Platforms in this story
In short
- Google sends an official reminder to all affected accounts on January 15, 2027↗.
- The automatic upgrade of DSA to AI Max starts on February 1, 2027↗ and runs until February 28, 2027; creating new DSA ad groups goes away during the window.
- After the switch, all three AI Max features are on: better to upgrade yourself, with your exclusions in place.
Google pushed back the end of Dynamic Search Ads (DSA), but did not cancel it: the automatic upgrade to AI Max starts on February 1, 2027↗. Until then, DSA campaigns keep running as usual, and Google keeps adding warnings.
What is the timeline for the switch?
Three steps are announced. In September 2026↗, banners appear in accounts inviting advertisers to upgrade voluntarily. On January 15, 2027↗, Google sends an official reminder notification to all affected accounts. Finally, the automatic upgrade starts on February 1, 2027↗.
The Google Ads developer blog gives the full window: automatic upgrade from February 1 to 28, 2027, with creation of new DSA ad groups permanently removed↗. PPC Land, a trade publication, relays the same window. Google's older general-audience blog only says the switch will begin in February 2027↗. So I treat the whole of February as the switch period, with no way to predict which day a given account will be upgraded.
What changes in an upgraded campaign?
Dynamic ad groups become standard ad groups, and Google says settings and data are carried over into AI Max. The difference lies in the features turned on: for DSA, search term matching, text customization and final URL expansion are all three on, whereas broad match campaigns upgraded from September 1, 2026↗ onwards kept text customization and URL expansion off.
Google says existing URL controls are preserved. The risk here is my own reasoning: a DSA campaign upgraded by Google can show generated copy and send traffic to pages you did not plan for if URL exclusions and negative keywords are not up to date.
Should you wait for the automatic upgrade?
I would not. Upgrading yourself before February lets you pick a quiet period, check URL exclusions and compare performance before and after, instead of going through a switch at a moment Google picks for you. The full context (broad match, language targeting, call-only ads) is in the guide to Google Ads changes through February 2027.