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Google moves Dynamic Search Ads to AI Max. The rest switch in February 2027

Google is folding Dynamic Search Ads into AI Max, with the last campaigns moving in February 2027.

Grzegorz Kubicki 24 Sep 2026, 10:00 reported from 1 sourcesGoogle Ads & Commerce blog
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Google said on its advertising blog that Dynamic Search Ads are being folded into AI Max. Campaigns that already used automatically created assets and campaign-level broad match were moved in September. Everything else follows in February 2027, a date Google pushed back from this month.

September moved the campaigns that already ran on automation

The first wave covers accounts that had opted into two settings: automatically created assets, and broad match set at campaign level. Those campaigns were the closest fit, because the machine was already writing headlines and widening the query set. For anyone in that group the change has happened, and the campaign now reports as AI Max.

The rest of Dynamic Search Ads switch in February 2027

Google had planned to finish the migration in September. It now gives the remaining DSA campaigns until February 2027. Voluntary upgrades have been open since April 2026, and Google’s advice is not to wait for the automatic one. The reason to move early is control: an upgrade you run yourself can be checked against the old campaign, while an automatic one arrives on Google’s calendar.

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Google puts the gain at 7% more conversions

The company says advertisers using the full set of AI Max features see about 7% more conversions, or more conversion value, at a similar cost per action or return on ad spend. That figure comes from Google, not from an outside audit. It also carries a condition, because it applies to the full feature set rather than to the upgrade alone. Google says hundreds of thousands of advertisers now run AI Max.

Brand and location settings arrive with the upgrade

AI Max adds controls that DSA did not have: brand settings, location of interest, and text guidelines that steer what the system writes. These matter most for accounts that were nervous about broad match. Related changes are coming from the other direction too, with Microsoft Advertising removing Max CPC from new automated bidding campaigns, and Google extending AI Brief and adding an AI Max journey report.

There is one place to look today. Open any campaign still labelled Dynamic Search Ads, check whether automatically created assets are on, and note the campaign-level match setting. Those two boxes decide whether the account moved this month or has until February.

Sources

  1. Google Ads & Commerce blog — company announcement, September 2026

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