Context:
Recent headlines surrounding Google’s declining search usage and its legal entanglements—most notably the restriction on paying Apple to remain the default search engine—signal a broader transformation in how consumers discover and engage with content online. At the same time, AI-powered search experiences like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity are beginning to reshape consumer expectations around speed, personalization, and interactivity in the search journey.
As stewards of your brand investment in digital, we want to acknowledge the shift and provide our perspective on what it means for your media strategy.
What This Means for Google Advertising Today
- Google Remains a Dominant Player—for Now:
Despite short-term market disruptions, Google still controls over 85% of global search market share and continues to deliver strong performance across paid search and YouTube placements. It remains a cornerstone for intent-driven marketing and brand visibility. - Search Advertising Is Not Disappearing—It’s Evolving:
We’re seeing a shift away from singular reliance on classic keyword-based search to a more distributed discovery model across multiple platforms (social, retail media, voice, AI). Google Ads is already adapting, with Performance Max, Demand Gen, and AI-enhanced campaign types, reflecting the push toward predictive, audience-first models.
How We’re Evolving Our Strategy to Meet the Future
1. Diversifying Discovery-Based Investment:
We are actively shifting portions of paid media budgets into high-intent environments that complement or evolve beyond traditional search—such as:
- Social and creator-led search alternatives (TikTok, Instagram Reels, Reddit)
- AI-powered discovery surfaces (Bing with Copilot, Gemini integration in Android, ChatGPT Search partnerships)
- Many AI services have already incorporated, or are working on incorporating, paid ads into their AI-powered responses
- Microsoft has started incorporating advertisements into its Copilot feature, aiming to create a more immersive experience for users
- Google ads have quietly become part of the AI Overview experience, but only when the search shows commercial intent
- Many AI services have already incorporated, or are working on incorporating, paid ads into their AI-powered responses
- Retail Media Networks (Amazon, Walmart Connect)
2. Strengthening Organic Content for AI Discovery:
As large language models (LLMs) replace or augment search experiences, visibility in AI-generated responses becomes essential. We’re:
- Optimizing content for zero-click answers and structured data markup
- Producing brand-owned content that performs well in generative summaries and snippets
- Aligning SEO and content efforts with emerging platforms’ indexing and trust signals
3. Testing AI Search Advertising Integrations:
We are actively monitoring and testing pilot programs and ad placements within AI search experiences (like Microsoft Ads in Copilot, and OpenAI’s exploration of paid inclusion). While nascent, these formats are crucial to staying ahead of shifting attention and reach.
4. Investing in First-Party Data and Contextual Targeting:
With increasing pressure on third-party data and changes in attribution visibility, we are accelerating clients’ first-party data strategies and exploring AI-enhanced contextual targeting, which will be a crucial performance driver in the next stage of digital advertising.
What Clients Should Know Now
- Don’t panic, but prepare. Google remains effective today, but reliance on any single platform is risky long term.
- Now is the time to explore. We’ll be working with you to test emerging platforms and formats, ensuring your brand shows up wherever discovery is happening.
- Content is the new performance. As AI tools become the gatekeepers of information, your brand’s visibility will depend not just on paid keywords, but on relevance, trust, and value delivered across channels.
Just as mobile transformed digital in the 2010s, AI-powered discovery is reshaping the 2020s. Our agency is committed to helping you lead through this change—not react to it. We’ll continue to evaluate the evolving ecosystem, test new opportunities, and advise you with clear, data-backed strategies to drive performance and brand equity in this new frontier.
