AI Max, Explained for Australian Marketers

Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode arrived without ads, but that’s about to change. AI Max is a new Search feature that extends existing campaigns into Google’s emerging AI experiences, placing ads alongside standard results. For Australian brands, AI Max opens the door to reaching customers as they grow more familiar and spend more time with AI-driven search.

The Near-Term Picture for Australia

• Behaviour is shifting. People are starting their research with longer, exploratory prompts and refining inside AI results, not just on the classic results page.
• What’s live, where? In Australia, ads already frame AI Overviews above and below the summary. AI Mode ad placements are testing in the United States and are expected to roll out here this year.
• Why marketers care. AI Max gives Search campaigns a path into these AI-led results using the copy you already provide and the most relevant landing page on your domain.
• Right-sized expectations. Controls and reporting are still maturing, so the practical position is to understand the scope, placements and mechanics of AI Max first, then run bounded tests.

What AI Max Is (and Isn’t)

AI Max is a Search-only feature set that extends your existing Search campaigns into Google’s emerging AI-led results.

It does not create a new network or a separate campaign type. By default, it serves from the headlines and descriptions you have already provided in your responsive search ads and broadens coverage beyond your explicit keywords. This is Google’s version of keywordless matching, where AI Max can surface ads against queries you haven’t named directly.

If you opt in to text customisation, Google can also generate additional headlines and descriptions from your site and existing assets so the ad aligns more closely with the user’s query. You can review or switch off those auto-generated assets if they are not a fit.

AI Max can also use final URL expansion when enabled, selecting the most relevant page on your domain for the query rather than the URL you set. The intent is to carry Search into AI surfaces as they roll out, not to replace Performance Max or other campaign types.

A screenshot of the AI Max settings for Search campaigns. Image credit: Bonfire.

Where AI Max Ads Show

AI Max can render as a standard Search ad above or below the organic results. That behaviour is live today and will account for most impressions early on.

In Australia, ads also appear around AI Overviews. They frame the AI summary above and below, similar to how ads bookend a results page. Ads inside the AI summary are not available locally at this stage.

In the United States, AI Mode currently shows ads beneath the AI response. Google has flagged deeper integration and an Australian rollout for AI Mode later this year.

Note: AI Max isn’t the only campaign type that can appear in AI-led experiences. Shopping, Performance Max, and App campaigns can too.

Placement of an AI Max ad above traditional search results and AI Overviews. Image credit: Google.

How AI Max Works

When a query is eligible, AI Max evaluates your existing assets and landing pages, then selects the combination most likely to fit the user’s intent. If final URL expansion is enabled, it can send the click to a different page on your domain when that page is a closer match than the URL you set.

For example, you might target the broad match keyword “bouclé couches” with a landing page set to your Couches & Sofas category. AI Max could then see the query “furniture for a first home” as relevant, generate a tailored headline and description, and direct the user to a more suitable landing page, all within your existing Search campaign and through keywordless expansion, without you needing to explicitly target “first home” during setup.

Two key factors to remember when using AI Max:

• The ad auction happens at serve time. Budget, bid strategy and Ad Rank still govern whether your ad shows, just as they do in standard Search. AI Max doesn’t bypass those fundamentals; it influences what is shown and where the click lands once you’re eligible.
• Your existing controls still apply. Negative keywords, brand controls and geo settings continue to shape where you show. You can also pause specific assets or turn off features that don’t align with your brand guardrails.

And when it comes to reporting on the performance of AI Max campaigns, it’s certainly improving over time but not yet as granular as mature formats. Treat search term, asset and landing-page insights as directional signals to guide your ad tests, rather than complete attribution.

Pros and Cons for Marketers

AI Max extends Search ads into AI-led results, and it comes with both opportunities and limitations.

Pros:

• Surfaces longer, exploratory queries that traditional keyword lists may miss through a keywordless approach.
• Captures “hidden” commercial intent that can signal new opportunities.
• Provides directional insight into how people phrase questions and searches.
• Early-mover advantage while competition in AI surfaces is still light.

Cons:

• Reduced manual control: Google decides which assets and landing pages to serve.
• Reporting is less granular than classic Search, making it harder to pin down performance.
• Brand safety tools exist but cannot fully guarantee protection when you’re not selecting every query manually.

Next Steps for Marketers

AI Max is live in Australia through AI Overviews, with AI Mode ads coming later this year. It’s Search-only and still developing in terms of reporting and control, but it marks the first step in bringing ads into Google’s AI-led results.

The pragmatic approach is to treat AI Max as an experiment. Allocate a small portion of spend, monitor the insights it surfaces, and be prepared to scale or pause as placements, controls and reporting evolve.

If you’d like to explore how AI Max could work for your brand, our senior advisors are here to talk through where it fits in your mix. Click here to get in touch.