Feeding the machine: Why Google's AI Max makes agencies more vital than ever

Google’s recent rollout of its AI Max update is making waves in the paid search landscape, presenting marketers with both new challenges and opportunities. This follows Google’s earlier improvements to its ad quality prediction model, which increased scrutiny on landing page relevance and navigation, prompting many businesses to adapt quickly.

According to Google, AI Max for Search campaigns is a comprehensive suite of AI-powered targeting and creative enhancements designed to elevate performance. It uses advanced machine learning to match ads to a broader range of relevant queries, including those not explicitly targeted, unlocking access to new, high-intent audiences.

In addition, AI Max automatically generates and optimises headlines and descriptions based on user intent and landing page content, enhancing both relevance and engagement. It also directs users to the most appropriate landing page for each search, increasing the likelihood of conversion.

While the update offers significant advantages, industry players caution that it could disrupt the traditional roles of both media and creative agencies, signalling a broader shift in the digital advertising ecosystem.

Reshaping the traditional roles of media and creative

Google’s AI Max represents a major leap toward automation in both media buying and creative development, said Serm Teck Choon, co-founder and CEO of Antsomi.

“This is not a surprise to the industry as platforms such as Google and Meta have been working hard over the last few years to make their ad systems more AI-driven, more intelligent and more automated. And what we see now is just the beginning, and I expect more of these will come.”

Indeed, Meta is also reportedly revamping its ad business with AI. According to The Wall Street Journal, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has emphasised that AI is already driving better results, from generating high-performing creative to refining targeting strategies. Serm believes that this will force traditional roles of creative and media agencies to go through an “evolution”.

“The ‘services’ they have sold in the last two decades will no longer be the same. While they are ‘media’ or ‘digital’ experts to their clients for a long time, now they need to be AI experts as well. The agency may somehow evolve itself to be an ‘AI agency’ to fulfill the needs of the new era.”

Jacky Chan, co-founder and CTO of Votee AI, added on that media agencies must transition from manually managing campaigns to orchestrating AI systems:

Their new role is to define the high-level strategy, set the right business objectives, and ensure the AI is fed high-quality data, such as first-party customer lists.

On the creative front, Chan said that the age of manually A/B testing dozens of headline variations is over.

“Creative agencies’ value now lies in ‘strategic creative’. They need to focus on the bigger picture: developing the core emotional hooks, brand narratives, and foundational visual concepts. Their job is to supply the AI with a rich palette of high-quality, diverse creative assets - images, videos, and core messaging pillars,” Chan shared.

With each wave of automation, agencies are required to input more, not less, in order to truly help brands stand out, according to Eric Ng, director for performance marketing Malaysia, NP Digital. This means human judgment becomes even more critical when everyone uses the same tools and strategies.

“Those who blindly follow generic AI playbooks risk blending into the noise - something we’re already seeing with overused, AI-generated content that weakens both user experience and brand identity,” he added.

However, by combining dynamic search ads and broad match into one campaign, which operates without keywords, Ng said AI Max is not applicable for creative optimisation. “Instead, it uses your website content to generate ad headlines and direct traffic to the most relevant landing pages based on what Google knows about the user.”

He added:

This shifts the focus from controlling keywords to structuring and optimising content, which is yet another reason strategic oversight matters more than ever.

Joy Liu, director of marketing, SleekFlow also saw this as an opportunity to upgrade the service where AI and human collaboration work hand in hand at a lower cost, agencies could focus on delivering a higher level and more complex strategy to bring value to their customers.

"It's about finding the right balance between AI-driven insights and the unique human touch that drives innovation and connection," she added.

Navigating the new landscape

Despite simplifying campaign execution, AI Max raises the bar in terms of strategic oversight and insight, Ng said. “Media teams need to think more like system architects, not button-pushers."

The advantage now lies with those who understand how to guide the machine, he added. “Brands should craft brand-safe, data-rich creative inputs while making deliberate trade-offs. For instance, should you allow the AI to prioritise short-term conversion at the cost of long-term brand equity? That’s not a decision AI can or should make alone."

After all, any new technology shift will disrupt the business models of brands or even agencies working with them, Serm added. “Brands may start to pick up simpler tasks such as creating Google Ads and turning on Google AI Max by themselves."

“Some brands will adopt a new hybrid model working with agencies: (i) what can be done and managed by the internal team with empowerment of AI; (ii) for certain more complex projects, brands will still engage agencies to provide them a more holistic solution to tackle their complex business requirements."

Having said that, Stella Leung, SVP, Greater China and Korea, The Trade Desk said agencies that embrace AI can unlock even greater value. "Traders who combine AI tools with human insight are becoming key drivers of future agency success."

"As service-based AI tools develop rapidly, agencies are integrating them into workflows. But trust matters, according to NewtonX’s Trusted AI Study, 56% of executives cite transparency as the foundation for building AI trust. This means agencies must explain clearly how AI and data are used," she added.

Adjusting your CRO approach

With AI Max automating much of the ad optimisation process, the approach to conversion rate optimisation (CRO) must also evolve.

Votee AI’s Chan pointed out that AI Max’s ability to match users with specific landing pages changes the game: “Every page on your website is now a potential front door."

“First, we move from page-level optimisation to journey-level optimisation. We need to ensure a consistent and high-quality experience across the entire website. Second, we need to think beyond just A/B testing a button colour."

The new core question for CRO is: ‘Does this page's content perfectly satisfy the user intent that the AI identified?'

In other words, content quality and relevance become primary levers for conversion, he added. “As we see with the advancements in models such as Gemini, AI is getting incredibly good at understanding context and intent. Our landing pages must be equally good at satisfying it.”

On the other hand, NP Digital’s Ng added that CRO is no longer just about minor tweaks to landing pages.

Since AI Max does not rely on keywords, and instead uses user intent, a site needs to be optimised with relevant, structured content that’s easy for the AI to interpret, he added. “If your content isn’t clear, relevant, and easy for AI to understand, you’re leaving performance on the table.”

“CRO is now a performance multiplier. It influences not only your website visitors who see your ad, but also how Google delivers your ad. The brands that win will be the ones creating personalised, localised, high-quality experiences and not generic AI spam,” he added.

In this AI-driven landscape, brands can maximise ROI by leveraging AI agents to really maximise the post-click user journey, such as deploying it to qualify leads to win the volume game, said SleekFlow's Liu.

"Since May this year, SleekFlow has been experimenting using our AI sales agent works as a business development representative (BDR) to qualify a large volume of leads before hand it over to our human account executive (AE). These agents can either identify or nurture a lead to make sure they are ready to be handed off to human teams for closing, improving efficiency and ensuring that resources are focused on high-potential opportunities. By automating this process, brands can reduce friction and improve conversion rates, ultimately boosting ROI."

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