The AI whirlwind of change is storming through digital marketing in 2025.
Artificial intelligence has disrupted advertising. Zero-click marketing delivers information and interaction directly in search results, ads, and social media platforms. Search "everywhere" optimizes your brand’s organic presence for every platform your customers use.
Playing catch-up on all this isn’t an option. You have to get ahead of it. But how?
Predictions and declarations about these topics are flying in all directions. It’s vital to recognize what will truly impact our businesses and distinguish that from the digital noise blaring from the AI bandwagon.
At Northwoods, we're sorting out and navigating these paid digital advertising trends – and guiding our clients through them – based on data-backed insights, strategies, and decisions about:
- AI in advertising
- Google Ads changes
- Paid social trends
AI in Advertising
Artificial intelligence hype is surging through all industries, but at a tsunami level in digital marketing. We see companies responding – or trying to respond – to these changes – often by reducing ad spend. And that makes sense to an extent; it’s impossible to open a browser without encountering AI.
But right now, Gen AI use is still at less than 1% in comparison to traditional search methods. That doesn’t mean that future reality isn’t coming on fast. AI is transforming many facets of digital campaigns, from how we craft compelling ads to how we dig into data and optimize performance. It’s a growing part of our work and it’s important to stay ahead to future-proof our strategies.
Optimizing for Zero-Click Marketing
As AI continues to change the real estate of search engine results pages, zero-click searches have become a new and important consideration in growth marketing.
What Is Zero-Click Search?
Google's AI Overviews (AIO) have been live since May 2024, and they are answering user queries as the first entry on SERPs. AI Overviews aren’t always correct, but they do allow searchers to find answers immediately atop the SERP. This means users are less likely to click through; users with less intent might start and end their journeys on Google Search. We can realistically assume that such users, prior to zero-click, would have low engagement on your site even if they bothered to click through to it.
An example of a Google AI Overview (Hey, that agency looks familiar!)
This change dictates that ad copy must be crystal clear and provide immediate value or a call to action within the ad. Google now places much more competition “above the fold,” so effective ad copy and enticing offers to consumers are more important than ever.
Even though users might be less likely to click through from search results, mere appearance in readily visible spots in those results can raise brand awareness. Users average 11+ touchpoints with a brand before making purchases. An appearance on a SERP is a touchpoint. Every little bit helps.
Want AI Overviews to mention you? Traditional strategies, such as brand positioning and anticipating user queries, still work. Google has explicitly said that ranking well in traditional search is the best way to win a presence in AI Overview. Learn more about optimizing for AI search.
Diversifying Channels with Search Everywhere Optimization and Smarter Metrics
Diversify your digital marketing channels. Heavy reliance on one platform is risky when algorithms and user behaviors shift constantly. Don’t just invest in Google. Use audience tracking tools to find out where your audience lives. Then, be visible there.
Above all, rethink metrics. Conversion data becomes more crucial as uncertainty rises about the effect of AI on traffic and clicks. Advanced tracking for such metrics as customer lifetime value (CLTV) and multi-touch attribution can help you truly understand a campaign's impact across the entire customer journey. Of course, your bottom line – revenue and conversions – should drive your decision making.
Where AI Falls Short in Paid Marketing
While AI can be an incredible productivity booster for paid ads, it's not a magic bullet. Here are some AI limitations to keep in mind:
Robotic Writing
AI can churn out ad copy and optimize campaigns, but it often lacks the all-important human touch. It struggles to create emotionally resonant or brand-defining content. AI can write a sentence, but it can't tell a compelling story or understand the subtle nuances that connect with people on a deeper level. That's where your creativity and understanding of your audience come in.
Garbage In, Garbage Out
AI thrives on data, and we find that using it to parse through data is one of the more productive ways to use LLMs. But AI’s output is only as good as the data it receives. If the data is poor quality, incomplete, or biased, the AI's recommendations will follow suit. This can lead to ineffective targeting, misleading performance reports, and even the perpetuation of existing biases in ad delivery.
Misunderstanding Context
AI might misinterpret search queries, struggle with industry jargon, or fail to grasp subtle user intent. The result: ads shown for irrelevant search terms, wasted ad spending, missed opportunities, and a lot of manual corrections.
This is why diligent optimization and experimentation by a digital ads expert are important to make sure ad campaigns are running properly and providing efficient return on investment.
Algorithmic Bias
AI algorithms can unintentionally reinforce societal biases or those present in the training data. This can lead to discriminatory targeting, excluding certain demographics, which is particularly problematic when trying to reach multicultural or diverse audiences.
Data Privacy and Compliance
AI-driven personalized ads often rely on extensive user data, which raises serious data privacy and compliance concerns. The strict rules of GDPR, CCPA and other privacy regulations can limit the data available to AI and potentially degrade its targeting accuracy. Observing the rules in ways that respect privacy without hobbling ad campaigns is a crucial aspect of responsible AI use.
The Bottom Line: Even with automation, human oversight remains essential. Marketers need to understand how AI operates and be prepared to adjust strategies when automated recommendations don't align with business goals. There's a learning curve involved in effectively leveraging AI and understanding its outputs.
Google Ads
In 2025, changes to Performance Max (PMax) and the addition of AI Max services to Google Ads have expanded the influence of automation. PMax consolidates campaigns across Search, Shopping, Display, YouTube, Discover, Gmail, and Maps. It leverages Google's AI to optimize bidding, budget allocation, and ad serving in real time.
For our clients, this means less manual optimization than in previous search eras and more time and resources devoted to a strategic approach.
PMax Improvements
Google has continued to roll out significant improvements to Performance Max campaigns this year. We see more control with negative keywords at the campaign level and crucial brand exclusions for Search text ads. This helps preserve your branded traffic. Expanded options for demographic and device exclusions are in beta, alongside improved reporting that offers deeper insights into channel-level performance and search terms.
This improved reporting is huge. Previously, PMax campaigns were part of “Google’s black box.” That is, Google used this campaign type to send out ads through all of its network channels but returned little insight into how well its attempts worked in each channel. We had to use complex spreadsheets and connectors just to get insights on this campaign type. We’re excited about the prospect for PPCs to more reliably see what our campaigns are really doing (other than overly retargeting on YouTube, which PMax campaigns are known to do).
It’s more important than ever to focus on high-quality creative for your ads. The system thrives on a diverse range of images, videos, headlines, and descriptions, which it dynamically combines for various placements. This demands a consistent input of fresh, engaging creative to keep your brand at the top of mind for prospective customers.
Demand Gen
Demand Gen campaigns (which evolved from Video Action campaigns) are gaining traction. These visual-heavy campaigns, similar to Display, broadcast across YouTube, Discover, and Gmail. They aim to generate new demand and drive upper-funnel awareness, and thus complement PMax's conversion-focused approach.
Search Ads
Google's AI Mode/AI Overview is transforming paid search advertising. As AI-generated summaries become more prominent in search results, it’s important to compete for prime real estate on the search page; you want your ads to appear alongside these summaries. Your ads must clearly differentiate and offer a unique value proposition that goes beyond what the AI can provide. Trust becomes an even bigger factor. If users trust the AI, they must trust your ad as much or more, and they must trust it immediately.
AI Max
Google's AI Max is a suite of optional AI-driven features added to “boost” Search campaigns.
AI Max uses advanced broad match and pushes for "keywordless" searches. It leverages Google's AI to understand user intent. This means your ads can appear for highly relevant, conversational queries you might otherwise miss. It connects you with new, valuable audiences.
The system also dynamically generates and customizes headlines and descriptions in real time and tailors them to specific user queries. Using AI, this tool selects the most relevant landing page on your website to improve user experience and lift conversion rates.
AI Max offers some level of control and reporting. You can still use brand inclusions and exclusions, specify locations, and gain deeper insight into which search terms triggered your ads, what headlines were used, and which URLs performed best. This helps address the "black box" concern by providing more visibility into the AI's decisions.
Although this sounds exciting, experienced PPCs know that relying so much on Google’s algorithm could be costly and less effective. Continuous monitoring and strategic human oversight remain essential to ensure it aligns with your business goals and maintains brand consistency. We could see this tool evolving over time to become more useful, in the same way PMax became a staple in paid strategy.
To learn more about recent Google Ads changes, we recommend checking out Google Marketing Live 2025.
Social Media Ads: The Visual Revolution and Privacy Pivot
Paid social advertising continues its evolution, driven by highly engaging visual content, seamless commerce, and Instagram’s more Google-friendly makeup.
The Power of Video Ads
According to Associated Press, video is 53x more likely to generate search rankings compared to plain text. This makes video marketing impossible to ignore. Short-form video, popularized by platforms such as TikTok, Meta Reels, and YouTube Shorts, is even growing on LinkedIn.
Users gravitate toward quick, digestible content. Advertisers know this, and they’re mastering the art of the short-form video. YouTube is holding its spot as the second largest search engine, so the reach of video through paid ad platforms such as Meta, LinkedIn, and Google (YouTube) will continue to grow.
Shoppable Ads
The rise of shoppable ads is blurring the lines between social browsing and e-commerce. Brands are creating seamless buying experiences directly within social apps, allowing users to discover, learn about, and purchase products without leaving the platform. This makes the path to conversion incredibly efficient. It leads directly to your bottom line.
Instagram on Google
The recent integration of public Instagram content directly into Google Search results is a significant development for paid social advertising. Historically, paid social excelled at demand generation and audience discovery within Instagram. Now, organic Instagram content can appear for search queries and thus competes directly with paid search ads. This necessitates a heightened focus on SEO, through leveraged keywords in captions and alt-text.
Paid social strategies must adapt. This could mean shifting budget from high-intent searches – now possibly met by organic Instagram content – to top-of-funnel awareness or retargeting. Insights from Instagram's organic performance in Google Search can refine paid social targeting and creative for a more cohesive, full-funnel approach across both search and social channels.
The Digital Journey Ahead
2025 is proving to be a pivotal year in digital advertising, but the overarching message is clear:
- Be alert to updates on automation and AI.
- As always, stay vigilant and check the data behind findings before making moves.
- Prioritize data privacy.
- Create highly engaging, relevant content.
Here at Northwoods, we're committed to help you navigate these complexities with confidence, ensuring that your digital advertising strategy keeps your business competitive and growing.
What emerging trends are you most excited (or perhaps a little concerned) about in the digital advertising landscape? If you're looking for a data-driven digital marketing agency that understands market trends and how to leverage them for success, contact us to speak with our digital paid advertising experts. And download our Ultimate Guide to Leveraging AI in Your Digital Marketing and Advertising.
