You may have seen some noise online recently about Google making its “biggest update in 25 years.” That’s not clickbait. Something genuinely significant has happened, and if you’re running Google Ads, it’s worth understanding what’s changed and what to do about it.
What’s actually changed?
Google has introduced something called AI Mode. Instead of returning a list of links when someone searches, Google now generates a conversational AI answer directly on the page. Think of it less like a search results page and more like asking a knowledgeable assistant a question.
This has two big consequences for advertisers:
- The traditional search results page looks very different, with AI-generated content taking up more space.
- Ads can appear within or below those AI responses, which changes where your ads show up and how they compete for attention.
Google has also launched a new product called AI Max, which sits alongside Performance Max and Demand Gen as part of what they’re now calling the “Power Pack.” AI Max supercharges existing Search campaigns with AI-driven targeting and a new “AI Brief” feature that lets you guide how your ads are presented, rather than specifying exact headlines.
What this means in practice
The honest answer is that control is reducing. Google’s AI is taking more of the decisions that advertisers used to make manually. That’s uncomfortable, but it’s the direction of travel, and it is not reversing.
Specifically, you should expect:
- CTR to fall as AI-generated answers absorb more clicks that would previously have gone to paid results
- CPC to rise as competition for the remaining ad placements increases
- Impression drops if your campaigns are running on traditional Search only, without PMax or AI Max in the mix.
- More top-of-funnel traffic as Google’s AI surfaces ads to users earlier in their research journey, not just at the point of purchase.
There’s also a new metric worth knowing about called Attributed Brand Searches (ABS). It shows how many people searched for your brand after seeing one of your ads. As the funnel gets messier and attribution becomes harder, this becomes a useful indicator of whether your advertising is building brand awareness.
The good news for UK advertisers
Here’s where it gets more nuanced. The picture in the UK and EU is different from the US right now. AI Mode isn’t fully rolled out here yet, and ads within AI Mode are currently limited in European markets due to privacy regulations. That gives you some breathing room.
This doesn’t mean you should sit back and wait. It means you have a window to understand what’s coming, watch how it performs in the US, and make considered decisions rather than reactive ones.
What we’d suggest doing now
Start the creative conversation. Google’s AI needs good-quality content to work with. Videos, images, strong website copy and well-structured landing pages are no longer nice-to-haves. They directly affect how your ads are assembled and where they appear. If your creative assets are thin, this is the time to address that.
Review your campaign mix. If you’re running lower-funnel Search-only, the new landscape will hit you harder than it will advertisers with a broader setup. It’s worth at least understanding where Performance Max or Demand Gen might fit in your account.
Don’t restructure in a panic. AI Max is still relatively new and the evidence on performance is still coming in. We’d recommend a test-and-learn approach before committing significant budget to new campaign types.
Keep an eye on your Search Impression Share. If it starts to fall without an obvious reason, AI Mode displacement is a likely culprit.
The bottom line
Google is moving fast, and the level of control advertisers have over Search campaigns is shrinking. That’s a genuine challenge. But the fundamentals haven’t changed: campaigns built on strong creative, clear audience understanding, and sensible structure will outperform those that aren’t, whatever the platform decides to do next.
If you want to talk through what this means for your specific campaigns, get in touch and we can take a proper look.
