Industry · Status at source date: Newsletter archive
AI Max for Search exits beta and goes generally available globally
AI Max for Search Campaigns is officially out of beta and generally available globally as of GML 2026. Helen Gietmann shared practitioner experience from running AI Max across multiple clients: text customisation and Final URL Expansion (FUE) have delivered strong results, while search-term matching has been the more variable component.
What changed
Google's stated benchmark: confirmed on the official one-sheeter: is +7% more conversions or conversion value at similar CPA/ROAS for campaigns using search-term matching with text customisation and FUE enabled (Google internal data, Global 2026; non-retail advertisers).
A consequential nuance Helen surfaced: you can run AI Max without search-term matching, keeping your own keywords and match types while still benefiting from automated ad copy and URL expansion. In Helen's A/B tests, this configuration generated more conversions at a higher cost but better ROAS than regular Search campaigns. Two new GA additions land alongside: text disclaimers (FUE-compatible compliance language for regulated verticals: meaning legally required text appears in the first description line of RSAs and is preserved through final URL expansion, addressing the long-standing pinning incompatibility) and AI Brief.
Why it matters for advertisers
For you, this means AI Max strategy now has three structural variants worth piloting separately: full AI Max (search-term matching + text customisation + FUE), partial AI Max (text customisation + FUE only, keeping your existing keywords), and AI Max with text disclaimers for compliance-sensitive campaigns. Worth running the partial variant on accounts where search-term matching has previously generated weak query coverage: Helen's data suggests the creative and landing-page automation alone can lift performance materially. Availability: General Availability, Global, All languages.
Perspective from the original PMC newsletter.Sources & contributor credit
- Newsletter coverage · Paid Media Collective newsletter
Original newsletter text, contributor labels and media for this update.
- Source referenced in newsletterGoogle blog · AI Max GA
Linked from the original newsletter. The source publication date has not been independently confirmed.
- Source referenced in newsletterLinkedIn
Linked from the original newsletter. The source publication date has not been independently confirmed.
Original creator unverified
The names below are source credits. The original creator and first-reporting priority have not yet been independently verified.
Attribution evidence and limitations
Full attribution review pending.
A source link alone does not establish original authorship.
Original image and video creators have not yet been verified.
- Published on this site
This update reflects the dated source reporting. Availability may have changed. Further coverage of this same development will be added to this page.
Original newsletter text and archive evidence
AI Max for Search exits beta and goes generally available globally
AI Max for Search Campaigns is officially out of beta and generally available globally as of GML 2026. Helen Gietmann shared practitioner experience from running AI Max across multiple clients: text customisation and Final URL Expansion (FUE) have delivered strong results, while search-term matching has been the more variable component. Google's stated benchmark: confirmed on the official one-sheeter: is +7% more conversions or conversion value at similar CPA/ROAS for campaigns using search-term matching with text customisation and FUE enabled (Google internal data, Global 2026; non-retail advertisers).
A consequential nuance Helen surfaced: you can run AI Max without search-term matching, keeping your own keywords and match types while still benefiting from automated ad copy and URL expansion. In Helen's A/B tests, this configuration generated more conversions at a higher cost but better ROAS than regular Search campaigns. Two new GA additions land alongside: text disclaimers (FUE-compatible compliance language for regulated verticals: meaning legally required text appears in the first description line of RSAs and is preserved through final URL expansion, addressing the long-standing pinning incompatibility) and AI Brief.
For you, this means AI Max strategy now has three structural variants worth piloting separately: full AI Max (search-term matching + text customisation + FUE), partial AI Max (text customisation + FUE only, keeping your existing keywords), and AI Max with text disclaimers for compliance-sensitive campaigns. Worth running the partial variant on accounts where search-term matching has previously generated weak query coverage: Helen's data suggests the creative and landing-page automation alone can lift performance materially.
Availability: General Availability, Global, All languages.
Source captured . No explicit first-contributor label was provided for this update.
