AI Max For Search Explained: Advanced Strategies For Smarter & Scalable Google Ads

Search marketing has always been a mix of science and experimentation. You build keyword lists, craft ad copy and hope to match how real people search. Then Google changes the rules. AI Max for Search is the platform’s most ambitious attempt yet to let machine learning predict intent with far more precision than manual keyword builds.

For marketers who live and breathe search, AI Max represents a shift in control. Google is taking more of the driver’s seat – using its large language models to interpret intent, match queries, and shape ad creative dynamically. While it means advertisers hand over more levers, it’s clear Google’s goal is to make campaigns smarter, faster, and more adaptive to user behaviour.

Key insights at a glance

• AI Max for Search is Google’s most advanced search automation yet, expanding beyond keywords while keeping more control than Performance Max.

• Transparency is back with new reporting: AI Max match type, Source column, asset performance and landing page “Selected by” insights.

• Creative quality matters more than ever. The AI rewrites and tests assets but can only work with what you supply.

• Data is the new targeting. Strong conversion tracking and first-party data unlock better bidding and intent prediction.

• Brand and URL controls keep AI honest, helping you scale without losing relevance or wasting spend.

• AI Max rewards mature advertisers: solid site structure, clean tracking and strategic oversight lead to stronger ROI.

• The future of search tools is AI-powered, but not fully automated. Marketers who guide the machine will outperform those who let it run unchecked.

A quick look back at how we got here

To understand why AI Max matters, it helps to know where search has been heading:

• Exact match ruled the early years. Advertisers had tight control, but reach was limited.
• Broad match and phrase match expanded visibility. More scale, but also more irrelevant clicks.
• Responsive search ads arrived. AI started testing headlines and descriptions to find winners.
• Performance Max launched. Cross-channel automation entered the picture, but reporting was frustratingly opaque.

AI Max for Search sits on top of this history. It preserves the intent-driven nature of search campaigns while incorporating advanced AI to predict what people truly mean, even when their wording is unexpected.

AI Max versus Performance Max

It is easy to confuse the two, but they are not the same.

• Performance Max is Google’s all-in-one automation campaign. It spreads your budget across Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail and Discover to chase conversions wherever they happen. It is built for reach and scale, often acting like a black box: you hand over creative assets and audience signals, and Google decides where to serve them. Performance Max is powerful for full-funnel visibility, but reporting is limited and control over search intent can feel diluted.

• AI Max for Search stays anchored to the Search network. Its mission is not channel expansion, but precision within search itself. It matches your ads to valuable queries, rewrites ad assets to better fit intent and selects the most relevant landing pages. Where PMax acts like an omni-channel autopilot, AI Max is more like an advanced search co-pilot: it helps you scale and optimise while still letting you steer keyword strategy, brand controls and destination URLs.

For brands running complex search programs, the distinction matters. AI Max keeps the focus on intent-driven campaigns, where search term quality and landing page relevance directly impact ROI. It gives advanced reporting, so you can see how Google’s machine learning is expanding its reach. For marketers who crave both scale and clarity, AI Max is the more transparent, search-specialised choice.

How AI Max for Search works under the hood

Google’s newest AI search optimisation is a collection of machine learning systems working together to expand reach, personalise ads and optimise results while giving advertisers more insight than past automation tools. Understanding how it functions will help you use it with confidence, rather than letting it run unchecked.

1. Search term matching beyond keywords

For years, search advertising has been built on the keyword list: you predict what people will type, then bid to appear. AI Max changes this model.

• Intent prediction, not just text matching: AI Max evaluates the meaning behind a search, not only the words. Someone looking for “best SaaS accounting platform” may trigger your ad, even if you only bid on “accounting software.”

• Keywordless expansion: Your ads can now show for relevant terms outside your set keyword list. This can unlock profitable long-tail traffic, but it also opens the door to irrelevant queries if not monitored.

• Control levers still exist: Advertisers can add negative keywords, set brand inclusions or exclusions and review search term reports. These controls are vital to keep AI from drifting into wasteful territory.

2. Asset optimisation and dynamic ad creative

AI Max takes a hands-on role in your ad experience. Beyond connecting you to searchers, it tests, refines and rebuilds your creative in real time to match what users are looking for. This is where machine learning moves beyond targeting and starts influencing the message itself.

• Text customisation: AI Max can now go beyond rearranging what you write. It dynamically generates new headlines and descriptions in addition to rotating and combining the assets you supply. Using live performance signals like CTR and conversion likelihood, it tests these variations at scale and prioritises the top performers far faster than manual A/B testing ever could. You can review these AI-generated assets in your reports and remove any that don’t align with your brand or messaging.

• Dynamic URL and landing page selection: When enabled, the system can send a searcher to the most relevant page on your site, even if it is not the one you originally chose. This can surface hidden pages or better match deep product content to niche queries. However, it can also lead to misaligned user journeys if your site architecture or content hierarchy is weak.

• Accelerated creative learning: Because the AI runs continuous multivariate testing, it shortens the time needed to identify strong messaging angles. This means campaigns can adapt to trends or seasonal behaviour shifts more quickly than manual testing.

3. New reporting and transparency tools

Expert marketers have built their careers on granular control, a.k.a. the ability to see precisely which keywords trigger ads, where budgets go and how creative performs. Performance Max took most of that away, and for many, this “black box” nature has been terrifying.

AI Max changes this dynamic. While it still uses advanced machine learning, it reintroduces transparency with several necessary reporting upgrades that give marketers clearer visibility into how campaigns are expanding and performing.

• New match type (AI Max): This new label clearly marks when a query was matched through the AI system rather than one of your manual keywords. It makes it easier to see how far the AI is stretching beyond your original targeting and to judge whether that expansion is driving qualified traffic.

• Source column: This shows whether a search came from your keyword set or from AI-driven expansion. It’s critical for budget control and strategic decision-making. If too much spend is coming from AI-driven matches that do not convert, you can step in quickly with negatives or refine your targeting.

• Combined view of terms, headlines and URLs: This view lets you analyse how AI is pairing search intent with the assets and landing pages it selects. You can spot patterns, like which headlines are most often shown for new intent clusters, or whether AI is routing traffic to the right pages.

• Landing pages report with “Selected by” column: A new column shows whether a landing page was chosen by you or by AI Max. This matters because it highlights when the AI overrides your original destination and whether those choices are improving or hurting conversion performance.

• Asset report for AI Max assets: Asset-level data now shows how headlines and descriptions created or prioritised by AI Max are performing. You can see what the system is favouring and decide whether to keep, rewrite or retire underperforming creative.

Other key features of AI Max for Search

Locations of interest

AI Max can target users not only by where they are physically, but also by the locations they’re researching or showing intent toward. This is valuable for service-based businesses or brands selling to customers planning future travel or relocation. Even when AI Max expands beyond your keyword list, it can match ads to people whose intent signals include a geographic area you care about.

Ad group level control

Unlike earlier automation tools, AI Max lets you make key decisions at the ad group level, rather than only at the campaign level. This added flexibility allows you to group products or services more strategically and apply specific creative, bidding or brand settings where they fit best. For marketers managing complex accounts, it means you can still structure campaigns in a way that maintains clarity and control.

Brand settings

This AI‑powered search tool for PPC introduces brand inclusions and brand exclusions, finally giving advertisers greater authority over brand context (a long-missing control in automated campaigns). These settings let you steer where your ads appear and which brand associations Google’s AI creates when expanding reach.

• Brand inclusions (available at campaign and ad group level) restrict your campaign, so ads serve primarily on queries related to the brands you select. This can sharpen targeting and protect against wasted clicks, but it also narrows reach. Marketers should use inclusions when brand alignment is critical (e.g., resellers or co-branded products) but avoid over-restricting campaigns that need discovery traffic.

• Brand exclusions (campaign level) prevent your ads from appearing on searches related to specific brands, ideal for blocking competitors, irrelevant brands or low-value associations. Exclusions override inclusions in the event of a conflict, so plan your lists carefully.

Brand lists are managed at the account level, and Google’s system automatically recognises brand variants, misspellings and different languages. This reduces manual work but means your settings apply more broadly than the exact terms you enter. For high-volume campaigns, regularly review search term reports to confirm AI’s interpretation aligns with your intent.

URL inclusions

When you enable final URL expansion, AI Max for Search can choose destination pages beyond the ones you set. This is powerful, but not perfect; it can miss important sections of your site. URL inclusions let you manually add URLs that the AI might otherwise overlook. This is especially valuable for seasonal landing pages, gated content or niche product categories. It keeps high-value pages visible while still benefiting from AI-driven reach.

URL exclusions

Equally important, URL exclusions let you block certain pages from being chosen as destinations. This keeps AI from sending traffic to outdated promotions, low-converting pages or areas of the site not meant for paid search. It is a critical safeguard for e-commerce brands with extensive catalogues or businesses with legacy content that should not receive ad clicks. Controlling this reduces wasted spend and protects user experience.

A step-by-step setup guide for AI Max for Search

Setting up a PPC AI‑powered search tool like this one isn’t something to rush. The right configuration determines whether you unlock smarter targeting and creative optimisation or waste budget on irrelevant clicks.

1. Create a new Search campaign (or start from an existing one)

• In Google Ads, click Create → Campaign, and choose Search campaign.
• When you reach the AI Max pane, toggle it on.
• After activation, you’ll see the sub-controls (search term matching, asset optimisation, URL settings). You can select which ones to use.
• If you’re enabling AI Max in an existing campaign, go to Settings, choose the campaign, find AI Max, toggle it on, then pick the features you want.

2. Configure search term matching

• Search term matching must be enabled at the campaign level before you can control it at the ad group level.
• Once enabled, go to your Ad groups → Search term matching and toggle it on or off per group.
• This gives you flexibility: you can let some ad groups lean into AI expansion, while keeping others more conservative.

3. Set asset optimisation: text customisation + final URL expansion

Under the Asset optimisation panel, you’ll see Text customisation and Final URL expansion. These are typically enabled by default. 

• Important nuance: Text customisation must be enabled for Final URL expansion to work. Disabling text customisation will also turn off final URL expansion. 

• Also note: pinned responsive search ad (RSA) assets may not always be honoured when final URL expansion or URL inclusions are active. 

4. Use URL exclusions if needed

• URL exclusions are a campaign-level control. 
• To set them: go to your campaign → AI Max settings → Add URL exclusions. You can also use rules to exclude sets of pages. 
• Remember: URL exclusions only work if AI Max is enabled and final URL expansion/text customisation is active. 

5. Add URL inclusions (ad group level)

• URL inclusions are controlled at the ad group level. 
• If both URL inclusions and final URL expansion are active, Google can use either your specified URLs or AI-predicted ones. 
• If you want to force your inclusions exclusively, turn off final URL expansion.

6. Configure brand settings (inclusions & exclusions)

• Brand exclusions are applied at the campaign level. 
• Brand inclusions, meanwhile, can be applied at both campaign and ad group levels. If an ad group-level inclusion exists, it will override the campaign-level setting for that group. 
• Be cautious: brand exclusions take priority over inclusions if there’s a conflict.

7. Modifying or disabling AI Max for Search

• To disable or adjust settings, go to Campaigns → Settings → AI Max. Toggle off or reconfigure sub-settings. 

• Changes to search term matching, asset optimisation, brand settings and URL inclusions/exclusions can all be handled here. 

• When you disable AI Max, existing inclusions, exclusions or settings may be ignored until you re-enable it.

Advanced recommendation

While not mandatory, connecting your CMS and CRM ensures AI Max works with accurate signals and conversion feedback, which can dramatically improve targeting and bidding.

Optimise your CMS setup

• Keep a clear URL structure and up-to-date XML sitemaps, so final URL expansion can find your best pages.

• Use structured data and accurate metadata to help Google understand your content.

• Avoid complex redirects or fragile tracking templates that could break landing page selection or conversion tracking.

Leverage CRM data for smarter bidding

• Import offline conversions or qualified lead signals from your CRM into Google Ads. This lets Smart Bidding value leads based on real revenue, not just form fills.

• Sync Customer Match lists or high-value audience segments so AI prioritises spend on users most likely to convert profitably.

• Automate data uploads so your conversion and audience signals stay current.

Why it matters: AI Max thrives on reliable signals. A well-structured site helps it select the right landing pages; accurate conversion and revenue data help it optimise bids. Marketers who integrate these systems give AI the context it needs to scale performance without wasting budget.

Defining your new role: From bidder to chief strategist

With the rise of AI search optimisation, you can’t out-bid or out-optimise the machine at a tactical level. It is processing billions more signals than any human or team ever could.

For the strategist, this could be quite liberating. It frees you from the tactical weeds of keyword bidding to focus on the one thing an AI-powered search tool cannot do: deeply understand your business, customers and strategic goals. The age of the manual tinkerer is over. The age of the AI collaborator has begun.

Now that you’ve handed tactical bidding over to the machine, your success hinges entirely on the quality of your strategic inputs. The old campaign mantra of “garbage in, garbage out” has never been more accurate or carried higher stakes.

Asset Groups are not Ad Groups

The most common mistake we see is marketers treating Asset Groups like a messy storage closet for every headline and image they can think of. This is the fastest path to mediocre results.

Think of it this way: An old ad group was a container for keywords. An Asset Group is a strategic recipe you hand to the AI. A good recipe has ingredients that work together. A bad one is just a random pile of food.

Your goal is to create tightly themed Asset Groups where the creative and the audience are in perfect alignment.

• Bad approach: One “General” Asset Group with 20 headlines, 10 images of different products, five different videos, all pointed at a generic “website visitors” audience. The AI has no idea what to prioritise.

• Expert approach: A “High Performance Running Shoes” Asset Group with headlines about speed and marathons, images of your top running shoes, a video of a runner, all linked to an Audience Signal built from users who search for competitor running shoe brands.

This gives the AI a clear, powerful recipe to work with. It knows exactly who to target and what message to serve them, leading to smarter bidding and better results on Search and beyond.

Audience signals: the most powerful lever you might not be pulling correctly

Audience signals are your primary tool for teaching the AI who you want to reach. They are not strictly targeting, because you’re providing clues, not constraints. Here is how to do it:

Your first-party data is your golden ticket

Your own customer data is the most powerful input you can give the machine. Uploading your Customer Match lists, high-value conversion data, and website visitor data isn’t primarily for retargeting. It’s for building a blueprint. You are giving the AI-powered search tool a crystal-clear picture of what a perfect customer looks like, so it can go find thousands more people just like them. This is your single greatest unfair advantage.

Use custom segments to proactively guide the AI

While first-party data drives AI Max for Search most directly, custom segments can still play a supporting role, especially if your strategy spans Display, Discovery or Performance Max alongside Search. Create custom segments based on:

• High-intent search activity: Go beyond your own keywords. Target people who are actively searching for competitor brand names, “best of” comparisons or problem-based queries that your product solves.

• Competitor and affinity URLs: Provide the AI with a list of URLs that your ideal customer is likely to visit. This could be direct competitor websites, industry news blogs or forums where your audience spends their time.

Is AI Max for Search the right move for your brand?

While this AI search optimisation can be a breakthrough, it is not a universal solution. Frankly, nothing is. Deciding whether to use it depends on your current search maturity, data quality and appetite for automation.

AI Max is usually a good fit if:

• Your campaigns are already structured and well-optimised. AI Max shines when it can build on an organised account with strong negatives, relevant ad groups and clear conversion goals. It helps you expand into new, high-intent queries you might not have captured manually, saving hours of keyword mining.

• Your website is conversion-ready. Final URL expansion only works if your site is crawlable, fast and has landing pages that convert. If your content is thin or your page hierarchy is messy, AI may send traffic to irrelevant or underperforming destinations.

• You have reliable conversion tracking. AI Max relies on accurate, value-based conversions to optimise bidding. Importing offline revenue or lead quality data informs the system which clicks are most valuable. Without it, the AI will chase clicks that look good on paper but don’t generate ROI.

• You have the bandwidth to monitor and refine. AI Max is not set-and-forget. You’ll need to review search term expansion, add negatives when necessary, watch URL routing and optimise creative assets regularly to maintain relevance and cost efficiency.

It might not be the right time if:

• Your website is weak. This AI-powered search tool for PPC can’t fix poor UX, slow load times or a lack of clear CTAs. It will simply send more traffic to an experience that fails to convert.

• You lack meaningful conversion data. Without imported offline sales data or lead scoring, AI Max may overvalue soft conversions and drive spend toward low-quality traffic.

• You operate in sensitive or regulated markets. AI-driven expansion could surface ads alongside unwanted terms or non-compliant placements. If brand control is critical and risk is high, tread carefully.

• You have a small or highly constrained budget. Manual campaigns may deliver more predictable ROI when every dollar counts. AI Max’s testing phase can require budget flexibility to learn effectively.

OMG perspective

The AI search optimisation in Google Ads is a multiplier in that it scales what’s already working. Brands with solid data pipelines, a clean site and mature campaign structure can use it to unlock new search demand, reduce overhead and optimise creative faster than manual testing. The transparency upgrades mean you can keep control while gaining scale.

For brands with shaky infrastructure, AI Max can become a cost sink. The machine will hunt for conversions, but with bad signals it often optimises for the wrong actions and wastes spend.

Measuring the ROI of AI Max

AI Max for Search changes how campaigns expand and optimise, but its value still comes down to one thing: return on investment. Measuring this requires looking at the right metrics and understanding how AI‑powered search tools behave over time.

1. Start with the right conversion data

AI Max relies on conversion signals to optimise bids and targeting, so your measurement must start there too. Track primary actions that truly matter to your business: purchases, qualified leads, revenue or lifetime value, and not just form fills or micro-conversions. If possible, import offline conversions from your CRM and assign values so the system learns what high-value customers look like.

2. Expect a learning period

AI Max has a ramp-up phase. Google advises waiting at least two weeks before making major changes while the system tests match types, headlines and landing pages. If your conversion volume is low, extend this window. Learning time depends on how quickly the campaign gathers data. Cutting campaigns too early can lock in poor adoption and stall growth.

3. Look beyond CPC

AI Max often discovers long-tail or emerging queries that traditional builds might miss. These clicks may be cheaper or more expensive than your usual CPC, but CPC alone won’t tell you if it’s working. Focus on conversion value, cost per acquisition (CPA) and return on ad spend (ROAS) to understand true performance.

4. Use the new reporting views

Use the Search terms report with the AI Max match type filter and the “Search terms and landing pages from AI Max” view to see how queries map to your headlines and URLs. In the Asset report, the Source column shows whether assets were advertiser-created or automatically generated by Google. The Landing pages report now often includes a “Selected by” indicator, distinguishing AI-chosen from advertiser-provided URLs. This is helpful for checking whether final URL expansion improves or hurts conversions.

Alternatives to AI Max for Search

AI Max is not the only AI‑powered search tool marketers can use to scale paid ads. Understanding how it stacks up against other options will help you choose the right mix for your campaigns.

• Performance Max (PMax): PMax remains Google’s flagship full-funnel automation product. It’s ideal for advertisers seeking broad reach and high conversion volume across multiple channels. However, it offers limited visibility into search queries and landing page selection, making it less attractive to marketers who want tighter search control.

• Smart Bidding without AI Max: You can still run traditional Search campaigns using Smart Bidding strategies such as Target CPA or Target ROAS without enabling AI Max for Search. This approach provides more keyword-level control and predictable spend, but lacks AI search optimisations, such as query expansion and asset generation. It’s often better for highly regulated industries or brands with strict compliance rules.

• Third-party AI bid management platforms: Platforms like Marin, Skai and SA360 (Search Ads 360) layer their own AI and search optimisation features on top of Google Ads. They can integrate with CRMs, analytics and offline revenue data at a deeper level than Google’s native tools. These are best for enterprise advertisers managing complex multi-platform budgets.

• Microsoft Advertising’s AI tools: Microsoft is expanding its AI-powered search ad capabilities, including Copilot Ads and automated bidding. While the scale is smaller than Google’s, brands running across both engines can use Microsoft AI alongside AI Max for a broader reach. Please note that this is still in rollout, and some regions may not have full availability.

Future developments in AI search optimisation

AI‑powered search tools are moving fast. Google’s push with AI Max for Search signals a future where query matching, creative generation and landing page selection become increasingly predictive rather than reactive.

Expect deeper integration of first-party data, stronger privacy-safe modelling as cookies disappear and more advanced conversion modelling that uses machine learning to fill data gaps. Microsoft is also expanding its Copilot Ads and conversational search ad formats, showing that AI search optimisation will not be exclusive to Google.

For marketers, this means strategy shifts from building exhaustive keyword lists to feeding AI better signals. Clean conversion data, structured content and clear brand rules. PPC agencies and in-house teams that combine human oversight with machine scale will stay ahead. Those who treat automation as “set and forget” risk ceding control and wasting spend as AI becomes the default. The winners will be brands that train, monitor and guide the machines.

Ready to conquer ads through AI search optimisation?

AI Max for Search is indeed powerful, but the real results come when expertise shapes automation. As Australia’s leading digital marketing agency, OMG combines over a decade of award-winning experience with world-class expertise to turn AI-powered search tools into revenue growth.

Whether you need Google Ads management, specialised SEO or a smarter website development, our team knows how to guide AI while protecting your brand and budget. Book a free strategy session today and let our Gurus show you how to stay ahead in the AI-driven search era.

About the Author

Andrew Raso

Andrew Raso, Co-founder and Global CEO of Online Marketing Gurus, has been instrumental in transforming the agency from a start-up into a $15 million global powerhouse. Since co-founding OMG in 2012 with colleague Mez Homayunfard, Andrew has leveraged his deep expertise in SEO and digital marketing to drive OMG’s expansion across Australia, the US, and Singapore.