---
title: "How to turn off AI Max in Google Ads (and keep control if you leave it on)"
description: "Step-by-step: turn off AI Max for Search campaigns, switch off text customization and final URL expansion, add URL exclusions, and check which campaigns were auto-upgraded."
url: https://aiadsdesk.com/turn-off-ai-max
---

Google Ads · checked 6 November 2026

# How to turn off AI Max in Google Ads

AI Max for Search lets Google match more searches, rewrite your ad text and choose landing pages. Google moved campaigns that used automatically created assets or campaign-level broad match to AI Max from September 2026. Dynamic Search Ads are due to follow from February 2027.

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## Free check: is Google AI changing your ads?

6 questions, about 1 minute. Nothing you type is stored; we only count that the check was used.

## Turn AI Max off for a campaign

- In Google Ads, open **Campaigns** and go to the ** Settings** tab.
- Tick the Search campaign.
- Select **AI Max** and use the toggle to opt out of all AI Max settings.
- Select **Save**. Repeat for every Search campaign.

Google's help says that turning AI Max back on later restores the previous settings. It also says that existing URL exclusions or inclusions are ignored while AI Max is off.

## Or keep AI Max on, with limits

| Setting | What it does | Where |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Search term matching | Matches searches beyond your keywords | Campaign level, can be switched per ad group |
| Text customization | Google writes ad text from your site and ads (on by default) | AI Max → Asset optimization. Turning it off also turns off final URL expansion |
| Final URL expansion | Google picks a landing page on your site (on by default) | AI Max → Asset optimization |
| URL exclusions | Pages Google must never send clicks to | AI Max → "Add URL exclusions" under Final URL expansion |
| Text guidelines | Words and claims AI text must avoid | Linked from the Text customization section |
| Brands | Brand inclusions and exclusions | Campaign settings → AI Max → Brands |

## Which campaigns were switched automatically

- **From September 2026:** Search campaigns using automatically created assets (they keep search term matching and text customization on) and campaigns with campaign-level broad match (they keep search term matching on).
- **From February 2027:** Dynamic Search Ads, with all three AI Max features on.

We found no way documented to refuse the automatic upgrade itself. The control is to switch AI Max off, or limit it, after the upgrade.

## Questions

### Can I stop my ads showing in AI Overviews or AI Mode?

Not separately. Google's help says you can't target or opt out of AI Overviews or AI Mode on their own, apart from Search. Their results are mixed into your normal reports.

### How do I see what AI Max wrote or which pages it chose?

Use the search terms report ("Search terms and ad combinations"), the asset report and the landing pages report. Google marks AI-created text, and the landing pages report shows if AI Max selected the URL.

Sources: Google Ads Help (AI Max for Search campaigns, About ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode) and Google's blog on the DSA upgrade (updated 11 June 2026). Not affiliated with Google.

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