Two marketing tools have rapidly grown in relevance and value to B2B events over the past few years: AI and PPC. They’re about to unite in a completely new way, in the form of Google’s AI Mode. 

Whether you currently use PPC or not, you should be prepared for this coming shift in how the world’s dominant search engine is used to attract attendees and secure exhibitor and sponsor leads for events.

Here is your briefing on what to expect from AI Mode and PPC for B2B events:
 

What is AI Mode?

If you’ve used Google recently (in the US or UK), you might have noticed ‘AI Mode’ as new option at the far left of the top bar. This is not the same as previous AI-enabled search results summary that started appearing in Google earlier this year. It’s completely different, in that it brings up a ChatGPT-style conversation screen with an answer to your search query, including prominent links to the most relevant websites listed in a column on the right.

What makes AI Mode better than ChatGPT and other alternatives? This is what Google claims: Google’s unmatched search algorithm has been packed into a conversational bot that can surface the most timely and relevant information and sites.

Google will be hoping that providing traditional search results and AI-enabled answers in one place will re-strengthen their position as the leader in internet search. Initial output is promising.

 

What does AI Mode mean for your PPC campaigns promoting conferences and trade shows?

Google has confirmed that ads will be coming to AI Mode.

MPG’s clients already achieve stellar website traffic, leads, and registrant results from Google Ads Search. And it is also worth noting that we have seen ChatGPT grow in prominence as a source of high-quality referral traffic to B2B event websites.

The signs are good that AI Mode ads - effectively a hybrid of Google Ads Search and ChatGPT - will be a strong driver of high quality web traffic, leads and revenue.

In practice, this means Google AI Mode gives you more ways to proactively target, reach and engage your ideal customers in a scalable, measurable way. You will also have new ways of delivering ads that answer their specific queries, specifically via ‘contextual targeting’ - a method that goes far beyond simple keyword matching. For example, a conversation with AI Mode about a particular challenge someone is facing in their work could eventually lead to your ad being served as a solution to that problem. Connecting relevant non-event search queries to event ads is already an effective tactic for Google Ads Search, and AI Mode could make it even more powerful.

As far as Google is concerned, B2B event audiences are usually very niche, so new AI-powered targeting and ads could surface completely new connections to your audience that weren’t previously possible. MPG’s PPC Campaigns team have already seen this to some extent with the success of AI-powered Google Performance Max (Pmax) campaigns (which you really should be using for your events - if you aren’t already!).

Search is still Google’s golden (revenue generating) goose, so AI Mode and AI Mode ads will start as supplements to the traditional search experience. However, if users start favouring AI Mode, Google’s priorities are very likely to shift, fast! This means your PPC approach will need to shift fast too. The risk of your ad strategy becoming redundant almost overnight is quite high at this time!
 

How do we implement AI Mode Ads?

Ads in AI Mode will be fully rolled out by the end of 2025, but expect them to start showing up before then as Google begins its testing.

Initially, AI Mode ads will be implemented via Search and Performance Max campaigns. This is good news for B2B events, as these are the two most effective campaign types for conferences and trade shows. AI Mode will likely be implemented via a simple toggle switch within new/existing campaigns (likely within Google’s new AI Max feature set).

Based on past new feature rollouts, we can expect Google to limit both control and performance visibility of AI Mode ads - at least at first. Despite this lack of transparency, we’ve historically seen good results from moving early on new features in Google Ads - they can often give you a competitive edge. Google tends to add more control and performance data once the initial rollout phase is over, so you’ll need to keep on top of any new settings or reports that could be vital to improving performance further.

Targeting will work differently for AI Mode, as Google continues its general trend away from targeting specific keywords to instead focus on broader topics. You will likely need to commit some budget to ‘test and learn’, to understand exactly how this new approach works for your events.

Tread carefully with any new generative copy/image settings that are added as part of the rollout. To date, we have not seen these features work well for B2B events - especially if your event is hosted on a website alongside other content/events. It’s likely that some form of generative content will be required to run AI Mode ads, so just make sure you understand exactly how it will work.
 

How do we prepare for AI Mode ads?

First, make sure your website is AIO optimised. You don’t want to pay for search/AI placements that you could be achieving organically (i.e. for free!). This will also ensure your website achieves strong conversion rates and cheap cost-per-clicks when you do run ads, as Google will deem your site high-quality, and your audience will be able to find what they’re looking for.

Conversion tracking and attribution will also be more important than ever, as AI-enabled campaigns rely on conversion data to target optimally.

Make sure your marketers are abreast of the AI Mode ads rollout. Subscribe to Google’s Blog, ensure you have weekly (at minimum) campaign reviews to spot any new features to test, and ask your team what their plans are to test AI Mode to drive better results for your event. As with all aspects of Google Ads, there will likely be ‘quirks’ to figure out to get AI Mode ads working at their best for B2B events. Doing so will be essential to remain competitive in the rapidly heating up world of events.

MPG will be testing and benchmarking AI Mode against our database of historical B2B event PPC marketing campaigns to determine best practices. If you’d like to leverage our expertise to grow your event, get in touch.