Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI) is a Google Ads feature that automatically inserts the keyword that triggered your ad into the ad text, using the syntax {KeyWord:Fallback Text}. It makes one ad mirror many search queries, which typically raises clickthrough rate by improving message match.
DKI works at auction time: when a search triggers your keyword, Google replaces the {KeyWord:...} tag with that keyword — not the raw query — and if the keyword is too long to fit the 30-character headline limit, the fallback text shows instead. That distinction matters: with broad match, the inserted text is your keyword, which may differ from what the user actually typed.
The capitalization of "KeyWord" in the tag controls the inserted text's case: {keyword:...} inserts all lowercase, {Keyword:...} capitalizes the first word only, and {KeyWord:...} capitalizes each word (title case) — the variant most advertisers use in headlines. Character counting also has a wrinkle: Google validates the ad using the fallback text's length, so the fallback must fit the limit, while a shorter inserted keyword simply leaves room to spare.
DKI shines in large, tightly themed ad groups where keywords are product or service variants: shoe models, course subjects, city services. It fails badly with messy keyword lists — competitor names get inserted into your ad (a policy and brand problem), misspelled keywords appear verbatim, and grammatically incompatible keywords produce broken headlines like "Buy Best Plumber Near Me Today".
Rules of thumb: use DKI in one headline at most; keep every keyword in the ad group grammatically interchangeable with the fallback; never use DKI with competitor keywords or trademarks; and always write the fallback as a complete, compelling headline since it shows whenever insertion fails. Used this way, DKI usually lifts CTR a few percent — it is an efficiency tool for scale, not a substitute for writing relevant ads.
Headline: {KeyWord:Yoga Classes} In Austin. Keyword "prenatal yoga" triggers → "Prenatal Yoga In Austin". Keyword "hot yoga teacher training intensive" (too long) triggers → fallback shows: "Yoga Classes In Austin".
Your keyword. If the broad-match keyword "yoga classes" matched the query "beginner vinyasa near me", the ad inserts "yoga classes". Only the keyword you bid on — never the raw query — appears in your ad.
Against the fallback text. {KeyWord:Yoga Classes} In Austin is validated as "Yoga Classes In Austin" (22 characters). A triggered keyword longer than the available space doesn't break the limit — Google shows the fallback instead.