Google's AI now decides a large part of how an ad is run: which searches it matches, which words it shows, where it appears and what it bids. This page explains the three campaign types that do this, what each one automates and what you still have to give it, checked against Google's own documentation on 25 September 2026.
There is no single product called "Google AI Ads". It is a way of describing campaigns where Google's AI makes the running decisions. Three of them matter for a local business in Dubai:
| Campaign type | Where it shows | What you give it | What Google's AI does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Performance Max | YouTube, Display, Search, Discover, Gmail and Maps, from one campaign | Assets (text, images, videos, logos, feeds), the conversions you care about, optional audience signals, spend and brand-safety settings | Bids in each auction, combines your assets into ads, moves the budget toward what performs |
| AI Max for Search | Google Search, inside a normal Search campaign | Your keywords, ads and landing pages, plus controls: brands, locations of interest, URL inclusions and exclusions | Matches more searches than your keywords alone, writes headline and description variations, picks the most relevant page on your site |
| Smart campaigns | Search, Maps, YouTube, partner websites and the Display Network | A business description, keyword themes, a budget, your website or Google Business Profile | Places the ad and tests versions of it, running the better ones more often |
Sources: Google Ads Help, About Performance Max campaigns, About AI Max for Search campaigns, How AI Max for Search campaigns works, About Smart campaigns. Checked 25 September 2026.
Google describes Performance Max as a goal-based campaign type that gives access to all Google Ads inventory from a single campaign. It was rolled out to all advertisers on 2 November 2021, and Google said at the time that Smart Shopping and Local campaigns would upgrade to it the following year.
What you give it. Text, images, videos and logos (and product feeds for shops). The conversion actions you care about, with an optional cost or return target. Audience signals, which Google calls a way to "guide learning". Spend targets and brand-safety settings.
What the AI does. Bids in each auction based on how likely a conversion is. Combines your assets into ads, including with generative tools. Moves the budget toward the placements and formats that perform.
What that means for a Dubai business. Performance Max can only aim at what you tell it counts. If the only thing it can measure is a page view, it will find page views. If your pictures and words are thin, it has little to combine.
Sources: About Performance Max campaigns (Google Ads Help); Performance Max campaigns launch to all advertisers (Google, 2 November 2021). Checked 25 September 2026.
How we run it for a Dubai business, and what it costs: Performance Max agency in Dubai.
AI Max is not a separate campaign. It is a set of features you switch on inside a Search campaign. Google announced it on 6 May 2025 and said it would roll out to all advertisers globally in beta later that month. On 10 September 2025 Google said all advertisers globally could now use it, still in beta (Google, 10 September 2025).
What it automates. Three things. Search term matching, which reaches searches beyond your keywords using broad match and keywordless technology. Text customisation, which writes headlines and descriptions from your ads, your landing page and your assets. Final URL expansion, which sends each searcher to the page on your site that fits their search best.
What it learns from. In Google's words, it "will learn from your current keywords, creatives and URLs". So the quality of your website copy and your existing ads becomes an input, not just a destination.
What you still control. Brand inclusions and exclusions, locations of interest at ad group level, URL inclusions and exclusions. Search term matching can be switched off per ad group; text customisation and URL expansion can be switched off in the campaign settings.
Sources: About AI Max for Search campaigns and How AI Max for Search campaigns works (Google Ads Help); Google's AI Max for Search announcement (Google, 6 May 2025). Checked 25 September 2026.
How we run it for a Dubai business, and what it costs: Google Ads AI Max agency in Dubai.
Smart campaigns are the simplest of the three and are aimed at small businesses. You describe your business, choose keyword themes, set a budget and point it at your website or your Google Business Profile. Google then shows the ad across Search, Maps, YouTube, partner websites and the Display Network, creates versions from your business information and website, and runs the better ones more often.
For a shop, clinic or restaurant, the Google Business Profile is doing a lot of work here. It is one of the things the campaign reads to understand what you are.
Source: About Smart campaigns (Google Ads Help). Checked 25 September 2026.
None of these campaign types removes the work. They move it. The decisions an account manager used to make by hand, such as bids, placements and ad variations, are now made by Google's AI. What is left to you is the material that AI learns from:
This is why we describe ourselves the way we do. Google's AI decides who gets seen. Our job is to give it the right answers.
mirAIreach is a Google AI Ads agency for the UAE. We sell one plan, the Ads Set: Google AI Ads plus the mirAIreach system that keeps your reviews, posts and business listings right, on one fixed monthly price with the ad spend included.
From AED 3,500 a month, all-inclusive (the ad spend and the AI running it) and fixed monthly. The price follows your reach, how often the ad is shown, and we size it in a 15-minute diagnosis.
No per-click bill, no management fee on top, no setup fee. Minimum term: six months, for the ads and the system together. After that it renews; 30 days' written notice to stop.
Nobody, including Google, can promise a position, a number of clicks or a number of customers. What we promise is a fixed bill, an ad that runs every month, and a report.
Performance Max is a Google Ads campaign type built around a goal. One campaign can show ads across YouTube, Display, Search, Discover, Gmail and Maps. You give it assets (text, images, videos, logos), the conversions you care about and optional audience signals. Google's AI sets the bids, combines the assets and moves the budget toward what performs.
AI Max for Search is a set of features you switch on inside a normal Search campaign. It widens which searches your ads match beyond your keywords, writes headline and description variations from your ads and landing page, and can send each searcher to the most relevant page on your site. You keep brand controls, locations of interest and URL exclusions, and each feature can be turned off.
Smart campaigns are Google's simplest option, aimed at small businesses. You give a business description, keyword themes, a budget and your website or Google Business Profile. Google places the ads across Search, Maps, YouTube, partner websites and the Display Network, and tests versions of the ad over time.
We do not publish the campaign type or settings behind an Ads Set; you get a monthly report instead. What we do publish is the price, roughly how often the ad is shown, and what you receive: the ad, and the groundwork the ad learns from.
Yes, and it is the part that decides most of the outcome. Every one of these campaign types learns from what it is given: your business information, your pictures and words, your website, and a way to count real enquiries. If those are thin or wrong, the AI optimises toward the wrong thing.
Tell us what you spend on Google Ads today and who runs it, or that you have never advertised. We reply with what an Ads Set would look like for you. Ads Set from AED 3,500 a month, one fixed price. Private to you, no obligation.
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