Broad match keywords have a complicated history in Google Ads. For years they were associated with irrelevant query matches and wasted spend — the recommendation was exact and phrase match. Google has steadily improved broad match, and in AI Max for Search, broad match keywords work in a fundamentally different context than they did in legacy Search campaigns.
What Broad Match Does in AI Max for Search
In a keyword-based Search campaign, broad match expands a keyword to related queries based on the keyword's semantic relationships and user search history. The expansion can be significant — "running shoes" might match "trail footwear," "best sneakers for jogging," or "Nike."
In AI Max for Search, broad match interacts with the AI's own query selection mechanism. AI Max for Search already expands coverage beyond what keywords would match. Broad match in this context means the keyword's semantic range informs the AI's expansion, rather than keyword match type constraining it.
Practically: in AI Max for Search, broad match and phrase match keywords behave more similarly than in standard Search campaigns. The AI uses keywords as signals about what you want to target, not as strict matching rules.
Audience Signals Change Broad Match Performance
The key improvement to broad match in AI Max is that audience signals constrain broad match expansion. In legacy Search campaigns, broad match expanded to query variants regardless of whether the query came from users who resembled your customers. In AI Max for Search:
- Customer Match lists, remarketing lists, and GA4 audience signals inform which users the broad match expansion serves
- The AI prioritizes expanding broad match to users whose signals suggest they're likely to convert
- This means broad match traffic in AI Max for Search is more precisely targeted than broad match traffic in standard Search campaigns
After uploading Customer Match segments (email lists of prior buyers, leads in pipeline, etc.), broad match expansion in AI Max for Search runs toward users who resemble those segments — before the AI has enough direct conversion data from the campaign to rely on.
The June 2026 Data Deletion and Broad Match Bidding
Broad match in AI Max for Search relies on the AI's accumulated learning about which queries within the broad match range are valuable. The June 2026 data deletion (https://yositeup.com/blog/google-ads-reporting-data-deleted-june-2026) affected this historical learning:
- The AI's model for which broad match query variants convert for your campaigns may need to update
- Broad match campaigns may show increased query variance immediately post-deletion as the AI re-explores the query range
- Adding strong audience signals post-deletion helps the AI re-calibrate faster, since it provides a user-quality filter while the query-performance model rebuilds
This suggests: if you run broad match in AI Max for Search, the 4-8 weeks post-deletion is a good time to ensure your Customer Match lists are uploaded and current. The audience filter compensates for the query-level bidding model being in re-learning.
Broad Match vs Keyword Expansion in AI Max
AI Max for Search has an "Keyword Expansion" feature (enabled by default) that generates additional query coverage beyond your keyword list. This is conceptually similar to broad match but operates at the campaign level rather than the keyword level.
The interaction between broad match keywords and keyword expansion:
- Broad match keywords expand individual keyword reach
- Keyword expansion adds queries the AI predicts are relevant that don't match any keyword in your list
- Both are active simultaneously in AI Max for Search when keyword expansion is enabled
For campaigns with comprehensive keyword lists, keyword expansion adds marginal coverage beyond broad match. For campaigns with minimal seed keywords (e.g., when migrating DSA where keywords weren't the primary targeting), keyword expansion is the primary expansion mechanism and broad match keywords serve as seed signals.
DSA Migration and Broad Match
When migrating DSA to AI Max for Search (https://yositeup.com/blog/google-ads-dsa-ai-max-migration-february-2027), consider what role keywords play in the migrated AI Max campaign. DSA had no keywords — content matching drove targeting.
Two approaches:
Minimal keyword approach: Add a small set of broad match keywords that represent your core content themes as signals to the AI. Let keyword expansion carry most of the coverage. This most closely replicates DSA's behavior in AI Max.
Comprehensive keyword approach: Port an existing keyword list to broad match as the seed for AI Max coverage. This gives the AI more explicit signal about your desired query range.
The right choice depends on your existing account structure. If you had well-performing keyword campaigns alongside DSA, use those keywords (in broad match) as the foundation for the AI Max migration. If DSA was running standalone without keyword campaign context, the minimal keyword approach works better.
Negative Keywords Are More Important With Broad Match
Under the July 2026 ToS (https://yositeup.com/blog/google-ads-tos-july-2026-ai-automation-what-changed), AI Max campaigns have expanded query authority — combined with broad match, this amplifies the need for well-maintained negative keyword lists.
Add account-level negative keyword lists before enabling broad match in AI Max campaigns. Campaign-level negatives handle exclusions specific to that campaign; account-level negatives handle exclusions that apply to all campaigns (competitor brands you're not targeting, irrelevant category terms, out-of-scope geographies).
For AI Max for Shopping (https://yositeup.com/blog/google-ai-max-shopping-replacing-performance-max-2026), Shopping doesn't use keywords in the traditional sense — product attributes and categories in the Merchant Center feed serve a similar function. Negative keywords in Shopping still apply and are important for excluding non-product search queries.
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