As ads in AI Overviews (AIO) become more prevalent, it’s critical that advertisers monitor performance impact, both within those ads and in the greater campaign picture.
At JDM, we’ve crunched the numbers to produce some insights on AIO ads and their impact in client accounts in the first half of the year.
First, some context:
- AIO ads launched on mobile in October
- AIO ads began rolling out to desktop in May
- Ads can show either above/below AIO or within AIO, but not at the same time
- Only PMax & Broad match ads are eligible to show within AIO
AIO Ads Performance (noting that additional factors are present in campaign fluctuations)
- PMax CTR and CPC worsened in May and June, but those numbers are beginning to rebound.
- Overall, search CTR is strong, but we’re seeing some decline since May. CPC has improved MoM.
- In the last two months, broad-match keywords are showing the greatest decline in CTR and increase in CPC.
JDM’s key takeaways
- We’re seeing an increase in zero click searches across paid & SEO results.
- We’re maintaining an eye on CPC, CTR, and Impression share (so far, all metrics are healthy).
- Diversifying beyond search by leaning more into PMax has helped demand capture.
- Differentiation within messaging is important for driving action.
- Optimizing toward down-funnel conversion actions is essential for steering machine learning.
We expect to see trends shift as algos update, SERPs evolve, advertisers tweak strategies, and user behavior adapts to the proliferation of AI content. Stay tuned to the JDM blog for insights!