Is AI Max Worth Testing? We Offer Tips and Results from Client Campaigns.

As Google pushes further into AI-driven search, AI Max is one of its newer AI-driven features available to advertisers. As it pops up in your account as an option, you may wonder: is AI Max worth a try? As Google Ads consultants, we’ve been testing AI Max since its introduction and are seeing improvements in performance compared to last year when Google first introduced it. It is becoming increasingly useful as Google expands ads in AI Overviews as it can help your campaigns be eligible to appear in AI results. In this blog, we take a look at what AI Max is, what types of accounts it makes sense for, and share observations from client campaigns where we’ve tried AI Max.

What Is AI Max?

Rather than a new campaign type, AI Max for Search is a suite of targeting and creative features within Google Search campaigns that seeks to maximize AI to drive performance. When you enable AI Max, you give Google control over three key inputs that you control in a traditional Search campaign:

• Search term matching: Instead of using only the keywords you provide it, Google expands into related queries beyond broad match that it predicts will convert.

• Ad copy creation: Google dynamically generates headlines and descriptions tailored to the specific query and landing page context, using your existing RSAs as a starting point.

• Final URL selection: Google can swap in the most relevant landing page from your site rather than sending everyone to the URL you assigned.

AI Max vs. Performance Max - What’s the Difference?

AI Max is part of Search campaigns. Performance Max is a separate campaign type that runs across Search, Shopping, YouTube, Display, and more. AI Max provides more reach within Search while keeping the structure and visibility controls that PMax doesn't offer.

What Accounts Are Good Candidates for AI Max?

AI Max works better for some accounts than others. Whether it works for you will depend on multiple factors, including conversion tracking volume, keyword history and type of account. 

Account Type	AI Max Fit	Why
Ecommerce with solid conversion volume	Strong fit	High conversion frequency gives the algorithm real signal to learn from fast
Lead gen targeting broad audiences	Strong fit	Query expansion finds searches your keywords were missing; works especially well for younger demographics with varied search behavior
B2B with defined ICP and lead quality requirements	Proceed carefully	Can work well, but lead quality monitoring is essential; AI Max doesn't inherently know the difference between a decision maker and a student researching for a paper
Low-volume niche or regulated industries	Wait	Not enough conversion data for the model to learn from; query expansion can burn budget in irrelevant territory
Brand campaigns	Skip it	AI Max on brand terms is a waste of the feature; keep brand campaigns tight and controlled
Accounts rebuilding trust in tracking	Fix tracking first	AI Max optimizes toward conversions; bad conversion data produces bad decisions at scale

How Is AI Max Performing in Campaigns?

We’ve been testing AI Max since it launched, and are seeing an overall improvement in AI Max performance compared to last year when it was harder to make the feature work well. Below we walk you through three examples - lead generation, B2B and ecommerce -  showing AI Max performance compared to Search over the past 30 days, with mostly positive results.

Case Study 1: A Lead Gen Campaign Targeting Younger Audiences

A consumer-facing service saw conversion volume increase by 31% and cost per lead drop 18% after enabling AI Max, with CTR up 22% at roughly the same average CPC. AI Max’s automated keyword expansion features were helpful for younger audiences that search with more varied phrasing than keyword lists tend to anticipate.

Case Study 2: B2B Account Focused on Lead Generation

A B2B account running AI Max on non-brand campaigns saw total leads rise 19% and CPL fall 11%, but average lead quality score from the CRM dipped 8%. Qualified leads still improved 9%, meaning AI Max found more of the right buyers even as it also brought in more of the wrong ones. 

Case Study 3: An E-commerce Campaign

A mid-size e-commerce brand running AI Max alongside existing Performance Max campaigns saw Search revenue grow 27%, transactions up 34%, with average CPC lower. AI Max surfaced long-tail product-specific searches that PMax wasn't covering on the Search network. The URL expansion feature helped route traffic to relevant product pages instead of the homepage, lifting conversion rates.

You Can Run AI Max As An Experiment

If you’re not sure if AI Max is worth a try, there’s a relatively low-cost way to test it out. Google allows you to enable AI Max as a campaign experiment, where you can run AI Max as a test against your existing setup. While the experiment allows for less flexibility to make adjustments mid-way without compromising the test, it is a lower risk way to get an initial readout and concrete data on whether AI Max could work. 

Our Final Take on AI Max

While AI Max is not a substitute for traditional Search campaigns, it has become a more viable opportunity than it was a year ago. Whether it makes sense for you will depend on multiple parameters, including conversion tracking, landing page quality, and campaign volume.