Have you ever wished for a simpler way to manage your Google Ads tags? Well, it seems Google might just be offering a solution soon. They’re pulling the Google Tag Manager interface directly into Google Ads, which could make tracking and tag management far easier.
What’s happening. Recently, in Google Ads, I noticed a new “Manage” option within the Data Manager section. This feature opens Tag Manager controls without the need to leave the platform.
The update came to light thanks to Marthijn Hoiting and Adriaan Dekker. They shared screenshots revealing elements of Tag Manager seamlessly embedded within the Google Ads interface.
Why this matters. If you’ve ever grappled with tag setup and troubleshooting, you know how it often involves juggling multiple tools and navigating technical handoffs.
With Tag Manager now integrated into Google Ads, the process could become less complicated, especially for smaller teams or advertisers without dedicated developers at their side.
Zoom in. When exploring inside the Data Manager interface, you will find connected data sources, including Tag Manager, which allows you to handle management actions right within Google Ads.
This suggests a move by Google towards a more unified measurement workflow, streamlining tagging, data connections, and campaign setup.
Between the lines. This change aligns with Google’s broader objective of simplifying measurement and enhancing data accuracy, a goal that has become critical amidst privacy transformations and signal loss.
It’s also part of Google’s effort to make tagging more accessible without requiring extensive technical setups.
What to watch:
Will the full Tag Manager functionality be fully embedded or remain partial?
How will this update impact workflows between marketers and developers?
Will this new method become the standard for managing tags among advertisers?
Bottom line. Google is subtly narrowing the gap between campaign setup and measurement, positioning tagging closer to the actual management of ads.
First seen. This interesting development was initially reported by Adrian Dekker on LinkedIn, crediting Marthijn Hoiting, a Data and Analytics specialist, for the discovery.
As someone exploring the ins and outs of Microsoft Advertising, I’ve discovered an update that’s sure to enhance our campaign analysis. Microsoft is now allowing us to customize columns with all conversion metrics, providing us with deeper insights and aligning reports with our unique business goals.
What does this mean for us? Well, according to Navah Hopkins, our go-to expert at Microsoft, we can now build custom metrics by leveraging the full spectrum of conversion data available in the platform. This means we can track all conversions and primary conversions, enabling us to tailor our reporting to meet our specific objectives more closely.
Please note the new image showcasing Microsoft’s enhanced custom columns feature. It’s a visual reminder of how these updates can transform our analytical capabilities.
Why am I excited about this? Because the standard reporting often doesn’t mirror how we truly measure success. By giving us the tools to expand custom columns, Microsoft allows us to define metrics that truly matter—be they lead quality, revenue, or a combination of conversion actions.
This flexibility is crucial for managing a variety of conversion types or navigating complex marketing funnels. Now, I can create custom columns, using ratios and metric combinations such as cost per qualified lead or conversion rates focused on primary goals.
Moreover, I appreciate that the revenue and ROAS calculations will now reflect the values that align with my conversion goals, providing more accurate insights directly linked to business outcomes.
What does this change imply for us in a broader sense? It represents a shift toward a more flexible and advertiser-defined measurement approach, instead of relying solely on standardized platform metrics.
This update highlights the ongoing demand for improved reporting customization as campaigns become increasingly automated and intricate.
So, what should we keep an eye on? I’ll be observing how advertisers like us utilize these custom metrics to guide optimization decisions, whether consistency in reporting improves across teams, and if similar flexibilities will roll out in other areas of the platform.
Bottom line? With Microsoft giving us more control over how we measure success, custom columns are evolving into a vital asset for campaign analysis. Read more about this update here.
I’ve witnessed firsthand how ChatGPT ads are evolving with self-serve buying options, enhanced measurement features, and a vision to create a scalable advertising platform.
OpenAI is stepping up its game with the ChatGPT ads platform by introducing self-serve buying, CPC bidding, and improved measurement methods to invite more advertisers into its ecosystem.
What’s happening. The ChatGPT ads initiative is shifting from a limited pilot to a broader rollout, providing businesses new methods to purchase and manage their campaigns. Advertisers can now access inventory through agency and tech partners or directly via the new beta Ads Manager, which is currently rolling out in the U.S.
This marks a significant move from a controlled test phase to a promising, scalable ad platform.
Why we care. In the past, access to ChatGPT ads was restricted and costly, limiting it to major advertisers. These updates are lowering the entry barriers, allowing SMBs, startups, and diverse brands to experiment with this channel.
By introducing CPC bidding, ChatGPT aligns more closely with established performance platforms, enabling advertisers to optimize for actions rather than just impressions.
Self-serve Ads Manager. With the new Ads Manager, advertisers gain direct control over campaigns, including budgeting, bidding, creative uploads, and performance tracking.
Even though it’s still in beta, it demonstrates OpenAI’s commitment to building a full-service ad platform, beyond a mere partner-led ecosystem.
Between the lines. This approach is not new. Typically, platforms start with high-touch, partner-led campaigns before transitioning to self-serve tools that enhance scalability. ChatGPT is entering this second phase.
CPC bidding arrives. Originally, ChatGPT ads were sold on a CPM basis. The inclusion of CPC enables advertisers to align expenditures with user actions—a critical evolution for performance marketers.
The nature of ChatGPT queries—often exploratory, comparative, and decision-driven—means that clicks could become an effective indicator of user intent.
Measurement catches up. OpenAI is also introducing pixel-based tracking and a Conversions API, allowing advertisers to measure actions like purchases, sign-ups, and leads.
Notably, this data is aggregated, ensuring no access to individual conversations, emphasizing OpenAI’s commitment to privacy.
Why this is a big deal. Measurement was a major gap in early ChatGPT ads. Without it, justifying ad spend was challenging for advertisers. These updates help bridge that gap, making optimization more feasible.
The ecosystem grows. OpenAI is expanding its network by partnering with agencies like WPP and Publicis Groupe, along with tech platforms such as Criteo and Adobe.
This allows advertisers to buy ChatGPT ads through tools and workflows they are already familiar with.
What to watch:
How quickly self-serve adoption scales
Whether CPC performance holds as competition increases
How measurement evolves to match advertiser expectations
LinkedIn’s Off-Platform event ads now empower me to promote external events effectively in-feed, driving registrations directly to my site by May 6.
LinkedIn has unveiled Off-Platform Event Ads, providing me with a novel way to promote events without the need for a native LinkedIn Event Page.
What’s happening. This innovative format lets me craft Event Ads that link directly to external destinations. These can be webinar platforms, landing pages, or livestream sites, allowing me to guide traffic away from LinkedIn for a more tailored experience.
This transition signifies a move from experiences contained on a single platform to more adaptable, marketer-directed journeys.
How it works. I can now create an Event Ad using a third-party URL, add essential event details like date and format, and select objectives such as awareness, engagement, traffic, or lead generation.
Every click takes users directly to the external event page, while I can still track performance metrics with Campaign Manager.
Why we care. Previously, promoting events on LinkedIn often meant staying within platform-imposed limits, complicating the user experience and restricting control over registrations.
With Off-Platform Event Ads, I can leverage LinkedIn’s targeting features while retaining traffic, data, and conversions on my own platform, which simplifies scaling campaigns and preserving consistency for participants.
What to watch:
Whether these ads result in higher registration rates compared to native Event Pages
How I can balance LinkedIn’s precise targeting with off-platform conversion tracking
Possibilities of LinkedIn extending similar versatility to other ad formats
Availability. Off-Platform Event Ads are being gradually introduced globally and should be available to all marketers, like myself, by May 6.
Bottom line. By allowing Event Ads to target off-platform destinations, LinkedIn provides an opportunity to elevate event promotion without the need to operate solely within its ecosystem, which is a game-changer for my marketing strategies.
When I learned about Adthena’s new Google Ads-to-ChatGPT conversion tool, I was immediately intrigued. This innovation allows advertisers to seamlessly repurpose their existing search campaigns for ChatGPT, simplifying budget shifts and campaign setup.
What’s happening? Adthena has introduced AdBridge, designed to translate Google Ads campaigns into formats suitable for ChatGPT advertising. The concept is straightforward: leverage what already works instead of starting from scratch.
The tool evaluates advertisers’ search campaigns to compile keyword lists, identify negative keywords, and gain competitive insights, ready for direct application in ChatGPT campaigns. It identifies which brands dominate certain auctions, their frequency, and the prompts triggering these placements, offering more than just a simple copy-and-paste solution.
Why it matters to me. Adbridge has significantly reduced the effort needed to reallocate my advertising budget from Google Ads to ChatGPT. By reusing existing keywords and insights, I can test and scale ChatGPT ads with minimal risk. As the platform expands, tools like this lower entry barriers, potentially speeding up ChatGPT’s adoption as a viable performance channel.
As Adthena’s CMO, Ashley Fletcher, mentioned, the goal is to prepare campaigns to run directly, mimicking the CSV-based workflows familiar across major platforms.
Early testing feedback. Adthena has already conducted numerous sessions with large enterprises experimenting with the tool, highlighting growing demand from advertisers eager to expand their presence in ChatGPT’s nascent ad environment.
Reading between the lines. This goes beyond just convenience—it’s building momentum. Advertisers testing ChatGPT ads face challenges like restricted inventory and scale. By easing campaign deployment, Adthena is positioning itself to facilitate quicker adoption as these challenges diminish.
A closer look. AdBridge is part of Adthena’s broader strategy, accompanied by Arlo, an AI assistant that lets advertisers query performance data and compare results across ChatGPT and search campaigns. Together, they indicate a future where AI-driven ad management mirrors existing search workflows.
The backdrop. OpenAI rapidly evolves its ad offerings—quietly launching an ads manager, lowering minimum spend limits, and introducing flexible pricing models. Collaborations with firms like Criteo and Smartly point to a burgeoning ecosystem.
The bottom line. As ChatGPT ads race to compete for search budgets, the ease of transition facilitated by tools like Adthena may determine the winners. Adthena aims to lead that charge.
Have you heard the news that OpenAI has introduced CPC ads to ChatGPT? This strategic shift has transformed it into a performance-driven channel, offering advertisers new avenues for engaging intent-driven audiences and tracking ROI.
OpenAI is moving away from a focus purely on impressions in ChatGPT to prioritize performance. This change places OpenAI in direct competition with giants like Google by adopting cost-per-click (CPC) ads, allowing advertisers to pay only when users click on their ads.
What’s happening? OpenAI has started testing CPC ads within ChatGPT, where advertisers only pay when their ads receive clicks. Initial reports highlight that these clicks are priced between $3 to $5. They’re rolling out this feature through a limited ads manager, alongside their existing CPM-based model.
Why now? The main catalyst seems to be pricing pressure. Since its launch, ChatGPT’s CPMs have significantly decreased from around $60 to approximately $25. Switching to CPC helps mitigate this decline by connecting revenue to tangible outcomes rather than mere impressions.
Why do we care? With its evolution into a performance channel, ChatGPT is now not just a branding space. The CPC pricing model makes it easier for us to connect budgets directly to measurable actions, test ROI, and compare these results with channels like Google Search.
I’m excited about the opportunity for advertisers to access what could be a high-intent audience in a new format. This presents a first-mover advantage before competition—and the associated costs—escalate.
The bigger picture: This isn’t just a pricing change; it’s a strategic pivot. By embracing CPC advertising, OpenAI challenges Google’s dominance in the market, thereby positioning ChatGPT as a contender for performance marketing budgets.
Reading between the lines: A major challenge lies in proving user intent. While search advertising is effective because it captures users actively searching for something, ChatGPT’s conversational context needs to generate clicks with equal value. Advertisers will likely compare these results directly with Google, setting a high standard for quality and conversion.
Zoom out: Advertising is becoming integral to OpenAI’s long-term revenue plan, supported by investments in ad infrastructure, measurement tools, and a wider self-serve platform.
Bottom line:By implementing CPC ads, OpenAI is vying for the performance-driven ad dollars that have long supported traditional search platforms.
I recently came across OpenAI’s testing of a new ChatGPT Ads Manager interface, which heralds a promising shift towards a more scalable and self-directed advertising platform.
Advertisers are buzzing about their experiences with the new Ads Manager interface for ChatGPT. It’s a leap forward, offering a mature advertising platform where we can manage campaigns in real time. This is a significant improvement over what we’ve had so far in terms of reporting and controls, as shared by digital marketers Juozas Kaziukėnas and Glenn Gabe through their detailed images.
What’s New: The Ads Manager is essentially a dashboard that allows me to run, monitor, and optimize campaigns in real-time—a significant advancement from the limited reporting we’ve seen previously. Juozas Kaziukėnas and Glenn Gabe shared some fascinating insights through images of this evolving interface.
Why It Matters: Up to now, ChatGPT ads have been in the nascent stages, with advertisers relying on basic tools like weekly CSV reports. The introduction of a comprehensive Ads Manager indicates OpenAI’s efforts to construct an infrastructure analogous to what we see in platforms like Google Ads or Meta.
Zoom In: I’m noticing more ads popping up inside ChatGPT, with brands such as Best Buy and Expedia being visible in early tests. The increase in ad inventory, combined with a sophisticated management interface, suggests a swift expansion in monetization endeavors.
What to Watch: As the Ads Manager continues to evolve, I’m looking forward to more refined targeting, reporting, and automation features. Initial feedback indicates there’s still room for growth here, especially concerning ChatGPT ads.
First Seen: Glenn Gabe was among the first to share glimpses of the ChatGPT ads manager interface on X.
For years, I’ve been told to stick to a set of guidelines: always use top-notch creatives, maintain a polished brand, follow scripts, and adhere to platform-recommended formats.
Lately, while navigating ad accounts or simply scrolling through feeds, I’ve noticed something intriguing. The ads that grab my attention often defy these rules. They’re less polished, scrappier, and sometimes referred to as ‘ugly ads.’ What’s fascinating is that they’re outperforming the traditional, polished ones.
More brands are deliberately breaking so-called best practices to stand out. It’s important to remember that these practices represent an average of what worked for others in the past. By the time a strategy becomes a platform-recommended rule, it might have already lost its edge.
This is why defying best practices can lead to success — but only if you understand the reasons behind them.
Why Breaking Best Practices Enhances Ad Performance
Before diving into what to change, it’s crucial to understand the rationale behind existing rules. Platforms like Meta and TikTok have dual objectives:
They aim for you to spend money on ads.
They want to keep users engaged on their platforms.
The best practices they promote are designed to ensure a seamless experience, encouraging ads to resemble others. The issue is that familiarity eventually breeds invisibility. When I adhere too closely to the rules, my ads risk blending into the background noise, overlooked by users.
Highly-produced ads often scream ‘this is an ad,’ prompting users to skip them before my message hits home. In contrast, when my ad resembles something a friend might share, users’ defenses remain down longer, potentially transforming a scroll into a conversion.
This is why many top-performing ads today don’t appear traditionally polished or on-brand. They break patterns instead. Consider:
Grainy phone footage.
Notes app screenshots.
Green-screened reactions or commentary videos.
Other lo-fi formats that outperform studio-quality creatives.
To implement this, I started intentionally reducing my production value and experimented with formats like point-of-view (POV) shots tailored to various personas.
Many brands have adopted guidelines that make them seem faceless and untouchable. They refrain from showing a messy office, an unpolished founder, or anything that challenges their corporate script. However, others are discarding that playbook, embracing founder-led ads that deviate from the polished executive version.
There’s a catch.
Breaking the rules works only when it’s genuine. I’ve learned that faking authenticity is easy to spot and can backfire. This was evident in a viral series of videos where McDonald’s CEO appeared to present a new burger, but his execution was criticized for being stiff and unconvincing.
As shown in a Dineline video, his performance appeared staged. Contrarily, Burger King’s president presented their burger with no hesitation, offering a genuine and relatable moment.
The distinction was evident: One was a product pitch, and the other felt authentic.
If my leadership doesn’t genuinely believe in the product, neither will my customers. Rule-breaking should allow us to be real, rather than simply appear unpolished.
You’ve probably encountered video hook best practices like ‘show the product in the first two seconds and state the value prop clearly.’ Sound familiar?
Imagine my ad starting with a screenshot of a negative comment, like one for a skincare product stating, ‘This probably smells like old socks, and does it even work?’ My ad would then show the founder confidently disproving this in an unscripted manner, applying the product.
Though this breaks the positive-association rule, it leverages viewers’ curiosity about digital conflicts. By the time they realize it’s an ad, they might already be engaged.
I learned not to abandon all polished assets just yet.
Rule-breaking is strategic, and often misunderstood when the ’80/20 rule’ is ignored.
Switching completely to shaky phone footage isn’t wise. Keeping 80% of the budget in traditional ads while using 20% for testing unconventional ones can be effective.
Next testing campaign, I plan to try:
The silent test: Running a silent ad with bold captions to stand out in a noisy feed.
The UI ghost: Using static images resembling platform notifications to pause scrolling.
The algorithmic trust fall: Disabling auto-optimizations in a campaign to test creative performance without constraints.
Don’t Follow the Rules; Understand Them
Best practices are a guide, not a strategy. To move beyond them, I do it systematically.
I start by questioning the rule’s existence, evaluating its current relevance, and testing its opposite in a structured manner. Comparing traditional and lo-fi approaches helps me understand user engagement better.
In an environment where brands play it safe, those who understand and strategically break the rules will capture attention and conversions. My goal is to learn faster than the competition, skipping guesswork.
I’ve discovered that Google has enhanced the Google Ads call campaign measurement with a new AI-qualified call leads feature. This upgrade focuses on boosting lead quality, moving beyond just measuring call length.
What’s new. Through machine learning, AI-qualified call leads analyze calls to determine if they represent valuable business opportunities. The system seamlessly integrates this data into bidding and reporting for improved results.
Zoom in. As an advertiser, I now receive AI-generated call summaries and tags, providing clearer visibility into each interaction. This transparency allows smart bidding to prioritize leads of higher value instead of relying solely on call duration.
Why I care. Call campaigns have traditionally depended on call duration to gauge value. With this update, I can shift the focus to actual lead quality, filtering out low-value interactions, including spam and robocalls. This change means better ROI, reduced wasted spend, and a clearer understanding of which calls really make a difference.
How it works. Recording calls is a default feature for most advertisers, allowing AI to evaluate call quality effectively. However, sectors like healthcare and financial services are exceptions. Advertisers, including myself, can adjust call length thresholds or opt to disable recording in account settings.
The fine print. Currently, this feature is available only for calls within the U.S. and Canada.
Ever since learning about Google’s latest update to its YouTube and Discover Feed ad requirements, I’ve been intrigued by the clarification on election-related ads. This change, effective April 2026, doesn’t alter enforcement but provides much-needed transparency.
Why it matters. As someone navigating the complex landscape of YouTube and Discover ad placements, I understand how tightly regulated these spaces are. Historically, election ads have been surrounded by ambiguity. Now, the update helps clear up that confusion without imposing additional restrictions.
What’s new (and what’s not). It’s interesting to note that election ads are now clearly exempt from specific YouTube and Discover Feed ad requirements. However, no changes in enforcement mean that if compliance was achieved before, there’s no need for advertisers to shift gears.
Why we care. With this update, I’ve noticed how Google aims to eliminate the haze surrounding election ads on YouTube and Discover. Although these ads don’t need to meet placement-specific requirements, adherence to Google Ads policies remains essential, offering clearer guidance and more predictable campaign launches.
Zoom in. For election ad campaigns, this exemption is beneficial since these ads aren’t required to comply with the targeted YouTube and Discover Feed ad guidelines. However, advertisers must pass the Election Ads verification within the ad’s targeted region.
Between the lines. It’s vital to recognize this as a documentation clarification rather than a policy change. Google is distinguishing between the unique requirements for YouTube and Discover ads and its overarching ads policy framework.
What advertisers should do. If you’re running political campaigns, it’s crucial to maintain your verification status and continue adhering to Google Ads policies. Despite the exemption, keeping up with regulations is necessary for a smooth advertising process.
