Locations of Interest (AI Max)

What Are Locations of Interest?

For advertisers running location-based campaigns, Locations of Interest changes the rules: your ads no longer only reach users within a fixed radius but anywhere Google detects a matching search intent. This expands your reach but requires adjusting your bidding strategies and location settings accordingly.

Locations of Interest is a targeting feature within AI Max for Search that targets users not by their physical location but by their location intent within the search query. If a user in Boston searches for “dentist Miami,” Google detects the intent and can show them ads for Miami dentists even though they are physically in Boston.

This feature significantly extends the classic location targeting logic. While conventional geo-targeting only addresses users within a defined radius, Locations of Interest also captures users who are interested in a location: travelers searching for hotels at their destination, people relocating who are looking for service providers in their new city, or business travelers searching for nearby restaurants.

For local businesses, Locations of Interest offers additional reach but also carries the risk of wasted ad spend. Not everyone searching for “restaurant New York” actually plans to visit. Monitor your campaign’s location report closely and distinguish between “users in my area” and “users interested in my area.” In some industries the distinction is irrelevant; in others it can mean the difference between profitable and unprofitable campaigns.