Google’s automatic migration of Search campaigns using Automatically Created Assets and campaign-level broad match to AI Max for Search concludes tomorrow, ending a September rollout that reshaped query matching and ad copy generation for small-business accounts without a single owner-facing click.

The migration track for ACA and broad match was left on its original September schedule when Google, on June 11, separately delayed the Dynamic Search Ads sunset to February 2027. New DSA campaign creation is scheduled to close again in January 2027, per Digital Applied. The two tracks are often conflated, which is part of the problem: owners who saw the DSA reprieve headline may not realize their live campaigns already moved.

The mechanics matter. Broad-match users get “search term matching enabled by default.” ACA users get “search term matching and text customization enabled by default.” Both, per Google documentation as summarised by WebFX, arrive “enabled with settings configured to mirror your legacy setup.” That’s the exposure. Mirroring isn’t auditing. Thin negative-keyword lists, missing brand exclusions, and untested Final URL expansion get carried straight into a system that now decides which queries trigger ads and which landing page loads.

Google cites a 7 percent average lift in conversions or conversion value for non-retail advertisers “compared to using search term matching alone.” Independent retail data compiled by Smarter Ecommerce across more than 250 campaigns, cited by Digital Applied, shows a 13 percent median revenue lift, a 16 percent higher CPA, and ROAS outcomes ranging from plus 42 percent to minus 35 percent. The median is fine. The variance is the story.

For context on where this fits, see prior reporting on AI-run campaign spending and Google’s AI search visibility reporting.

The October reconciliation, when owners compare September performance to August baselines, will separate accounts whose conversion signals were clean enough to teach the model from those quietly funding its education.

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