Google Ads · Status at source date: Newsletter archive
Google delays the forced DSA migration to February 2027 and makes AI Max the default
Google has pushed back the automatic migration of Dynamic Search Ads to AI Max from September 2026 to February 2027, as confirmed by Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin in response to advertiser feedback requesting more time. The ability to create new DSA campaigns is being restored from 15 June, reversing an earlier phase-out, and Google is adding account-level reporting for final URL expansion alongside a fuller slate of metrics.
What changed
Campaigns using automatically created assets and the campaign-level broad match setting will still transition in September 2026 as planned.
In the same update, Marvin confirmed that AI Max is now officially the default setting when creating a new Search campaign, moving out of beta after Google said test campaigns reached their first conversion faster in the first two weeks. Michelle Selfa, who supports the change in principle, flagged the practical risk: a default is not the same as the right setting for an account, and a net-new campaign is not the place to learn AI Max for the first time. Without guardrails in place: keyword expansion controls, brand protections, URL and search-term exclusions, messaging restrictions: the automation can expand into queries an advertiser never wanted.
Why it matters for advertisers
For you, this means the runway off DSA is longer, but the default has flipped: every new Search campaign now starts on AI Max unless you turn it off. Worth auditing the AI Max settings before launching any new campaign, and using the extended timeline to run side-by-side tests rather than waiting for the automatic upgrade.
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Google delays the forced DSA migration to February 2027 and makes AI Max the default
Google has pushed back the automatic migration of Dynamic Search Ads to AI Max from September 2026 to February 2027, as confirmed by Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin in response to advertiser feedback requesting more time. The ability to create new DSA campaigns is being restored from 15 June, reversing an earlier phase-out, and Google is adding account-level reporting for final URL expansion alongside a fuller slate of metrics. Campaigns using automatically created assets and the campaign-level broad match setting will still transition in September 2026 as planned.
In the same update, Marvin confirmed that AI Max is now officially the default setting when creating a new Search campaign, moving out of beta after Google said test campaigns reached their first conversion faster in the first two weeks. Michelle Selfa, who supports the change in principle, flagged the practical risk: a default is not the same as the right setting for an account, and a net-new campaign is not the place to learn AI Max for the first time. Without guardrails in place: keyword expansion controls, brand protections, URL and search-term exclusions, messaging restrictions: the automation can expand into queries an advertiser never wanted.
For you, this means the runway off DSA is longer, but the default has flipped: every new Search campaign now starts on AI Max unless you turn it off. Worth auditing the AI Max settings before launching any new campaign, and using the extended timeline to run side-by-side tests rather than waiting for the automatic upgrade.
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