By the Mayab Media Team
For most of 2026, the pitch went like this: if you want your ads in Google's AI Mode, turn on broad match, AI Max or Performance Max. Plenty of advertisers did exactly that, mostly out of fear of missing out. Then Google quietly started testing the opposite.
Before you rebuild your account around AI surfaces, read this.
What Google confirmed
On September 4, 2026, Google's Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin confirmed to Search Engine Roundtable that Google is running a small experiment. Standard Search campaigns using exact and phrase match keywords can serve text ads in AI Mode, but only when the user's intent is explicit and direct. Marvin called it "a small experiment that recently kicked off."
Anthony Higman of ADSQUIRE spotted it first and said he'd confirmed it across multiple campaigns. His point: before this, getting into AI Mode required AI Max, Performance Max, or broad match with Smart Bidding.
PPC Land's write-up fills in the gaps, and the gaps are big:
- Google hasn't shared which countries, verticals or share of accounts are in the test, or how long it runs.
- "Explicit and direct intent" isn't publicly defined. It came from a comment, not help docs.
- Eligibility happens at the query level. There's no campaign setting to switch on.
- You can't currently separate AI Mode traffic from regular Search traffic in Google Ads reporting.
- AI Max and PMax still get access to newer formats like Highlighted Answers.
For context, Google said AI Mode passed 1 billion monthly users by Google I/O 2026.
Why this matters to your budget
The "go broad to get into AI" argument pushed a lot of small advertisers into match types and automation that their conversion data couldn't support. That costs money. Broad match on a thin account with a handful of conversions a month tends to wander into irrelevant queries.
This test suggests Google is willing to let tight, intent-specific keywords appear in AI Mode too, as long as the query is clear. If it rolls out wider, that changes the trade-off. You might get AI Mode visibility without handing over the keys to your query matching.
Here's the honest part, though. It's a test. It's small. And because reporting doesn't split AI Mode out, you can't easily measure whether you're in it or how it performs. So nobody should make big structural changes based on this alone. What you can do is stop making big structural changes based on the opposite assumption.
What we'd do this week
- Don't rip out exact and phrase match. If your tight keywords are profitable, keep them. This test is a reason to protect that structure, not abandon it.
- Check what made you go broad. If you turned on broad match or AI Max mainly "to show up in AI," look at the numbers since then. Compare CPA and lead quality before and after. If it got worse, you've got a decision to make.
- Write keywords that match explicit intent. The test is tied to clear, direct queries. Think "emergency plumber near me" or "buy 12x24 louvered shutters," not "plumbing." Build out your exact and phrase lists around how buyers actually phrase ready-to-buy searches.
- Make your ads answer the question. AI Mode is a conversational surface. Ad copy that directly addresses the query, with a clear offer and proof, is more likely to fit. Pin less, write more specific headlines.
- Watch for unexplained impression shifts. Since you can't split out AI Mode, annotate September 2026 in your account. If impressions on exact and phrase keywords rise without a change on your side, this test could be one explanation. Don't jump to that conclusion without other evidence, though.
- Keep a small, measured broad test if you have the data. If you have strong conversion volume, an AI Max or broad match experiment can still find new queries. Run it as an experiment with a clear CPA bar, not as an account-wide switch.
Our opinion
We've been skeptical of the "you must go broad for AI" message all year. Not because broad match never works, but because it was being sold as the only path into a new surface, and that's rarely true for long.
This test backs that up. Google wants ads in AI Mode to be relevant, and a precise exact match keyword is about as relevant as it gets. We'd bet on tight intent plus great ad copy aging better than blanket automation for most small and mid-sized accounts.
We'll keep watching for a wider rollout and, more importantly, for reporting that shows AI Mode separately. Until then, keep your structure, keep your data clean, and don't let a headline push you into a match type your account can't afford.
Takeaway: AI Mode visibility may not require broad match after all, so protect your profitable exact and phrase keywords while Google tests this.
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