The open beta launch of AI Max for Search campaigns in the Google Ads UI will begin on 27 May 2025. Google Ads API is planned for v21 in August 2025, we want to ensure you're prepared for the open beta rollout and understand its potential impact on your API interactions.What is AI Max for Search campaigns? What is Changing? before full API support arrives in v21, there will be a transitional phase. Here's what API users need to know:
Feature Grouping in the UI : When a user enables AI Max for Search campaigns for a campaign in the Google Ads UI , several legacy features will be grouped into the new AI Max for Search campaigns settings:
Text customization (formerly known as Automatically created assets (ACA))
Campaign-level broad match (the setting itself)
Brand inclusions (previously tied to campaign-level broad match)
Campaign-level brand exclusions
Potential API Conflicts During Transition : Once AI Max for Search campaigns has been enabled and then disabled for a campaign via the UI, managing its associated features (ACA, brand list inclusions/exclusions) using any API version is subject to feature grouping and may cause errors. Starting with v21, AI Max for Search campaigns can be activated through the API.
Why? Disabling AI Max for Search campaigns in the UI during this interim period doesn't fully revert the underlying settings configuration back to the pre-AI Max for Search campaigns state compatible with older API versions for these specific features.Campaign-Level Broad Match : Attempts to toggle the campaign-level broad match setting via the API will be allowed but may function differently depending on the AI Max for Search campaigns state. Keywords will still be converted to Broad Match if the setting is enabled via the API, but the primary control mechanism moves to AI Max for Search campaign.Text customization : Attempts to deactivate text customization via API requests will raise an error if Final URL expansion is enabled in the UI. Mitigation - UI Warnings : To prevent accidental disruption, the Google Ads UI will display warning messages when enabling or disabling AI Max in Search campaigns for campaigns that use these legacy features, explicitly mentioning the potential impact on API workflows during this beta period.Recommendation : We strongly advise coordinating within your teams. If your organization relies heavily on API workflows for managing ACA or Brand Lists, be cautious about enabling and then disabling AI Max in Search campaigns in the UI for those campaigns until full API support lands in v21 in August 2025.
What Stays the Same:
You can continue to manage existing Search campaigns using ACA, campaign-level broad match, and brand exclusions via the current API version (v19) as long as AI Max in Search Campaigns has not been enabled and then disabled for those specific campaigns in the UI .
Ad Group level Brand Inclusions and Locations of Interest (LOI) pilots (outside of AI Max for Search campaigns) are ending. Functionality for these will only be available within AI Max for Search campaigns going forward.
Preparing for the Future - v21 and beyond:
Full Support Coming : API v21 (planned for August 2025) will introduce dedicated fields and services to fully manage all AI Max for Search campaigns features, including the new consolidated controls.Legacy Field Deprecation : Following the launch and adoption of v21, older API versions will sunset. At that point, the legacy fields for ACA, campaign-level broad match, and standalone brand exclusions/inclusions will be fully deprecated and removed from the API.
If you have any questions, please contact us on the forum .Bob Hancock, Google Ads API Team
