AI is changing Pay-Per-Click (PPC) faster than any other event marketing channel.

Google is rebuilding how people search around AI Mode and AI Overviews, opening up more ways for your ads to show up inside those AI results.

This is an opportunity and a threat.

These features are still early in their rollout, so nobody has the full picture yet, but the potential upside is real: ads that are more tailored through AI; campaigns scaled faster and more effectively; and a chance to steal a march on your competitors if you are set up to take advantage sooner rather than later.

It is important, however, to be mindful that your media budget could very quickly and easily be gobbled up targeting the wrong people because Google Ads are not designed for B2B event marketing.

Whether Google’s new AI features help you beat your competitors, or just ramp up your losses, will depend very much on the human you have in the loop. If the person driving your campaigns understands Google Ads very well and understands events very well, you’ll benefit a great deal from the latest developments.

 

What is already in play?

#1 Google AI Mode
This is a ChatGPT-style chat built directly into Google Search. Instead of a list of links, results come back as a conversation with extra context. It is a genuinely different way of searching, and it changes how and where your ads can be targeted. Google Search has been one of the most effective channels for B2B events for decades, both organic and paid, so when Google starts redefining how it works, you should be paying close attention. Get your head around AI Mode now as it is fast becoming the default way people search online.

#2 Google AI Overviews
These are the AI-generated summaries now sitting at the top of Google search results, pulling information from relevant sites to answer a query. So far they mostly trigger on informational searches. For event organisers this is opportunity and threat in one: your event site can get cited as a source, but the summary can also answer the searcher before they ever click through to you. Here is MPG’s no-nonsense guide on appearing in AI results.

#3 Google Ads Generative AI
These are the settings inside Google Ads that use AI to generate text and image assets, built for scale and speed, and one of the things that can unlock AI placements like AI Mode and Overviews. Tread carefully here! Google’s AI does not understand your brand - and it certainly doesn’t understand B2B events - so it is easy to end up with AI-slop that damages how you look and costs you money. Our current recommendation on how best to use (or not use) all available features:

• AI-generated text assets: implement carefully and monitor. Make sure your AI Brief for Google is completed thoroughly to stop Google from generating messages that don’t align with your brand or offering.
   

• AI-generated image assets: these are riskier. If you do need to generate images from scratch then do this manually in the in-built asset studio. DO NOT simply switch on automatic image generation within campaigns or you’re likely to end up with embarrassingly poor imagery.
   

• AI-generated video assets: stay away (for now). AI-generated video has advanced dramatically, but it is still nowhere near replicating the authenticity of real event footage and might even undermine the compelling face-to-face nature of events in a world where we’re all seeking real connection.
   

• Google Ads Performance Max (Pmax): a must-have! This type of all-in-one, AI-powered campaign combines every Google Ads campaign type and uses AI targeting to find relevant users. Instead of keywords or audiences, Pmax runs on ‘Signals’, i.e. directions you give Google about the sort of person you need to reach. It is an essential component of any B2B event paid media campaign. If you don’t already have Pmax campaigns up and running, get in touch and we can help.
   

• Google Ads AI Max: use carefully. This feature adds AI targeting, ad and placement features to Google Search, and it is the fastest way to get your ads showing in AI Mode and AI Overviews, in as many places as possible, wherever ads are supported. Performance Max and broad match keywords will also get you into AI results, but much less reliably. AI Max is more reliable because it gives Google the most freedom to place you, and that same freedom is what makes it the riskiest option too, so keep a close eye on it. It can also be set to restrict generative assets, so you keep a tighter grip on what actually runs. Test AI Max on at least one of your Search campaigns to get a feel for it and set yourself up to appear in AI results as they roll out.

 

What’s coming down the road

Two things being tested by Google right now (expect rollout within the next 12 weeks)

1. Conversational Discovery Ads - these appear inside AI-generated answers as a solution to the user’s problem. They display as text and image, with Google explaining how your event could solve the problem raised. As with all AI Mode placements, targeting relies on giving Google enough freedom to find the relevant queries.
    

2. Highlighted Answers - these are ads that place you inside AI-generated product and service lists. When a query prompts a list of recommended options, Google’s ads can slot your event into that list. Same deal as Conversational Discovery Ads: they need room to match you to the right searches. This is essentially a ranked list of results that you pay to be at the top of.
    

Four possible future features Google has floated

These are either features that have no confirmed launch date, or are being rolled out on other campaign types first (e.g. Shopping). Either way, they show us how Google sees the future of search.

1. Business Agent: lets users ask questions about your brand directly from Google Search. The conversation is powered by Gemini and informed by your website plus a brief you provide, and it can fire a lead-gen form entirely within Google to capture high-intent leads for later targeting.
    

2. Direct Offers: exclusive discounts served directly to users asking about your brand or products. You would prompt both the discount and the guidance on who to target. Again, that means handing Google autonomy - backed by very clear direction.
    

3. Journey-aware bidding: a bidding strategy that factors in more than the final conversion. Potentially very powerful for B2B events, as long as you have long enough lead times. Even before you have access to it, get a full conversion-tracking stack in place now so that you’re ready when this rolls out.
    

4. New attribution: two new lenses will be added on impact: (a) Attributed Branded Searches - the short-term lift from Demand Gen and Display; and (b) Qualified Future Conversions - longer-term influence tracked over roughly six months.

 

3 things every event marketer should do now

1. Ask your PPC campaign manager to share their plan for staying on top of these developments.
    

2. Get full conversion tracking implemented. With this much AI in play, having your analytics fully and accurately set up is non-negotiable as it is the only way to ensure you’re feeding algorithms with accurate conversion data so they can find the right people and deliver the right messages to them. Tracking also enables you to see what is actually happening in your campaigns as your metrics shift. If your foundations need work, start with our practical guide to event marketing measurement and attribution.
    

3. Get your AI Brief fully populated and carefully pointed at your audience.

 

A quick word on ChatGPT ads

Ads in ChatGPT have launched, and the minimum spend requirement was dropped only a few weeks ago, so you will hear more about these soon. Early reports show some promise for B2B events.

However, be advised: this is not the moment to start spending on ChatGPT ads. Reporting is extremely limited and there is no conversion-focused bidding, so it is very hard to know what your spend is doing.

Bottom line: ChatGPT is not a good place to spend your media budget - yet. Better reporting and conversion-focused bidding is needed before this becomes a reliable channel for events. One to keep an eye on, but not one to gamble on until it’s more developed.

 

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Need a PPC health check? Or maybe you need a PPC agency you can rely on? Get in touch to find out more about MPG’s carefully designed and delivered ‘PPC for events’ services.