PPC is becoming an increasingly difficult landscape to navigate, and even though AI provides some help, it doesn’t save the day. Meanwhile, platform transparency continues to decline, leaving us in the dark about budget management.
The latest survey of PPC professionals reveals a challenging environment characterized by less transparent platforms, diminishing effectiveness of traditional measurement methods, and AI tools that have yet to revolutionize our daily routines.
Why I care. As someone deeply invested in PPC, it’s notable that over half of practitioners (53%) believe PPC has become tougher compared to two years ago. The issue isn’t just competition; it’s the increasing number of decisions being made by platforms out of advertisers’ view, which contributes to this growing complexity.
Considering that a whopping 89% of digital ad spend goes to just three companies, those of us who don’t have private measurement tools are essentially navigating without a compass.
By the numbers:
- 1,306 respondents participated in the survey conducted between November and December 2025, representing agency, freelance, and in-house roles.
- 62% identified platform opacity as the main reason for increased PPC complexity, with 53% pointing to the loss of effective measurement tools.
- 5.2 hours/week are saved on average with AI tools, though the majority of us (55%) save only 1–5 hours; almost nobody reports saving over 20 hours.
- 59% are now using LLMs for ad copy, up significantly from 42% the previous year, marking it as the fastest-growing AI use case.
- 73% of in-house teams now manage PPC entirely in-house, a significant increase from 44% two years ago.
- 20% of clients are considering replacing agency work with AI, compared to just 12% planning to switch agencies.
- $1 trillion was spent globally on digital ads in 2025, with 89% directed towards Google, Meta, or Amazon.
What they’re saying. Among PPC features, exact match keywords remain the most reliable, with 75% of us using them frequently. However, AI Max for Search sees minimal adoption, with 34% never having used it, possibly due to it being one of Google’s newest updates. Across the board, auto-apply recommendations are viewed with skepticism.
Between the lines. The underlying theme in the report revolves around agency survival. Many of us (62%) highlight the challenges of finding talent and increasing revenue, with the real threat being clients opting to manage PPC internally using AI.
The big picture. We’ve developed a cautious yet practical approach to incorporating AI — leveraging it for tasks like copywriting and research while being wary of its ability to make autonomous decisions. The more pressing issue that remains unaddressed is that platforms are gaining control and giving us less control over visibility, with no easy solution on the horizon.
Dig deeper. For more insights, check out The State of PPC Global Report 2026.
Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.
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