Google Ads Now Serves Exact and Phrase Match Keywords in AI Mode

Google confirmed on September 4, 2026 that it has started a small experiment allowing regular Search campaigns using restrictive match types (exact and phrase match) to serve text ads inside AI Mode. Until now, appearing in AI Mode required running AI Max, Performance Max, or broad match keywords paired with smart bidding. The confirmation came from Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin, after PPC specialist Anthony Higman reported spotting the change across multiple live campaigns and tests.

What happened

Detail	Fact
Confirmed by	Ginny Marvin, Google Ads Liaison
Date	September 4, 2026
Match types now eligible	Exact match and phrase match
Ad format eligible	Text ads in AI Mode
Eligibility condition	Explicit and direct user intent only
Previous requirement	AI Max, Performance Max, or broad match with smart bidding
First spotted by	Anthony Higman (LinkedIn)

Google is running what it calls a “small experiment” that lets standard Search campaigns with exact and phrase match keywords appear in AI Mode, the conversational search experience that has been rolling out across Google Search. Ginny Marvin confirmed the test directly to Search Engine Roundtable, saying: “This is a small experiment that recently kicked off.”

Anthony Higman, a PPC specialist who first flagged the change on LinkedIn, said he verified the behaviour across multiple campaigns and tests. He pushed back on the “small experiment” framing, pointing out that the previous rules were strict: exact and phrase match had no path into AI Mode at all before this change. That makes it a meaningful policy shift, whatever label Google puts on it.

Marvin clarified the boundaries in a LinkedIn comment: exact and phrase match keywords can serve text ads in AI Mode, but only where there is explicit and direct user intent. For complex, conversational queries and newer formats such as Highlighted Answers, AI Max and Performance Max for Search remain the designated products.

Why it matters for advertisers

If you manage campaigns with tight keyword lists and restrictive match types, you have had zero presence in AI Mode results until now. AI Mode is becoming a larger share of how Google surfaces answers to commercial queries, so that exclusion has been costing advertisers visibility on their most controlled, highest-intent terms.

The “explicit and direct user intent” condition Google attached to eligibility matters a lot. It suggests Google is not opening the floodgates: a query like “buy red Nike Air Max size 10” is the kind of thing that might qualify, while an open-ended conversational query probably still routes through AI Max or PMax. Advertisers who have been building AI Max or PMax campaigns specifically to cover AI Mode may find their exact and phrase match campaigns starting to compete for some of that same inventory.

It is also worth watching what happens to CPCs. More campaigns suddenly eligible for the same AI Mode placements could push auction prices up on exact match terms, which have historically commanded a premium for their precision. Keep an eye on your impression share and cost-per-click reports over the next few weeks if you run tight-match campaigns in categories where AI Mode traffic is high.

For businesses running performance advertising, this experiment is worth tracking closely. The boundary between controlled search campaigns and Google’s AI-driven formats is shifting, and early data will be valuable.

Our take

Google framing this as a “small experiment” is doing a lot of work. The old rule was clear: no exact or phrase match in AI Mode, full stop. Any break from that is a structural change, not a footnote. The PPC community’s reaction reflects that.

The practical question is whether “explicit and direct user intent” is a stable, well-defined gate or a moving target. Google has a long history of expanding eligibility thresholds quietly over time. Advertisers who kept exact match campaigns for brand protection and high-value queries should monitor their AI Mode impression data now, before any further expansion changes baseline numbers.

If you have been pushed toward AI Max or PMax purely to get AI Mode coverage, this experiment gives you a reason to test whether your existing exact and phrase match campaigns can now recapture some of that placement, potentially with more budget control. Do not restructure campaigns yet on the back of a confirmed “small experiment,” but do start logging what you see.

We covered a related shift earlier this year when AI platform reliability became a business concern, and the pattern is similar here: AI-driven surfaces are becoming harder to ignore, even for teams that prefer tighter controls.

What to do about it

1. Pull your AI Mode impression data now to establish a baseline before the experiment expands or ends.
2. Identify your highest-value exact and phrase match campaigns and watch them for new AI Mode impressions starting this week.
3. Compare CPC trends on those campaigns against your historical average to catch any auction-pressure changes early.
4. Hold off on restructuring your AI Max or PMax campaigns until Google confirms whether this experiment becomes permanent.
5. Tag this period in your reporting so any performance shifts can be attributed to the experiment, not seasonal variance.

The practical takeaway: check your exact match campaigns for AI Mode impressions now, before the data gets noisy.

Source: Search Engine Roundtable