During this week’s PPCChat session, host Julie F. Bacchini led a discussion on AI and its impact on the PPC industry. The conversation explored how AI is affecting the ability to find PPC work and clients, what PPC professionals see as their key competitive advantages, and their concerns and excitement about the future of PPC.
Q1: Do you feel like AI is impacting your ability to do or find work/clients in PPC? If so, how is it affecting you?
YES. The number of AI “audits” I am seeing is massive. And, there is a lot of thinking that PPC is now DIY with the help of AI…I will add that having clients use AI to “analyze” accounts and then ask all kinds of not helpful questions with the confidence of a 10 year practitioner is… something else.. @NeptuneMoon
I have a couple of SAAS projects that solve Google Ads problems. In the last year or so I’ve had quite a few people sign up, ask lots of questions, and then vibe-code their own version of the tool. I’ve also had other people copy my stuff and sell it as their own. I miss the moat that being multi-skilled offered. @Pete_Bowen
Yes. We’ve lost pitches because other teams seem to use more ai, or talk about it at least, and there is a bias towards ‘the machine can do this for me’ so I’ll just hire you for TV or other things. @JuliaVyse
The general loss of respect for our knowledge is terrible. @NeptuneMoon
@NeptuneMoon how do I agree 1100 more times? @JuliaVyse
And the AIs sound SO confident even when they are dead wrong. It’s a problem @NeptuneMoon
I suspect we’ll see the whole profession being denigrated because of people who overestimate their and their AI’s abilities and deliver terrible results. It feels the same as when the broccoli-haired 20yr olds where telling everyone to start a SMMA. We’re a bunch of moaners on this thread! @Pete_Bowen
Andrew Lolk posted a good video along these lines today. A good point he made was that you should be telling clients that AI helps you, not AI did it for you. Too many people think AI can “do” things for them and that is where the danger lies IMO..@robert_brady
AI has mostly made my life easier in PPC. The only real downside I’ve had from AI is people at my job sending me tasks to look into things AI told them about campaigns – it’s been wrong/inaccurate 98% of the time. @williamhboggs
@williamhboggs I get this occasionally as well. Claude particularly isn’t great at prioritizing issues. It makes a disapproved sitelink seem like it’s going to destroy the whole account. @robert_brady
Yeah, I agree that in many ways it feels like AI is creating more hurdles because it makes everyone think they’re an expert, when more often than not, the AI is wrong or exaggerating. @revaminkoff
Had a few leads go from phone call to “just going to use Claude and handle it in-house”. Weird Summer for sure. @duanebrown
@duanebrown So, I am finding leads that found me via AI tend to do this. @NeptuneMoon
I can see that also being the case. One lead from the summer came via a forum search. This feels like 2007-2009 when everyone thought they could design their own ads or own blog content using those great tools back then but just made a lot of meh content. @duanebrown
No, we limit our customer base so much, that I have had not trouble. I worry more that more clients will ask for AI integration or ChatGPT ads and I don’t particularly want to do them. @ynotweb
Wow, reading y’alls stories… I would just point out all the very public mistakes made using AI advice (i.e. getting stranded on Mt Shasta, bombing the wrong targets, product shots turned to garbage just changing backgrounds/expanding view). Doesn’t seem to hard to dissuade anyone but those willfully ignorant (and this is a great way to weed out crappy clients) @ynotweb
Q2: How are you finding your niche as a PPC practitioner in today’s increasingly AI world?
I feel like this is about the 20th evolution I have gone through as a PPCer at this point. @NeptuneMoon
I’ve tried to make my niche into being educated on AI. My role has been search inside omnichannel for enterprise my whole career, so my clients aren’t looking for someone to build a tool, they’re looking for a thinker who can help them press the right buttons. It’s been VERY hard staying on top of this contradictory and fast-moving tech. @JuliaVyse
Yip, it’s been evolution since the beginning. I have to admit that I’m feeling a little lost at this point. More so than in the past. @Pete_Bowen
My niche seems to be as a bridge between doing it yourself and hiring in-house (or a big agency). Admittedly, a smart business owner can probably extend the DIY phase longer with AI, but they could mess it up even more too. I feel like there is still plenty of room for me. @robert_brady
@Pete_Bowen I wouldn’t say I am so much lost as tired. @NeptuneMoon
@NeptuneMoon that might be a better description. Maybe we’re getting old? I have 8 grandchildren. @Pete_Bowen
I am 55 with a (lovely) teenaged kid, so yeah…@NeptuneMoon
I’ve really leaned into building tools and systems to help other PPCers rather than just managing accounts. This has become my niche. Trying to get into making video content as well @williamhboggs
I am finding that it is easier to sell either pick my brain or second set of eyes type of services these days than traditional strategy/management @NeptuneMoon
@williamhboggs I LOVE a process, a system, a framework, a lens. Remember: if you call your grid a matrix, you can charge x5 more! @JuliaVyse
Also, if a client wants to argue with me about why the AI is right and I am wrong, well that is the end of that @NeptuneMoon
I think even younger PPC practitioners are tired. Because you CAN build every tool you could ever imagine, customized to your exact situation, doesn’t mean you SHOULD. After you’ve built it, who is watching the connections to make sure they don’t break? Are you continuing to check the outputs so the AI didn’t “forget” how to do tasks? Then you have to consider which model is best suited for a task and most efficient in it’s token use. It’s like you’re managing accounts and also taking on all the roles of a SAAS company too. It’s exhausting. @robert_brady
@robert_brady plus, whatever the answer is now will be different with the next model release. it’s too much! @JuliaVyse
To be clear, I am not saying I am the be all and end all of PPC, but I do certainly know when an AI is wrong about PPC strategy or analysis. @NeptuneMoon
And too few people are thinking about payoff periods for the AI-built stuff. If you have to update it every 4 months, did it do enough to justify the upfront investment? Or would you have been better off continuing with current systems? @robert_brady
I think Colin did a really good post on this last week or the week before. @JuliaVyse
I’m focusing on the fact that I am a human with a mind that can reason cognitively and weigh their priorities and truly understand the systems at play and strategy and human behavior, etc. @revaminkoff
@JuliaVyse Got a link? @revaminkoff
@robert_brady I had a client lose almost 100 leads because their vibe-coded CRM broke and nobody caught it till I did. The boss was boasting about he hired and intern for $1500/month on some government scheme to build the CRM for him. @Pete_Bowen
@JuliaVyse Is this the one you mean? https://www.linkedin.com/posts/collin-slattery_ive-been-so-ai-pilled-that-ive-done-a-share-7507832556189376513-_DYE/ @NeptuneMoon
@robert_brady This is a great point. I think the trick is to lean as much away from relying on AI as possible. I’m not a programmer, so I use AI to help me with building out the tools, but the tools themselves don’t use AI – they use real math, statistics, and IFTTT formulas. I think this is the healthy balance @williamhboggs
@NeptuneMoon yes! It’s very focused on his team’s experience, not universalising, and a pretty straightforward profit after cost analysis. @JuliaVyse
@williamhboggs Agreed. Let the AI build determinative systems. @Pete_Bowen
I’m not sweating too much. From personal experience and what I’m seeing more broadly, it appears as though the pendulum is starting to peak on the “AI can do PPC” and “work slop” frenzy. I’ve seen at least 1 marketing leader (who leaned HEAVILY on work slop and injected AI into everything) lose their job, in part because of the endless claudits and circular tasks that never really moved things forward.
I think/hope this trend continues. Not the losing of jobs, but that people start to identify work slop and move away from it towards actual, productive work that uses AI responsibly. @AnthonyMcDaniel
Google’s AI Overview has not touched ecom as much but the impact is more felt by what each person thinks they can now do themselves. A little too much default to AI when a tool already exists to do the job. e.g. export ad copy from Google qads. @duanebrown
Same way as always- connections, relationships, and getting great results so we are still pre-sold to all potential clients. @ynotweb
Building the tools @DanThies
Q3: What do you consider to be your main competitive advantage(s) as a PPC pro?
As I said in our brief chat yesterday I’ve always considered being able to do 3 things reasonably well as my main advantage (small business, ads and programming). The combination has worked well for almost 20 years now. @Pete_Bowen
My experience. My ability to be thoughtful, cautious. My ability to design tests and act on outcomes rather than vibes. And my deep addiction to political news. It turns out watching what weirdo CEOs say to government leaders, in several countries, is very helpful these days. @JuliaVyse
Definitely length of experience, also working in marketing before the internet and just being human focused. I swear the pre internet marketing skills are coming back around again as AI pulls from things like landing pages because you have to make sure you’re speaking the right language for your audience(s), etc. @NeptuneMoon
I take the time to understand the business and understand the prospective customer; what emotions they feel, what pain they have, etc. Then you apply the tools/tactics of PPC appropriately to achieve the desired result. Can’t start with tactics first. @robert_brady
Using math to make decisions backed by real data, not my gut. Deep interest in psychology and design. @williamhboggs
I’m hopeful that my communication style will continue to set me apart. The more prevalent AI becomes, the more I’m hoping people appreciate talking to a real person who uses normal words to explain things, without sending them 9 page briefs on every email. That and continually working on time/task management. People like working with people who get things done in my experience. Basically, I’m just working on the fundamentals at this point and keeping my eye out to see where I can add value in the future. @AnthonyMcDaniel
I am talking with clients a lot about their positioning these days too. Again because it needs to be right but also it impacts how the various AI elements “see” their business, products or services. If that is misaligned, then it spirals. @NeptuneMoon
On a separate note, launched Google Ads for a new client yesterday and the first lead just arrived so everyone is happy @Pete_Bowen
I think we should all also remember the competitive advantage we have as being part of this community! I have had client questions that were maybe not my best area of expertise and I will say something along the lines of – I am not quite sure about that, but I will reach out to my industry contacts who are experts in that area and get back to you. @NeptuneMoon
There is a lot of value in conversing, even just thinking out loud, with another expert, NOT a robot. @JuliaVyse
Having sanity checks or talking/messaging with someone who has done a lot of work in a particular vertical can be SO helpful! @NeptuneMoon
All good answers. Our brains can be an advantage and knowing when something is wrong. @duanebrown
Yes! the testing frameworks are often okay, but if you do lead scoring or car purchases, travel, anything that takes several decisions to convert, the machines can only do so much. @JuliaVyse
I am a kind, compassionate, trustworthy, intelligent person with a lot of experience and deep knowledge of this space and the real challenges and emotions involved. I am very flexible in how I look at things, being able to work across different areas to find answers, solve problems, and get results. @revaminkoff
Using experience to know when something has potential or what is total bullshit. Being able to recognize FALSE cause & effect. Knowing that the platforms are not working in anyone’s best interest, so fact check ALL recommendations. @ynotweb
Understanding the rest of the funnel @DanThies
My people skills and connections. Also my experience with times of underperformance. I have been through downturns and I won’t panic and overcorrect if things get choppy @rebeccawarne
Q4: How is AI making it harder and/or easier for you to be competitive as a PPC pro?
I don’t really use AI in my PPC work. I know I am probably in a minority in that regard at this point. @NeptuneMoon
Is it OK to say I’m not sure about the impact yet? Some stuff feels easier. Some stuff feels harder. Some stuff gives me hope. Some stuff makes me want to take up drinking. @Pete_Bowen
It is harder when clients send you massive amounts of AI output @NeptuneMoon
I’ve said this before, but my biggest complaint has been Account Managers & clients sending things they found with AI and asking me to look into it. I’m confident enough in my skills to give an answer or hold my own – but my complaint is that it takes up so much time I could be spending doing something actually useful in their account. @williamhboggs
I honestly think I am going to put something in my contracts about me reviewing AI output if that is not what they are specifically hiring me to do. Cause it can be time consuming, especially if they send stuff weekly! @NeptuneMoon
A while ago I got caught out with a surprise Claudit. 30 pages of plausible recommendations about how rubbish I was. I did the absolute worse thing – tried to respond to it. That kind of asymmetric warfare is impossible to win because AI can generate text faster than a human can reason about it and come up with a sensible answer. @Pete_Bowen
I should consider adding that to our contracts too, @NeptuneMoon . It is insanely frustrating. @revaminkoff
@williamhboggs yep. One thing I’ve heard is to ask the person to jump on a call instead of responding to each item. Pushes it back on them to be able to communicate what specifically they have issue with or are wanting to look into (rather than just copy/pasting AI responses) and makes the workload shared instead of putting the onus on just you to respond to the prompt they likely put very little work into. @AnthonyMcDaniel
I know one consultant who has started billing in credits – like the work we outlined in this scope is equal to 10 credits. And if they used up 10 credits with extra stuff, then they have to buy more. It is an interesting idea @NeptuneMoon
I’d say data analysis has become easier for me, and I’ve even built my own little search lift tool inside claude. it’s very good at specific tasks I find. When there’s a mood/vibe/biz change/govt rule change, it’s much less helpful @JuliaVyse
I like the phrase “asymmetric warfare” – the knowledge isn’t equal and yet, it’s also hard to convince the person sometimes that I, the human, have more of it than the machine. I do like being able to process/analyze more data more quickly.AI is certainly helping with my inbox and task management. @revaminkoff
@revaminkoff teach me your ways! My copilot, how do I put this, SUCKS at helping with my inbox and task mgmt @JuliaVyse
I will add that having a little section in your contracts on your scope change process is very helpful for AI review creep. If you clearly lay out how you handle changes in the scope of the agreed upon work, it makes it much easier to have the conversation that all the additional AI output review is not included in the scope of work and will either cost extra or they need to STOP IT. @NeptuneMoon
It may have even been @Pete_Bowen that I heard that from. Or Kirk Williams’ keynote at Hero Conf? or a combo of the two. But I’m planning to start initiating more phone calls as a response to AI claudits/requests. It’ll be interesting to see how much clients/colleagues actually want to discuss the topics they’re presenting vs. just pass along their recent prompts for me to handle. @AnthonyMcDaniel
@AnthonyMcDaniel I think that sometimes they just want to know that they’ve got it handled. @Pete_Bowen
oh, the first thing I thought was how NOT using AI is making it easier to stand out in ads. Sure, a lot of people are not savvy, but there are a LOT of people who notice the difference in copy/creatives and reject them. So in a sea of AI, they respond to our ads (given a chance). Of course, forced AI integration is creating a time suck like never before so we can do LESS in the same amount of time. @ynotweb
It is always a good idea to try to get to the WHY when clients are repeating any behavior @NeptuneMoon
@AnthonyMcDaniel I like that. One thing I’ve started doing is asking people “What makes you feel that way” or “What’s the reason behind your suggestion”. This at least gets them to admit it’s AI and 90% of the time they just copy-paste what AI says so they don’t actually know what they’re asking. This has been pretty goot at getting me off the hook haha @williamhboggs
@Pete_Bowen most definitely. The hard part is that sometimes the thing they want handled, doesn’t really need to be handled in the first place. but hopefully a real conversation will help draw out that reality. @AnthonyMcDaniel
@AnthonyMcDaniel I should have been clearer. It’s been my experience with a few clients that they ask AI a question and then pass the answer to me. They don’t necessarily want me to execute on it, I think they just want to feel comfortable that they’ve done their bit (ask this machine-god who knows everything) and passed the answer onto someone who understands it. @Pete_Bowen
@Pete_Bowen Ahhh, yeah got it. I think that’s probably right, and helps to know when that’s the case, because then at least we know that we don’t necessarily need to execute on this bad recommendation. Very valid. @AnthonyMcDaniel
I run campaigns in several languages ,and I use Gemini to revise ad copy and come up with new keywords. It isn’t always perfect, but I know enough to catch the glaring errors and smooth out the obvious “AI speak” @rebeccawarne
Q5: What are you most worried or excited about when you think about your future in PPC?
I’m worried I’ll lose my job, even indirectly. My company probably won’t fire me, but fewer clients = fewer jobs etc. And I’m VERY worried future me will have a career in picking up the pieces after AI clearcuts entire sectors. @JuliaVyse
I am eagerly awaiting the AI bubble popping so we can see where everything settles out to. Because this race and pace we are on is not sustainable. Beyond that, I worry about the loss of institutional knowledge, both in PPC and in our clients. And people generally being willing to outsource their thinking. Because for me, the problem solving and thinking is what I like about this job… @NeptuneMoon
Worried they literally will make it impossible to USE OUR BETTER JUDGMENT and require AI to be able to touch our ads and creatives. In a world where everyone let’s the AI rewrite/create, NOTHING is original and nothing will work. I worry that it makes it so completely UNFUN to work in this field, I might as well plan on retiring early and find a new fun job. @ynotweb
@ynotweb the fun loss is real! and it is directly connected to the knowledge loss. Everybody, read some fiction this month I beg you! exercise those imagination muscles. @JuliaVyse
@ynotweb I totally agree on the likely homogenization of everything. How can anything stand out if it is all machine generated by the same machine???? @NeptuneMoon
@ynotweb The FUN bit is exactly what I’m worried about. I’ve been so lucky to do interesting and challenging work, and get paid for it, for so long that the idea of it being less interesting and fun is apalling @Pete_Bowen
I’m worried about what happens when PPC pros start retiring or moving on to non-PPC roles and there aren’t opportunities for new people to start filling the gaps. If all intern/entry level work is replaced by AI, how are we going to get the next generation of sr level PPC folks to actually manage the AI? @AnthonyMcDaniel
Worry: AI is removing the opportunities for new people to get into PPC. The loss of junior-level practitioners will be felt for years. Excited: The tools available today are more powerful than any we’ve ever seen and they are accessible (cost and capability). In the right hands so much good can be achieved. @robert_brady
I am also worried about the platforms getting even more opaque and not showing very much data to us at all. So much of what we do it looking at all kinds of data and synthesizing it to come up with ideas to make performance stronger. Without that data, that becomes very hard if not impossible. And I don’t think I would enjoy that. @NeptuneMoon
Back to TV days. put ad on tv. wait. sales? @JuliaVyse
I’ve kept quiet and appreciated all the insights shared but want to comment on this one because I think it’s useful to voice hope and fear: What I’m hopeful about: our industry has never been more accessible and I’m genuinely excited about all the growth that’s possible. What I fear: I’m watching humans make choices that aren’t always healthy and while there are some who “vote with their wallet” the vast majority are too lazy to make choices that would actually cause real disruption. @navahhopkins
People are inherently a bit lazy these days, so the siren song of AI hits hard. And governments are letting these tech companies run rampant (EU is trying) and that is scary. @NeptuneMoon
@NeptuneMoon lazy and also overwhelmed! I just have no choice to use it or not, I have too much on to survive without it @JuliaVyse
Agree on the level of overwhelm playing a role! @NeptuneMoon
When they roll out the AI Turbo Max + campaign that decides everything for you, only lets you set a budget and the only reporting is how much it spent @DanThies
@DanThies so smart campaigns returning. @JuliaVyse
Jog lose is real. LinkedIn is still filled with these posts and I don’t think it is slowing down. AI is Skynet in the worst possible way. @duanebrown
Not being able to keep up with how quickly the industry and platforms change @DiiPooler
PPCChat Participants
- Julia Vyse @JuliaVyse
- Anthony McDaniel @AnthonyMcDaniel
- Boggs @williamhboggs
- Navah Hopkins @navahhopkins
- Peter Bowen @Pete_Bowen
- Dii Pooler @DiiPooler
- Julie F Bacchini @NeptuneMoon
- Reva Minkoff @revaminkoff
- Robert Brady @robert_brady
- Duane Brown @duanebrown
- Kammy Caruss @ynotweb
- Dan Thies @DanThies
- Rebecca Warne @rebeccawarne
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