How Do I Keep Control As Platforms Automate My Account? – Ask A PPC via @sejournal, @navahf
All Paid Media PPC News Social MediaAdvertising Video Advertising Columns Ask A PPC ExpertNEW PPC Pulse Rundown Inside AI Max, PMax & Smart Bidding What to measure, which signals to prioritize, and how to guide automation before AI Max becomes the default. Digital Marketing All Digital Marketing Analytics & Data Ecommerce Lead Generation Content Marketing Social Platforms Google YouTube Reddit LinkedIn TikTokNEW WordPress Other CMS Platforms Live Workshop The AI Search Playbook. What's Actually Driving Traffic Now. The AI Search Playbook. What's Actually Driving Traffic Now. SEJ Live Webinars Rundowns PodcastNEW Ebooks All Resources Webinar Google's AI Picks Between Your Locations And Rivals Customers compare and book inside AI answers; get a read on your locations, how rivals nearby stack up, and the 5 signal fixes. Keep PMax and AI Max accountable with transparent reporting, brand-safe creative guardrails, and campaign structures that protect performance and control. VIP CONTRIBUTOR Navah Hopkins 34 seconds ago ⋅ 6 min read VIP CONTRIBUTOR Navah Hopkins Product Liaison at Microsoft Bio Follow If you manage PPC campaigns, you know the struggle behind this month’s question: “Every platform wants me to hand more of my account to automated campaign types. How do I keep enough visibility to know it is actually working?” Performance Max and AI Max have increased advertisers’ demand for reporting. Advertisers want to understand why AI ad types perform as they do. AI ad types (PMax) and settings (AI Max) require enough trust to let them work without human intervention. In return, they adapt to reach customers when, and where they will most likely engage. We’ll unpack how you can work more effectively with AI ad types through: Note: I work for Microsoft Advertising. I intend this advice to remain as platform-agnostic as possible. Let’s not bury the lede: Reporting builds trust and validates marketing investments. However, bias, and historical performance can influence how people read data. For example, you may expect people to search in a certain way. An unfamiliar search term might then invite extra scrutiny. Yet that term could reflect an AI conversation or a new audience that still provides value. Before you act on these reports, consider the following: Reports always provide useful signals, but you need enough data before you act. Collect at least 30 days of data and confirm that conversion tracking works accurately. You may also want post-click analysis from tools such as Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity. These tools can reveal attribution, conversion rate optimization (CRO), or other issues that block conversions. See also: The Conversion Setup Errors That Break Smart Bidding AI Max and PMax thrive on AI surfaces because they adapt to dynamic and increasingly conversational queries. They can also match relevant landing pages and generate creative assets in the moment. However, this flexibility requires clear brand guidance. Advertisers still need controls that keep messaging aligned with each product or service area. When you craft AI ads, focus on two components: the assets you supply and the rules you give AI. The assets you supply include landing pages. If headlines use different phrasing from the landing page, users may feel confused. The mismatch also makes it harder for AI to understand which queries fit your offer. Your assets must also work across creative formats extending to search, display, and video. Sequential ad copy makes it harder for AI to adapt messages across surfaces. For example, the ad selling novelty Christmas sweaters keeps its message clear throughout: However, the ad that served for “gaming computers under $4,000” has a headline that wouldn’t be clear if it was on its own: “Custom Builds” can describe gaming computers, but it also applies to other verticals. Here, that phrase triggered ads for both gaming computers, and motorcycles: That is why tools such as text asset generation in AI Max and PMax can help. Rather than having to force existing, pre-defined ad text, AI can help you generate, and optimize text assets that adapt ad copy to the moment, and flex to different surface constraints. In the above “custom build” example, the advertisers could have specified certain key messaging as well as lock in certain headlines or descriptions with pinning. Google and Microsoft both support term exclusions. Google currently offers message constraints, while Microsoft has them in pilot as of September 10, 2026. By using these tools, advertisers can benefit from the expanded reach based on high-intent audiences, while ensuring they’re communicating effectively across all eligible ad surfaces. Advertisers can combine AI flexibility with messaging compliance by providing clear phrasing guidance and a strong style guide. However, brands might not be able to advertise without creative sign-offs. Tools such as the Ad Preview Hub show how assets appear across surfaces. These previews can help stakeholders review and approve creative. See also: Google Shares How Brands Should Use AI Creative To Stand Out AI ad types can find incremental traffic and conversions because keywords do not constrain them. Organizing campaigns and ad groups by keyword concept still helps. However, over-segmentation can fragment data, and underserve critical parts of your account, and business. Search Term Expansion in AI Max and Search Themes in PMax offer a better way to organize keyword concepts than trying to capture each keyword in their own ad group or having an ad group with hundreds of keywords. Exact-match keywords still belong in accounts when they consistently drive conversions. However, bidding on every variant can scatter your budget. AI ad types no longer require you to surrender visibility or control. The key is preventing bias from blocking the incremental conversions these campaigns can deliver. Use reporting, creative guardrails, and to build account structures that let you meet business outcomes without over-segmenting your data. Add SEJ as a preferred source on Google Read Full Bio VIP CONTRIBUTOR Navah Hopkins Product Liaison at Microsoft Navah Hopkins is the Product Liaison for Microsoft Advertising and MAI. A veteran of the digital marketing industry, she began ... Learn how to connect search, AI, and PPC into one unstoppable strategy. PPC Budget Rebalancing: How AI Changes Where Marketing Budgets Are Spent SEO Is No Longer A Single Discipline How Google AIOs Use Facebook, Instagram & TikTok From 300 Million US Searches Join 75,000+ Digital Leaders. Learn how to connect search, AI, and PPC into one unstoppable strategy. Learn how to connect search, AI, and PPC into one unstoppable strategy. In a world ruled by algorithms, SEJ brings timely, relevant information for SEOs, marketers, and entrepreneurs to optimize and grow their businesses -- and careers.
Source: Search Engine Journal
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