Hello manual bidders, responsive ad tweakers, and everyone still pretending “Smart Bidding” isn’t just Google driving with both hands off the wheel...
Hope you enjoyed the calm before the AI storm, because Google just ripped the manual from your media playbook… and lobbed it into a flaming dumpster labelled “legacy workflows.”
Let’s get into it.
So, what just happened?
At Google Marketing Live 2025, the Big G didn’t just roll out new features. It casually announced it’s rebuilding the entire ad ecosystem around generative AI. Headlines. Descriptions. Images. Bidding. Targeting. All of it.
New tools like ‘AI Max’ for Search and Smart Bidding Exploration are automating everything from creative testing to intent-driven ad placements, bypassing keywords entirely. The robots are writing your copy and picking your audiences faster than your exec team can spell “PMax.”
And early adopters? They’re reporting up to 27% more conversions. Yeah, that’s not a typo. That’s your current strategy getting quietly fired.
Even Search is being rewired… ads are now showing up inside AI-generated overviews and conversations. It’s like programmatic but with more existential dread.
Why should you care (besides the mild panic attack)?
Because this is Google’s final form. Campaigns are moving from granular control to “just give us your credit card and trust the process.”
The winners? Agencies that:
Feed the AI high-quality assets and conversion data
Stop treating every campaign like it’s still 2016
Actually understand how the new AI-fuelled Search placements work
Upskill their teams in creative automation (and stop waiting for that one freelancer who still hand-writes RSAs in Google Docs)
The losers? Anyone clinging to manual CPCs, legacy structures, or 86-slide strategy decks that don't mention "machine learning" once.
Oh, and regulators are watching
While Google pretends it’s democratising AI for every ad buyer and their dog, the U.S. Department of Justice is actively trying to slice and dice its ad empire. From Search to Display to YouTube to Publisher Stack, there’s a growing possibility Google might be forced to sell off parts of the house it rebuilt with your media budget.
So yes, they’re giving you a button that creates a full ad campaign in under 30 seconds. But only because there’s a battering ram with “DOJ” on it heading straight for their server room.
Takeaway for the media crowd:
Automation is here to stay – you’re not “testing PMax,” you’re now living inside it.
Creative is king again – only this time, you’re briefing a machine, not a copywriter.
Search isn’t Search anymore – it's an AI experience that might rank your ad before a single organic listing shows up.
Regulatory shake-ups are coming – keep your tech stack agile, because your preferred Google feature might be illegal in six months.
TL;DR
Google is eating ad tech with a generative spoon.
Your job now? Learn to season the soup.
And maybe keep your CV updated.
Just in case.