Google Ads uses artificial intelligence (AI) at three levels: it can create ad copy and images, choose which searches to show an ad for and which page to send people to, and set the bid in every auction. These features run in your account and use its data. Another route is working by hand with ChatGPT or Claude: you copy the copy or reports yourself and upload to Google Ads only what you have checked. A third is a separate technical integration through the Google Ads API, when there is a lot of work and it repeats.
Below is a description of each built-in feature based on the official Google Ads Help Center (checked October 22, 2026): what it does, what stays with you, where to turn it on or off, and what availability limits apply. Google often changes, renames and gradually rolls out features, so check what you actually see in your own account before deciding.
Text customization (formerly automatically created assets)
What it does. In Search campaigns it creates extra headlines and descriptions that are combined with the copy of your responsive search ads (RSA). It draws on your domain, landing page, existing ads and keywords. Google says generated assets are shown only when they are predicted to perform better than your copy, and that they are refreshed at least every 48 hours.
What you control. You turn the feature on or off in the campaign settings (Campaigns → Settings → AI Max → Asset optimization → Text customization). When it is off, generated assets are no longer shown. You can remove an individual generated asset in the asset details; Google says removal cannot be undone. Text guidelines, in beta, let you exclude certain words or set a tone.
Availability. The Help Center says text customization supports all Google Ads languages, but previewing generated assets in advance is available only for a few languages (Lithuanian is not among them). The feature is now managed through AI Max, and Google says that from September 2026 campaigns using text customization are automatically moved to AI Max. Judge the quality of generated Lithuanian copy yourself: it is only as accurate as your page.
What is AI Max for Search campaigns?
What it does. AI Max is a set of Search campaign settings made of three parts. Search term matching expands which searches the ad shows for: it uses broad match and so-called "keywordless" technology, which draws on your ads and pages. Text customization is described above. Final URL expansion lets Google send a person not to the page you set but to another page on your site that suits their search better, and adjust the headline for it.
What you control. AI Max is turned on in the campaign settings, and individual parts can be turned off: search term matching at ad group level, text customization and URL expansion at campaign level. You can specify brands the ad should or should not be associated with, locations of interest, and pages people must not be sent to (URL exclusions). Reports get a separate "AI Max" match type, so you can see which searches it brought in.
- 1Campaigns
- 2Settings
- 3select the Search campaign
- 4AI Max
- 5Optimize your campaigns with AI Max
- 6Asset optimization: Text customization
- 7Save
Based on the Google Ads Help Center (checked October 23, 2026); labels as in the English interface. Turning off text customization also turns off final URL expansion.
What to watch. Google says these features need a conversion-based Smart Bidding strategy to work effectively (more on that below). If URL expansion is on and Google picks a different page, your pinned RSA headlines are not used. If you use tracking templates, check before turning it on that the expanded URLs open without errors. It is worth reviewing the search terms the expansion brings in regularly; how to do this with the help of AI is covered separately (Google Ads search terms and negative keywords).
What does Performance Max do?
What it does. Performance Max (PMax) is a campaign type that shows ads across all Google channels from one campaign: Search, YouTube, the Display Network, Discover, Gmail and Maps. You provide text, images and videos (grouped into "asset groups"), audience signals and conversion goals, and the system chooses where, to whom and which combination to show. PMax can also create extra images, videos and text itself.
What you control. Goals and conversion actions, budget, assets, brand exclusions, negative keywords (searches the ad must not show for), search themes, URL expansion and placement exclusions. In reports you will see results for assets, asset groups and channels.
Who it suits. Google writes that PMax suits businesses with clear conversion goals best. If conversions are not measured, or measured wrongly, the system will optimize for something other than what you need.
Smart Bidding: how automated bidding works
What it does. It sets the bid separately in every auction, aiming for more conversions or higher conversion value. Strategies: target cost per action (tCPA), target return on ad spend (tROAS), maximize conversions and maximize conversion value.
What you control. The strategy, the targets (e.g. how much you are prepared to pay for an enquiry), the attribution model and which actions count as conversions. A precondition is that conversion tracking is turned on.
What to watch. Google recommends judging results over a period in which at least 30 conversions have built up (50 for the tROAS strategy). For a small business with a few enquiries a month this can take a while, so do not draw conclusions after a week.
Conversational experience and Ask Advisor
Conversational experience is a chat window inside Google Ads where you describe your business and the system suggests ad groups, keywords, copy and images for a Search campaign. You approve or edit every suggestion yourself, and Google states clearly that the advertiser is responsible for their accuracy. The most important limit for Lithuania: the feature only works when the ad language is English, French, Spanish or German. It is currently not available for Lithuanian ads. It also does not work in sensitive areas such as politics or gambling.
Ask Advisor is a beta chat assistant powered by Gemini. It explains changes in results, helps with policy issues, suggests copy, images and keywords, and makes changes only after you approve them. The Help Center does not give a list of languages and countries: the assistant is shown only to eligible accounts and does not work in manager (MCC) accounts.
Image generation in Google Ads
What it does. When you create a campaign (e.g. Performance Max or Demand Gen), Google can suggest images from your page or generate new ones. There is also an AI image editor: background replacement, enhancement, creating different sizes.
What you control. You review every image and decide whether to use it. Google says generated images are not guaranteed to be approved, and the advertiser must check that they are not misleading and comply with the policies. Images created but not used are kept in the asset library for 14 days. All of them carry a SynthID watermark.
Availability. You can create images from your own description only when the Google Ads interface language is one of eight: English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese or Spanish. The account must have been actively running ads for at least 30 days and complying with the policies, and the feature is being rolled out gradually. Newer accounts may see only automatic suggestions. Images of children, well-known people and specific individuals are not generated. If you create images elsewhere, see the article on ad images with AI (Ad images with AI).
How is this different from working with ChatGPT or Claude?
The built-in features see your account data (searches, conversions, auctions) and run constantly, but they make decisions by their own logic, and you see only part of it. Working by hand with ChatGPT or Claude is the opposite: the model does not see the account, so it gets only as much as you copy for it, but you read everything that goes into the ad before you upload it. And it is not "one or the other": text customization, for example, also draws on the ads you wrote yourself, so well-prepared manual copy helps in both cases.
It is worth working by hand when the quality of the Lithuanian language matters, when the industry is regulated and every claim has to be checked, when you do not measure conversions yet, or when you want to understand why something is happening rather than just get a result. How to write and check RSA copy with AI is covered step by step separately (Google Ads copy with AI). Which chat tool to choose is compared in the article on ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot).
- 1Copy the ads or export a reportGoogle Ads
- 2Prompt with context and restrictionsChatGPT / Claude
- 3Read and check every claim
- 4Upload only what fits to the accountGoogle Ads
Do not paste customers' personal data, logins or API keys into outside AI tools. If you copy a report, keep only what the task needs.
The third route is a technical integration: the Google Ads API, Google Ads scripts (JavaScript code that runs in the account on a schedule) or automation platforms such as n8n. This makes sense when the same jobs repeat every week or across different accounts: collecting reports, updating copy from a price list, alerts. That is a separate project with testing and access management.
Which route to choose and when
| Situation | What fits | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Few ads, language and every claim matter | ChatGPT or Claude + checks | You review everything before uploading |
| Conversions not measured or measured unreliably | Fix measurement first | AI Max, PMax and Smart Bidding optimize for conversions |
| Reliable conversions, you want to reach more searches | AI Max (as a test) | Expands searches, while reports and exclusions remain |
| Clear goal, you have copy, images, videos | Performance Max | One campaign across all channels |
| Enough conversions, manual bids take time | Smart Bidding | A bid in every auction |
| Regulated industry | Manual work, turn on AI features with care | Generated claims need checking |
| The same jobs repeat every week | API, scripts or n8n | Automated, not copied |
If in doubt, turn on one feature in one campaign and compare with the previous period or through a Google Ads experiment (AI Max has its own experiment option). When judging, take into account the length of the period, the spend and the number of conversions: after a few days or a dozen clicks there are no conclusions yet. How to analyze such data with the help of AI is covered in the article on Google Ads report analysis (Google Ads report analysis with AI).
Sources
Google Ads: About text customization in Search campaigns: what it generates, from which sources, languages, move to AI Max (checked October 22, 2026).
Google Ads: Turn text customization on or off: the settings path, removing generated assets.
Google Ads: About AI Max for Search campaigns: the parts of AI Max.
Google Ads: How AI Max works: controls, turning off, reports.
Google Ads: Set up AI Max: turning on, turning off, dependence on Smart Bidding.
Google Ads: About final URL expansion: pinned assets, URL exclusions, dependence on text customization.
Google Ads: About Performance Max: channels, controls, generative AI.
Google Ads: About Smart Bidding: strategies, conversion tracking, 30/50 conversions for evaluation.
Google Ads: Conversational experience: languages (English, French, Spanish, German), limits, responsibility.
Google Ads: Ask Advisor (beta): what it does, approval, MCC limit.
Google Ads: About generated images: interface languages, account requirements, 14-day storage, SynthID.
Google Ads: Image editor: editing options, campaign types.
Google Ads API and Google Ads scripts: technical integration options.