Google is going to start upgrading Dynamic Search Ads to AI Max from September, and that matters for any business or agency still using DSA as a useful catch-all layer in Search. Around Bath, Somerset, Wiltshire, Bristol, Dorset and Gloucestershire, this is less about chasing the latest shiny thing and more about avoiding a scrappy forced migration later.
The official line from Google is that AI Max is moving out of beta and will become the new home for Dynamic Search Ads, automatically created assets and the campaign-level broad match setting. Google says advertisers using the full AI Max feature set are seeing an average 7% lift in conversions or conversion value at a similar cost per acquisition or return on ad spend, compared with search term matching alone. That sounds promising, but the more useful takeaway for local advertisers is simpler: if you still rely on DSA logic anywhere in your account, now is the time to check what that setup is really doing for you.
What is actually changing
Dynamic Search Ads have long been Google Ads’ way of using your website to help match searches, generate relevant headlines and send visitors to a suitable landing page. For some accounts they have been messy, but for others they have quietly picked up useful long-tail demand that keyword-only structures missed.
Google now wants AI Max to take over that job. According to Google’s announcement, the September upgrade will cover campaigns using DSA, automatically created assets and campaign-level broad match settings. New DSA creation will stop once the automatic upgrades begin, including through Google Ads Editor and the API.
The important nuance is that AI Max is not being pitched as a completely separate campaign type. Google’s own developer documentation describes it as an optimisation layer inside existing Search campaigns. It expands search term matching, customises text and uses final URL expansion to send people to the most relevant page. It also adds extra controls around brands, locations, URL inclusions and exclusions, and text guidance.
Why this matters for Bath and South West advertisers
Many smaller businesses do not have sprawling Google Ads accounts, so it would be easy to shrug and assume this is mainly an agency-side housekeeping story. Sometimes it is. But if you run Google Ads in Bath for lead generation, ecommerce or local services, DSA may be doing more background work than you realise.
That is especially true where accounts grew in layers over time. A business may have a tidy core keyword campaign structure, plus one older DSA campaign catching extra searches for product variants, service details or longer question-style terms. If that setup migrates automatically later, without anyone properly reviewing page feeds, exclusions, brand safety and landing-page quality, you could end up with a broader system making decisions from a website that is only half prepared for it.
In other words, this is really a website and control problem as much as an ads problem. AI Max will lean on site content, existing ads and URL logic. If the underlying site is vague, outdated or full of weak pages, the automation may simply scale that muddle. Good search marketing still depends on clean inputs.
What advertisers should check before September
First, identify where DSA or automatically created assets are still active. Some accounts have legacy settings tucked away in campaigns that nobody has touched for months. Make a proper list now rather than waiting for Google’s prompt.
Second, review which pages you would actually be happy for Google to send paid traffic to. Google says legacy URL controls will be preserved during the automatic upgrade, which is reassuring, but it is still worth checking whether those controls are any good. Old page feeds, outdated service pages, thin tag pages or near-duplicate locations pages can all create confusion.
Third, look at your negatives, brand constraints and messaging rules. One reason this change could be genuinely useful is that AI Max appears to offer more steering controls than the old DSA approach. That may suit local businesses which want some automation, but not a black box running wild.
Fourth, test before you are forced to. Google is encouraging voluntary upgrades now, and that is probably sensible if DSA is important to your account. It gives you time to compare performance, watch search term quality and check whether the newer setup is actually sending people to better pages. We have already seen Google moving in this direction with other automation-first updates, including newer Performance Max controls and reporting. This is part of the same broader shift.
What probably matters less than the headlines suggest
Not every business in the South West needs to panic. If you barely used DSA, or if your Search account is already tightly managed with strong keyword coverage and good landing pages, this may be more of a tidy-up job than a strategic upheaval. And despite the noise around AI, Google is not saying keywords no longer matter. Search Engine Land reported that Google still describes keywords as an essential signal, with AI Max designed to expand beyond them rather than replace them outright.
That is the right way to read this. For most local advertisers, the question is not whether AI Max is good or bad in the abstract. It is whether your account is clean enough, and your website clear enough, for broader automation to help rather than muddy the waters.
So the sensible next step is not to rip everything up. It is to audit what still depends on DSA, decide which landing pages deserve more trust, and test the new setup while you still have time to steer it properly. Done well, this could be a useful upgrade. Left alone until September, it could become one more avoidable source of account drift.
Sources:
Google Blog, We’re upgrading Dynamic Search Ads to AI Max
Google for Developers, Get started with AI Max for Search campaigns
Search Engine Land, Google to retire Dynamic Search Ads in favor of AI Max
