Google appears to be testing a new control that lets advertisers dictate exactly how their AI Max for Search campaigns interact with branded queries. The feature surfaced this week in select accounts. It arrives as marketers continue to voice frustration over automated systems that blur lines between prospecting and defensive brand traffic. Some advertisers now see a “Branded Searches” setting inside AI Max campaign configurations. Three options stand out. The default lets ads appear on all relevant searches. Another routes decisions through existing brand inclusion and exclusion lists. The third restricts the campaign to unbranded searches only. Short. Direct. And potentially transformative for account structure. This development builds on Google’s steady integration of brand tools into its AI-powered framework. Last year the company began requiring AI Max activation to access or add new brand exclusions in fresh Search campaigns. Existing lists carried over. New setups did not.…