In short: Dynamic Search Ads are ending. AI Max for Search hit GA on April 15, 2026, and from September 2026 Google auto-upgrades every remaining DSA campaign — plus auto-created assets and broad match — into AI Max, after which no new DSA can be created. Run an ADOPT_AI_MAX experiment now to measure the real CPA and ROAS delta before the switch is forced.
Dynamic Search Ads are on their way out. AI Max for Search reached general availability on April 15, 2026, and from September 2026 Google auto-upgrades every remaining DSA campaign, along with automatically-created assets and campaign-level broad match, into AI Max. After that, you can’t create a new DSA campaign — not in the UI, not in Editor, not through the API.
What changes
AI Max bundles search-term matching, text customization and final-URL expansion. Google reports about +7 % conversions or conversion value for the full feature set over term matching alone. The cost is control: matching, asset text and landing-URL choice move to the model.
The +7 % is a vendor figure for the full feature set — not a promise for your account. The point of the API experiment below is to replace that number with your own.
Why it matters
The granularity you lose is real, but Google built guardrails into the API in step with the rollout: enable_ai_max (v21), TargetingExpansionView for keywordless metrics (v22), MatchedLocationInterestView for geo performance (v23), and text guidelines with term exclusions and messaging restrictions (v23.1). Brand and compliance rules survive automation — if you set them.
How to automate the test
Don’t wait for September to find out what the upgrade does. Version 24.1 shipped an ADOPT_AI_MAX experiment type built for exactly this: run it across your accounts now, read the real CPA and ROAS delta on your own data, and walk into the forced upgrade knowing what it costs or earns. A script that finds every DSA campaign, launches the experiment and reports the delta turns a mandatory migration into a measured one — and gives you weeks to tune brand and location guardrails before the switch is permanent.
For how this fits the rest of the year’s Google API changes, see our Google API year in review.
