Digital Advertising
Google AI Max expands into Shopping and Travel campaigns: what changes for companies investing in advertising
Google AI Max is the AI-powered automation layer that Google is expanding from Search campaigns into Shopping and Travel campaigns. For businesses, eCommerce brands, and travel operators, this means more automation, broader semantic coverage… but also less operational control over queries, landing pages, and budget allocation.
What is Google AI Max and why it matters to your business
If you manage Google Ads campaigns, you have probably already heard about AI Max. It is Google’s new automation layer that is progressively transforming how Search, Shopping, and Travel campaigns are managed.
After its initial rollout across Search campaigns, AI Max is now entering an expansion phase toward new verticals. It is a clear signal: manual control is increasingly giving way to predictive and semantic systems.
If you are already observing how artificial intelligence is changing search, you may also find useful our in-depth analysis on AI Overviews and the new generative SEO.
AI Max for Shopping: how it works
With AI Max applied to Shopping campaigns, Google no longer simply displays products for classic queries. The system is designed to intercept longer, conversational, and contextual searches as well.
This is perfectly aligned with what is happening in generative search and in the transition from keywords to conversations, a topic we also explored in our article on Zero-Click Search and AI accuracy.
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Dynamic ad personalization:
Google automatically generates headlines and ad copy based on user intent. -
Final URL Expansion:
the system independently selects the most relevant page on your website. -
Dynamic format:
Google decides whether to display Shopping Ads or Search Ads.
AI Max does not simply expand reach. It redefines who decides the user journey.
The risk for SMEs: less manual work, less control
For many Italian SMEs, the advantage is obvious: less operational management, more automation.
The risk, however, is just as real: losing visibility over queries, landing pages, and the actual distribution of traffic.
This makes a solid data structure, well-built feeds, and reliable tracking even more important.
If your tracking is still client-side today, this may be the right time to explore server-side tracking as well.
Travel campaigns: the transformation goes even deeper
In the travel sector, Google is not simply introducing AI Max: it is bringing Travel campaigns into a more integrated logic with standard Search campaigns. This means travel feeds, keywords, ads, and automation are now managed in a more unified environment.
For hotels, hotel chains, tour operators, OTAs, tourism portals, and travel marketplaces, this change is significant because it transforms how campaigns are structured, optimized, and measured.
The new model tends to make four elements work together:
- Travel feeds, including availability, pricing, properties, destinations, and updated information;
- Traditional keywords, still useful for intercepting explicit questions and clearly defined search intent;
- AI Max automation, designed to expand coverage toward longer, conversational, and less predictable queries;
- Unified reporting, useful for analyzing performance in a more centralized way compared to separate campaigns.
The promise is clear: simplify management and allow Google to optimize in real time across feeds, search intent, and advertising formats. But interface simplification does not necessarily mean strategic simplicity.
When multiple signals are concentrated into a single campaign, it becomes essential to understand which data feeds the algorithm, which objectives are being optimized, and what level of control remains for the advertiser.
For travel businesses, the main risk is allowing automation to allocate budget toward destinations, properties, periods, or offers that are not actually business priorities. A hotel, for example, may want to push low-season stays, higher-margin packages, or specific room types; a tour operator may want to prioritize certain destinations over others.
For this reason, before migration or activation of these new features, it is useful to verify:
- the quality and completeness of the travel feed;
- consistency between prices, availability, and landing pages;
- accuracy of conversion tracking;
- segmentation between brand, non-brand, destinations, and strategic offers;
- the presence of negative keywords and irrelevant queries;
- alignment between budgets, margins, and actual business goals.
In this scenario, AI Max can become extremely valuable if it operates on clean data and well-defined objectives. Otherwise, it can amplify existing issues: incomplete feeds, generic landing pages, inaccurate tracking, or campaigns built without clear commercial priorities.
In travel, automation does not eliminate strategy: it makes strategy even more important, because it decides faster where visibility and budget should go.
For those managing hotels, tour operators, or travel marketplaces, migration should not be treated as a simple technical update. It requires preventive auditing, feed quality, reliable tracking, and a clear understanding of profitability.
At HT&T, we have been working for years on complex travel ecosystems, such as
Human Company, one of Italy’s leading open-air hospitality groups, where campaign management, data structure, and performance optimization coexist across multiple markets and seasonal dynamics.
What to do today: a practical action plan
Even though AI Max is still in closed beta, there are concrete actions worth taking immediately.
- Optimize Shopping and Travel feeds
- Review landing pages and information architecture
- Check conversion tracking and attribution
- Update negative keywords and segmentation
- Verify your SEO, AEO, and GEO structure
If your website is not yet designed to be understood by generative engines, also read:
AEO and GEO for businesses.
Frequently asked questions about Google AI Max
Does AI Max replace traditional Shopping campaigns?
No. AI Max integrates with existing campaigns, adding automation for targeting, creatives, and landing pages.
When will it be available for everyone?
Currently, AI Max for Shopping and Travel is in closed global beta. Google is expected to share additional details during Google Marketing Live on May 20, 2026.
Does AI Max reduce advertiser control?
Yes, partially. It offers more automation but reduces granularity on certain operational decisions, such as query coverage and final URL selection.
Should SMEs activate it immediately?
It depends on account quality. AI Max tends to amplify healthy structures… or existing problems.
In summary
Google AI Max is not a feature. It is a paradigm shift.
Shopping, Travel, Search, and eventually Performance Max are converging toward an increasingly predictive, conversational, and generative model.
The real question is not whether to activate it, but whether your account is solid enough to give more control to AI.
Frequently asked questions about Google AI Max
What is Google AI Max?
Google AI Max is an AI-powered automation layer that Google is expanding from Search campaigns into Shopping and Travel campaigns. It is designed to intercept longer and more conversational queries, generate more relevant ads, and automatically select the most suitable landing pages.
Does AI Max replace traditional Shopping campaigns?
No. AI Max does not replace Shopping campaigns but adds automated capabilities such as text personalization, final URL expansion, and dynamic ad format selection.
Does AI Max reduce advertiser control?
Yes, partially. Automation can improve coverage and efficiency, but it reduces direct control over certain operational decisions, such as intercepted queries, ad format, and the destination page selected by the system.
What changes for Travel campaigns?
Google is integrating Travel campaigns into standard Search campaigns, unifying travel feeds, traditional keywords, AI Max features, and reporting within a single environment.
When will AI Max for Shopping and Travel be available?
AI Max for Shopping and Travel is currently described as a closed global beta. Availability for all accounts may gradually arrive following new official Google announcements.
How should companies prepare for AI Max?
The priorities are: updating Shopping and Travel feeds, reviewing landing pages, verifying conversion tracking, checking negative keywords, and ensuring the website is clear, consistent, and understandable by AI systems as well.
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