The short answer
AI Max is a set of switches inside Google Ads Search campaigns. It lets Google match your ads to more searches, write new headlines from your website, and send people to the page it thinks fits. For a law firm that means three decisions: which pages Google may use, which words it must avoid, and who checks the ad text before it runs.
Google calls AI Max an optimization layer within existing Search campaigns, not a new campaign type (Google Ads Help). For a law firm it changes who writes the ad and who picks the page. This guide explains each setting in plain words and which controls to set before the campaign runs.
Key facts
- New Search campaigns have the AI Max feature turned on by default (Google Ads Help, read October 25, 2026).
- AI Max has three settings: search term matching, text customization and final URL expansion (Google).
- Dynamic Search Ads campaigns are being upgraded into AI Max. See our note on the change.
What are the three AI Max settings?
Search term matching lets Google show your ad on searches that are close in meaning to your keywords, not only the exact words. Text customization lets Google write new headlines and descriptions from your website. Final URL expansion lets Google send a visitor to a page other than the one you chose.
| Setting | What Google does | What a law firm should decide |
|---|---|---|
| Search term matching | Shows ads on more related searches | Which practice areas and places you do not want |
| Text customization | Writes ad text from your pages and ads | Words it must avoid, and who reviews the text |
| Final URL expansion | Picks the landing page | Pages it must never use |
Each setting adds reach and removes some control, so a firm should set limits before turning any of them on.
How do you control the text Google writes?
When text customization is on, you can use text guidelines, which Google describes as establishing specific term exclusions, such as restricted words or phrases (Google Ads Help). Use them for words your state does not let a lawyer use in an ad, such as promises of results, and for practice areas you do not take.
How do you control which pages Google uses?
Google gives you a URL exclusions control to prevent traffic from going to specific pages you don’t want customers directed to (same source). List old news posts, past-results pages and pages that carry no intake form. Note one side effect: pinned Responsive search ad assets aren’t used if a more relevant URL is chosen (same source), so a line you pinned for a required statement may not show.
How do you keep brand searches under control?
Brand exclusions is a campaign level control (same source). Use brand exclusions for competitor names your state does not let you bid on, and keep your own firm name in a separate campaign so you can see what it costs and what it brings in.
Does AI Max change your state’s advertising requirements?
No. Every ad that runs is lawyer advertising, including text a machine wrote. In Florida, any change of any kind to an advertisement makes it a new advertisement (Florida Bar handbook). Firms in filing states should ask whether text customization creates new versions, and check with their bar before turning it on. Our advertising rules by state shows which states review ads.
How do you tell whether AI Max helps?
Judge it on signed cases, not clicks. Send which calls and forms became clients back to Google Ads, as our signed-case tracking guide explains, and test AI Max on part of the campaign against a copy that has it off. Wider matching often brings more calls, and not all of them are cases.
What this means for your firm
- Check each Search campaign for AI Max, and write down which settings are on.
- Set URL exclusions, brand exclusions and text guidelines before the campaign runs.
- Have a person read the generated ad text on a regular schedule, and keep dated copies.
Probative Growth plans and runs Google Ads under your state’s rules, together with getting your firm found in Google and AI answers. Get my free review.
Last reviewed October 25, 2026 by the Probative editorial team. Marketing information, not legal advice. Confirm every rule with your state bar and your own counsel before you run an ad.
Questions about this guide
Is AI Max a new kind of Google Ads campaign?
No. Google's help page calls it an optimization layer within existing Search campaigns. It adds three settings to a campaign you already run: search term matching, text customization and final URL expansion.
Is AI Max turned on by default?
For new Search campaigns, yes. Google says new Search campaigns have the AI Max feature turned on by default, so check the settings the first time you create a campaign.
Can a law firm stop Google from writing its ad text?
You can turn text customization off at the campaign level, and you can set text guidelines with words the text must avoid. Because your state's advertising requirements apply to the finished ad, many firms keep a person checking the generated text.
Can we keep Google from sending visitors to certain pages?
Yes. URL exclusions stop the pages you list from being used by final URL expansion. Use them for old news, past-results pages and anything you would not want a new client to land on first.
Sources
- Google Ads Help: set up AI Max for Search campaignsAccessed October 25, 2026
- Google Ads blog: Dynamic Search Ads are upgrading to AI Max (updated June 11, 2026)Accessed October 25, 2026
- The Florida Bar: Handbook on Lawyer Advertising and Solicitation (Dec. 2025)Accessed October 25, 2026