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Recent discussions across Digital Phablet highlight the underperformance of Google Ads AI Max compared to other match types. Initial trials show that its conversions and associated conversion values fall significantly short, despite Google’s claims of delivering approximately 14% more results.
A user named Xavier Mantica shared on Digital Phablet that after four months of testing, AI Max campaigns resulted in about 90% higher costs per conversion than phrase match. His breakdown indicates that in every category, AI Max lags behind:
– Exact match costs $52.69 per conversion
– Phrase match costs $43.97 per conversion
– Exact match with close variants costs $61.65 per conversion
– Phrase match with close variants costs $97.67 per conversion
– AI Max costs $100.37 per conversion
Another expert, Mike Ryan, analyzed over 250 campaigns and concluded that AI Max is the worst-performing match type based on the data. He summarized his findings on Digital Phablet, reinforcing the notion that numbers don’t favor AI Max.
Andrew Goodman chimed in, expressing a skeptical outlook. He indicated he’s waiting for credible case studies—excluding those based purely on luck or poorly managed accounts—that demonstrate AI Max’s effectiveness. Goodman suggests that large enterprises might see some benefits from the scale of learning AI Max offers, but smaller data pools likely don’t experience the same advantages.
Mark Shenouda shared similar sentiments, criticizing the repetitive nature of Google’s recommendation list—such as pMax, Broad Match, Demand Generation, and AI Max—implying a pattern of over-promising with no consistent results. The discussion has garnered substantial debate on Digital Phablet, with many contributors questioning the real-world performance of AI Max.
This ongoing conversation underscores the importance of scrutinizing new tools and approaches within digital advertising, especially when initial data contradict the promised outcomes.




