AI Max implementation roadmap

Phase 0 - Prereqs (before you touch AI Max)

• Conversion tracking is clean (primary conversion is correct, deduping stable, no “fake” leads).

• Landing pages are mapped by intent (at least 2–5 strong pages you want AI to favor).

• You have a negative keyword habit already (you’ll need it more).

Phase 1 - Pilot on Non-Brand (controlled, lowest risk)

Where: Non-brand, high-intent campaigns (your “apply / get quote / sign up” type terms).
How:

• Enable AI Max on one campaign only.

• Keep budgets stable for learning (avoid big swings).

• Monitor the Search terms + landing pages view frequently for the first 7–10 days.

Success gate to move on:

• Query → landing page alignment looks sane

• CPA / lead quality isn’t worse than baseline

Phase 2 - Expand to “Mid-intent” Non-Brand (scale with guardrails)

Where: Broader non-brand themes where coverage gaps exist.
How:

• Add 1–2 more campaigns (not all at once).

• Build a repeatable negatives workflow (weekly).

• Start building a “winning page list” (pages AI Max consistently sends quality traffic to).

Success gate:

• Stable performance + no major irrelevant query creep

• You can explain (with the report) where traffic is going and why

Phase 3 - Operationalize (make it “always-on” safely)

• Standardize weekly checks:

  • Search terms + landing pages mismatches

  • New negatives

  • Page-level performance trends

• Monthly: CRO loop (fix pages AI Max sends traffic to, because it will keep doing it).

Best practices

• Start with non-brand high intent, not brand.

• Use the Search terms + landing pages view as your main control panel.

• Treat negatives as governance, not cleanup.

• Scale in 1–2 campaign increments, with clear success gates.

Do and Don’t

Do:

• Do run a tight pilot first and document learnings.

• Do protect landing page relevance (query → page match).

• Do keep brand controlled unless you have a competitive IS problem.

Don’t:

• Don’t launch AI Max across the account in one go.

• Don’t use it when tracking/lead quality is shaky.

• Don’t start with brand “because it’s safe” - it often isn’t.