AI Max Migration: Is Your Account In?
An AI Max migration self-check takes two minutes, and five days is what is left to run it. Google's auto-migration of campaign-level Broad Match and legacy Automatically Created Assets campaigns closes on September 30, 2026, confirmed on [Google's own Ads & Commerce blog](https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/dsa-upgrade-to-ai-max-2026) and covered by [Search Engine Land](https://searchengineland.com/google-sets-ai-max-migration-timeline-for-search-campaigns-485006), and once a campaign migrates there is no opt-out and no rollback to the legacy setup. Agencies pull the migration timestamp straight from the Google Ads API. Most founders and small teams running their own accounts do not have that access. This is the UI-only version: what to look for, what it means, and what to do with whatever is left of the window.
The 2-minute check, no API required
Open a Search campaign that was still running campaign-level Broad Match or a legacy Automatically Created Assets (ACA) setup before September. Three tells confirm it already migrated. First, under Campaign Settings, a "Search term matching" control now appears and is switched on, that control did not exist on a legacy Broad Match campaign before this rollout. Second, under Settings > Automatically created assets, check the "Text customizations" toggle, if it is on and nobody on the account turned it on, that is the ACA cohort default flipping automatically. Third, open the campaign's change history and filter for system-generated entries around campaign settings in the last few weeks, a migration event shows up there even without API access.
None of these three tells require Google Ads API access or a developer token. They are visible in the standard Google Ads UI any account owner already has a login for.
Why this matters more without an agency watching the API
The deeper audit process, pulling campaign.aca_migration_date_time and campaign.broad_match_migration_date_time for an exact migration timestamp, is the right tool when someone has API access and is running a formal before/after performance comparison. See the full AI Max migration checklist for that version. A founder or small team managing their own Google Ads account rarely has that pulled automatically. For that account, the risk is not measuring the delta precisely, it is not noticing the migration happened at all until a month of spend has already run under new defaults nobody agreed to.
The last 5 days: what to do based on what you find
| What you find | What to do before September 30 |
|---|---|
| Search term matching is already on | Pull the last two weeks of the Search Terms report and scan for query types you would not have bid on manually |
| Text customizations toggle is on and you did not turn it on | Review the last few ad variations Google generated for off-brand claims or tone before more run |
| Campaign has not shown either tell yet | Decide now whether to let it auto-migrate or manually disable Broad Match/ACA, this is the only opt-out and it closes September 30 |
| Not sure either way | Treat the campaign as migrated and run the search terms check anyway, the downside of checking an already-migrated campaign is small, the downside of skipping a migrated one is not |
If you are not sure, default to caution
Google's migration runs in place, same campaign ID, same budget, same bids, so there is no dramatic visual change to tip you off. The safest default with five days left is to assume any eligible campaign still on legacy Broad Match or ACA has migrated or is about to, and to run the search terms and generated-copy review either way. Confirming a campaign already migrated costs a few minutes. Missing one that migrated silently costs a quarter of ad spend running under defaults nobody reviewed.
Who should own this in the final stretch
This is a two-minute check, but it needs a specific owner and a specific day, not a general note to "keep an eye on it." Catching a platform-forced default change before it compounds is the same discipline behind Microsoft removing Max CPC bidding and the earlier look at AI Max's claimed lift versus measured account performance, ongoing Paid Media and Analytics coverage exists precisely to make sure someone actually runs the check before the window closes, not after.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
How can I tell if my account already migrated to AI Max without API access?
Check three things in the standard Google Ads UI: whether Campaign Settings now shows a "Search term matching" control switched on, whether "Text customizations" under Automatically created assets is on without anyone turning it on, and whether the campaign change history shows a system-generated settings change in recent weeks.
What happens if I do nothing before September 30?
Any eligible campaign still running campaign-level Broad Match or legacy Automatically Created Assets will auto-migrate to AI Max by September 30, 2026, with search term matching and, for ACA campaigns, text customization turned on by default. There is no opt-out after a campaign migrates.
Can I still stop a campaign from migrating to AI Max?
Yes, but only by manually disabling campaign-level Broad Match or legacy Automatically Created Assets before that specific campaign auto-migrates. Once September 30, 2026 passes, or once a campaign has already migrated, that option is gone.
Do I need Google Ads API access to check my AI Max migration status?
No. The API fields campaign.aca_migration_date_time and campaign.broad_match_migration_date_time give an exact timestamp for agencies running a formal audit, but the standard Google Ads UI shows enough, a new Search term matching control and the Text customizations toggle, to confirm migration without any API access.
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