Make AI Max work for your business with new testing and planning tools.

Ashwani Kumar — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 12:44:30 +0000

Make AI Max work for your business with new testing and planning tools.

Building on the one-click experiments in AI Max, we’re now introducing a way for you to test different budgets and ROI targets across multiple Search campaigns in a single A/B test. Rolling out in September, this will help you see exactly how scaling up your campaigns impacts your bottom line.

If you rely on specific brand or location controls, A/B testing just got simpler. New capabilities in AI Max experiments now let you run tests with these settings enabled, so you can confidently test the impact of AI Max without compromising those guardrails.

Performance Planner now allows you to see how changes, like bidding or budget targets, may impact your existing campaign performance. In one click, you can apply those suggested changes directly to your campaigns.

To learn more about how you can scale performance with Google AI and discover the latest industry best practices, secure your virtual front-row seat to Rethink 2026.

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Google has rolled out new AI Max testing and planning tools to help you systematically measure, forecast, and scale your Search campaigns before committing your ad budget. Released throughout September 2026, these upgrades directly address advertiser concerns about automation by giving you concrete data and guardrails to evaluate performance. [1, 2, 3]

The three core updates include: [4]

Multi-Campaign A/B Testing

Instead of evaluating automation in a vacuum, you can now test different budgets and ROI targets across multiple Search campaigns simultaneously in a single A/B test. This makes it easier to measure campaign incrementality and see exactly how scaling your ad spend impacts your bottom line before you fully deploy a budget expansion. [3, 4, 5, 6]

Intact Brand and Location Guardrails

A major barrier for performance marketers has been the fear of losing granular control over targeting when launching automated experiments. AI Max experiments now let you run A/B tests with your existing brand and location controls kept active. This allows you to safely test the incremental lift of Google’s AI without compromising your strict brand safety or geographic boundaries. [5, 6, 7]

One-Click Performance Planner Simulation

The Google Ads Performance Planner has been updated to forecast the precise impact of potential modifications to your bidding strategies or budget targets. Once you review the predicted simulation data and find a setup that aligns with your business goals, you can apply the recommended changes to your active campaigns with a single click. [4, 5, 7]

With Dynamic Search Ads (DSAs) scheduled for discontinuation in early 2027, these features are designed to help you transition safely to AI-assisted optimization by prioritising structured, measurable experiment design. [4, 8]

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