Google Ads DSA to AI Max: What Advertisers Need to Know in 2026

Anchal

Sep 30

6 min read

Google Ads is making a major change to the way Search campaigns expand beyond traditional keyword targeting. Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) are being phased into Google's AI Max for Search campaigns, marking a significant shift from website-based dynamic targeting toward a broader AI-powered approach to Search advertising.

However, there is an important update to Google's original timeline.

Google initially announced that DSA campaigns would begin automatically upgrading to AI Max in September 2026. In June, Google extended the DSA sunset and automatic upgrade timeline to February 2027, giving advertisers more time to prepare. At the same time, campaigns using Automatically Created Assets, now called Text Customization, and the campaign-level broad match setting continue to be automatically upgraded beginning in September 2026.

For advertisers still running DSA campaigns, this isn't simply a change in campaign settings. It represents a broader shift in how Google expects Search campaigns to find relevant queries, create ad experiences, and select landing pages.

1.0 What Is Happening to Dynamic Search Ads?

Dynamic Search Ads have traditionally provided advertisers with a way to capture relevant searches without manually building keywords for every possible query.

Instead of relying entirely on advertiser-selected keywords, DSA uses website content to determine which searches are relevant and dynamically generates headlines and landing-page destinations.

This made DSA particularly useful for:

Large websites with many pages
E-commerce websites
Businesses with extensive service offerings
Advertisers looking for incremental Search traffic
Accounts where building exhaustive keyword lists wasn't practical

Google is now moving this functionality into AI Max for Search campaigns.

Google describes AI Max as an optimization layer within existing Search campaigns rather than a completely separate campaign type. It combines advertiser inputs with AI-powered search-term matching, text customization and Final URL expansion to identify additional opportunities.

1.1 The key change

The old model was broadly:

Website content → Dynamic Search Target → Search Query → Dynamic Ad

The newer AI Max model is closer to:

Advertiser inputs + Keywords + Website + Search intent signals → AI-powered matching → Ad assets + Landing page

This gives Google more signals to work with while giving advertisers additional controls over how that automation operates.

2.0 When Will Google Ads DSA Campaigns Be Upgraded?

This is one of the most important details advertisers should understand.

Google's current timeline says that automatic upgrades for DSA campaigns will begin in February 2027. Google has extended the original September 2026 DSA sunset timeline to give advertisers additional time to transition.

However, September 2026 remains important because Google is also transitioning campaigns using:

Automatically Created Assets, now called Text Customization
The campaign-level broad match setting

These campaigns are being automatically upgraded to AI Max beginning in September 2026.

Therefore, advertisers should not interpret the February 2027 date as meaning that nothing needs to be done until then.

The transition toward AI Max is already underway.

3.0 What Happens When a DSA Campaign Is Upgraded?

Google's current upgrade process changes several elements of the legacy DSA setup.

A Dynamic Ad Group becomes a standard ad group, while existing Dynamic Search Ads are transformed into Responsive Search Ads. Google can generate the minimum required static assets using text customization.

The upgrade can also use Final URL Expansion to help determine relevant landing pages. Google says the existing DSA settings and data are carried over as part of the transition, to maintain continuity.

Google also provides a transitional period during manual upgrades. Existing DSAs can continue serving while new Responsive Search Ads go through creation and policy review. Once the new ads are eligible, the legacy DSAs are paused and moved into a view-only state.

This means advertisers should not simply recreate their old DSA campaign from scratch without examining how the new AI Max controls map to their existing strategy.

4.0 Does AI Max Mean Keywords Are Becoming Irrelevant?

No.

This is an important distinction.

AI Max changes how Google can expand beyond advertiser-selected keywords, but keywords remain useful inputs.

Google's current reporting includes both traditional keyword information and AI Max-specific reporting. Advertisers can distinguish traffic associated with AI Max expansion and review how search terms relate to keywords, landing pages and assets.

The role of the PPC manager is therefore changing.

Instead of asking only:

"Which keywords should I add?"

the more important questions increasingly become:

Which searches are generating conversions?
Which searches are generating low-quality traffic?
Which landing pages are being selected?
Which ad assets are being generated?
Which queries should be excluded?
Are AI-generated assets consistent with the brand?
Is AI expansion producing incremental conversions at an acceptable cost?

That is a much more sophisticated way of managing Search campaigns.

5.0 Why Search-Term Monitoring Is Becoming More Important

More automation does not mean less management.

In fact, it can make quality control more important.

Google's AI Max reporting allows advertisers to examine search terms, ad combinations, landing pages and other campaign-level information. Advertisers can use this information to understand where AI expansion is generating value and where exclusions may be required.

For example, a B2B software company could theoretically receive traffic from searches that appear semantically relevant but have very different commercial intent.

Consider:

"Power BI dashboard development company"

versus:

"Power BI dashboard tutorial"

Both may be related to the same broad topic.

But the first could represent commercial intent, while the second may be informational.

This is why conversion data, search-term analysis & negative keyword management remain important even as Google expands AI-driven matching.

6.0 AI Max Does Not Mean "Set It and Forget It"

One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding AI-powered Google Ads is that automation eliminates the need for PPC expertise.

The opposite may be closer to reality.

As Google takes over more executional decisions, advertisers need to become better at setting strategic boundaries and evaluating outcomes.

That includes:

1. Define your business clearly

Google's AI needs accurate information about what the business actually sells.

2. Maintain high-quality landing pages

AI Max can use website content as an input for matching and asset generation, making website accuracy increasingly important.

3. Establish exclusions

Use negative keywords, URL exclusions and brand controls where appropriate.

4. Monitor generated assets

AI-generated headlines and descriptions should be reviewed for accuracy, compliance and brand alignment.

5. Evaluate conversion quality

A campaign generating more conversions isn't necessarily improving if those conversions are lower quality.

For lead-generation businesses, measuring qualified leads, opportunities and sales can be more meaningful than simply counting form submissions.

7.0 Google Is Also Adding Better AI Max Reporting

Google announced another important AI Max development in September 2026: a new reporting experience designed to provide a unified view of the Search advertising journey.

The planned reporting can show relationships between:

Search term → Creative asset → Landing page

This should make it easier for advertisers to understand how AI-driven decisions contribute to campaign performance.

Google has also introduced AI Brief in closed beta, allowing advertisers to provide AI Max with additional context about their business, audience and messaging.

These developments point toward a future in which advertisers provide increasingly detailed strategic inputs while Google handles more of the matching and execution.

8.0 What Should Advertisers Do Now?

If you're running DSA campaigns today, there are several practical steps worth taking before the February 2027 automatic upgrade.

8.1 Audit your existing DSA campaigns

Review:

Top-performing search terms
Conversion-generating landing pages
Dynamic targets
Negative keywords
Excluded pages
Budget allocation
Conversion quality

This creates a useful baseline before making changes.

8.2 Review your website

Because AI Max can use website content for matching and asset generation, make sure your important pages accurately describe:

Products
Services
Locations
Pricing where applicable
Differentiators
Target customers

8.3 Identify pages that should not receive advertising traffic

Use URL exclusions where appropriate to prevent AI Max from directing traffic toward irrelevant pages.

8.4 Review your conversion tracking

This may be the most important step for lead-generation advertisers.

If Google is given poor conversion signals, increasing automation can potentially optimize toward the wrong outcome.
Make sure primary conversions represent meaningful business actions rather than simply every available interaction.

8.5 Test rather than assume

Google has expanded AI Max experimentation capabilities, including tools for testing AI Max settings and, more recently, budget and ROI targets across Search campaigns.

Testing allows advertisers to determine how AI Max behaves within their own account instead of relying solely on Google's aggregate performance claims.

9.0 What Does This Mean for PPC Managers?

The DSA-to-AI-Max transition is part of a larger change in paid search.

The traditional PPC workflow was heavily focused on:

Keywords → Match Types → Ads → Bids → Search Terms

The emerging workflow is increasingly:

Business Strategy → Data → Signals → AI Controls → Search Intent → Assets → Landing Pages → Conversion Quality

This doesn't make PPC expertise less important.

It changes where that expertise is applied.

PPC managers will increasingly need to understand:

Conversion architecture
First-party data
Search intent
Landing-page quality
AI-generated creative
Automation controls
Incrementality
Search-term analysis
Offline conversion data
Business economics

In other words, the role is moving from manually controlling every targeting decision toward strategically controlling and auditing an increasingly automated system.