Google Ads

DSA to AI Max Migration: A September 2026 Audit Checklist

Updated: 9/12/26

Short answer: Google began automatically upgrading eligible Dynamic Search Ads, automatically created assets, and campaign-level broad match settings to AI Max in September 2026. Before and after migration, advertisers should verify URL controls, search-term matching, text customization, brand and location settings, conversion goals, budgets, and reporting baselines.

What Google is migrating

Google says remaining eligible Search campaigns using Dynamic Search Ads, automatically created assets, or the campaign-level broad match setting will move to AI Max during September. New DSA creation is ending across Google Ads, Ads Editor, and the API, with eligible upgrades expected to conclude by month-end.

For DSA campaigns, dynamic ad groups transition to standard ad groups. Google says historical settings and data are ported, legacy URL controls are preserved, and search-term matching, text customization, and final URL expansion are enabled.

Why a mirrored setup still needs review

A technically successful migration does not guarantee the campaign still expresses your strategy. AI Max can use broader signals and generate or select experiences differently from a legacy DSA structure. Small control differences can affect where traffic lands, which queries enter the campaign, and which messages appear.

Audit in this order

Conversion goals and business value
URL inclusion and exclusion rules
Brand and location controls
Search-term matching
Text customization and asset claims
Budget, bidding, and experiment integrity

1. Save a pre-migration baseline

Export campaign, ad-group, search-term, landing-page, asset, and conversion performance before the account changes. Use a mature comparison window that accounts for conversion lag. Record major promotions, bid changes, budgets, seasonality, and site releases so later comparisons have context.

Capture lead quality or revenue outside Google Ads as well. A migration can preserve platform conversions while changing downstream quality.

2. Recheck page feeds and URL rules

Review every inclusion, exclusion, page-feed label, and final URL rule. Confirm that low-value pages, policy-sensitive sections, careers pages, support content, and unavailable inventory cannot become destinations.

Open a sample of allowed landing pages on mobile. The page title, headline, product availability, location, and offer should support the ad message AI Max might construct.

3. Review search matching and brand controls

Compare search terms by intent, not just keyword resemblance. Build categories for core commercial demand, research, competitor, support, jobs, informational, and irrelevant traffic. Watch for new intent clusters after migration.

Brand controls deserve separate attention. Decide whether the campaign should include or exclude your own brand, partners, competitors, and ambiguous names. Confirm location settings match where the business can actually sell or serve.

4. Inspect text customization

AI-generated or customized text must remain accurate when separated from the landing page. Review regulated claims, prices, guarantees, shipping, availability, locations, and promotional deadlines. A technically relevant phrase can still create a legal or customer-experience problem.

Area	Pass condition
Claims	Supported on the destination page
Offers	Current, eligible, and correctly scoped
Brand voice	Clear and consistent with approved language
Destination	Matches query intent and ad promise
Policy	No restricted or misleading phrasing

5. Protect the measurement system

Confirm the same primary conversions, value settings, attribution rules, and offline imports remain active. Check that migration did not coincide with a separate tracking change. When two systems change together, diagnosis becomes much harder.

Monitor qualified conversions, revenue, margin, and conversion lag alongside Google’s reported CPA or ROAS. Create annotations for the migration date and any manual changes.

6. Use an experiment when possible

Google recommends voluntary migration and provides AI Max experiments. A controlled test is stronger than comparing two arbitrary periods. Keep budgets, promotions, landing pages, and conversion definitions stable enough to interpret the result.

Judge the test using incremental qualified outcomes and query quality. Do not approve broader reach solely because clicks or platform conversions increased.

Frequently asked questions

When will eligible DSA campaigns finish migrating?

Google says automatic upgrades began in September 2026 and are expected to conclude by the end of the month.

Will DSA history disappear?

Google says settings and data are ported into the new AI Max structure, but advertisers should still export a baseline for independent comparison.

Can I create new DSA campaigns after migration begins?

Google says new DSA creation ends across the interface, Editor, and API as automatic upgrades begin.

Sources

Published by Marketing That Clicks
Last reviewed September 2026.