Google is turning Dynamic Search Ads into AI Max

Dated October 25, 2026. Google is retiring Dynamic Search Ads and moving those campaigns to a feature called AI Max. A Dynamic Search Ad is one where Google picks the landing page and writes the headline from your website, instead of you listing keywords and writing every line. This note covers what Google has said, and what a law firm should check.

When does Google end Dynamic Search Ads?

Google’s post says the Dynamic Search Ads sunset and auto-upgrade, which will begin in February 2027. That is a later date than first announced (Google). Google also says that you won’t be able to create new campaigns with DSA in Google Ads, Google Ads Editor or the Google Ads API (same source). A firm with no Dynamic Search Ads campaign has nothing to migrate.

What happens to the campaign?

Google says campaigns containing dynamic ad groups will transition to standard ad groups, with settings and data carried into AI Max (same source). It also says all three AI Max features are turned on: search term matching, text customization and final URL expansion, with your old URL controls kept.

What is AI Max?

Google’s help page calls it an optimization layer within existing Search campaigns, not a new campaign type (Google Ads Help). In plain words, it lets Google match your ad to more searches, write new headlines and descriptions from your site, and send people to the page it judges most relevant. It includes controls to exclude brands and specific web pages. Our AI Max guide covers each setting.

Why does it matter for a law firm?

Every ad a firm runs is lawyer advertising, including text a machine wrote. If Google writes the headline and picks the page, the firm still answers for what a person reads. Firms in states that review or file ads (see our advertising rules by state) should know which text can appear before it runs. Practice areas with strict wording, such as injury, criminal defense and immigration, deserve the closest look.

What this means for your firm

• Find out this week whether your account has any Dynamic Search Ads campaign. Ask whoever runs your ads, or open the campaign list yourself.
• Decide which pages on your site Google may send visitors to, and list any pages it must never use, such as old news or a past-results page.
• Ask who will review the automatically written ad text, and how often, before Google’s upgrade starts.

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 to see how your account is set up today.

Last reviewed October 25, 2026 by the Probative editorial team. Marketing information, not legal advice. Check your state bar’s rules before you run an ad.