ScaleyDynamic Search Ads (DSA) in Google Ads
How Dynamic Search Ads work, why Google is upgrading them to AI Max, and the dates a store running DSA needs to know.
Written and reviewed by Christopher Krassnig
Published Last checked
Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) are Google Search ads that use your website's content instead of keywords to pick searches, and write the headline from your page. You only add a description. Google is upgrading DSA to AI Max: its help page says automatic upgrades of DSA campaigns start in February 2027.
Also called: DSA, dynamic ads
How Dynamic Search Ads Work
Google says DSAs "use your website content to target your ads" and can "fill in the gaps of your keyword based campaigns." When a search is closely related to the titles and phrases on your site, Google picks a landing page from your site and writes "a clear, relevant headline" for the ad.
Google's example: someone searches "luxury hotel New York" and sees the headline "Luxury hotel - NYC", then lands on the New York page.
You steer them by targeting your whole site, certain categories or certain pages, and you can stop ads for products that are out of stock. The display URL comes from your final URL's domain.
Dynamic Search Ads Are Being Upgraded to AI Max
This is the part to know in 2026. Google announced on April 15, 2026 that it is upgrading Dynamic Search Ads to AI Max for Search campaigns. On June 11, 2026 it updated the timeline:
- Automatic upgrades of DSA campaigns now begin in February 2027, after advertisers asked for more time.
- Campaigns using automatically created assets and the campaign-level broad match setting are still auto-upgraded starting in September 2026.
- When a DSA campaign is upgraded, its dynamic ad groups become standard ad groups, and all three AI Max features (search term matching, text customization and final URL expansion) are turned on, with your old URL controls kept.
Google recommends testing now rather than waiting. You can run a custom experiment that upgrades the test arm to AI Max, or use the AI Max experiment template. Google notes that campaigns made up only of dynamic ad groups cannot use the template. Read our AI Max explainer for how AI Max works.
DSA vs Responsive Search Ads
A responsive search ad shows on your keywords with headlines you write. A DSA chooses searches from your website and writes its own headline. Many accounts ran both: RSAs on known keywords, a DSA to catch the searches the keyword list missed. AI Max is Google's replacement for that catch-all job.
Example: A Store with a Big Catalog
Made-up numbers, to show the method. A hardware store has 8,000 products and cannot write keywords for every one. For years it ran a DSA campaign targeting its category pages to catch long searches like "stainless hinge for cabinet door".
With the upgrade coming, it sets up a custom experiment: half the traffic stays on DSA, half is upgraded to AI Max. It compares conversions and cost per sale over 6 weeks, then upgrades on its own terms instead of waiting for February 2027.
Common Mistakes
Waiting for the automatic upgrade
Google recommends upgrading early to keep control of the setup. An experiment lets you see the result first.
Targeting the whole site with no exclusions
A DSA on every page can show ads for your blog, careers or policy pages. Exclude pages that do not sell.
Thin product pages
DSAs read your site. Pages with little text give Google little to match or write from.
Questions People Ask
Search campaigns that use Dynamic Search Ads, which pick searches from your website content and write the headline from your page, instead of using keywords.
Google's Own Pages We Quoted
Every rule, limit and size on this page comes from these pages, read on 8 October 2026. Google changes them, so check the page itself before you act.
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