How to Prepare for the DSA Sunset and Move to AI Max

Mark the date: from January 2027 Google will stop letting you create new Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) campaigns, and from February 2027 it will start migrating them automatically into AI Max for Search. The sunset was first planned for September 2026, but the timeline shifted.

DSA as a standalone campaign type is going away: its functionality is being folded into AI Max — not a separate campaign, but a layer inside your existing Search campaigns. Three things change at once: targeting no longer relies on your site alone, but also on keywords, ad copy, budget and real-time intent signals; AI assembles ad text from your site copy and assets; and landing pages are chosen via final URL expansion, so traffic can land on any relevant page of your domain.

To keep migration from eating your control, before the deadline you should:

• switch manually and early, rather than waiting for the automatic move in February 2027;
• review AI-generated ads for brand compliance and set Text Guidelines — up to 25 search-term exclusions and 40 messaging restrictions;
• watch search terms and your URL exclusion list so expansion doesn't push traffic to irrelevant pages.

The practical details are laid out by Search Engine Land. The gist is simple: AI Max reaches wider than DSA but hands more decisions to the algorithm. Advertisers who migrate early and by hand keep control of budget and landing pages; those who let it autopilot in February 2027 risk blurred targeting and wasted impressions. There's still time to prepare, but the window is closing.