You switch them off one by one, since there is no single setting for all of them: AI Max and its features in Search campaign settings, asset optimization in Performance Max, optimized targeting in Demand Gen ad groups, and auto-apply recommendations. You can't opt out of ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode separately from Search.
"AI" in Google Ads is not one feature. It covers matching searches, writing ad text, choosing landing pages, generating videos, expanding audiences and applying recommendations. Each has its own switch, some at campaign level and some at ad group level.
Where are the main switches?
| Feature | Where to turn it off | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| AI Max in Search (search term matching, text customization, final URL expansion) | Campaigns, Settings, select the campaign, then the AI Max section | Turn AI Max off entirely or untick single features. Search term matching can also be turned off per ad group |
| Text customization and final URL expansion in Performance Max | Campaign settings, Asset optimization, text customization | Disabled generated assets show as "Removed" and stop serving. Final URL expansion can't be on without text assets |
| Video enhancements in Performance Max | Campaign settings, Asset optimization, choose Video, untick Enhancement | Auto-generated videos stop once you upload your own videos |
| Optimized targeting in Demand Gen, Display and some Video campaigns | Ad group settings | Google turns it on automatically for all campaigns that support it |
| Auto-apply recommendations | Campaigns, Recommendations, Auto-apply settings, untick, then Save | You can also disable one from the History tab |
Two details catch people out. AI Max is on by default when you create a new Search campaign, so check it before you publish. And turning off text customization in a Search campaign also turns off final URL expansion. More in whether Google is turning on AI Max automatically.
What can't you turn off?
- Ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode. You can't opt out of them separately from Search. See how Google ads show up in AI Overviews and AI Mode.
- Audience expansion in Performance Max. Audience signals are guidance, not limits, and Google may show ads to people outside them.
- The automation inside Performance Max itself. You can shape it with negatives, exclusions and asset settings, but it stays an AI-driven campaign type. If you want full keyword control, use a Search campaign.
Should you turn everything off?
In my experience, no. Switching everything off usually trades a few bad automated decisions for a lot of manual work and less reach. I keep the automation that runs on data I trust and switch off the parts that act without review.
My usual starting point:
- Auto-apply recommendations off, so nothing changes in the account without a person looking at it.
- AI Max features tested one at a time, not all at once, so you can see what each one does.
- Smart Bidding kept on when conversion tracking is solid. Google says AI Max needs conversion-based Smart Bidding to work well, and that its benefits are limited with Manual CPC.
- Generated text and videos reviewed in the asset reports before they run for long.
For a fuller view of which automation to trust, read how I'd use Google Ads AI if I had to start from scratch and 9 Google Ads settings worth checking.
Sources
- Google Ads Help: Set up AI Max for Search campaigns - https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/15909989
- Google Ads Help: Controlling text customization in Performance Max campaigns - https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/14337369
- Google Ads Help: About Performance Max video automation - https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/16048023
- Google Ads Help: About optimized targeting - https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/10537509
- Google Ads Help: Manage auto-apply recommendations - https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/10276359