Between September 1 and 30, 2026, Google automatically moved eligible Search campaigns to AI Max, and there was no opt-out. The change was non-reversible for the campaigns it touched, so Korean and Japanese brands selling in the United States cannot undo it. The work now is an audit: confirm what Google turned on, lock down what it did not, and tighten the settings that AI Max relies on, starting with keywords it can match loosely, ad text it can rewrite, and the language controls Google began removing in late September.
Key points
- No opt-out window: Google migrated eligible Search campaigns to AI Max across September 1 to 30, 2026, and the switch was non-reversible.
- Two features turned on: Migrated campaigns gained AI-powered search-term matching and automatic text customization.
- One control you keep: Final URL expansion was not enabled automatically, so you decide whether Google can send traffic to other pages.
- Language setting is leaving: Google began removing the campaign-level language setting from Search and AI Max campaigns in late September 2026.
- Audit, do not panic: The priority is governing the inputs AI Max now reads, your terms, exclusions, and landing pages.
- What actually changed in September 2026
- Why this hits Korean and Japanese brands harder
- The AI Max migration audit, setting by setting
- Should you leave Final URL expansion off?
- What the disappearing language setting means
- A five-step audit you can run this week
- Frequently asked questions
- The bottom line
- Sources
What actually changed in September 2026
Google AI Max is a set of features layered onto standard Search campaigns, and in September 2026 Google applied it to eligible campaigns automatically rather than asking advertisers to turn it on. The migration ran from September 1 to 30, 2026, and once a campaign moved, the change could not be reversed. If you manage U.S. Search campaigns for a Korean or Japanese brand, assume any eligible campaign has already been affected.
Two capabilities came with the migration. The first is AI-powered search-term matching, which lets Google match your ads to queries beyond your explicit keyword list using its own understanding of intent. The second is text customization, which lets Google adjust your headlines and descriptions to fit the query it matched. Both expand how far your ads can travel and how much of your copy Google can rewrite on the fly. Our earlier note on the AI Max search terms and ad combinations report covers where to see what these features actually served.
One thing Google did not switch on automatically was Final URL expansion, the feature that can route a click to a page other than your set landing page. Leaving that off by default gave advertisers a meaningful piece of control to keep. That single default is the difference between AI Max broadening your matching and AI Max also choosing your destination pages.
Why this hits Korean and Japanese brands harder
When Google matches on intent and rewrites ad text, it leans on the words it finds in your account and on your site. For a Korean or Japanese brand entering the United States, that is exactly where mismatch risk lives. Product names transliterated from Korean or Japanese, ingredient terms that read differently to a U.S. shopper, and category words that mean one thing in Seoul or Tokyo and another in Los Angeles can all steer AI-powered matching toward queries you did not intend.
Text customization raises the same question for brand voice. If Google reshapes a headline to match a loose query, a carefully built U.S. positioning line can shift into wording the brand never approved. This is the practical reason the audit matters more for brands whose source language is not English. The controls that used to be optional cleanup are now the guardrails that keep AI Max inside your intended market and message.
The AI Max migration audit, setting by setting
The fastest way to regain control is to walk each affected setting and decide, deliberately, what AI Max may and may not do. The table below maps each change to the action that puts you back in the driver’s seat.
| Setting after migration | Default state | What to audit now |
|---|---|---|
| AI-powered search-term matching | On | Review served search terms, add brand and category exclusions for off-intent queries |
| Text customization | On | Check which headlines Google rewrote, pin the lines that carry U.S. positioning |
| Final URL expansion | Off | Decide intentionally, leave off unless your site structure supports it |
| Campaign-level language setting | Being removed | Confirm targeting logic still holds without it, review which markets you reach |
What the table shows: the four AI Max settings a migrated campaign should audit first and the control action for each. Source: Calywire, November 2026, based on Google’s September 2026 AI Max migration.
Should you leave Final URL expansion off?
For most Korean and Japanese brands early in U.S. launch, yes, leave Final URL expansion off. The feature can send a click to a page Google selects from your site rather than the landing page you set, and that only helps when your site has deep, well-organized pages that each match a clear intent. A brand with a thin U.S. catalog or a single hero landing page gains little and risks sending shoppers to pages that were never built to convert paid traffic.
Because Google kept this one off by default, you do not have to race to change anything. Treat it as a decision to make later, once your U.S. site has enough indexed, conversion-ready pages to justify letting Google choose among them. Until then, the off setting keeps your message and your destination aligned.
What the disappearing language setting means
In late September 2026, Google began removing the campaign-level language setting from Search and AI Max campaigns. That setting historically let advertisers tell Google which language a campaign’s audience used. With it going away, targeting leans more on Google’s own read of the query and the user, which again puts weight on how clearly your account signals who you are selling to.
For brands running both U.S. English campaigns and campaigns aimed at Korean or Japanese speakers inside the United States, confirm your structure still separates those audiences through other means, such as dedicated campaigns, geographic signals, and distinct creative. Our piece on Google Ads expanding AI Mode internationally is a useful companion for thinking through multilingual reach as these controls change.
A five-step audit you can run this week
This is procedural, so here is an order of operations a marketer can follow without waiting on anyone.
- Pull the search terms report for every migrated campaign and flag queries that fall outside your U.S. intent, especially transliterated or category-ambiguous terms.
- Add negative keywords and brand exclusions for the off-intent queries you flagged, then recheck after a few days of fresh data.
- Open the ad combinations view and confirm which headlines text customization rewrote. Pin the headlines that carry approved U.S. positioning so they cannot be altered.
- Confirm Final URL expansion is off, and only consider turning it on once your U.S. site has enough conversion-ready pages to support it.
- Re-check targeting now that the campaign-level language setting is leaving, and make sure audience separation lives in campaign structure and geography, not in the retired setting.
If you run several budgets across markets, the newer channel prioritization and budget allocation controls give you another lever to keep spend aligned with the campaigns you most trust after the migration.
Frequently asked questions
Can I move my campaign back off AI Max?
No. For campaigns affected during the September 1 to 30, 2026 migration, the change was non-reversible. There is no toggle to return a migrated campaign to its pre-AI Max state. The practical response is to audit the features that came with the migration, govern search-term matching with exclusions, manage text customization by pinning approved copy, and keep the controls Google left in your hands, such as Final URL expansion.
Did Google turn on Final URL expansion for me?
Not automatically. Final URL expansion was not enabled as part of the migration, so unless someone on your team switched it on, it remains off. That means Google is matching your ads more broadly but still sending clicks to the landing pages you set. Confirm the setting in each campaign, then decide deliberately whether your U.S. site is deep enough to benefit from letting Google choose destination pages.
Why does the language setting removal matter for my brand?
Google began removing the campaign-level language setting from Search and AI Max campaigns in late September 2026. If your campaigns relied on that setting to separate a U.S. English audience from Korean or Japanese speakers in the United States, that separation now has to come from campaign structure, geographic targeting, and distinct creative instead. Review your setup so the right audiences keep seeing the right ads without the retired control.
What should I audit first after the migration?
Start with the search terms report. AI-powered matching is the change most likely to spend budget on queries you did not intend, and for brands with transliterated product or ingredient names that risk is higher. Add exclusions for off-intent queries, then move to text customization and pin the headlines that carry your approved U.S. positioning. Those two steps recover the most control in the least time.
The bottom line
The September 2026 AI Max migration was automatic and permanent, so the question is no longer whether to adopt it but how tightly you govern it. For Korean and Japanese brands, that means auditing search-term matching, managing text customization, and keeping deliberate control of Final URL expansion and audience targeting as the language setting goes away. If you want a second set of eyes on how your migrated U.S. campaigns are matching and spending now, Calywire helps consumer brands from Korea and Japan tune their Google Ads for the U.S. market.
Sources
- Calywire (2026): Google Ads AI Max September 2026 Migration
- Fluxary (2026): Google AI Max Forced Migration, September 2026
- Grow With BA (2026): Google AI Max Migration: What To Do
- Common Thread Collective (2026): Google Ads AI Max Now Shows the Full Search Journey
