What changed

Microsoft Advertising's help documentation now reads: "Predictive Matching is moving to Search term matching within AI Max. AI Max builds on existing matching capabilities with enhanced AI-powered intent understanding, improved transparency, and additional optimization features." The change was spotted in the docs on July 29 and confirmed on July 31.

Predictive Matching worked as a layer above keyword targeting in Search campaigns, reading four inputs (the final URL, ad titles, ad text, and the keyword list) to reach queries the literal keywords would miss. Turning it on cost you two things: per-keyword match-type control, because it applied broad match across the campaign, and bid-strategy flexibility, because it only ran with Maximize Conversions, Target CPA, or Target ROAS. Portfolio strategies were out. The feature also never finished rolling out, and some advertisers were still reading "coming soon" in the help docs when the retirement notice landed.

AI Max in Search campaigns is broader than the thing it absorbs. It covers query matching (which searches an ad can reach), asset personalization (what gets displayed), and URL routing (where the click lands). Predictive Matching maps onto the first of those three.

What the notice does not say

Microsoft gave no effective date and states that "No action is required at this time," with updates promised as they become available. That leaves the transition mechanics open. Nobody has said whether campaigns currently using Predictive Matching migrate automatically or wait for an opt-in, whether both systems can run in parallel for a period, or whether Search term matching inherits the same conversion-bidding requirement that ruled out portfolio strategies.

That last one carries the most weight for anyone with portfolio bidding across a Microsoft account. If the restriction survives the move, the constraint simply relocates. If it does not, a set of campaigns that were structurally excluded from this kind of matching become eligible for it, which is a planning question rather than a maintenance one.

What to do about it

Note which campaigns have it enabled, and wait

Pull the list of Search campaigns currently running Predictive Matching and keep it somewhere you will find it again. When Microsoft publishes the migration path, that list is the scope of whatever you have to check. There is nothing useful to change before then, and restructuring around an undated deprecation is how accounts acquire settings nobody can explain later.