Google moved your Search campaigns to AI Max: what UAE advertisers should check now

What actually happened in September 2026

Between 1 and 30 September 2026, Google automatically upgraded Search campaigns to AI Max if they used campaign-level broad match or standalone automatically created assets (ACA). Google confirmed the change would roll out gradually across the month, with existing brand inclusions and exclusions carried over and settings configured to mirror the previous legacy setup as closely as possible.

Dynamic Search Ads campaigns are moving to AI Max too, but on a slower timeline. Google pushed that migration to February 2027, with in-account notifications starting in September 2026 and further reminders due in January 2027 before the automatic switch.

Microsoft Advertising made a similar move. On 27 August 2026 it made AI Max for Search generally available to every advertiser and switched it on by default for any new Search campaign created from that point. Existing Microsoft Search campaigns are not converted automatically. You have to opt them in.

If you were running campaign-level broad match or standalone ACA on Google, your campaigns have likely been upgraded already, or will be before the end of September, whether you noticed or not.

What AI Max actually is

Google describes AI Max as the next generation of Dynamic Search Ads. It bundles three things into one Search campaign setting.

Search term matching. An ad group level setting, on by default, that learns from your existing keywords, ad copy and landing pages to find relevant searches beyond your keyword list. It works through a mix of broad match expansion and keywordless matching, so your ads can show for queries that never map to a keyword you actually added.

Text customization. A campaign level feature, previously called automatically created assets, that uses your existing ad text, landing page copy and other assets, combined with generative AI, to write ad variations tailored to specific searches.

Final URL expansion. Also campaign level, and it needs text customization switched on to work. When active, Google can send a click to a different page on your site than the one you set in your ad, if it judges that page more relevant to the search. Pinned assets can be overridden if Google decides another URL fits the query better.

Google also gives you controls: brand inclusions and exclusions at campaign and ad group level, locations of interest at ad group level (which apply even to keywordless matches), and URL inclusions and exclusions at campaign level.

Which campaigns were upgraded, and how to tell

You do not need to guess. Open each Search campaign, go to Settings, and look for the AI Max section. If campaign-level broad match or standalone ACA was switched on before September, that campaign now shows AI Max settings, with search term matching, text customization and final URL expansion listed, along with whatever brand and URL controls carried over.

As of 1 September 2026, you can no longer create a new campaign using legacy campaign-level broad match or legacy standalone ACA. Any new Search campaign starts on AI Max by default.

DSA campaigns should still show as DSA for now, since that migration runs on the later, February 2027 timeline.

What changes in reporting

The search terms report now includes a match type value of "AI Max," alongside your regular exact, phrase and broad match types. You can add the Source column to the default view of that report to see where a search term came from.

There is also a new report view, "Search terms and ad combinations," which shows the search terms that triggered your ads alongside the specific headline, landing page, campaign and ad group involved. Toggle between this and the older views from the top right of the report.

In the Keywords report, two new aggregate rows appear: "Total: AI Max expanded matches," covering traffic from broad match keyword expansion, and "Total: AI Max landing page matches," covering traffic matched from your landing pages or assets with no keyword involved.

One caveat. If you filter the Match type column for AI Max specifically, the total will understate the real volume, because that filter excludes what Google labels "other search terms." Use the Source column and the aggregate rows together for a fuller picture.

The real risks for UAE lead generation accounts

None of this is automatically bad. Google's own data states that AI Max for Search campaigns saw an average of 7 percent more conversions or conversion value at a similar CPA or ROAS when advertisers used the full feature suite. Microsoft reported at least an 8 percent increase in conversions in its early tests. Those are platform-reported averages, not a promise for your account.

For a UAE lead generation business, four risks matter more than the averages. They are why our AI marketing in Dubai pairs Google automation with human control of search terms, landing pages and lead quality.

Query drift into irrelevant searches

Search term matching is built to widen your reach. Without negative keywords keeping pace, that widening can pull in searches that share a topic with your business but not the intent, such as a cleaning company paying for clicks from people searching for cleaning jobs rather than services. Check the search terms report by match source, weekly, for the first month after any account was upgraded.

URL expansion sending traffic to the wrong pages

Final URL expansion means Google, not you, can pick the landing page. If your site has a careers page, a blog, or an about page that ranks well internally, some of your paid traffic can land there instead of your service or contact page. For a lead generation account, a click that lands on the careers page almost never converts.

Arabic and English query mixing

Many UAE accounts run bilingual audiences, sometimes with English-only ad copy pointed at a mixed Arabic and English search market. Keywordless matching pulls in whatever Google judges relevant, in either language, based on your assets. If your landing pages and ad copy are English only, expanded matching can start showing your ads against Arabic-language searches your creative was never built to answer. That tends to show up as a quiet drop in conversion rate rather than an obvious problem.

Junk leads when conversion tracking counts every form fill

This is the one that hides the other three. If your conversion action fires on every form submission regardless of whether the enquiry was genuine, a rise in reported conversions after an AI Max upgrade can look like good news when it is really a wider net catching more unqualified leads. Read reported conversion volume next to your actual qualified lead count from your CRM before deciding anything changed for the better.

A checklist to run this week

Work through this in order, one campaign at a time.

1. Open each campaign's Settings and confirm whether it now shows AI Max, and which of search term matching, text customization and final URL expansion are switched on.

2. Pull the search terms report, add the Source column, and read through matches labelled AI Max separately from your own keyword matches.

3. Add negative keywords for anything off-topic, at the ad group or campaign level depending on how widely the pattern shows up.

4. Set URL exclusions, or write URL rules, for any page that should never receive paid search traffic. Careers, blog, about and support pages are the usual candidates.

5. Set brand exclusions if you do not want your ads serving alongside specific brand names, and brand inclusions if you want certain brand associations kept.

6. Check locations of interest at the ad group level, particularly if your UAE targeting relies on intent signals rather than physical presence.

7. Confirm your conversion action tracks a qualified lead, not simply a form submission. If it does not, fix that regardless of AI Max.

8. Compare cost per qualified lead in AED before the upgrade against the weeks after, using CRM numbers rather than the platform's conversion count alone.

9. Repeat the check in four to six weeks. AI Max keeps learning, and search term composition can keep shifting after the first pass looks clean.

When to turn text customization or final URL expansion off

You can switch either off in campaign Settings, under the AI Max section, inside Asset optimization. Turning off text customization also turns off final URL expansion, since the second setting depends on the first. You cannot keep URL expansion running with text customization off.

Consider text customization off if the generated ad variations do not match your approved messaging or compliance requirements, which matters for regulated categories like legal or medical services. Consider final URL expansion off if it is already sending traffic to pages that do not convert, and you would rather control the landing page yourself.

Turning a setting off is a control decision, not a defeat. Google's own documentation treats it as a normal part of running AI Max.

FAQ

Did my account get upgraded automatically, or do I need to opt in?

If any Search campaign used campaign-level broad match or standalone automatically created assets before September 2026, Google is upgrading it automatically during September. You did not need to do anything for it to happen. You do need to check the settings it left behind.

Will this change my keywords or ad groups?

Google stated that campaigns would be migrated in place, with settings mirroring the legacy setup, including existing brand inclusions and exclusions. Structure should look the same. What changed is the matching, text and landing page behaviour around it.

What about Dynamic Search Ads campaigns?

DSA campaigns are also moving to AI Max, on a later timeline. Google pushed that migration to February 2027, with notifications starting in September 2026 and further reminders in January 2027.

Can I still create campaigns the old way?

No. As of 1 September 2026, new Search campaigns can no longer be created with legacy campaign-level broad match or legacy standalone ACA.

Does AI Max mean my costs will definitely go up?

Not necessarily. Google's own reported average is 7 percent more conversions at a similar CPA or ROAS. That is a platform-wide average, not a guarantee for any one account, and it says nothing about lead quality. Check your own numbers.

Is Microsoft Advertising doing the same thing?

Microsoft made AI Max generally available on 27 August 2026 and switched it on by default for new Search campaigns. It is not automatically enabling AI Max on existing Microsoft Search campaigns. If you run Search on both platforms, treat them as two separate checks.

Sources

• Google's Dynamic Search Ads are upgrading to AI Max (blog.google)
• Google sets AI Max migration timeline for Search campaigns (searchengineland.com, used for the DSA February 2027 timeline and legacy-creation cutoff after the primary blog.google page returned an access error on direct fetch)
• How AI Max for Search campaigns works (support.google.com)
• About reporting in AI Max for Search campaigns (support.google.com)
• About Final URL expansion in Search (support.google.com)
• Turn text customization on or off in Search campaigns (support.google.com)
• AI Max for Search is now available (about.ads.microsoft.com)

Where this leaves you

An automatic upgrade is not a reason to abandon Search campaigns, and not a reason to assume everything is fine either. Your account settings, search terms report and CRM lead quality numbers will tell you what actually happened. Generic advice will not.

Big AL Consulting can check whether your Google Ads or Microsoft Advertising account was switched to AI Max, what settings it landed on, and what it did to your cost per qualified lead. If you would rather someone else run this checklist against your live account, get in touch.

For background on running paid Search in the UAE, see our guide to Google Ads in Dubai and our breakdown of what actually drives Google Ads cost.