A comprehensive research report on Google's AI Max feature - what it does, what the industry is saying, and what it means for the BusCharter account.
Google's AI Max for Search is an automation layer that expands keyword matching, generates ad copy, and reroutes landing pages - all within existing Search campaigns. Google claims a 14% conversion lift. However, independent testing from agencies and practitioners paints a starkly different picture: only 16% of advertisers report positive results, CPAs have increased up to 90% in controlled tests, and attribution reporting is fundamentally unreliable.
A toggleable feature inside existing Search campaigns - not a new campaign type.
AI Max for Search was announced at Google Marketing Live 2025 and is now rolling out globally. It adds three automation layers to standard Search campaigns:
Treats all keywords as broad match + keywordless matching to find new queries. Uses contextual, behavioral, and semantic data - not just keyword text.
Auto-generates headlines and descriptions from landing pages and existing ads. Runs without prior advertiser approval. Only 25 excluded words allowed.
Reroutes traffic to different landing pages Google thinks will perform better. Cannot be disabled independently - must be paired with text customisation.
One of the biggest questions - how much visibility do you actually get?
| Feature | Standard Search | AI Max for Search | Performance Max |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search term visibility | ✅ Full | ✅ Full | ❌ Very limited |
| Match type control | ✅ Exact, Phrase, Broad | ❌ All treated as broad | ❌ No keywords at all |
| Negative keyword support | ✅ Full | ✅ Full | ❌ Limited (added late) |
| Ad copy control | ✅ Full - you write it | ❌ Auto-generated without approval | ❌ Auto-generated |
| Landing page control | ✅ You choose | ❌ Google can override (URL expansion) | ❌ Google chooses |
| Network control | ✅ Search only | ✅ Search only | ❌ All networks (Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, etc.) |
| Attribution clarity | ✅ Clear keyword attribution | ❌ Claims credit for existing keyword conversions | ❌ Black box |
| Incrementality measurement | ✅ Straightforward | ❌ Requires manual spreadsheet de-duplication | ❌ Nearly impossible |
Current account structure and performance - last 30 days
| Campaign | Spend | Clicks | Conv. | CPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minibus CBD (BusCharter) | $7,690 | 2,154 | 808 | $9.52 |
| Brand [Global] | $6,527 | 1,802 | 634 | $10.30 |
| NZ | Whole Country Location | $2,569 | 651 | 154 | $16.68 |
| Sydney | $2,497 | 283 | 157 | $15.90 |
| Sydney [Mobile Only] | $1,991 | 374 | 118 | $16.87 |
| Melbourne | $1,899 | 236 | 165 | $11.51 |
| Melbourne [Mobile Only] | $1,330 | 283 | 93 | $14.30 |
| Auckland Location Based [NZ] | $1,146 | 266 | 69 | $16.61 |
PMax ran July-September 2025 across 4 campaigns, then was paused for poor results.
| Campaign | Month | Spend | Clicks | Impressions | CTR | Conv. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney [PMax] | Jul 2025 | $1,725 | 853 | 70,369 | 1.2% | 214 |
| Melbourne [PMax] | Jul 2025 | $1,549 | 619 | 62,145 | 1.0% | 125 |
| Brisbane [PMax] | Jul 2025 | $2,083 | 797 | 68,250 | 1.2% | 168 |
| NZ [PMax] | Jul 2025 | $46 | 38 | 2,208 | 1.7% | 1 |
| Sydney [PMax] | Aug 2025 | $4,924 | 1,687 | 72,584 | 2.3% | 528 |
| Melbourne [PMax] | Aug 2025 | $3,666 | 1,153 | 90,621 | 1.3% | 291 |
| Brisbane [PMax] | Aug 2025 | $4,189 | 1,245 | 81,871 | 1.5% | 382 |
| NZ [PMax] | Aug 2025 | $2,227 | 1,078 | 90,509 | 1.2% | 180 |
| Sydney [PMax] | Sep 2025 | $4,507 | 1,271 | 40,661 | 3.1% | 728 |
| Melbourne [PMax] | Sep 2025 | $3,570 | 746 | 41,633 | 1.8% | 442 |
| Brisbane [PMax] | Sep 2025 | $3,579 | 814 | 43,000 | 1.9% | 413 |
| NZ [PMax] | Sep 2025 | $760 | 463 | 43,224 | 1.1% | 98 |
What Google says versus what practitioners are actually experiencing.
Public sentiment from practitioners, agencies, and PPC communities.
❌ "AI Max is just Google's way of turning all your carefully set match types into broad match without telling you. My CPAs went through the roof."
❌ "Turned it on for a lead gen client. Volume went up, quality went to garbage. Took 2 weeks to undo the damage."
❌ "The reporting makes it look like it's working, but when you dig into the search terms it's matching to competitor and irrelevant queries."
Reddit consensus: Overwhelmingly negative for lead gen accounts. Most common complaints: CPA increases, irrelevant search term matching, loss of geographic/keyword control.
❌ "Only 16% of respondents reported good performance from AI Max."
❌ "AI Max will target as 'opportunities' those pockets of traffic advertisers intentionally avoided, particularly competitor keywords and brand terms."
❌ "If everyone lets AI write their ads, your brand voice will sound like everybody else's."
LinkedIn consensus: Most experienced PPC practitioners are cautious or outright negative. Google reps are bullish. The divide between Google's marketing and practitioner experience is stark.
❌ "For performance-based clients, it really hasn't been proven out yet. In most cases, unfortunately, it's two to three times higher than our traditional search."
❌ "Generated keywords were so broad - or only tangentially linked to a category. There's a lot of optimization that needs to happen... it almost defeats the purpose."
❌ "The time savings were negligible. In some cases, we spent more time correcting errors than we would have crafting the ads manually."
❌ "AI is tactical, not strategic - it optimizes for quick conversions without understanding brand positioning, competitive dynamics, or customer lifetime value."
"Disabling creative features has produced good results. You have to be willing to part with some tactical and strategic control."
From the PPCChat community discussion (moderated by Ginny Marvin, Google Ads):
Why this account is particularly vulnerable to AI Max problems.
AI Max could serve Sydney ads to Melbourne users or mix AUS/NZ traffic. Your carefully segmented city-by-city structure - the backbone of your account - would be undermined. URL expansion could send Melbourne searchers to Sydney landing pages.
Broad matching means queries like "how much does a bus cost to buy" or "bus driver jobs" could trigger your ads. For a lead gen account where every inquiry must be a genuine charter request, this is unacceptable waste. B2B lead quality drops of 18% have been documented.
Your target CPAs of $7-$16.50 leave almost no room for AI Max's "learning period." Google recommends budgets of 15x target CPA ($750/day minimum) - most of your campaigns run well below this threshold. AI Max will likely blow past CPA targets.
AI Max claims credit for conversions that would have happened anyway via your existing exact/phrase match keywords. You won't be able to tell if it's actually driving incremental leads or just stealing attribution from campaigns that are already working.
One documented case showed 69% of AI Max impressions came from competitor brand terms. For BusCharter, this means your budget could go toward people searching for "Greyhound" or "Murrays Coaches" - low-intent, high-cost clicks.
Performance Max was paused in this account after $32.8K spend with poor results and zero search term visibility. AI Max shares the same automation philosophy - broad matching, AI-generated creative, automated landing page selection. Different name, similar DNA.
Do not activate AI Max for BusCharter at this stage. The account is performing well with standard Search campaigns, tight CPA targets, and geographic precision. The risks of AI Max - CPA blowout, geographic muddling, lead quality degradation, and attribution manipulation - far outweigh any potential upside for this specific account type.
If Wade and Midori provide compelling lead-gen specific case studies (not e-commerce, not global brands), we would consider a controlled test under the following strict framework:
Where AI Max fits in Google's long-term strategy.
AI Max is not going away. It's part of Google's broader push to automate all aspects of Search advertising - similar to the trajectory of Smart Bidding and Performance Max before it. Google will likely make it the default for all Search campaigns in the coming months.
However, being first to adopt doesn't mean being smart to adopt. The data shows AI Max works best for:
BusCharter does not fit this profile. The account relies on geographic precision, tight CPAs, and high-quality leads. We should revisit AI Max in 6 months when: