Host Julie F. Bacchini and Ginny Marvin of Google Ads answered PPCers questions, which focused on the new features and updates announced during Google Marketing Live. Here is the sneak peek of the entire session.
Q1: Up until now the options to appear in AI feature ads were (1.) broad match and smart bidding and then (2.) AI Max or (3.) PMax. So is broad match and smart bidding no longer an eligible format for AI ad placements and now it’s only AI Max and PMax?
Broad match is eligible to show ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode. @adsliaison
AI Max and PMax are emphasized for two key reasons: 1. As queries get longer, multi-modal, and more complex, with search term matching, Gemini can look at the full context of the AI response and the query for more relevant matching and 2. Text customization allows the ad to be tailored to the content and more clearly indicate relevance to the user. @adsliaison
Q2: Will they give us data on search vs AI placement and performance data?
Ads in AI Mode and AI Overviews are currently reported as top ads. We don’t currently have segmented reporting and are still learning and actively thinking about what reporting looks like. Our primary focus in these early days is on improving the value and quality for advertisers and users. Totally understand where the question is coming from. @adsliaison
Days of average position are well behind us. @Chriskostecki
This is a question clients ask us frequently – how often are our ads showing up in AI Mode/AI Overviews? They want to know if they’re showing up, and if so, what the ROI is @beyondthepaid
Same. and for us it gets rolled into zero click topics. lots of ‘citation’ optimisation going on @JuliaVyse
SQR tell us where the search term served, but having it as its own network does make some sense – I would be interested in knowing how deep in a conversation were my ads getting served to gauge performance and optimize against. @Chriskostecki
Q3: Ask her to explain the concept of predicted conversions and QFC please. Why is this a thing and who needs this?
Qualified Future Conversions (QFC) is a new predictive measurement metric to give advertisers a longer-term and more complete (full-funnel) view of the impact of their media spend by looking beyond standard conversion lookback windows. It’s specifically aimed at addressing the gap where long-term demand creation is often undervalued because an ad interaction doesn’t result in an immediate conversion or sale. An example: a sale is made in 31 days vs. within the 30-day conversion window. In short, QFC represents the total number of conversions that have occurred or are predicted to occur within 180 days of an ad interaction. This is a causal metric, like Attributed Branded Searches, and it doesn’t replace any existing metrics. It’s aimed at giving you another way to view causal impact of your media spend. QFCs will also eventually integrate with Meridian. @adsliaison
I have to say that at first I was very skeptical of QFCs, but the more I think about it the more I think it will be useful, but it really needs to be positioned carefully for leadership, assuming it’s reported to leadership at all. @DanaDiTomaso
Is this modelled by vertical? like will I see it for brand new campaigns or does it populate as the robot learns the account? @JuliaVyse
It looks at user interactions after ad exposure, such as branded search. @adsliaison
Another case to have offline, valuable conversions to track. @Chriskostecki
As a % of total conversions, what can we expect QFC to amount to – monthly, quarterly, etc.? @JeffreyHain
When can we expect QFC to come out? Sounds like it might be in an early pilot? Also, what data should we be asking clients to prepare in order to be able to use this metric when it does exist? @revaminkoff
I don’t have a timeline or baseline for what they might look like in your account at this point. You’ll still see the existing conversion metrics in your account. QFC is an always-on metric can be used to help understand the longer-term causal impact of your spend that can complement your other measurement solutions like incrementality studies (which do require you to pause ads on a segment of your traffic). @adsliaison
Is this related to the predicted conversions in the Overview/Campaign charts or different? @Chriskostecki
Q4: Can demand based bidding be applied outside of a month, say a quarterly or annual budget to factor in seasonal demand?
Demand-led budget pacing is a backend update to improve budget delivery (still keeping to the daily and monthly spending limits). The campaign total budget option is good for when you have a fixed budget and a fixed timeline for a promotion, for example. The budget report can be helpful for budget pacing insights @adsliaison
@Chriskostecki https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/9962086 lmk if that answers your question. @adsliaison
Yes, thank you! @Chriskostecki
Q5: I work with several retailers who are B&M only, no merchant feed, no ecom, and no ecom on the roadmap. Is there a local feed or other type of tool they can use to ensure they can compete for foot traffic rather than big A just showing up in product placements?
Yes, local ads don’t require e-commerce. The main thing is to be sure to link the Business Profile to the Google Ads account. You can find more details here: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/3246303?hl=en @adsliaison
That’s already done, but I am worried about product ads specifically. Will my competitors with a merchant feed appear in the same AI Search? Say for Beaujolais during the season? @JuliaVyse
Q6: When the new AI support bot can’t help us and can’t connect us to an agent, where can we find support?
Q7: For the AI Brief: Some of the inputs that would be useful in the brief might also be proprietary. What kind of protections/NDAs are in place for client info/data?
Also, in relation to AI brief, what’s the rollout timeline like, should we start seeing this soon, or likely not for another few months? Also, what are the limits to what we should expect to be able to control via the AI Brief feature? I imagine if I say, “do not advertise on any competitor terms”, that’s likely to only drive marginal improvements in that area? @AnthonyMcDaniel
Q8: Ads in AI Mode are described as “capable of reasoning” – what does this mean?
It’s getting at the idea that these formats adapt their creative to explain why your product is the best answer to a user’s question. For the AI explainer, for example, the Gemini model evaluates and synthesizes information about a product or service and displays that context alongside the advertiser’s creative. @adsliaison
Where is it getting that information from – what we have input into Google Ads and/or from our website? What is it synthesizing? You can, I am sure, understand why that phrasing jumped out at me! @NeptuneMoon
Q9: AI Max has brought more demand, though has also led to more time in SQRs and it seems like single word competitor terms will never stop coming, How much time is expected to be spent combing through AI Assets to update briefs and signals? Will there be the ability for “only say this…” or will it all be telling it what not to say?
You can include both negatives (what not to focus on) and positives (what to focus on) The AI Brief will allow you to set messaging, matching and audience guidelines. https://business.google.com/us/accelerate/announcements/ai-brief/ @adsliaison
I think some brand managers will want things like guarantees or non-negotiables. does that exist in this brief? @JuliaVyse
You can say things like “never mention prices” in messaging guidelines for example. It’ll also show sample assets and searches to help you edit and refine your guidelines as needed. @adsliaison
Thank you! @JuliaVyse
Q10: When will Google create an MPC connector for Google Ads so that we can connect it to Claude or other LLMs?
You can find more info on the Google Ads MCP server on the developers blog here. https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/developer-toolkit/mcp-server @adsliaison
@adsliaison Do you know if Google plans to release a more user-friendly, native integration for the general Google Ads public? Right now, Meta’s official MCP server completely bypasses complex developer setups—allowing everyday marketers to securely authenticate via standard login and use AI as an active assistant. Google’s current MCP toolkit requires developer tokens, Python 3.12, and GCP projects, which makes it largely inaccessible to the average SMB or media buyer who wants to query their data. Is a native ‘click-to-connect’ option on the horizon? Google’s current option is great… if you’re an engineer. @EronCohen
Q11: Can you confirm whether or not ads get placed in AI Overviews with this setup: AI Max turned on at campaign level, text customization on, final URL expansion off, and search term expansion off at the ad group level?
If you have broad match keywords in the campaign, those will be eligible for ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode. @adsliaison
Oh, so you don’t have to turn search term expansion on in order to be eligible to show in AI Max? Just have broad match keywords in an AI Max enabled campaign? @revaminkoff
Broad match keywords are still eligible to show in AI Search. @adsliaison
And that’s true in any scenario? (i.e. all you have to do is have broad match in your search campaign, you don’t necessarily have to have anything special enabled or checked?) @revaminkoff
Yes, broad match has been eligible to show in AI Overviews and AI Mode without AI Max. Search term matching enables broad match in the backend on your phrase and exact match keywords and enables keywordless matching. @adsliaison
Does that setup allow for AI Overview placements if broad match is not used? @AnthonyMcDaniel
Q12: For the creator/influencer partner ads that were announced, are there usage rights that Google already negotiated on everyone’s behalf or will companies need to hammer that out with each influencer individually?
Yep, a big piece of YouTube Creator Partnerships is indeed the partnership piece between advertiser and Creator. The advertiser is responsible for securing sufficient rights to use a creator’s video as an ad. The partnership tools in Google Ads is aimed in part to help make connecting with creators and getting agreements to use their content easier. We spoke to this “handshake” in our deep dive into YouTube Creator Partnerships on Ads Decoded which you might find really helpful https://youtu.be/4uWQnNg9Mko?si=9QNocKh_kA8FX7nR @adsliaison
I also saw comments that this is only for big brands, and while those are often the examples that get spotlighted at things like GML, there are lots of creators with smaller audiences who might be a great fit for your business. You can start exploring in YouTube Creator Partnerships in your account. @adsliaison
Q13: Are Text Ad Disclaimers out yet / where will we find them when they do come out?
Q14: Which releases is Ginny most excited about?
WHAT ARE YOUR QUESTIONS FOR GINNY?
Can demand based bidding be applied outside of a month, say a quarterly or annual budget to factor in seasonal demand? @Chriskostecki
I work with several retailers who are B&M only, no merchant feed, no ecom, and no ecom on the roadmap. Is there a local feed or other type of tool they can use to ensure they can compete for foot traffic rather than big A just showing up in product placements? @JuliaVyse
When the new AI support bot can’t help us and can’t connect us to an agent, where can we find support? @williamhboggs
For the AI Brief: Some of the inputs that would be useful in the brief might also be proprietary. What kind of protections/NDAs are in place for client info/data? @beyondthepaid
AI Max has brought more demand, though has also led to more time in SQRs and it seems like single word competitor terms will never stop coming, How much time is expected to be spent combing through AI Assets to update briefs and signals? Will there be the ability for “only say this…” or will it all be telling it what not to say? @Chriskostecki
When will Google create an MPC connector for Google Ads so that we can connect it to Claude or other LLMs? @EronCohen
Can you confirm whether or not ads get placed in AI Overviews with this setup: AI Max turned on at campaign level, text customization on, final URL expansion off, and search term expansion off at the ad group level? @BrittanyZerr
For the creator/influencer partner ads that were announced, are there usage rights that Google already negotiated on everyone’s behalf or will companies need to hammer that out with each influencer individually? @revaminkoff
Random question – Why was Ginny’s chat not on the EU/UK Stream? As I found that more insightful than the whole event! @Meriem
Are Text Ad Disclaimers out yet / where will we find them when they do come out? Which releases is Ginny most excited about? @revaminkoff
PPCChat Participants
- Ginny Marvin @adsliaison
- Julie F Bacchini @NeptuneMoon
- Chris Kostecki @Chriskostecki
- Julia Vyse @JuliaVyse
- Melissa L Mackey @beyondthepaid
- Dana DiTomaso @DanaDiTomaso
- Jeffrey Hain @JeffreyHain
- Reva Minkoff @revaminkoff
- Anthony McDaniel @AnthonyMcDaniel
- Eron Cohen @EronCohen
- Boggs @williamhboggs
- Brittany @BrittanyZerr
- Meriem @Meriem
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