Google Ads AI Max Migration: What Changes in September 2026

01

What is changing in September 2026?

Google says the first legacy-feature auto-migration phase runs progressively from September 1 through September 30, 2026. It covers eligible Search campaigns still using campaign-level Broad Match or standalone Automatically Created Assets (ACA).

This is not a single account-wide switch on September 1. Individual eligible campaigns can migrate at different points during the month, so the useful unit of analysis is the campaign and its actual migration date.

02

How the two legacy setups map into AI Max

• Campaign-level Broad Match: Search Term Matching on; Text Customization off; Final URL Expansion off.
• Standalone ACA: Search Term Matching on; Text Customization on; Final URL Expansion off.
• Existing brand inclusions and exclusions are preserved during the in-place migration.

That distinction matters because AI Max is a suite of features, not one indivisible setting. A campaign carrying the AI Max label does not automatically mean every AI Max capability is active.

03

Dynamic Search Ads are not part of this September phase

Google moved the Dynamic Search Ads automatic migration to February 2027. DSA should therefore be kept separate from September 2026 reporting and migration checklists.

04

What advertisers should do during the migration

1. Identify Search campaigns still using campaign-level Broad Match or standalone ACA.
2. Save a pre-migration performance baseline and record current brand/location controls.
3. Capture the actual campaign migration date when it occurs.
4. Verify AI Max toggles after migration rather than assuming the full suite is active.
5. Review search terms and generated text where Text Customization becomes active.

Google Ads API v25.1 added aca_migration_date_time and broad_match_migration_date_time fields, giving technical teams a first-party way to identify when a campaign was migrated.

05

Treat performance claims as vendor data, not guarantees

Google reports that non-Retail advertisers using the full AI Max feature suite averaged 7% more conversions or conversion value at a similar CPA/ROAS than advertisers using Search Term Matching alone. That is Google internal data, not an independent benchmark.

The safer evaluation method is to annotate each campaign’s migration date, compare meaningful pre- and post-migration windows, and separate migration effects from budget, bidding, seasonality and other simultaneous account changes.