Google Search is changing quickly.

AI Overviews and AI Mode are changing how people ask questions, explore products and make decisions through search. Instead of typing a short keyword into Google, users can now ask longer, more conversational questions and continue refining what they are looking for.

For advertisers, that creates a new opportunity, but it also creates a problem.

Google Ads can already serve alongside some of these AI-led search experiences, but advertisers still do not have a clear view of how much of their paid search activity is coming from traditional Google Search and how much is being influenced by AI.

A recent study of more than 400 Google Ads accounts highlighted just how difficult that activity can be to identify.

What Did The Google Ads Study Find?

Google has previously said that queries made through AI Mode can be around three times longer than traditional Google searches.

You might therefore expect Google Ads search term reports to show a noticeable increase in longer and more conversational queries as AI search adoption grows, that is not what the study found.

The analysis looked at Search and Performance Max campaigns across more than 400 Google Ads accounts, covering data from Q1 2024 through to Q3 2026. It compared search terms by length and analysed impressions and conversions across the US, UK and France.

Despite the different AI rollout timelines in each market, there was no obvious increase in longer search terms.

Even when the analysis focused specifically on conversions, broad match activity and AI Max search terms, there was still no clear shift towards the longer queries you might expect from AI-driven search.

That does not necessarily mean people are not using AI search. It could simply mean advertisers cannot clearly see it.

Why Is AI Search Activity Difficult To See In Google Ads?

One of the biggest issues is the way Google reports search term data. Google does not provide advertisers with a straightforward breakdown showing whether a click or conversion came from traditional Search, AI Overviews or AI Mode.

Google also withholds some lower-volume search terms from reporting. That matters because longer, highly specific AI queries are more likely to be unique and may not generate enough volume to appear individually in the Search Terms Report.

There is another important difference too, for AI Overviews and AI Mode, Google says the search term shown to advertisers can represent its best approximation of the user’s intent rather than necessarily showing the exact wording entered by that person.

So a user could potentially ask a detailed conversational question while the advertiser sees something much shorter and simpler inside Google Ads.

That creates a gap between what people are actually searching and what advertisers can analyse.

Does This Mean Google Ads Reporting Is Becoming Less Transparent?

To an extent, yes, search term reporting has already become less granular over the years.

A growing proportion of search activity is grouped into unreported terms, while automation, broad match, Performance Max and AI-led targeting mean advertisers increasingly rely on Google to interpret intent rather than matching every ad directly to a specific keyword.

The study found that unreported terms accounted for a significant proportion of activity, making it difficult to establish whether longer AI-led queries were hidden within that data.

That changes how PPC performance needs to be assessed, historically, advertisers could spend a considerable amount of time looking at individual search terms, adding negative keywords and refining targeting around exact phrases.

Those things still matter, but they now form part of a much bigger picture.

What Does AI Search Mean For Businesses Running Google Ads?

Businesses should not panic because they cannot see every AI search, the more important question is whether their advertising is generating the right commercial results.

That means looking beyond individual search terms and paying closer attention to metrics such as:

• Cost per lead
• Conversion rate
• Lead quality
• Revenue generated
• Landing page performance
• Campaign-level performance
• Search intent
• Customer acquisition cost

For example, a business may see fewer identifiable search terms while still generating more qualified enquiries, that would arguably matter far more than being able to see every individual phrase responsible for those conversions.

The challenge is making sure Google has enough good information to make the right decisions, strong conversion tracking, clearly structured campaigns, relevant landing pages and accurate first-party data are becoming increasingly important as automation takes a bigger role in paid search.

Are Keywords Becoming Less Important?

Keywords are not disappearing, they still help Google understand relevance, commercial intent and the types of searches a business wants to appear for.

What is changing is the amount of control advertisers have over the exact query-to-keyword relationship., Google has steadily moved towards intent-based targeting. Broad match, Performance Max and AI Max all rely more heavily on machine learning to determine when an ad should appear.

AI search pushes that development further. Instead of someone searching:

“SEO agency Middlesbrough”

they could ask:

“Which digital marketing agency near Middlesbrough would be suitable for an SME that wants more enquiries from Google?”

The intent may be almost identical, but the journey is very different.

The advertiser therefore needs to make sure Google understands their services, audience, location, website content and conversion signals rather than relying on one exact keyword.

Why Landing Pages Matter Even More In AI-Led Search

As search becomes more conversational, landing page relevance becomes increasingly important. Google needs to understand what a business offers and whether the page it sends a user to genuinely answers their needs.

A strong landing page should make the service clear immediately, explain why the business is a suitable choice and give the user an obvious next step. It should also support the wider topic around the service.

If someone reaches your website after asking Google a detailed question, a thin landing page containing a handful of keywords is unlikely to provide the experience they need.

That is another reason PPC, SEO and content should not operate completely independently. The same clear service information that supports organic and AI search visibility can also help strengthen paid landing pages.

Will AI Search Change How PPC Campaigns Are Managed?

Almost certainly, the role of the PPC specialist is already moving away from simply managing bids and individual keywords.

Automation now handles much of that process, the bigger job is making sure the system has the right information to work with.

That includes:

• Strong campaign structure
• Accurate conversion tracking
• Relevant creative
• Useful landing pages
• Good audience signals
• First-party customer data
• Clear commercial goals

 

Advertisers also need to understand what happens after the click.

A campaign generating 50 cheap leads is not necessarily outperforming one generating 20 leads if those 20 enquiries turn into significantly more revenue.

As visibility into individual searches reduces, measuring genuine business outcomes becomes even more important.

How Should Businesses Prepare For More AI Search?

• • • The first step is not to completely rebuild your Google Ads account because AI Mode exists.
    • Businesses should instead focus on getting the fundamentals right.
    • Make sure conversion tracking is accurate.
    • Review whether your campaigns are generating genuine leads rather than simply increasing form submissions.
    • Look at how users behave after they arrive on your website.
    • Check whether landing pages clearly match the intent behind your campaigns.
    • And consider PPC as part of a wider search strategy rather than an isolated advertising channel.
    • AI search is bringing SEO, PPC, content and brand visibility closer together.

 

A potential customer might first discover a brand through an AI Overview, later see a paid ad, visit the website organically and eventually convert through another channel.

Looking at each part of that journey separately can make marketing performance increasingly difficult to understand.

What Is The Biggest Takeaway From The Study?

AI search is not necessarily making Google Ads less effective. It is making search behaviour harder to interpret using traditional reporting alone.

The study found little evidence of longer AI-style queries appearing inside Search Terms Reports, despite Google’s own data suggesting AI Mode searches are significantly longer than traditional searches. That does not mean the activity is not happening.

It shows why advertisers should be careful about treating the Search Terms Report as a complete picture of how customers now interact with Google. Search is becoming more conversational, more automated and increasingly influenced by AI. Businesses that focus solely on individual keywords risk missing that bigger shift.

The priority should be building campaigns around genuine customer intent, measuring meaningful conversions and making sure the entire journey from ad to landing page supports the person searching.

At Outrank, we help businesses build joined-up digital marketing strategies across PPC, SEO, content and emerging AI search. If you want to understand how changes in Google Search could affect your visibility and lead generation, get in touch with our team.