Google has just announced a significant new automation feature for Search campaigns: AI Max.
It’s a significant shift, not just a new setting, but another step toward Google-managed media. For some brands, it could be a welcome simplification. For others, it raises important questions about control, visibility, and accountability.
In this post, Emily Falkingham gives us a quick breakdown of what’s changing, the pros and the cons, and our take on how advertisers should approach it.
The lowdown on AI Max for Search
Until now, Google’s most powerful AI-led campaign format, Performance Max, has mainly lived outside the Search ecosystem. While Performance Max campaigns could show on Search inventory, traditional Search campaigns still offered advertisers more granular control over keywords, match types, bidding strategies, ad copy, and targeting.
But that’s all about to change.
With the AI Max for Search rollout, Google is bringing more automation (the kind used in Performance Max) into standard Search campaigns. This means the platform will now be able to adjust elements like:
- Keyword matching and prioritisation
- Bidding strategies based on predicted performance
- Audience signals and segments
- Creative combinations using available assets
- Ad format delivery based on intent and user behaviours
Google’s positioning is simple: let the AI handle the optimisation so you can spend more time focusing on strategy.
On paper, that sounds all well and good. But, as with all automated tools, the real question isn’t what it does; it’s how it performs in real-world campaigns, and what can happen when workloads creep up and it becomes the easier option to use automation for everything.
Automation isn’t a strategy.
Let’s be clear: we’re far from anti-automation. We already use plenty of Google’s automated tools, such as Smart Bidding and Performance Max, where they make sense, are appropriately tested, and have a clear role in the broader campaign structure.
However, handing over more control to the Google overlords doesn’t naturally mean better outcomes, no matter what they tell you on those helpful account manager calls…
We’re seeing a continuation of a broader trend: Google is making it easier for advertisers to ‘opt in’ to a one-size-fits-most solution. On the surface, it looks smart: AI Max will handle your ads, bids, and targeting so you can get back to the big picture. But when you scratch beneath the surface, the questions start piling up.
That said, there are pros, too, so let’s take a look at those first:
The Pros
There are definite upsides to this kind of automation, especially for advertisers managing high volumes of campaigns or working with limited resources.
AI Max allows for faster deployment, real-time optimisation, and access to more data signals than most teams can realistically act on manually. It can help identify new search queries, adapt bids based on context, and ensure ads appear in the right place at the right time. It is handy when scaling or working across multiple markets.
If you’re a large advertiser or running a more generalist campaign where coverage and reach matter most, this could reduce setup time and deliver incremental gains without constant manual intervention.
The Cons
That said, convenience doesn’t come for free; greater automation often comes at the cost of control and transparency. With AI Max, you’ll likely see:
- Reduced control over exact match keyword behaviour
- Fewer levers for adjusting individual bids or placements
- Platform-determined creative combinations you may not be able to preview
- Less clarity around which audience segments are converting, and why
You’re not in Kansas anymore, put it that way.
This matters most for brands where margins are tight, compliance matters, or audience precision is critical. If you’re trying to maximise ROI on a limited budget, you’ll want to be certain you’re spending in the right places, so leaving it up to automation is not a smart move, by any stretch.
The Green Ginger Digital View
Used well, AI can enhance performance, speed up testing, improve overall efficiency, and uncover insights that would take humans longer to spot.
However, we always return to the same principle: Automation should enhance strategy, not replace it.
At Green Ginger Digital, we’re constantly reviewing and testing new features carefully, with specific client scenarios in mind. This means:
- We run trials in a controlled environment with clear benchmarks and business-relevant KPIs
- Compare directly with well-structured, manually managed campaigns
- We’ll only adopt what we can measure, trust, and prove.
For some, the AI Max update could offer additional reach and efficiency. For others, it might reduce the precision and insight that make their performance marketing successful in the first place.
TLDR: Test it, but don’t blindly trust it
AI Max for Search isn’t a silver bullet, and advertisers should approach it with caution.
It might offer real gains if you’re a brand running high-volume activity and looking to scale. But if you rely on visibility, segmentation, and control to stay profitable, you’ll want to determine whether the trade-offs make sense.
As always, we’ll test, learn, and advise our clients accordingly, focusing on what truly drives value. Automation might save time, but growth still takes strategy, which takes experience and skill to deliver successfully, and that’s really what we’re selling here at Green Ginger Digital.
If you’d like to speak to one of our team members for support with Maximise Performance or any other aspect of your Performance Marketing, get in touch.
Stay tuned for more updates on AI and automation. If you missed our recent post on recent Meta updates, you can check that out here.
