Google is testing branded search controls in AI Max campaigns, addressing the complaint that the format eats branded traffic advertisers already own. Use it to point automation at new demand, not the demand you already had.
Paying a premium to win clicks you would have won for free is the quiet tax of automated campaigns.
Google appears to be testing new branded search controls inside AI Max campaigns. Some advertisers are reporting a "Branded Searches" setting that lets them choose how the campaign handles brand-related queries, with three options: show ads on all relevant searches, control branded searches with inclusions and exclusions, or show ads only on unbranded searches.
If it ships broadly, it addresses the loudest complaint about AI Max since launch. The campaign type uses Google's AI to expand reach across queries, which is powerful, but advertisers have warned it can hoover up branded traffic they are already capturing through dedicated brand campaigns, then take credit for it at a higher cost.
AI Max for Search came out of beta in April with improved creative and targeting controls. This branded-search test is the next step, handing advertisers back a lever they have been asking for since the format arrived.
Why it matters
For Australian advertisers, branded search is usually the cheapest and highest-converting traffic they have. Letting an AI campaign absorb it inflates reported performance while quietly raising the cost of clicks that should be nearly free. Control over how AI Max treats branded queries is the difference between trusting the automation and being milked by it.
It also reflects a broader pattern worth watching. Automated campaign types trade control for reach. Every control Google hands back is a small admission that full automation without guardrails was never going to be enough.
AI Max will soon offer three ways to handle branded queries, from all searches down to unbranded only.
What to do about it
Separate branded and unbranded performance in your reporting. If you cannot see them apart, you cannot tell what AI Max is actually adding.
Use the new control to protect brand campaigns. Point AI Max at incremental, unbranded demand rather than letting it claim traffic you already own.
Audit your current AI Max spend now. Check how much of it is landing on branded queries before this control even arrives.
Measure incrementality, not attributed conversions. The question is what the campaign added, not what it took credit for.
Automation will keep handing back controls as advertisers push back. Read every new control as a chance to aim the automation at fresh demand rather than the demand you already had.