Inside Google Ads podcast: Episode 82- AI Max Fears

Should you use AI Max? Is it optional? Are keywords going away? 

I know that there is a lot of fear and uncertainty about AI Max, the newest feature for Google Ads search campaigns. So in this episode, we're going to be answering your burning questions, debunking myths, ensuring you know everything there is to know about AI Max for Fall 2025.

I'm your host, Jyll Saskin Gales. I spent six years working for big brands at Google, and now I work for you. 

This is Inside Google Ads, Episode 82: AI Max Fears.

Because I was one of the first people to post a video about AI Max and write a blog post about AI Max, I get a lot of traffic on those things and I get a lot of questions from you. So I decided to bring 9 of the top questions I'm getting all together to answer for you today.

No BS, no fluff, just what you need to know.

1. Is AI Max optional? 

Yes, AI Max is an optional setting for your Search campaigns. If you choose to turn AI Max on, it unlocks three features for you: keywordless targeting, asset customization, and final URL expansion. You can use some or all of these features or none of them. So if in doubt, just keep AI Max turned off. At least for now, it is off by default. So you do have to opt in if you'd like to use it.

2. Can I still use keywords? 

Yes, you absolutely can. You can use Exact, Phrase or Broad Match keywords in your Google Ads campaign like always. Although as we know that matching doesn't work like it always did, that's a change that precedes AI Max. If you choose to turn AI Max on, it is like a layer on top of your keywords. So if you're already using Broad Match, you'll probably see the smallest impact from AI Max, whereas if you're using a tighter match type, you'll probably see the biggest change to your search terms and campaign performance from using AI Max.

3. Is AI Max helpful for search campaigns?

At first, I wasn't sure how to answer this. Like, what do we mean by helpful? So I thought I'd share anecdotally the kinds of searches that I'm seeing come in from my Google Ads coaching clients who are testing AI Max. It's a lot of really generic stuff like one or two word searches, and it's a ton of competitor terms.

Does that mean that that's what you will see when you turn on AI Max? No, but I've seen that across about a dozen different accounts now. That's the general trend. Really broad stuff that you probably wouldn't have chosen to advertise on, but that Google Ads thinks it has potential, when paired with Smart Bidding, of course. 

So is that helpful? Maybe, maybe not. Remember, AI Max still respects negative keywords, so if you've already negative-ed out all your competitors, you probably won't see much going on here.

I would say AI Max is most helpful if you are already using either Broad Match keywords or Dynamic Search ads, and you're feeling like you've maxed out on the available opportunity. Your Impression Share is getting high, performance is going well, and you need to expand your reach. AI Max is a way to do that. If you're spending like $20 a day on a few Exact Match keywords and you're still using manual bidding, then no, AI Max is not the solution for you. It would not be helpful.

By the way, if you want some in-depth step-by-step training on how to set up and optimize AI Max in your Search campaigns, that lesson is now live for my Inside Google Ads course members. I’ve got more than 100 tutorials covering everything you need to know about Search, Demand Gen, PMax, Shopping, even Local Services Ads, Video, and of course, AI Max and more. You can join Inside Google Ads today at learn.jyll.ca, that's J-Y-L-L dot C-A, or follow the link in the episode description.

4. Should I turn on AI Max now or wait? Is Google training this tool on our behalf? 

AI Max is brand new right now. It's been in testing for a while, but it's still a new feature. And we know that when new stuff launches, it tends to not work very well. Like when Performance Max first launched, my goodness, it was a hot garbage mess. The Performance Max you see in Google Ads today bears pretty much no resemblance to the PMax that launched a few years ago. And that was after it had already been in private beta for years.

So yeah, if you turn on AI Max now, you are absolutely using something that is in the very beginning stages. There are some advertisers I work with who love that and always want to test the latest and greatest new thing. And there are other advertisers I work with that want to wait until stuff like this has been live for at least a year or two before they feel comfortable testing it. That is completely up to you. And it really depends on the stage of maturity of your Google Ads account and of your own Google Ads skills.

5. Can you run an experiment with AI Max to see if it does what Google alleges? 

Yes, you can. It's fully compatible with Google Ads' baked in experiments feature. So feel free to do that. You could also try just turning it on and then in your Search Terms report, you'll be able to see what came from AI Max and what came from your existing targeting, your existing keywords or dynamic ad groups.

So you actually don't need to run an experiment, especially if you're at a smaller budget. You could just turn it on and see the incremental impact. But if you're a data person, you love A/B testing, go ahead, feel free to launch that experiment.

6. Should I move my budget from PMax to AI Max? 

Maybe or maybe not. What I recommend you do is in your Performance Max campaign, go to your channel performance report under insights and reports. If you don't see it yet, you will see it soon. It's coming out of beta right now. Scroll down past the pretty chart. The pretty chart is misleading. Scroll down to the table below and see how many of your impressions, clicks, spend and conversions are coming from Search versus the other PMax channels like Display, Shopping, Video, et cetera. 

If your PMax campaign is essentially just a Search campaign, then maybe it does make sense to switch that budget into AI Max, because in doing so, you will get some more transparency and control through a Search campaign with AI Max than you do through PMax. But if you see that PMax is bringing value for you beyond Search, then let it keep doing it and think of AI Max just like another feature of your existing search budget.

7. Should I turn on AI Max in my Broad Match campaign or start a new campaign? 

For the most part, I would recommend turning this on within an existing campaign rather than starting a new campaign. That's because there's a lot of learning that happens at the campaign level, at the keyword level, the bid strategy, and all those learnings are going to help AI Max get off the ground faster.

If you start a brand new campaign and turn on AI Max, it's going to have to start from scratch learning all that stuff. And it's also going to have to compete against your existing Search campaign.

So again, every situation is different, it depends, but for the most part, I would recommend turning AI Max on in an existing campaign rather than launching a new one. And if you want to feel extra safe, you can do it via an experiment rather than just flicking it on.

I know I'm throwing a lot of information at you today. And of course, as with all things in marketing, it often depends. So if you want to get my eyes, my ears, my brain on your Google Ads account, you can book a one-on-one Google Ads coaching call with me. Learn more on my website, jyll.ca, that's J-Y-L-L dot C-A, or follow the link in the episode description so we can talk about AI Max, all its nuances and how they do or don't make sense for your account.

8. Do I recommend AI Max?

Again, I struggled with how to answer this one, so I'm going to say, at least for the meantime… no. Not because AI Max is bad, but because most advertisers probably aren't in a situation where they're ready to start taking advantage of AI Max yet.

Also, Google tends to make stuff like this the default when they really want everyone to use it. Like Display Network in a Search campaign is the default. Maximize Conversions bidding is the default. Using AI to help you create your RSAs is the default. AI Max isn't the default yet. Maybe it never will be. I'm glad it's not the default! Don't get me wrong. But that means that even Google isn't totally recommending AI Max. So, I'm going to exercise that same conservatism and say for most people, it doesn't mean don't use it, but I'm not going to recommend that you absolutely should.

A genuine use case for AI Max is if you are already leveraging automation in Search, using Broad Match or Dynamic ad groups, running PMax that's going on a lot of Search, using Smart Bidding, have solid Impression share, and you want to grow further. This is one of the ways to do that.

Not the only way, by the way, Smart Bidding Exploration may help you out. Leveraging audiences, adding more keywords, adjusting your bid strategy, and adjusting your location targeting - there are a lot of ways to grow and AI Max is now part of that portfolio of how to potentially expand your reach in Google Search.

So if that sounds like you have at it, yes, I would recommend you at least consider testing AI Max. But if that doesn't sound like you or you just want to wait it out, by all means wait it out. No, I do not recommend testing AI Max.

9. Are PPC jobs at risk due to AI taking over?

I understand where this concern is coming from. There are many industries where people are concerned that AI is taking over. Here's why, as a PPC practitioner, I'm not concerned.

First, AI has been a core part of our jobs for a decade. Smart bidding, it's not new. Optimized targeting, it's not new. Even PMax has been around for three or four years now. We've been using AI for a long time. The rest of the world is just catching up. And yes, we're getting interesting new tools like chatbots and Gemini, but if you've actually tried using any of those tools for Google Ads right now, then you will see we should feel safe for some time. 

For example, if you ask ChatGPT or Gemini about Demand Gen in Google Ads, they do not get that Demand Gen is a campaign type and that I'm not generically referring to “demand generation campaigns.” If you ask them about match types, they'll use the pre-2021 definitions to explain how Exact or Phrase Match works. And we know that's just not how it works. They're trained on things like the Google Ads Help Center. And as someone who has read thousands of pages of the Google Ads Help Center, I can tell you that is not always how things work in practice.

So that's the next reason that I feel like PPC jobs are still secure, at least for the meantime, is because running Google Ads is both an art and a science. On the science side, we've been using AI for a long time. And on the art side, AI just doesn't get human nuance. When we're in a Google Ads account, it's easy to think like, we're just measuring impressions, clicks, conversions. What we're actually measuring is using our ads to get people to change their behavior, to visit our websites, to watch our videos, to buy our products, to fill out our lead forms. And it takes people to know how to connect and engage with people.

The third thing I'll say is that if you want to ensure that your job is not at risk due to AI, then you need to define how you add unique value. For example, as a Google Ads coach, I add value in a unique way because I'm able to take really complex topics and explain them in a way that's clear and simple so beginner through advanced practitioners can understand. And one step further than that, I'm not just someone who talks about this stuff. I actually do this stuff and show you how you can do it too. Sadly, those capabilities are rare in our industry, so that's how I've been able to build a successful business, and it's why I feel confident in my own future. 

If you want to feel confident in your own future, figure out what is the unique value or expertise you offer, and then find clients who value that.

PMax, it's here to stay. AI Max, it's here to stay. AI in general, it's here to stay. Times keep changing and the smart practitioners are the ones who are going to work with the automation rather than trying to fight against it so we can continue to drive excellent results for our businesses and our clients' businesses.

I'm sure that I will keep getting many more questions about AI Max, so please drop a comment to let me know if I should do another episode like this, in-depth on AI Max, in a few months, or if you prefer our usual three question format.

Thank you to my YouTube subscribers and Instagram followers who asked these questions. I'll share their handles down below: @ppc1001 @mohamedabdelkaleq4957 @segevmatuf @rickyriki-nt @Sam-p2i2q @imsach8821

Today's Insider Challenge is this. Let's say you're talking to a client and they ask you, should I test AI Max or not? How would you answer that question? 

That's right. I've got a communication challenge for you today rather than a technical challenge, because the Google Ads practitioners who succeed aren't necessarily the ones who have the best skills. They're the ones who are the best communicators. How would you explain this to your client? How would you answer their question?

The beauty of the Insider Challenge is there's no right or wrong answer, just an opportunity to stretch your brain on real life Google Ads problem solving.

Last episode's challenge, Episode 81, was this. Let's say that you go to check your Top versus Other Impression Share, and you find that more than half of your Search Impressions are coming from Other, not Top. What do you do? 

I would probably do nothing, but here's what I'd look into.

Remember, you don't pay for impressions. You pay for clicks. In Episode 81, I gave you example data from a real client account that showed they were getting the same number of impressions at the Top of the page and in the Other. But virtually no clicks, no costs, no conversions from Other. Most of that came from Top. Still, they did get some from Other, which meant at the end of the day, even though the click-through rate down there was way lower, the CPC was about the same, the conversion rate was about the same, and the CPA was about the same.

Smart Bidding was taking care of this for me. There was no need to try to over-engineer it. So as long as I saw something similar to that, I wouldn't do anything.

Now, what if a lot of spend was going towards Other rather than Top, but little to no conversions, meaning that it was actually an unprofitable part of my investment?

Remember my friends, root cause, not whack-a-mole. I would try to find the root cause of why that's happening. And my primary culprits would be ad rank: quality and bidding. Maybe I'm just not bidding high enough to hit the Top or maybe my quality score is just too low. So I would investigate each of those avenues and then act or not act accordingly.

Actually, the next issue of my newsletter dives into detail about how to improve quality score through expected CTR improvements, ad relevance improvements, and landing page experience improvements. So if you are not yet subscribed to The Insider, I'll drop the link to join in the episode description.

Did you have the same answer as me about Impression Share or something different?

I'm Jyll Saskin Gales and I'll see you next time Inside Google Ads.