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February 2027: Google upgrades your DSA for you
Dynamic Search Ads are being folded into AI Max for Search. Google announced it on 15 April 2026 and moved the date on 11 June: the automatic upgrade of DSA campaigns begins in February 2027. Two other legacy settings did move in September 2026, automatically created assets and campaign-level broad match.
Upgrade yourself now and you test the new features when it suits you, against what you had. Wait, and you get an upgrade that mirrors your old settings as closely as it can, but with all three AI Max features switched on. In the same month call-only ads stop serving and the budget split of Search campaigns with the Display Network changes.
What Google switches on during the upgrade
AI Max has three features. Search term matching shows your ad on queries beyond your keyword list that carry the same search intent, based on your site, ads and keywords. Text customization adapts headlines and descriptions to the query. Final URL expansion picks the page on your site that fits the query best. Which features you end up with depends on what you use today:
| What you use now | Upgraded from | AI Max features switched on | What stays |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamic Search Ads | February 2027 | All three | Your URL controls; dynamic ad groups become standard ad groups |
| Automatically created assets | September 2026 | Search term matching and text customization | Your keywords and ads |
| Campaign-level broad match | September 2026 | Search term matching | Your keywords and ads |
Google expected the last two to finish by the end of September. Check whether a campaign with campaign-level broad match already runs on AI Max; if so, new queries have arrived that you have not excluded yet. Once the sunset starts, new DSA campaigns can no longer be created in Google Ads, Google Ads Editor or the API.
- Which queriesDynamic Search AdsThose matching your site's contentAI Max for SearchSite, ads and keywords together, also beyond your keyword list
- The textDynamic Search AdsHeadline from your page, description from youAI Max for SearchHeadlines and descriptions adapted to the query
- The landing pageDynamic Search AdsPicked from your site, within your URL targetsAI Max for SearchPicked from your site, your URL controls still apply
- Steering in plain languageDynamic Search AdsNot possibleAI Max for SearchText guidelines and AI Brief, in seven more languages in beta
- Brands and locationsDynamic Search AdsThrough exclusions onlyAI Max for SearchBrand and location controls per campaign
- Creating new campaignsDynamic Search AdsPossible until the sunsetAI Max for SearchAI Max only, in Editor and the API too
The automatic upgrade in February 2027 switches on all three AI Max features. Switch yourself and you can test them one by one.
Moving before Google does it for you
For DSA campaigns Google provides upgrade tools that carry your settings and history over into standard ad groups. A one-click experiment runs the old and new setup side by side on part of your traffic, so you see what AI Max does for your account before it becomes final.
Google says campaigns using all three features average 7 percent more conversions or conversion value at a similar CPA or ROAS, compared with search term matching alone. These are Google's own figures for advertisers outside retail. What a click costs in your sector is in Google Ads cost.
Prepare your exclusions before you switch: queries you never want to show on, other companies' brands, and pages that never bring a customer, such as job openings or explainer posts. Final URL expansion sends traffic to the page that fits best, so your site shapes how well AI Max performs. A landing page per service that delivers on the ad's promise gets more out of each click than a home page that tries to say everything. The same pages help you organically too; if you are unsure where the budget should go first, read SEO or Google Ads.
Display, call-only ads and the new budget split
On 14 October 2026 Google announced two new settings for Search, Shopping, Performance Max and Demand Gen. Channel prioritization marks a channel as high or low priority; a campaign funds high-priority channels first. Budget allocation sets a maximum, as a share of the daily budget, for low-priority channels.
If you run a Search campaign with the Display Network on, something changes in February 2027: the current spend allocation goes away. To keep today's setup, set Display to low priority with a 50 percent budget allocation. On a daily budget of EUR 40, Display can then use at most EUR 20 a day. If you would rather keep Display out of your Search campaign, switch it off; what a good CTR in Google Ads looks like differs sharply between the two networks.
Call-only ads, which show just a phone number, could no longer be created from February 2026. From February 2027 existing ones stop receiving impressions. Replace them with a regular search ad with a call asset; for a local trade business that lives on phone calls this matters, see how Google Ads works for local businesses.
Where AI Max lets budget leak
- Queries you never choseSearch term matching looks beyond your list. Read the search terms report every week at first and exclude what does not fit.
- Pages that do not sellJob openings, news and explainer pages can be picked as landing pages. Remove them with URL exclusions.
- Copy you may not promiseText customization rewrites headlines. In a regulated sector, use text guidelines and the text disclaimers Google added in April.
- Your own brandWithout brand controls you also pay in AI Max for people who already searched your name. Decide which brands you do and do not show on.
Questions advertisers ask about the upgrade
Will my DSA campaign stop in February 2027?
It will not stop; it is upgraded to AI Max for Search with your URL controls and your data. Google notifies you in the account beforehand.
On which day exactly?
Google only says February 2027, without a day. If you upgrade yourself earlier, you do not have to wait for it.
Does AI Max cost more per click?
There is no separate price. What changes is which queries you show on and with which copy. That can push the cost per enquiry either way, so measure it with an experiment.
Can I steer AI Max in my own language?
AI Brief lets you describe your message, audience and fitting queries in plain language. Since 23 September 2026 it works in Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish as well, in a closed beta for now.