Let’s take a holistic view of the digital marketing industry.
The two main platforms are Meta and Google.
Now, Meta made it clear years ago that it doesn’t care about targeting. Demographics, interests — all of that has been almost irrelevant since 2020. Ever since COVID, when Meta collated a lot of interests and demographics (e.g., C++ and Java all became just “programming languages”), it was the first signal to advertisers that targeting will not work.
Slowly, that control has been taken away. So now, whichever advertisers do well on Meta, they don’t do it based on precise targeting. They succeed because the creatives communicate what they’re selling without even writing the product. That’s the design thinking required to be successful on Meta/Instagram.
Google’s Position
Google, on the other hand, figured out that since it has always been more expensive than Meta (if you compare CPCs and other base metrics), it survives on conversions stolen from Meta.
This is not the first time something like Performance Max (PMAX) starts retargeting social media traffic. Why? Because PMAX knows social media is warm traffic. Social media followers and visitors already know the brand. That’s why there’s so much overlap between PMAX and brand search.
Try negating the brand from PMAX and it just crashes for a few weeks. Then, slowly, it starts taking conversions away from other Google templates.
Shooting Its Own Foot: Conversational Ads
This is where the “shooting its own foot” part comes in.
Google has been transforming search for years — from close variants and match types, to penalizing phrase/exact with 5x CPCs, to pushing demand gen, PMAX, and automatically upgrading shopping into smart shopping.
Now comes the biggest transformation: conversational ads.
Google announced these will start appearing in AI mode conversations — most likely before Halloween 2025, right before the holiday season (their biggest cash cow period).
This means there will be no more “search impression share.” Instead of 6 ad slots on page 1, Google AI will insert advertisers directly into conversations. Imagine Instagram DMs or WhatsApp chats — except the Google AI will recommend three advertisers relevant to the user’s stage of conversation.
Why This Works for Google
By doing this, Google is effectively shooting its regular search ad business. But they are transforming it into an AI-driven conversational ads business.
And this will work out because of hype.
Think of Bitcoin, crypto, NFTs, meme coins — AI is more hype than delivery right now. It’s not because AI cannot do what we imagine, but because it requires enormous amounts of energy and data. Humanity produces plenty of data, but not enough energy to make AI learn everything at once.
So here’s my prediction:
Just like all Google updates (PMAX, demand gen, close variants, broad match, etc.), conversational ads will perform with hype for 1–2 years.
Advertisers will overspend, results will disappoint, but all that money will train Google’s AI.
After 1.5–2 years, the AI will finally start returning actual value.
In the meantime, eCommerce and D2C advertisers will likely see good performance in the holiday season of 2025. But once the season ends and spending slows, results will fade, leaving mostly hype in the short-term.
The Role of SEO
This is where SEO enters the picture.
In 2016–17 we said, “Your SEO is only as good as your SEM.”
Now in 2025, it’s flipped: “Your SEM is only as good as your SEO.”
All these conversational ads, AI Overviews, and AI-driven recommendations ultimately depend on good SEO.
Yes, you’ll spend money on ads, but if your landing page doesn’t convert or communicate value, you won’t see returns. If your product-market fit is weak, no ad format will save you.
That means:
SEO is no longer about bulk links.
Only quality links matter — highly relevant, high DA/PA, even if you build just a couple a month.
Content marketing, PR, and topic clusters become critical.
What This Means for Advertisers
At the end of the day, your SEO determines how well your conversational ads will perform. Campaigns alone won’t save you — it’s about long-term website authority and relevance.
I see this firsthand in my own work: running my 5-in-1 Performance Marketing Bundle, Performance Marketing Mentorship, and even done-for-you packages.
Small businesses often overspend on Google hoping for quick wins, but the real leverage is in aligning SEO + SEM + creative strategy. That’s what I teach and implement.
So yes — expect Google to repeat its old pattern: hype for 1–2 years, then gradual real value. But whether it’s PMAX or conversational ads, one truth remains:
👉 At the end of the day, the house always wins.