The days of building campaigns around long lists of keywords are fading. Today, AI-powered Google campaigns and features like Performance Max (PMax) and AI Max are changing the rules.

These keywordless campaigns lean on automation, audience signals, and machine learning to find new opportunities, often faster and at greater scale than humans can.

At SMX Next, three PPC pros — Nikki Kuhlman, VP of search at Jumpfly; Brad Geddes, founder of Adalysis; and Christine Zirnheld, director of lead gen at Cypress North — explained where PMax and AI Max fit into your broader campaign strategy, where humans still make the difference, and how to strike the right balance between automation and control.

AI Max for Search: Best practices and what not to do

AI Max for Search is not a new campaign type. It’s a one-click opt-in setting within existing Search campaigns.

Without requiring you to switch to broad match, it expands your keywords — similar to broad match or Dynamic Search Ads — using your landing pages and other site assets. It then personalizes the ad copy and landing page the searcher sees.

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The evolution from traditional setup

In the old setup, you might have used a keyword like “skincare for dry sensitive skin” that sent users to a moisturizer page with generic ad copy because you couldn’t capture every variation. With Google’s current matching, a specific ad group no longer guarantees that keyword will trigger that ad group.

AI Max for Search addresses this by generating ad copy based on the search query, making it more relevant and directing users to a landing page that better matches their needs.

Success with blog content

One area where AI Max for Search is seeing success beyond the norm is blog content. While DSA campaigns traditionally excluded blogs, AI Max for Search can now serve blogs as landing pages—and they’re converting. The key is that these blogs guide readers to specific products, not just general content.

The generated headlines are compelling and longer than what traditional RSAs allow, creating a more engaging user experience.

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Do:

  • Use it on existing campaigns with history and data, not brand new campaigns
  • Test it as a 50/50 experiment instead of an outright change
  • Use it on brand campaigns with brand inclusion capabilities
  • Apply it to campaigns not hitting budget that could use more volume
  • Review landing pages and utilize URL exclusions (individual or rule-based)
  • Use landing page inclusions at the ad group level
  • Review search queries regularly and add negative search terms
  • Enable both text customization and final URL expansion for maximum value
  • Turn off AI Max at the ad group level when specific ad groups drive poor traffic

Don’t:

  • Use it on brand new campaigns without data
  • Change all campaigns at once without…

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Last Update: March 13, 2026