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Jeremy Packee is flying solo for August's Click Brief while Emily Anderson is out on maternity leave, breaking down another busy month of paid media, measurement, and AI updates.
Google completed its budget-limited bidding rollout, expanded AI Max testing and Performance Planner controls, and introduced more flexibility within GA4. Meanwhile, Microsoft followed Google's lead with AI Max, ChatGPT continued expanding its advertising platform, and new AI-powered analysis and reporting tools made their way into Google Ads and Analytics.
Top Takeaways
Biggest Change to Watch
Google completed its budget-limited bidding rollout for campaigns using Target CPA and Target ROAS. Advertisers may see changes in auction activity, CPCs, and overall efficiency, making these campaigns especially important to monitor.
Testing Upgrade
Google expanded AI Max experiments with multi-campaign testing and additional brand and location controls, giving advertisers more flexibility to test automation under conditions that better reflect how campaigns actually run.
Measurement Win
GA4 added custom conversion windows and a campaign data import validation report, giving advertisers more control over how they evaluate performance and making it easier to incorporate and troubleshoot non-Google campaign data.
Default Setting to Check
Microsoft made AI Max generally available and is moving toward enabling it by default for new Search campaigns. As with Google, advertisers should review campaign settings carefully rather than assuming the defaults are right for every account.
AI Tool Worth Watching
Google continues adding AI-powered analysis across Ads and Analytics, including personalized insight cards, prompt-built dashboards, automated summaries, and benchmarking through Ask Advisor. These tools can speed up first-pass analysis, but still require human context and review.
Other Platform Updates
Final Take
August's updates show just how quickly AI and automation are becoming built-in parts of everyday campaign management. The new tools can make testing, reporting, and analysis faster, but defaults still deserve scrutiny. Whether it's AI Max, automated bidding, view-through conversions, or AI-generated insights, the best approach remains the same: test intentionally, understand what the platform is optimizing toward, and validate the results against actual business outcomes.
Follow The Click Brief for fast, no-fluff performance marketing updates.
Visit The Click Brief blog for more in-depth analysis and updates from August.
Episode Highlights
Biggest Platform Shift
Platform to Watch
AI Advertising Watch
Competitive Landscape
AI Lab Watch
Other Platform & AI Updates
• Local Services Ads will remain keywordless and continue using a pay-per-lead model after moving into Google Ads
Final Take
July was a quieter month for major paid media announcements, but the updates point to two trends worth watching: advertising platforms continue consolidating management while giving more control to automation, and AI platforms are quickly developing more sophisticated advertising capabilities. For advertisers, the priority remains the same—understand what control is being gained or lost, preserve the data you need, and test emerging channels based on real business results rather than hype.
Follow The Click Brief for fast, no-fluff performance marketing updates every month.
Visit The Click Brief blog for more in-depth analysis and updates from July
Jeremy Packee and Emily Anderson break down June's biggest paid media updates, including Google's AI Max delay, new Smart Bidding controls, OpenAI's expanding advertising platform, and Meta's latest AI creative tools. They also discuss Reddit's growing role in product discovery, new Google Analytics reporting features, and what these changes mean for advertisers navigating an increasingly AI-driven landscape. As always, the conversation focuses on separating platform hype from practical strategies marketers can apply today.
Episode Highlights
Biggest Relief
Most Significant Change
Platform to Watch
Creative Reality Check
Reporting Win
Other Platform Updates
• AI Max remains the default option for new Google Search campaigns
Final Take
June's updates reinforce a trend we've been watching all year: AI is becoming the default across nearly every advertising platform. While these new tools offer more automation and efficiency, advertisers still need strong measurement, clean data, and human oversight to ensure AI is driving real business results—not just platform metrics.
Follow The Click Brief for fast, no-fluff performance marketing updates.
Visit The Click Brief blog for more in-depth analysis and updates from June
Jeremy Packee and Emily Anderson break down the biggest paid media story of the year so far: Google Marketing Live 2026. The episode explores Google's vision for an AI-powered future, including major updates to AI Mode, AI Max, Demand Gen, Merchant Center, measurement, creative workflows, and agentic commerce.
The hosts discuss how search is becoming more conversational, why first-party data is increasingly critical, and what Google's new tools mean for advertisers managing both e-commerce and lead generation campaigns. They also examine emerging features like Universal Cart, AI-powered shopping experiences, predictive conversion modeling, and Google's growing use of AI assistants across its advertising ecosystem.
As automation continues to expand, Jeremy and Emily focus on the practical implications for marketers, separating platform promises from real-world application and highlighting where human strategy still matters most.
Episode Highlights
Biggest Shift
Most Interesting Announcement
Biggest Opportunity
Measurement Upgrade
Tool Worth Testing
Other Platform Updates
• AI Mode continues expanding as Google's preferred search experience
Final Take
Google's vision is clear: more automation, more AI, more conversational experiences, and more commerce happening directly inside Google's ecosystem. The challenge for marketers isn't whether to adopt these tools—it's understanding where they create real value, where they still require human oversight, and how to maintain control over data, measurement, and business outcomes as advertising becomes increasingly AI-driven.
Follow The Click Brief for fast, no-fluff performance marketing updates.
Visit The Click Brief blog for more in-depth analysis and updates from May
Jeremy Packee and Emily Anderson break down April’s biggest paid media updates, including Google’s aggressive AI Max expansion across Search and Shopping campaigns, Microsoft launching AI Max for Search, and OpenAI officially entering the ad platform space with self-serve ChatGPT ads and CPC bidding. They also discuss Google’s new AI-powered qualified call lead tracking, Meta opening AI connectors for advertisers, and the growing shift toward conversational and visual search experiences.
The episode explores how AI-generated ad copy, automation-heavy campaign types, and intent-based targeting are changing the way advertisers think about performance media strategy. While these tools continue evolving rapidly, the hosts emphasize the importance of testing carefully and maintaining strong human oversight.
Biggest Shift
Biggest Platform Signal
New Feature to Test
Control Upgrade
Creative Reality Check
• Microsoft launched AI Max for Search campaigns
AI is no longer just assisting campaign management, it’s actively reshaping how advertising platforms operate. But as automation expands across search, creative, targeting, and reporting, the competitive advantage still comes from strategy, testing, and knowing when human judgment matters most.
Follow The Click Brief for fast, no-fluff performance marketing updates.
Visit The Click Brief blog for more in-depth analysis and updates from April
Jeremy Packee and Emily Anderson break down March’s biggest paid media updates, including OpenAI’s shift away from experimental tools like Sora and Meta’s continued push into AI-powered campaign management with Manus. They also explore Google’s expanding Performance Max capabilities, new cross-channel budgeting tools in Google Analytics, and Apple’s long-awaited move into ads within Apple Maps.
The episode highlights major changes to attribution, increased visibility and control within automated campaign types, and the growing role of AI across reporting, creative, and media buying workflows. As automation accelerates, the hosts emphasize the continued importance of human strategy and oversight.
Biggest Shift
Biggest Platform Signal
New Feature to Test
Control Upgrade
Creative Reality Check
• Meta is expanding Manus AI into Ads Manager and the Instagram Creator Marketplace
AI is becoming deeply embedded across every major platform—but it’s still not ready to replace human decision-making. The opportunity isn’t in handing over control—it’s in knowing where these tools can actually improve efficiency without sacrificing strategy.
Follow The Click Brief for fast, no-fluff performance marketing updates.
Visit The Click Brief blog for more in-depth analysis and updates from March
Meta Embeds Manus AI Into Ads Manager
Meta has begun embedding its Manus AI assistant directly into Ads Manager, allowing advertisers to analyze campaign performance conversationally within the platform. While early tests show potential, the hosts caution that advertisers should treat these tools as assistants rather than autonomous strategists.
Jeremy Packee and Emily Anderson break down February’s biggest paid media updates, including Meta’s push deeper into AI-powered campaign management and Google’s major change to budget pacing tied to ad scheduling. They also discuss Google’s expanding AI-powered commerce ecosystem, new bidding options for acquiring first-time customers, and emerging AI tools transforming creative production.
The episode also explores Google’s Nano Banana 2 image model and the new Pomelli Photoshoot tool, which can transform simple product images into studio-style marketing assets. The hosts close with a rapid-fire roundup of updates across Google, Microsoft, Instagram, X, and the evolving AI search landscape.
Biggest Watchout
New Feature to Test
Creative Shift
• Google continues expanding conversational search and brand agents within the SERP
Follow The Click Brief for fast, no-fluff performance marketing updates.
Visit The Click Brief blog for more in-depth analysis and updates from February
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