News · Marketing

Google Delayed the AI Max Migration — But Not All of It

A closer look at what's actually changing in your Google Ads account this month, what's been pushed to 2027, what it actually does differently, and how to check your own account in five minutes.

Lonko Digital · 2026-09-22 · 5 min read

Contractor in a truck cab at a job site glancing at a phone notification

Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin announced in June that Google would delay its automatic migration of Dynamic Search Ads to AI Max — pushing the original September 2026 deadline to February 2027. If you run Google Search ads for a small business and haven't looked at your account since that news broke, you might assume nothing changes until next year.

That's only half true. Campaign-level Broad Match and standalone Automatically Created Assets are still auto-upgrading to AI Max this month, on the original schedule — no delay, no separate opt-out beyond what Google already sent. If your account uses either of those, Google isn't waiting for 2027.

What Google actually delayed

The part that got pushed back is specifically Dynamic Search Ads (DSA). Per Google's own Ads Developer Blog notice, DSA campaign creation reopened on June 15, 2026 after being paused for the migration, and the forced automatic conversion of remaining DSA campaigns to AI Max now happens February 1–28, 2027 instead of this past September. Google also plans to send an official reminder notification to affected accounts on January 15, 2027, and reports from PPC Land and Search Engine Roundtable both put the cutoff for creating new DSA ad groups at January 2027 — Google's own post describes that restriction as part of the February migration window without naming an earlier exact date, so if the precise cutoff matters for your account, it's worth confirming directly rather than assuming either date.

Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin told PPC Land the extra time was meant "to give advertisers plenty of runway and not interfere with the busy Q4 period," since the original September deadline would have forced migrations during October through December — when ad spend and competition both peak for most small businesses. Google also cited ongoing advertiser feedback comparing AI Max's page-matching approach to DSA's more precise targeting, suggesting early test results weren't universally convincing.

What's still happening this month

The delay only applies to Dynamic Search Ads. Campaign-level Broad Match and standalone Automatically Created Assets began automatically upgrading to AI Max on September 1, 2026, with Google's rollout completing by September 30. That part of the transition was never delayed — it's the same timeline Google set months ago.

If your account uses either setting, the upgrade may already be happening to your campaigns whether or not anyone on your team has looked at it this month.

What AI Max actually changes in practice

Beyond the calendar, it's worth understanding what's genuinely different about how your ads get matched to searches — not just when it happens.

Dynamic Search Ads worked by scanning your website's content and matching ads to relevant searches based on your landing pages. AI Max works differently: according to digital marketing agency Footprint Digital's analysis of the shift, it "tries to understand what the user actually wants in that moment" rather than relying primarily on landing-page content as the matching signal.

That's a real shift in how much control you have, not just a rebrand. Under DSA and traditional keyword targeting, you were deciding which search term triggers which ad. Under AI Max, keywords function more as guidance for the system than as strict rules, and several previously separate features — search-term matching, text customization, final URL expansion — get folded into one unified system rather than staying independently testable. In exchange, AI Max offers query matching that extends beyond your existing keyword list, ad copy and landing-page selection that adapts automatically, and, per Google, more detailed reporting on which specific headlines and URLs are actually driving results.

Worth being honest about the evidence here: Google's own claim is "an average of 7% more conversions or conversion value at a similar CPA/ROAS" when advertisers turn on the full AI Max feature set. That's Google grading its own product. Independent coverage acknowledges "early data suggests improvements" but, as of this writing, doesn't offer independently verified performance comparisons — worth testing against your own account's actual numbers rather than taking either claim at face value.

How to check your account in the next five minutes

You don't need an agency audit to find out where you stand. In Google Ads: go to Campaigns → Settings, select a campaign, and look for the "Broad match keywords" card. If it's there and turned on, that campaign is in the group auto-upgrading this month. One detail worth knowing: this setting only appears on campaigns already using conversion-based Smart Bidding — if a campaign isn't on Smart Bidding, campaign-level broad match isn't part of its current setup. For Automatically Created Assets, check your account-level automated assets settings the same way.

If your campaign type shows as Dynamic Search Ads instead, you're in the delayed group — nothing forces a change until February 2027. Use that runway deliberately: turn on AI Max for one campaign, run it in parallel with your existing DSA setup, and compare results before Google decides for you in the auto-migration window.

Either way, the mistake worth avoiding this month is treating "Google delayed it" as "Google delayed all of it." The DSA delay is real. It's just not the whole story.

The bottom line

Google gave Dynamic Search Ads a real reprieve, but folded that news into the same announcement as a change that was never delayed — and a real shift in how much manual control advertisers have either way. Reading the delay headline and stopping there is exactly how a small business ends up surprised by a setting change it didn't ask for, or misses the chance to test a real change on its own terms. This is the kind of platform shift Lonko watches so a missed setting doesn't quietly change how an ad account spends money — not because it's dramatic, but because it's easy to miss.