s averages from its own data. They are useful as a direction, not as a forecast for your account. Independent reports are more mixed.

That was a small, informal sample from the first months of AI Max, with no control group. But it matches what many advertisers see: more reach, more long and odd queries, and a lot of spend that needs watching. AI Max finds new traffic. It does not decide whether that traffic is worth paying for. Your conversion tracking and your controls do.

What controls do you get in AI Max?

This is the part most guides skip, and it is where small budgets are won or lost. AI Max gives you more controls than DSA ever did.

Two details to know. First, when final URL expansion or URL inclusions are on, pinned headlines in your responsive search ads are not used if Google picks a different URL. If legal or compliance copy must always show, keep URL expansion off in that ad group. Second, if you remove the broad match setting, Google no longer treats broad keywords like exact match for priority. Add exact match copies of your most important keywords to keep that behavior.

Also check your location setting. If your campaign targets people who are in your area, choose Presence only. Otherwise locations of interest can bring in searchers from far outside your service area.

How to migrate from DSA to AI Max, step by step

1. 1Check conversion tracking first. AI Max learns from conversions, so make sure leads, calls and purchases are counted once and correctly. Import qualified leads from your CRM if you can.
2. 2List what DSA does for you today. Note your page feeds, URL rules, negative keywords and which DSA search terms actually convert.
3. 3Set URL exclusions before anything else. Remove pages that cannot convert, like job openings, blog posts, support and legal pages.
4. 4Add brand exclusions for competitors you do not want to bid on, and brand inclusions where you only want branded traffic.
5. 5Use Google’s upgrade tool or the AI Max recommendation, and run it as an experiment so part of the campaign keeps AI Max off as a control.
6. 6Give it two to four weeks, or until both sides have a meaningful number of conversions. Compare cost per conversion and conversion value, not clicks.
7. 7Read the search terms report every week. Filter by the AI Max match type and add negative keywords for anything irrelevant.
8. 8Review the landing pages report, using the Selected by column, and the asset report. Remove pages and Google-written assets that do not perform.
9. 9Apply the experiment only if results are equal or better. If you do not apply, AI Max settings return to how they were.

What if you do nothing?

In February 2027 Google will upgrade your remaining DSA campaigns for you, with all three features on and your old URL rules kept. Your ads will keep running. The risk is not that ads stop. It is that broader matching, new landing pages and AI-written copy go live without your exclusions, at a time you did not pick.

For many small accounts the honest best case is boring: a migration you control, a few weeks of closer monitoring, and results close to what DSA delivered, with better reporting than DSA ever had.

Is AI Max right for every small business?

Not always with every feature on. Use this as a quick guide.

• Turn on all three features if you have solid conversion tracking, a site with many service or product pages, and enough budget that the campaign is not limited by budget.
• Keep text customization and URL expansion off in ad groups with regulated claims, fixed offers or one landing page built for conversion.
• Keep search term matching narrow, or off, if your budget is small and you already know the exact searches that bring customers.

Google itself notes that AI Max will not be effective if a campaign is limited by budget. If you spend a few hundred dollars a month, a tight set of exact and phrase keywords may still beat broad expansion.

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