There's something shifting in paid search this week that's worth paying attention to — and not all of it is comfortable reading if you're running an e-commerce business in 2025. From Google quietly pulling the plug on a campaign type that's been around for years, to the genuinely unsettling reality that your competitors might already be appearing in your customers' AI conversations without you even knowing it, there's a lot happening right now. Let me break it down.

Your Competitors Might Already Be in Your Customers' ChatGPT Conversations

Let's start with the one that probably raised an eyebrow when you read the headline.

If your customers are using ChatGPT — and increasingly, they are — there's a real chance that when they ask something like "what's the best [product you sell] to buy right now?", a competitor's brand is being mentioned in the answer. Not because they've paid for a traditional ad. But because AI assistants are pulling from a wide range of sources, and some businesses are actively working to get their brand, products, and content referenced in those responses.

There's now a way to actually check whether competitors are showing up in ChatGPT answers for search terms relevant to your business. This is a relatively new area of digital visibility that most businesses haven't thought about yet — but the smart ones are starting to.

What does this mean for you? It's a reminder that "being found online" in 2025 isn't just about Google rankings and paid ads anymore. AI-generated answers are becoming part of the customer journey, particularly in the research and consideration phase. You don't need to panic about this right now, but you do need to be aware of it. It's something I'm keeping a close eye on for the businesses I work with, and it's going to become increasingly relevant over the next 12 to 18 months.

Google Is Killing Off Display Campaigns — Here's What's Replacing Them

This is big news if you've been running Google Display advertising. Google has announced it's retiring standalone Display campaigns in favour of something called Demand Gen campaigns.

To put that in plain English: the old-style Display ads — the banner ads you see on websites, news articles, and apps across the internet — are being phased out as a standalone campaign type. In their place, Google is pushing Demand Gen, which is a broader format that covers YouTube ads (including Shorts), Gmail, and the broader Google Display Network all in one place.

Google's argument is that Demand Gen is more powerful because it uses AI to find the right people across more surfaces. And there's some truth to that. But it also means less granular control for advertisers who liked managing their Display activity separately.

What does this mean for your e-commerce business? If you've been running Display campaigns — perhaps for retargeting people who visited your website but didn't buy, or for brand awareness — these will eventually need to migrate across to Demand Gen. Google will likely handle some of this automatically, but I'd rather help you do it on your own terms than let Google's automated migration make decisions for you.

It's also worth understanding that Demand Gen campaigns require good creative — particularly video. If you've been getting by with static banner ads, this change is nudging you towards more engaging content formats. Worth thinking about.

Performance Max vs. Separate Campaigns: The Debate That Won't Go Away

One of the most common questions I get asked is some version of: "Should I be using Performance Max, or should I have separate campaigns for Shopping, Search, Display...?"

This is a genuine strategic question with no single right answer — and it's still a hot topic across the industry. The honest position is that it depends. Performance Max (or PMax, as it's often called) is Google's fully automated, AI-driven campaign type that runs across all of Google's channels simultaneously. Google loves it. Advertisers have... mixed feelings.

The case for PMax is that it can find converting customers across channels you might not have prioritised, and the machine learning behind it has genuinely improved. The case against is that it's a bit of a black box — you give Google your budget, your product feed, and your creative assets, and Google decides where to spend your money. Transparency isn't its strong suit.

What does this actually mean for you? If you're running a well-established e-commerce store with a clear product range and good historical data in your account, the answer likely involves some PMax alongside more controlled campaign types, rather than going all-in on one approach. A blanket "PMax is always better" or "PMax is always worse" position doesn't hold up in practice. The right setup depends on your specific goals, your product margins, and how much control you need over where your budget goes.

This is exactly the kind of nuance that gets lost when you're relying on a junior account manager who's managing dozens of accounts — or when you're leaving it entirely to Google's automated recommendations.

The Numbers That Caught My Attention This Month

There are a few marketing statistics doing the rounds from May that are worth noting, even without diving too deep:

  • AI-driven search tools are growing rapidly as a starting point for product research, particularly among younger shoppers.
  • Paid search costs continue to rise across most sectors, meaning the margin for error on campaign management is getting smaller.
  • Video ad formats are seeing significantly higher engagement rates than static alternatives across most platforms.

None of these numbers are entirely surprising, but together they paint a consistent picture: the platforms are getting more expensive, more AI-driven, and more video-focused. That's the direction of travel, and it's been that way for a while now. What's changed is the pace.

Putting It All Together

Looking at this week's developments, there's a clear thread running through all of it: Google and the wider digital advertising world are accelerating their shift towards AI-driven automation, and the touchpoints where your customers discover products are expanding beyond the traditional search results page.

That's not a reason to worry — but it is a reason to make sure someone who understands all of this is actively managing your paid advertising rather than just leaving things to tick along.

The Google Display to Demand Gen migration is coming whether you're ready or not. The question of PMax vs. separate campaigns still needs a considered answer that's right for your business. And the fact that your competitors might already be showing up in AI-generated answers is something that deserves attention sooner rather than later.

As always, if any of this has raised questions about your own paid search setup, get in touch. That's what I'm here for.