Welcome to this week’s PPC Pulse. The big news this week centers on platform evolution: how advertisers get information, where ads show up, and what formats are gaining traction.
OpenAI announced it’s testing ads inside ChatGPT for the first time. Google launched a new podcast to help advertisers navigate platform changes. And Demand Gen added features designed to make video campaigns more actionable for commerce and travel advertisers.
Here’s what matters for advertisers and why.
Google Ads Launches “Ads Decoded” Podcast
Google is officially launching an ad-focused podcast, “Ads Decoded.” It’s aimed at helping advertisers better understand platform updates and AI-powered features.
Announced on LinkedIn, Ginny Marvin, Google Ads Liaison, will be officially hosting the podcast. The first episode launches on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026.
In the announcement, Marvin stated:
“The response to our pilot episodes proved that there is a hunger for a different kind of conversation – one that moves past the headlines and announcements and into the mechanics and nuances of how things actually work.”
Throughout the podcast series, Marvin will bring in Google product managers and platform experts to discuss new features, answer community questions, and provide their unique insights on how updates work in practice.
The original pilot episode featured product managers discussing AI Max for Search campaigns and Performance Max (PMax) channel performance reporting.
Why This Matters For Advertisers
Google Ads has no shortage of releasing product updates, but this podcast signals a shift in how those updates are being communicated.
Instead of relying solely on blog posts, help center articles, and occasional webinars, Google is creating a recurring channel specifically designed with PPC marketers in mind. It’s to better explain these features and why they matter.
For advertisers trying to keep up with the velocity of platform updates, this should be extremely useful. Product managers have the chance to explain more technical details that don’t always make it into official announcements from Google.
Hearing context directly from the team building these features adds clarity that marketers need.
The podcast also gives Google a way to address confusion or pushback on updates in real time, rather than waiting for feedback to bubble up through support channels or community forums.
For advertisers who prefer audio formats or need to stay current on platform updates without constantly checking multiple sources, “Ads Decoded” offers a centralized option worth adding to your lineup.
What PPC Professionals Are Saying
The feedback from advertisers on LinkedIn is all positive. Handfuls of marketers offered their enthusiasm and encouragement to Marvin.
Jonathan Milanes, founder of Proverve, said this is “long awaited,” and many others, including Tony Adam, founder and CEO of Visible Factors, can’t wait to tune in.”
Ben Luong, director at Copperchunk Ltd, asked:
“Is there a way to ask questions or where do you get the questions from to answer?”
Marvin replied that marketers can drop their questions along the way, and will also try to “surface questions and answers that may be buried.”
Further reading: 25 Years Of Google Ads: Was It Better Then Or Now?
Demand Gen Adds New Features
Also this week, Google announced several new features for Demand Gen campaigns that are now live. These were previously previewed capabilities announced at Google Marketing Live’s 2025 event back in May.
The updates include Shoppable CTV, attributed brand searches, and travel feeds. The features are designed to help advertisers reach new customers while being able to measure their impact more effectively.
- Shoppable CTV: Users can now browse and purchase products directly while watching YouTube ads on connected TV screens. According to Google’s data, Demand Gen campaigns that include TV screens drive an average of 7% additional conversions at the same ROI.
- Attributed Branded Searches: This feature is now available for Demand Gen. It’s meant to show the volume of your campaign’s branded searches on Google and/or YouTube to help quantify the impact of upper-funnel campaigns.
- Travel Feeds: Advertisers can now connect their Hotel Center feed in Demand Gen campaigns to build dynamic video ads. The videos can feature hotel pricing, ratings, and availability.
Google cited LG Electronics as an example of Demand Gen’s effectiveness, noting that the company achieved a 24% higher conversion rate than its paid social campaigns, while reaching high-value customers at a 91% lower CPA.
Why This Matters For Advertisers
The long-awaited Demand Gen updates make this campaign type more actionable for commerce and travel advertisers, especially those who have been testing this campaign type but are wanting more control over creative and measurement.
Shoppable CTV can help address one of the biggest challenges with connected TV advertising: measuring direct response. If viewers can browse and purchase without leaving the screen, that removes a layer of friction and makes TV inventory more accountable.
Attributed brand searches can help advertisers justify upper-funnel spend by showing how campaigns influenced search behavior, not just immediate last-click conversions. This is especially important for teams that need to prove incremental impact to stakeholders who are more accustomed to last-click attribution.
Travel feeds bring dynamic creative to video advertising in a way that mirrors how Shopping campaigns work for retail. Instead of generic hotel ads that can get lost in the noise, advertisers can now surface pricing and availability based on what users are actually searching for.
What PPC Professionals Are Saying
While advertisers are excited about these updates, there was some justified constructive feedback as well.
Jyll Saskin Gales, Google Ads Coach at Inside Google Ads, responded to Google:
“Please make Attributed Branded Searches more widely available! It’s by request via Google rep only right now, and it will be such a helpful metric to justify increased YouTube & Demand Gen investment.”
Alexandru Stambari, performance marketing specialist at ASBC Moldova, agreed that this is the right direction for Demand Gen, but “the real impact of Demand Gen still heavily depends on data quality, attribution, and feed setup.”
Further reading: Demand Gen Vs. Lead Gen: What Every CMO Needs To Know
ChatGPT To Begin Testing Ads In The US
Officially announced last Friday, OpenAI confirmed it will begin testing ads in ChatGPT for Free and Go tier users in the coming weeks. This marks the first time ads will appear inside the ChatGPT experience.
Ads will appear at the bottom of responses, only when there’s a relevant sponsored product or service tied to the active conversation. They’ll be clearly labeled, visually separated from organic answers, and dismissible. Users can see why a particular ad is shown and turn off ad personalization entirely.
OpenAI was also explicit about where ads won’t appear:
- No ads for users under 18.
- No ads near sensitive or regulated topics (like health, mental health, or politics).
According to the release, conversations won’t be shared with advertisers, and user data won’t be sold. OpenAI also emphasized that advertising won’t influence ChatGPT’s responses.
Read our full coverage: ChatGPT To Begin Testing Ads In The United States
Why This Matters For Advertisers
For the first time in a while, we’re watching the birth of a completely new ad environment.
The context of these ads is completely different in ChatGPT versus someone searching on Google or Bing.
For example, when someone asks ChatGPT for dinner recipes or travel recommendations, they’re likely in decision mode versus a simple research mode. The query itself is further down the funnel than most search queries. Typically, they’re looking for a solution they can act on.
If ads show up in that moment with strict relevance guardrails and zero ability to influence the answer itself, this resembles something more like a recommendation engine than a traditional search ad. The intent signal is there, but the buying mechanism doesn’t exist yet.
While this is something advertisers can’t plan for yet, what they should actually pay attention to is the framework OpenAI is setting.
They’re not opening this up to everyone. They’re not letting advertisers target by conversation history. They’re explicitly saying ads won’t change answers. If they stick to that, it means the only way in is through genuine relevance to what someone is already trying to do.
What PPC Professionals Are Saying
There’s been no shortage of comments and opinions from PPC marketers surrounding this topic.
A mix of excitement and scrutiny seemed to be the theme of users’ comments.
In a highly active LinkedIn post from Adriaan Dekker, co-founder of The PPC Talent Network, including 798 likes, 78 reposts, and 51 comments, a recap of reactions is summarized below.
Ofer Miller, performance marketing team lead at TestGorilla, stated:
“This is interesting, but I’m more interested in seeing their targeting methods and audience building tools: keywords? Topics? Demographics? Also I’d argue that it’ll start more as a B2C tool as the majority of companies and professionals who use GPT (if they’re using it, many are in Claude/Perplexity) will have a paid account, so no B2B relevancy.”
Some practitioners, like Joseph Williams, performance lead at ZIGGY, called this “exciting times for paid advertising,” and Alex R., platform & services director at Vibetrace, seemed excited for “new opportunities to make money.”
Aaron Levy, evangelist at Optmyzr, shared his unique perspective while analyzing the fact Google hasn’t announced ads into Gemini yet. His opinion is that the tech “just isn’t there yet and ads will feel intrusive.” He continued by saying:
“It would be foolish of us to dismiss Google for not being a first mover, while we as advertisers often lament them releasing products too early.”
Theme Of The Week: Platforms Are Adapting To New Behaviors
This week’s updates show platforms responding to shifts in how people discover products and consume information – both for marketers and consumers.
Google’s new ad-focused podcast will help advertisers keep up with platform changes in a unique way with more in-depth information. Demand Gen now has available features that make video campaigns more measurable, but adapts to how consumers are researching and buying. Lastly, ChatGPT is testing whether ads can exist inside a conversational interface without breaking trust.
In each case, the platforms are adapting to behaviors that are already happening. People are using AI for product research. Advertisers are struggling to stay current on platform updates. Video is becoming more shoppable.
More Resources:
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