One of the biggest challenges has been when AI misinterprets a user's search intent or broadens the targeting too much.

This can result in a significant number of low-quality clicks that are unlikely to convert. 

Reddit user forums have mixed reports, according to online discussions. While some have seen success, others have found it unreliable, especially for smaller budgets or specialized niches. Loss of control and irrelevant traffic have been issues, but advertisers appreciate that AI Max is an optional feature suite, not a new campaign type.

AI Max offers more granular and transparent reporting for Search campaigns, compared with Performance Max.

Two months ago, an AI Max user wrote on Reddit about running an "appliance repair" campaign while testing AI Max and the ads served up for the query "obgyn near me."

While the stress of "nailing" the exact keywords may be over because AI Max broad matches the advertiser's keywords to improve and extend query matching, it remains to be seen how it actually works in practice, Riley said. It takes time to achieve success with any new feature. All require a thoughtful rollout.

Digital marketers are using a phased approach, testing AI Max incrementally, allocating a portion of their budget, and maintaining guardrails to monitor performance.

"Don't eliminate spending on your best keywords with an untested new product," she said, adding that digital marketers must remain focused on the post-click experience.

"Google quietly dropped an ad quality update back in February that was perhaps a foreshadowing of AI Max," she said. "It specifically called out the quality and navigability of the landing page experience."

Riley suggests a landing page that is tightly aligned with ad messages. AI Max wants to see a clear and consistent next step, such as a thank-you page. 

AI Max also tracks the full customer journey. It once meant traveling from an ad click to landing page conversion, but now marketers can take this further directly into their customer relationship marketing (CRM). 

"The biggest challenge will be how marketers embrace the features of AI Max," Riley said. "It's up to the marketer to judge the performance of the platform, allocate dollars in an iterative manner, and test results all the way through the funnel to close."

She added that this includes managing expectations and becoming more comfortable giving up control of the campaign -- which does not mean giving up human safety checks to ensure ad budgets are managed.