Google AI Max Is Replacing DSA. Advertisers Are Losing Landing Page Control and Nobody Is Talking About It.
Google is sunsetting Dynamic Search Ads and pushing advertisers toward AI Max campaigns. The performance data looks promising but advertisers are flagging a critical gap: they cannot control which landing pages Google sends traffic to.
The performance gains from AI Max are real. The problem is that Google decides where the traffic lands, and advertisers cannot override that decision with the same precision DSA offered.
Google is pushing advertisers to migrate from Dynamic Search Ads to AI Max campaigns. The transition is positioned as an upgrade. AI Max uses Google's latest machine learning models to match search queries with ads and landing pages dynamically. Performance data from early adopters suggests improvements in reach and conversion volume. But advertisers are raising a concern that Google has been slow to address: landing page control.
With DSA, advertisers could set page feed rules to control which URLs were eligible for ad matching. AI Max removes that granularity. Google's system selects landing pages based on its own assessment of relevance, which does not always align with what the advertiser wants a campaign to promote. A retailer running a seasonal campaign might want traffic going to the sale page. AI Max might decide the product category page converts better and redirect accordingly.
Number of direct landing page override controls available in AI Max campaigns compared to DSA page feeds
Google has responded with a read-only rule carryover from legacy DSA campaigns, meaning advertisers who had page feed rules can see those rules reflected in their AI Max setup. But read-only is not the same as editable. New campaigns built natively in AI Max do not have the same page-level control. The gap is functional, not just cosmetic.
The DSA sunset timeline has not been publicly confirmed with a hard date, but Google has been actively encouraging migration through the Ads interface and account manager outreach. For advertisers with large product catalogues or multiple business units sharing a domain, the landing page control gap is a material issue.
Why it matters
Landing page selection is not a minor optimisation lever. It determines which message the customer sees, which conversion action is available and which part of the business gets attributed revenue. When the advertising platform takes that decision away from the advertiser, it shifts control from the media buyer to the algorithm. That trade-off may net positive on aggregate performance metrics. But for brands with specific commercial objectives, regulatory requirements or brand safety considerations around which pages receive paid traffic, the loss of control is a real cost.
The broader pattern is familiar. Google has been steadily reducing manual controls across its ads platform in favour of automated systems. Smart Bidding replaced manual CPC. Responsive Search Ads replaced Expanded Text Ads. Performance Max replaced Shopping campaigns with manual targeting. AI Max replacing DSA is the next step in the same direction.
What to do about it
Before migrating, audit your DSA page feed rules and document every URL inclusion and exclusion. Test AI Max in a limited campaign alongside your existing DSA setup. Compare not just headline performance metrics but which landing pages are receiving traffic. If the landing page distribution does not match your commercial intent, escalate through your Google rep before completing the migration. The transition is coming regardless, but going in with data gives you leverage to request controls that matter to your business.