Jeremy Packee breaks down August’s biggest paid media updates, including Google’s budget-limited bidding rollout, expanded AI Max testing, new GA4 measurement controls, and Microsoft making AI Max the default for new Search campaigns. He also covers expanded ChatGPT ad capabilities, Demand Gen updates, and new AI-powered reporting tools across Google Ads and Analytics, all with a focus on what advertisers should test, watch, and approach with caution.
Jeremy Packee is flying solo for August's Click Brief while Emily Anderson is out on maternity leave, breaking down another busy month of paid media, measurement, and AI updates.
Google completed its budget-limited bidding rollout, expanded AI Max testing and Performance Planner controls, and introduced more flexibility within GA4. Meanwhile, Microsoft followed Google's lead with AI Max, ChatGPT continued expanding its advertising platform, and new AI-powered analysis and reporting tools made their way into Google Ads and Analytics.
Top Takeaways
Biggest Change to Watch
Google completed its budget-limited bidding rollout for campaigns using Target CPA and Target ROAS. Advertisers may see changes in auction activity, CPCs, and overall efficiency, making these campaigns especially important to monitor.
Testing Upgrade
Google expanded AI Max experiments with multi-campaign testing and additional brand and location controls, giving advertisers more flexibility to test automation under conditions that better reflect how campaigns actually run.
Measurement Win
GA4 added custom conversion windows and a campaign data import validation report, giving advertisers more control over how they evaluate performance and making it easier to incorporate and troubleshoot non-Google campaign data.
Default Setting to Check
Microsoft made AI Max generally available and is moving toward enabling it by default for new Search campaigns. As with Google, advertisers should review campaign settings carefully rather than assuming the defaults are right for every account.
AI Tool Worth Watching
Google continues adding AI-powered analysis across Ads and Analytics, including personalized insight cards, prompt-built dashboards, automated summaries, and benchmarking through Ask Advisor. These tools can speed up first-pass analysis, but still require human context and review.
Other Platform Updates
Final Take
August's updates show just how quickly AI and automation are becoming built-in parts of everyday campaign management. The new tools can make testing, reporting, and analysis faster, but defaults still deserve scrutiny. Whether it's AI Max, automated bidding, view-through conversions, or AI-generated insights, the best approach remains the same: test intentionally, understand what the platform is optimizing toward, and validate the results against actual business outcomes.
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