Ali Fakhar
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How to find negative keywords in Google Ads search terms with AI

  • Level: Intermediate
  • A few hours to set up

Ali Fakhar · Updated: Sept 2026

The short answer

Export the search terms report with cost and conversions, give a model what you sell and who you sell to, and ask it to group irrelevant terms by theme with a suggested negative and match type. Review every suggestion, because one wrong negative can block good traffic, then add the approved ones to a shared list.

On this page

At a glance

The marketing problem
Broad match and automated bidding show ads for searches you never chose. Reviewing the search terms report by hand is slow, so waste accumulates. A model is good at spotting irrelevant themes across thousands of rows; a person still decides what to block.
Who this is for
PPC specialists and marketers managing Google Ads or Microsoft Advertising accounts.

What you need

Before you start

  • Access to the Google Ads search terms report
  • A clear description of what you sell, to whom, and what you do not offer
  • Your existing negative keyword lists

What goes in

  • Search terms with impressions, clicks, cost and conversions for the last 30 to 90 days
  • The landing pages the campaigns send traffic to
  • Existing negative lists, to avoid duplicates

How it works

  1. 01 · ToolExport the search terms report
  2. 02 · AI stepGroup irrelevant terms by theme
  3. 03 · You decideReview every suggestion
  4. 04 · ToolAdd approved negatives to shared lists
  5. 05 · OutputLog and review monthly
  • Tool
  • AI step
  • You decide
  • Output

Step by step

  1. 01 Tool

    Export the search terms report

    In Google Ads, open Insights and reports, then Search terms. Export the last 30 to 90 days with impressions, clicks, cost and conversions.

  2. 02 AI step

    Group irrelevant terms by theme

    Tell the model what you sell and what you never offer, and ask for themes with a root negative. Keep the terms it is unsure about separate.

    Prompt to copy

    We sell [product or service] to [audience]. We do not offer [things you do not do, for example free versions, jobs or training]. Below is our search terms report. Identify terms that are clearly irrelevant and group them by theme (for example jobs, free, DIY, wrong location, support for a competitor’s product). For each theme give: the root word to use as a negative, a suggested match type (exact, phrase or broad) with a reason, and the terms it would block. List separately any term you are unsure about. Do not suggest negatives that would block searches for [our core terms]. Search terms: [paste]

  3. 03 You decide

    Review every suggestion

    Check each root word against the terms you want to keep and decide the unsure list. Total the cost of each theme in the spreadsheet rather than trusting the model’s arithmetic.

  4. 04 Tool

    Add approved negatives to shared lists

    Add approved negatives to a shared negative keyword list at the right level (account, campaign or ad group), so they apply everywhere they should.

  5. 05 Output

    Log and review monthly

    Keep a log of what was added and why. Repeat the review monthly and check that conversions from the terms you kept have not dropped.

Where a person decides

A PPC owner approves every negative and its match type before it is added to the account.

What to watch for

  • A term with no conversions yet may still be relevant; check volume before blocking it.
  • Broad negatives can block good searches; prefer phrase or exact match unless you are sure.
  • The report does not show every low-volume search term.

How to tell it is working

  • Spend on terms later judged irrelevant falls over the following weeks.
  • Conversions from the terms you kept do not drop.
  • A sample of blocked terms is reviewed monthly to catch mistakes.

An illustrative example

Input

Illustrative: a fictional payroll-software account whose broad-match campaigns show for “payroll jobs”, “free payslip template” and “payroll course”.

Output

Themes for jobs, free templates and training, each with a root negative such as “jobs” (phrase match), the terms it blocks, and a separate list of unsure terms for a person to judge.

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