When DSA campaigns are retired in February 2027, advertisers will migrate DSA traffic into AI Max for Search or into Broad Match keywords with Smart Bidding — or both. Understanding the practical differences helps you choose the right migration path.
The Fundamental Difference
Broad Match + Smart Bidding:
You provide keywords. Smart Bidding decides bid amounts. Broad Match allows the AI to match those keywords to related queries. You still manage a keyword list — but the AI interprets and expands it.
AI Max for Search:
You provide RSA assets and optional audience signals. The AI determines which queries to enter, which bids to place, and how to use your assets for each impression. No keyword list required.
DSA (being retired: https://yositeup.com/blog/google-ads-dsa-ai-max-migration-february-2027) was closer to AI Max for Search — it used website content to determine query targeting rather than explicit keywords. DSA traffic is therefore a more natural fit for AI Max for Search migration than for Broad Match migration.
Use Cases Where AI Max for Search Wins
DSA replacement: the closest structural analog. AI Max for Search handles the query breadth that DSA covered without requiring keyword lists that mirror your full website content.
New market entry: when entering a new product category or market, you don't yet know the keyword landscape. AI Max for Search discovers queries you wouldn't have known to bid on.
High-volume accounts with diverse query coverage: AI Max can handle query diversity more efficiently than a large keyword list. The AI calibrates across thousands of query variations in real time.
Accounts where search term reporting was the primary keyword research source: if your strategy was "use DSA to find queries, then add to keyword campaigns," AI Max for Search continues this function with more automation.
Use Cases Where Broad Match + Smart Bidding Wins
Accounts with established keyword lists and strong conversion history: if your keyword campaigns have years of Smart Bidding history, Broad Match expands them without the structural disruption of migrating to AI Max for Search.
Accounts where exact control over query exclusion matters: Broad Match with negative keywords gives more deterministic control over which queries your campaigns enter. Under the July 2026 ToS (https://yositeup.com/blog/google-ads-tos-july-2026-ai-automation-what-changed), AI Max has broader authority to override exclusions.
Accounts with limited creative assets: Broad Match doesn't require RSAs. If you haven't built strong RSA asset libraries yet, Broad Match lets you expand reach immediately while RSA development continues.
Lower budgets: AI Max for Search performs best at scale. For campaigns with under $50/day budget, Broad Match + Smart Bidding may provide more predictable performance.
The Data Deletion Impact on This Decision
The June 2026 data deletion (https://yositeup.com/blog/google-ads-reporting-data-deleted-june-2026) removed Q4 2025 data from both keyword campaigns (Broad Match history) and DSA campaigns.
For Broad Match + Smart Bidding: Q4 2025 keyword performance history is gone. Smart Bidding's Q4 calibration relies more heavily on Q4 2024 data and real-time signals.
For AI Max for Search: the deleted data similarly reduces its historical training set. But AI Max is designed to operate with less historical data — it weights real-time signals more heavily than traditional Smart Bidding.
This makes AI Max for Search slightly more resilient to the data deletion than Broad Match + Smart Bidding for Q4 2026 specifically, because AI Max's architecture is better suited to the reduced historical data environment.
Can You Run Both Simultaneously?
Yes, and many accounts will. A hybrid approach:
- AI Max for Search handles DSA replacement (broad query coverage)
- Exact + Phrase Match keyword campaigns for highest-value, highest-volume terms (not affected by DSA retirement)
- Broad Match for mid-tier keywords where expansion is beneficial
- These three layers operate simultaneously with different budget allocations
For AI Max for Shopping specifically (https://yositeup.com/blog/google-ai-max-shopping-replacing-performance-max-2026), the Broad Match question is separate — Shopping campaigns don't use keyword lists.
Recommendation for DSA Migration
For most DSA migration scenarios: start with AI Max for Search as the primary replacement. Add Broad Match expansion to existing keyword campaigns as a secondary measure.
The AI Max for Search learning phase takes 30-60 days. Starting the migration in November 2026 gives AI Max campaigns 90 days to stabilize before the February 2027 DSA retirement deadline — with a buffer for Q4 performance.
Hold off on aggressively expanding Broad Match during Q4 2026. Broad Match expansion during high-volume periods introduces query variability when you need stable performance more. Expand Broad Match in Q1 2027 after AI Max has stabilized.
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