Google Ads Info & Updates
In 2025, Google Ads has undergone major transformations, highlighted by the massive integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and increasing automation, which has shifted from being a complement to becoming the core of the platform.
In 2025, Google launched more than 60 AI-powered improvements, transforming the role of the account manager: now focused on defining campaign strategy, providing key metrics, and delivering creatives. Setting limits through negatives and exclusions has also become essential to prevent AI from losing control of campaigns.
Search campaigns have been the most impacted. The flagship feature has been AI Max for Search, a set of AI-based enhancements designed to “supercharge” campaigns.
AI Max for Search can be activated at campaign level and by layers, allowing advertisers to choose which functionalities to use.
Using AI Max also increases the likelihood of appearing in Google AI Overviews (AI-generated answers). Although bidding directly on this inventory is not yet possible (as of December 2025), this is expected to change in 2026.
If you activate it, we strongly recommend closely reviewing the traffic it captures and excluding irrelevant terms from Dolnai’s Word Cloud report section.
If you keep a low budget and cannot sacrifice profitability, we recommend waiting before activating it. At Dolnai, we were surprised to see that Google itself has given the same recommendation to many small advertisers.
From the data analyzed, it generally does not cause a major waste of clicks, but it does reduce overall CTR, as many impressions come from irrelevant search terms where users simply do not click.
One of the standout innovations of the year has been Smart Bidding Exploration. This strategy relaxes the target ROAS to capture valuable opportunities even if they do not meet traditional ROAS thresholds.
It is also activated voluntarily, defining the flexibility range you are willing to accept (10%–30%). This does not mean all searches will have a lower ROAS, but that when Google considers a conversion highly likely despite a lower expected ROAS, your ad may appear—where it otherwise would not.
The goal is to reach many new users, sacrificing ROAS to gain profitability through volume.
For example, if your target ROAS is 400%, you may allow it to drop to 360% for certain high-probability searches. This strategy is ideal for accounts with solid margins and strong conversion history.
Google has improved transparency and control over search partners (third-party sites where your ads appear):
From Dolnai, you can view these placements, analyze their performance, and exclude low-quality apps, websites, or specific YouTube videos.
Google has strengthened PMax with greater visibility and control while maintaining full automation. This is the campaign type with the most updates in 2025.
New controls:
After defining which users you want to reactivate and which are most profitable using your own data and lists, PMax will bid more aggressively for them. Proper configuration is essential to avoid spending on users who would have purchased anyway or who purchased recently.
PMax can identify similar high-LTV profiles and invest more in them, focusing profitability on the long term. This is especially relevant for subscription services or businesses with frequent repeat purchases.
➡️ All these features show that PMax is not just an automatic campaign type—it allows for extensive optimization when the account manager knows how to interpret signals and apply the right strategies.
📌 These improvements strengthen brand image and enhance the shopping experience from search.
Google held 90% of global search market share. With an average CTR: 6.6% and Conversion Rate: 7.5%. The Average CPC: is $2.69 (higher in legal and financial industries). Cliks from mobile keep increasing (52%); ad copy and landing pages must be optimized for mobile, including load speed.
Since the top 3 ads captured 46% of clicks, making top positions a priority through better ads and keyword quality.
Google claims that PMax has gained efficiency: +10% in conversion value, though results vary widely between accounts.
Leading advertisers adjusted their strategies to embrace innovation without losing efficiency:
Tools like Dolnai help save time and uncover hidden errors and opportunities in massive data volumes. The key is knowing what to interpret, use, and discard.
At Dolnai, we continue adding new features based on real results from thousands of analyzed accounts. Just as we do not recommend blindly adopting every Google Ads beta feature, we ensure our platform relies on stable functionalities that deliver solid and profitable results.
Start your free trial in Dolnai today and improve your results from day 1.
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