The biggest change of early September happened inside Google Ads accounts, not on the news pages. Starting September 1, Google began automatically moving campaign-level broad match campaigns into AI Max, and the migration runs through September 30, according to the timeline reported by Search Engine Land.
If you run search ads for a roofing, HVAC, plumbing, or restoration company, that change decides which searches trigger your ads and which page the click lands on. It touches the quality of the calls your office answers.
We sorted the first two weeks of September by one test: does it change how a homeowner finds you, calls you, or books with you? Four areas passed.
Google Ads: AI Max takes over broad match, and keyword priority changes with it
Google stopped allowing new campaign-level broad match setups on August 3 and is converting existing ones to “equivalent AI Max settings” through September 30, per Search Engine Land. Dynamic Search Ads follow in February 2027.
The detail most accounts will miss: on September 1, Google’s help documentation clarified that broad keywords are not treated as exact match keywords in prioritization after the move. To keep your old priority, you add exact match copies of your keywords, and converting broad to exact wipes historical keyword stats, as Search Engine Roundtable reported. AI Max also brings final URL expansion, which can send a “roof replacement” search to your storm repair page.
Separately, Google confirmed a small experiment serving exact and phrase match ads inside AI Mode on September 4. It’s a test, not a rollout.
How ajile MEDIA applies this: We treat the migration as a governance event. Search terms, landing page destinations, and call quality get reviewed weekly for the first 30 days after a campaign converts.
What home services owners should do next: Ask whoever runs your account three questions. Has the campaign migrated yet? Were exact match copies added for your core service terms? Is final URL expansion on, and which pages is it allowed to use?
Google Search: AI answers now fill People Also Ask, and you can finally measure it
Nearly every People Also Ask answer is now AI-generated. AlsoAsked data covering about 20 million English queries showed 97 percent of People Also Ask answers in the first week of September were AI Overviews, up from 86 percent in August.
That matters because People Also Ask is where homeowners ask the questions your service pages should answer: how long a water heater lasts, whether a roof leak is an emergency. Those answers now get summarized, not clicked.
The good news landed September 1. Google’s Search Console AI performance report and AI control reached all websites globally. It shows how often your URLs appear in AI features. It does not show clicks or queries.
How ajile MEDIA applies this: We treat AI citation as a visibility channel inside Search Visibility Architecture, and we write service pages with direct answer blocks and FAQ sections that AI systems can quote.
What home services owners should do next: Open Search Console, find the AI performance report, and note which pages appear. If your emergency service page is missing, that page needs a clearer answer block.
If you would like a second set of eyes on those numbers, run a Marketing Visibility Assessment with us and we’ll show you where AI features already cite you and where they skip you.
Google Business Profile and Maps: missing data and a scam aimed at roofers
September Business Profile performance data went missing. Search Engine Roundtable reported on September 8 that insights showed no September data eight days into the month; data began populating by September 11.
The more serious story came September 10. A contributor uploaded more than 150 AI-generated photos carrying the same fake phone number onto real business listings, including roofing companies, according to Search Engine Roundtable. Homeowners who called the number in the photo reached the scammer. Google removed the contributor within a day of the story.
Google also rewrote its location asset requirements on September 9, telling advertisers to fix name formatting issues in Business Profile, then unlink and relink the profile.
How ajile MEDIA applies this: Reputation as a Growth Channel includes profile hygiene. We audit customer-uploaded photos and listing details on a set rhythm, because a hijacked phone number sends booked jobs to someone else.
What home services owners should do next: Open your profile on a phone today and scroll the customer photos. Flag anything that shows a phone number that isn’t yours.
AI platforms, the industry, and ad creative
OpenAI announced on September 11 that it plans to retire custom GPTs across all ChatGPT plans, with a migration path to plugins. If your office built a custom GPT for estimate follow-ups or call scripts, plan the move now.
On the industry side, ServiceTitan reported on September 8 that gross transaction volume on its platform reached $26.8 billion for the quarter, up 17 percent year over year. Contractor demand running through the software is still growing.
For paid social creative, the item to watch came from Sacramento. California’s SB 1050 passed the legislature in late August, and after it was signed on September 16, ads that prominently feature an AI-generated performer will need a clear disclosure starting January 1, 2027, per BakerHostetler.
How ajile MEDIA applies this: Every AI avatar or voice in our video creative gets a disclosure check before it runs.
What home services owners should do next: List every tool your team uses that depends on a platform decision you don’t control, and name a backup for each.
What this means for home services owners
Stop judging September performance by week-over-week clicks. The AI Max migration can shift search terms mid-month, and Business Profile data had a gap. Start watching search terms, answered calls, call recordings, and booked jobs by source. Together they tell you whether the change helped.
How ajile MEDIA helps
We connect platform changes to the numbers that matter: qualified calls, booked jobs, and where your business shows up in search, maps, and AI answers. When Google changes how campaigns work, we check the account, document what moved, and report it in plain language.
For the AI Max migration, that means a before and after view: the search terms that triggered ads the week before conversion, the terms that trigger them now, and the calls each set produced. If the new terms bring in more tire-kickers and fewer inspection requests, you see it in the first two weeks, not at the end of the quarter.
Final takeaway
The AI Max broad match migration is a real shift, not hype, and it rewards owners who check their accounts this month. Confirm your migration status, protect your profile, and measure AI visibility. Then judge the result by booked jobs. Run a Marketing Visibility Assessment to see where your search presence stands today.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Google Ads AI Max broad match migration?
Google is automatically converting campaign-level broad match campaigns into AI Max campaigns between September 1 and 30, 2026. AI Max adds search term matching, text customization, and final URL expansion. Dynamic Search Ads follow in February 2027.
Will AI Max change which keywords trigger my ads?
It can. Google’s documentation says broad keywords are not treated as exact match in prioritization after the move. Adding exact match copies of your core service keywords keeps your previous priority, though converting existing keywords resets their historical stats.
How do I see if my business shows up in Google AI Overviews?
Use the AI performance report in Google Search Console, available to all websites since September 1, 2026. It shows impressions by page, country, and device in AI features. It does not show clicks or the queries that triggered them.
How do I protect my Google Business Profile from fake phone number photos?
Check customer-uploaded photos on your profile regularly, especially on mobile. Report any image that displays a phone number that isn’t yours. In September 2026, scammers uploaded more than 150 such photos to real listings, including roofing companies.
Do home services ads with AI avatars need a disclosure?
In California, yes, starting January 1, 2027. SB 1050 requires a clear and conspicuous disclosure when an ad prominently features an AI-generated synthetic performer. New York has a similar law in effect. Check each state where your ads run.
Need a clearer view of what is actually driving growth? ajile MEDIA helps service businesses connect marketing activity to qualified opportunities, booked calls, search visibility, and revenue influence. Book a strategy call or run a Marketing Visibility Assessment to see where your marketing is producing signals, and where it is only producing noise.
