Microsoft AI Max is an optional set of Search features, but Microsoft says it is enabled by default for newly created Search campaigns. Scheduled Google imports can also carry AI Max settings across. Check both the campaign and its import schedule before assuming a Microsoft test has the settings you intended.
The same feature name on two advertising platforms does not make their defaults, reporting or migration plans identical. That distinction matters when an account is managed partly through imports rather than entirely by hand.
Reviewed 20 September 2026 against Microsoft's 27 August announcement. This is a planning and control guide, not a D4J performance test or a claim that a particular budget will work.
What is Microsoft AI Max?
Microsoft's launch announcement groups three capabilities under AI Max:
- Search term matching: uses campaign and website context to reach relevant searches beyond the keyword list.
- Text customisation: generates and tests additional messaging variations using existing assets and website content.
- Final URL expansion: can select a page that better matches the searcher's intent rather than always using a fixed destination.
Microsoft describes the suite as available to all advertisers, while actual campaign setup and account eligibility still need checking in the product. The announcement says it can be turned off during campaign creation or afterwards.
Microsoft reports conversion improvements from its own advertiser experiments. Those results are evidence about the studied campaigns, not an uplift to insert into your forecast. A South African business should evaluate its own audience, volume, lead quality and operational constraints.
Why Google Import deserves special attention
The announcement says AI Max settings can now be carried over through Google Import. For scheduled imports, corresponding Microsoft campaigns can continue inheriting settings when AI Max is enabled in Google Ads.
That creates a straightforward ownership question: which system is the source of truth? A manual adjustment in Microsoft may not represent the final intended configuration if a later import applies settings from Google again.
Before testing, record the import schedule, source campaigns, mapped destinations and settings included in synchronisation. Identify who may edit the source and who receives import errors. Do not disable a working import without understanding what else it maintains.
A practical example is an advertiser testing a fixed landing page in Microsoft while using broader destination selection in Google. The reviewer needs to establish whether the import preserves or changes that difference. It is not enough for the account manager to remember switching a control off last week.
Which controls and reports should you inspect?
Microsoft says AI Max respects existing campaign boundaries such as budgets, targeting, bidding strategies, negative keywords and conversion goals. It also describes brand inclusions and exclusions, plus term exclusions for generated creative.
The launch documentation identifies useful reporting views:
| Evidence | Review question |
|---|---|
| AI optimised match-type labels | Which searches came through expanded matching? |
| Asset reporting | Is generated copy accurate and appropriate? |
| Search-term landing-page reporting | Did the selected destination match the intent? |
| Business outcome records | Did the resulting enquiries become useful opportunities? |
Do not treat a report being available as proof that an account has meaningful data in it. Confirm the date range, relevant settings and whether the campaign has served enough traffic for interpretation.
Prompt-based messaging guidelines were described as coming soon in the announcement. Do not build a current approval process around an unreleased control without checking whether it has since become available.
Google and Microsoft have different DSA positions
Google's September migration concerns particular broad-match and automatically created asset settings, with its Dynamic Search Ads automigration planned separately. Our Google AI Max migration checklist explains that timetable.
Microsoft says it will continue supporting DSA until further notice. It also says upgraded DSA campaigns imported from Google will be converted back to standard Dynamic Search Ads campaigns in Microsoft Advertising.
That means a Google migration notice should not be copied into a Microsoft action plan without checking the corresponding behaviour. Document what is imported, what the resulting campaign actually is and whether its destinations remain appropriate.
Design a bounded test rather than a broad switch-on
Choose a service or product with enough useful outcomes to support evaluation. Agree a spend limit, a review owner and the business result that matters. Keep a record of the current goals and settings before changing them.
Where an appropriate experiment mechanism is available, assess whether it can support a useful comparison. Otherwise, be explicit about the limitations of a before-and-after review. Seasonality, different audiences, budget changes and delayed conversions can all complicate the result.
Keep the landing-page offer stable during the test unless it is inaccurate or broken. Review generated assets for unsupported claims. Check negative keywords and brand boundaries in context rather than assuming that broad reach is always wasteful or always valuable.
Use qualified enquiries or commercial outcomes where you have reliable records. A campaign that produces cheaper but unsuitable contacts may look successful in a narrow dashboard. Our enquiry-quality guide explains how to establish a more useful definition.
What should your next account review produce?
A useful review should leave you with a settings snapshot, an import-ownership decision, a list of observed mismatches and a clearly bounded next action. It should not conclude that Microsoft AI Max works or fails for every advertiser based on one account.
If you need to compare channels or define the test, see our paid-marketing scope or consulting approach. Bring the source account, import frequency and intended commercial outcome to the existing Discuss project form.
