by Austin LeClear
on December 8, 2025
At Grow My Ads, we aren’t huge fans of prediction posts. Most people making them talk with the confidence of someone who’s seen the future, and then they’re completely wrong six months later. But we were asked to do one, so here we are.
As a multi-million dollar Google Ads agency with significant ad spend under management each month, we live and breathe this industry daily. So while we could be absolutely wrong on everything that follows, these are our honest thoughts on what could change in Google Ads in 2026.
Prefer video? Check out 8 Google Ads Predictions for 2026 on YouTube:
Still with us? Good, let’s dive in.
Prediction #1: Google Will Push Even Harder on AI Max Adoption
If you haven’t noticed AI Max creeping into your account already, you will soon. Google has been rolling this out, and we fully expect them to double down on pushing advertisers toward adoption in 2026.
For those unfamiliar, AI Max is essentially a consolidation of existing AI features into one simple toggle in your campaign settings. It combines:
- Broad match expansion
- Final URL expansion
- Asset customization
The technology isn’t necessarily new — Google has just made it easier to flip on all at once. Whether this is good for advertisers remains to be seen. But Google clearly wants this to be the future of how campaigns operate, so we expect the push to intensify in the coming year.
Prediction #2: Dynamic Search Ads Could Disappear
Here’s where we might be early — or totally wrong — but we think we could see Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) go away. Maybe not in 2026, but eventually.
Why? Because AI Max and DSA seem to overlap significantly in how the technology works. Google appears to be moving toward AI Max for search as the primary solution for keywordless targeting and keywordless matching.
We don’t see the need for Performance Max campaigns, AI Max, and Dynamic Search Ads all existing together when they essentially override each other. There’s clear redundancy here.
Prediction #3: More Ad Placements in AI Overview and AI Mode
AI overview is already showing up in Google search results, particularly for informational queries. You’ve probably seen it — you search something, and Google gives you an AI-generated answer right there without needing to click through to websites.
Then there’s AI mode, which is basically Google’s answer to ChatGPT. It’s a full conversational experience, and allegedly millions of users are already engaging with it.
Here’s what matters for advertisers: ads are technically eligible to show in both AI overview and AI mode today. But you have zero control over it. You can’t bid higher for AI overview placements. You can’t target specific conversational intent. You can’t even see clear performance metrics on how your ads perform in these placements.
We predict — and hope — that 2026 brings more clarity and control here. Advertisers need transparency on which queries and conversations are triggering their ads in these new formats.
Prediction #4: Increased Emphasis on Intent-Based Searches
Search behavior is fundamentally shifting. Users aren’t just typing keywords anymore — they’re having conversations with Google. The focus is moving from keyword-based searching to user intent and complex queries.
At Grow My Ads, we think Google will eventually create new ad types or targeting options specifically designed for this conversational era. Of course, this shift may not happen in 2026. But as searches become more conversational, Google Ads will have to evolve with it.
Perhaps this means AI powered targeting solutions that let advertisers target conversations rather than search term lists. Perhaps it’s new ways to optimize ad copy for conversational contexts. Either way, change is coming — the only question is when.
Prediction #5: First-Party Data Remains Crucial
This isn’t a bold prediction: in 2025, first-party data is already important. This is more of a continuation of what’s already true.
In 2026, smart advertisers will continue leveraging customer match, enhanced conversions, and offline conversion data to feed Google’s algorithms better information. The brands winning will be those with solid data infrastructure who aren’t solely relying on what Google’s automated bidding strategies and smart bidding can figure out on their own.
If you’re not already prioritizing first-party data collection, you’re behind.
Prediction #6: Attribution Gets Messier
Attribution is already muddy, and it’s only getting worse.
Five years ago, you could trust what Google Ads showed you with reasonable confidence. Today? Not so much. We’re seeing Google over-target repeat customers, especially in e-commerce businesses like supplements or cosmetics where conversion volume from returning buyers is high.
That’s why we’ve had to utilize third-party tracking tools like Wicked Reports, server-side solutions, and other technologies to piece together a clearer picture of the customer journey. Don’t expect this to improve in 2026. Build your business on solid backend data infrastructure rather than blindly trusting in-app metrics.
Prediction #7: Google Keeps Pushing Video Ads
If you listen to Google’s quarterly earnings reports, they love talking about YouTube advertising growth. So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that they’ll continue pushing video ads aggressively in 2026.
Remember when Performance Max came out and forced you to include video in the campaign? That wasn’t accidental. Google (probably) wants more ad spend flowing to YouTube, YouTube Shorts, and video placements generally.
Does that mean every advertiser should be running YouTube campaigns? Absolutely not. Different businesses at different stages need different strategies. Nevertheless, Google wants to grow video ad revenue. Expect the pressure to continue.
Prediction #8: Performance Max Adoption Decreases
This might be our boldest prediction, but we’re seeing it happen in real-time within our own client portfolio.
Smart advertisers — particularly those running e-commerce accounts — are actually pulling away from Performance Max and pushing back into Standard Shopping campaigns. We’ve been testing what’s called the “feeder strategy” (coined by John Moran) throughout 2025 with tremendous success.
The reason? Performance Max tends to plateau, and it often struggles to drive new customers at scale. Standard Shopping gives you more control, better transparency, and in many cases, better results.
While we can’t speak for every advertiser on the platform, in the community of advanced Google Ads practitioners, we’re seeing a clear trend away from relying solely on Performance Max. Hybrid approaches combining PMAX with Standard Shopping and Standard Search are becoming the new best practice.
Final Thoughts
Look, we could be completely wrong on every single one of these predictions. That’s the nature of trying to forecast where a platform as complex as Google Ads is heading.
But here’s what we know for certain: you’ll need to adapt regardless of what changes come. The advertisers who succeed in 2026 will be those who stay flexible, test constantly, and don’t blindly follow whatever Google recommends without questioning whether it actually serves their business goals.
