About AI Max experiments

AI Max for Search campaigns (also known as 'AI Max' for short) are a comprehensive suite of targeting and creative enhancements for search campaigns. Two main features, search term matching and asset optimisation, leverage Google AI to optimise your ads in real time and tailor your creative message to reach your customers and drive more value for your business.

This article describes how AI Max for Search experiments work. This approach is aimed at delivering faster results and reducing some of the common experimentation errors by diverting traffic and budget within the existing campaign (instead of creating a campaign copy for the experiment's treatment arm).

On this page

• Benefits
• How it works
• Implementation steps
• Setup limitations
• Reporting
• Applying the feature
• Differences between new AI Max experiments and AI Max experiments using custom experiments

Benefits

This new approach offers several advantages (when compared to AI Max experiments using custom experiments):

• Faster results: By using a single campaign, you are likely to get results and insights more quickly.
• Minimal setup errors: With changes applied to both the control and treatment arms (since they are both within the same campaign), there is less chance of setup errors and sync issues.
• Shorter learning period: This approach is likely to have a reduced learning period since the traffic remains in the same campaign.

How it works

Search feature experiments are designed to enable advertisers to easily test key Search Ads features like broad-match keywords and AI Max settings.

• Control: A percentage of your existing search campaign with the AI Max toggle turned off.
• Trial: The remaining percentage of your existing search campaign with the AI Max toggle turned on.

When an experiment is complete, advertisers can evaluate performance and choose if they want to apply the experiment, which turns on the AI Max setting for the campaign.

Implementation steps

Set up AI Max experiments by selecting  on the Experiments page.

1. Click the plus button and select Campaign features and settings.
2. Select AI Max for Search campaigns.

By default, the experiment activates search term matching and asset optimisation, both AI Max features, at the campaign level. However, you do have the flexibility to disable search term matching at the ad group level and asset optimisation at the campaign level if you prefer. Your chosen settings only apply to the treatment arm of the experiment.

Similarly, you have the flexibility of using other features that are available with AI Max, like adding URL exclusions at the campaign level and URL inclusions at the ad group level.

Setup limitations

You cannot create an AI Max experiment through this flow if:

• the campaign has enabled legacy features like text customisation (formerly known as 'automatically created assets'), brand inclusions and exclusions, and ad-group location inclusions
• the campaign targets the Display Network
• the campaign is part of a portfolio bidding strategy
• the campaign uses shared budgets
• The campaign uses bidding exploration
• The campaign has any active experiments

Reporting

Experiment results can be found under the 'Experiments' tab through an expanded view of the 'Experiment summary' page when you select the experiment campaign.

Applying the feature

You have a few different options to apply results:

• When creating the experiment, there is an option to 'Apply your experiment changes if results are favourable'. You can select this during setup if you want the experiment to be applied automatically at the end of the experiment if the results are favourable.
• After the experiment ends, you can select 'Apply' from the 'Experiments' table.
• After the experiment ends, you can enable AI Max from the campaign settings page.

Differences between new AI Max experiments and AI Max experiments using custom experiments

Related links

• How AI Max for Search campaigns work
• FAQs about AI Max for Search campaigns
• About the 'Experiments' page (formerly 'Drafts and experiments')
• About custom experiments
• Set up a custom experiment