Summary
The business should select the Lead generation marketing objective. That objective tells AI Max to prioritise budget towards form submissions and other lead actions, and it pairs with a Submit lead form conversion action set as a primary goal. Website traffic or Online sales would send the bidding after the wrong signal.
Nitin Batra is Google Ads Search certified and manages live Search campaigns and automated bidding strategies, including AI Max lead generation setups, on a daily basis.
Last updated: August 23, 2026
To tell AI Max to spend budget on prospects who complete form submissions, select the Lead generation marketing objective at campaign setup so bidding optimises towards lead conversion actions rather than sales or traffic.
- Lead generation
- Offline sales
- Website traffic
- Online sales
The correct answer is: Lead generation
Key Takeaways
- – Lead generation is the marketing objective to select when the business wants prospects captured through form submissions in an AI Max campaign.
- – The objective is chosen on the campaign creation screen and works together with the primary conversion goals you attach, such as Submit lead form.
- – The objective is a budget prioritisation instruction, so it decides which conversion signals the bidding treats as success across queries, creatives and landing pages.
- – Selecting Website traffic or Online sales for a lead business feeds the system the wrong signal and usually raises cost per lead, because purchase or click data it needs never arrives.
Where exactly do you select the Lead generation objective for an AI Max campaign?
In Google Ads click the plus button, choose Campaign, and the first screen asks you to select an objective. Pick Lead generation, then choose Search as the campaign type and tick the conversion goals you want the campaign to optimise for. AI Max settings appear later in the campaign setup under the Search themes and asset controls.
Does choosing Lead generation change the bidding strategy automatically?
It does not lock a bid strategy, but it shapes the options and the conversion goals attached to the campaign. You still choose Maximise conversions, Target CPA or Maximise conversion value yourself. For form fills, Maximise conversions with a Target CPA once you have around thirty conversions in thirty days is the practical setup.
What is the difference between the Lead generation objective and the Offline sales objective?
Lead generation is for capturing contact details online, so form submissions, calls and sign ups. Offline sales, sometimes shown as local store visits and promotions, is for driving people into a physical location. If the whole conversion happens as a form submit on your site, Lead generation is the correct choice.
Can you change the marketing objective after the campaign is live?
You can change or remove the objective from campaign settings, and the objective itself is mainly a setup guide. What actually matters after launch is the conversion goals and bid strategy attached to the campaign. Changing primary conversion goals mid flight resets learning, so fix the goal structure before you scale spend rather than after.