Set up a Performance Max campaign with AI

Where to run this

Your approved ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini workspace, files uploaded first.

Upload first

• ☐Approved campaign brief
• ☐Media plan
• ☐Primary KPI and primary conversion
• ☐Budget and markets
• ☐Landing pages
• ☐Merchant Center feed (if applicable)
• ☐Approved claims and brand restrictions
• ☐Audience strategy

Steps

1. 01

   Pick your starting point before you build a blueprint

   Do this

   New client, new market, no suitable historical campaign: build fresh. An existing PMax campaign with credible performance history: audit it, don't redesign a winner without evidence. A proven campaign that needs to launch in a new market: clone and adapt it. Before choosing, also check whether Google Ads' own native AI tool can pre-fill a new Demand Gen or PMax campaign directly from an existing PMax campaign in your account, that may cover part of this step already.

2. 1a

   New campaign: generate the blueprint

   Using only the approved materials provided, generate a complete Performance Max campaign blueprint: recommended campaign structure, asset groups (name, purpose, final URL, audience signals, search themes, product category if applicable), audience signal recommendations (customer lists, website visitors, converters, high-value customer lists, custom segments, search themes, demographic recommendations, exclusions, including whether existing customers should be excluded if this campaign is acquisition-focused), asset requirements per group (images, logos, headlines, long headlines, descriptions, videos), and feed requirements if Merchant Center applies. Also flag whether the proposed structure risks splitting conversion volume too thin across too many campaigns or asset groups. Use only information supplied. Do not invent products, audiences, offers, claims, promotions or budgets. Finish with READY TO BUILD or NOT READY.

   Do this

   One campaign per conversion goal is the safer default, only split if you have a genuinely different business line or margin to separate, and enough conversion volume to support each one independently.

3. 1b

   Existing winning campaign: audit it, don't just redesign it

   Review the attached Performance Max campaign and the supplied performance evidence. First identify what appears to be working, what should remain unchanged, and what is not supported by sufficient evidence, checking specifically whether reported performance is blended at the campaign level in a way that could be masking one weak asset group inside an otherwise healthy campaign. Then identify: audience signal refresh opportunities, asset group scaling opportunities, creative coverage gaps, feed opportunities, and testing opportunities. Use only: KEEP, TEST, EXPAND, REMOVE, HUMAN REVIEW, NOT EVIDENCED. Do not redesign a successful structure without evidence. Do not recommend changes purely based on best practice. Do not assume high delivery means strong performance. Do not invent performance results or expected uplift. Do not approve the campaign. Finish with STRUCTURE CAN BE REUSED or STRUCTURE REQUIRES REVISION.

4. 1c

   Cloning into a new market: adapt, don't rebuild

   Use the attached high-performing Performance Max campaign as the source blueprint. Preserve: campaign structure, asset group logic, audience signal framework, and measurement framework. Review whether changes are required for: market, language, product or feed availability in the new Merchant Center account, local shipping and tax settings, currency, regulatory or claims restrictions, and creative availability. Classify every recommendation as: KEEP, LOCALISE, REMOVE, ADD, HUMAN REVIEW, NOT EVIDENCED. Do not redesign the campaign unless the supplied local-market evidence requires it. Do not invent local regulations, feed data or performance expectations. Do not assume a winning structure will perform identically in another market. Do not approve the campaign. Finish with READY TO CREATE LOCAL BLUEPRINT or LOCAL EVIDENCE REQUIRED.

5. 02

   Build campaign settings

   Review my proposed Performance Max campaign settings against the attached blueprint. Review: campaign objective, campaign name, conversion goals, bid strategy choice (Maximize Conversions vs. Maximize Conversion Value, and whether Target CPA/ROAS is realistic given recent conversion volume, roughly 30+ recent conversions is the usual threshold for those to work reliably), budget, locations, languages, final URL expansion setting specifically (flag if it's left at the default, since this can send traffic to any page on the site, not just approved landing pages), brand exclusions, feed attachment, dates, and account-level exclusions. Use only: MATCH, MISMATCH, MISSING, NOT EVIDENCED. Do not infer missing settings. Do not approve setup. Finish with BLOCKERS, REQUIRED CHANGES, READY FOR ASSET GROUP BUILD, or RETURN TO TRADER.

   Do this

   Open: Google Ads → New Campaign → Performance Max. Configure using the approved blueprint: name, budget, bidding, locations, languages, final URL expansion, brand exclusions, dates, conversion goals, feed.

6. 03

   Build asset groups

   Review this Performance Max asset group setup against the attached blueprint. Review: asset group naming, URL mapping, audience signal assignment, search theme assignment, feed assignment, product mapping, theme consistency, and duplication across asset groups. Use only: MATCH, MISMATCH, MISSING, CONFLICT. Do not infer missing information. Do not approve setup. Finish with BLOCKERS, DUPLICATIONS, CONFLICTS, READY FOR CREATIVE BUILD, or RETURN TO TRADER.

   Do this

   Create the exact asset groups from the blueprint, no more. Open: Campaign → Asset Groups. For each: create the group, assign final URL, audience signals, search themes, and connect the feed section if applicable.

7. 04

   Build creative assets

   Review these Performance Max assets against the approved creative guidelines and landing pages. Check: asset group theme consistency, headline and long headline relevance, description relevance, image and logo relevance, video coverage, final URL alignment, call-to-action suitability, unsupported claims or offers, duplicate assets, missing assets, asset-to-product relevance, feed alignment, and landing page relevance. Use only: PASS, EDIT, REMOVE, HUMAN REVIEW, NOT EVIDENCED. Do not invent offers, claims or promotions. Do not assume policy approval. Do not approve the campaign.

   Do this

   Use approved creative materials only. Once live, Google assigns each asset its own performance rating (roughly Low/Good/Best), check this weekly and refresh anything rated Low.

8. 05

   Reconcile the build against the blueprint

   Compare the approved PMax blueprint with the completed campaign build. For every setting, provide: SETTING, APPROVED VALUE, ACTUAL VALUE, STATUS, EVIDENCE, REQUIRED ACTION. Cover campaign identity and objective, conversion goals, budget and bidding, locations, languages, asset groups, URLs and URL expansion settings, audience signals, search themes, exclusions, Merchant Center feed, and every asset type. Use only: MATCH, MISMATCH, MISSING, NOT EVIDENCED, NOT APPLICABLE. Do not infer missing settings. Do not modify the campaign. Do not approve launch. Finish with BLOCKERS, ITEMS REQUIRING REVIEW, and an overall status of READY FOR LAUNCH CHECK or RETURN TO TRADER.

   Do this

   Capture campaign settings, asset groups, audience signals, search themes, creative assets, feed settings, conversion goals, locations and exclusions. Use screenshots where a setting doesn't export cleanly.

9. 06

   Final launch readiness review

   Review the final Performance Max campaign evidence pack. Verify: approved objective, conversion goal, budget, bidding strategy, locations, languages, asset group completeness, audience signal implementation, search theme implementation, audience exclusions, URL expansion settings, landing page validity, Merchant Center status and feed diagnostics, approved assets and video coverage, measurement implementation and conversion test evidence, policy status, and any disapproved assets or unresolved blockers. Use only: PASS, BLOCKER, HIGH RISK, NOT EVIDENCED, CONDITION ACCEPTED. Missing evidence is not a pass. Do not infer approval. Do not approve launch. Do not recommend optimisation actions. Finish with Launch Blockers, Accepted Conditions, Evidence Gaps, Items Requiring Review, and an overall status of READY FOR LAUNCH or NOT READY.

   Do this

   Gather final settings, asset group evidence, conversion tracking evidence, audience signal evidence, Merchant Center and feed diagnostics, policy status, and landing page validation. Have a second person check the campaign before it goes live.