For optimal performance with AI Max, how should a practitioner modernize their account structure?

They should roll targeting into exact match campaigns and reduce redundancy. Older account structures were built for manual control: many tightly themed ad groups, single-keyword ad groups, duplicated keywords across campaigns and heavy use of negatives to police the split. AI Max works against that design. Fragmentation divides conversion data into pools too small for the models to learn from, and duplicated coverage creates internal competition that muddies which campaign should serve. Consolidating means fewer, broader campaigns with the keywords that matter kept as exact match, letting expansion handle the rest, and removing redundant duplicates. The result is more conversion data per campaign, cleaner signals for bidding and fewer conflicting rules. The controls that remain meaningful are the ones that describe the business: brand terms, budgets, exclusions and asset quality.