The New Changes in Online Advertising: Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and AI

Online advertising never stands still. A campaign that delivered excellent results six months ago may today look outdated, ineffective, and even loss-making. The reason? Constant changes in algorithms, tools, and user behavior.

Over the past seven days, the advertising world was shaken by several key updates that will change the way businesses in Bulgaria manage their campaigns. Google Ads (advertising on Google) will now count brand searches as conversions, Microsoft Ads is introducing new budget options, and AI is moving even deeper into the creation of advertising materials. At first glance, these are just “technical” changes. But in fact, they can mean the difference between staying ahead of the competition or falling behind for good.

Imagine that a potential customer sees your ad, but doesn’t click right away. Instead, after a few days, curiosity gets the better of them – they search for your brand on Google and decide to buy. Until yesterday, this effect remained hidden. From today, however, you will be able to measure it and prove to your team or investors that your ads work even when the path to the customer is longer.

In this article, we will walk you through the most important news, explain what they mean for Bulgarian businesses, and share specific steps to help you prepare. Our goal is simple – to give you the knowledge and ideas to turn these changes into your competitive advantage.

If your business relies on digital marketing to attract customers, now is the time to understand what lies ahead and how to benefit from the new opportunities.

1. Google Ads starts counting brand searches as conversions

What does this mean?
Until now, if a user saw your ad but didn’t click immediately and later searched for your brand on Google or YouTube, that was not counted as a conversion.
With the new change, these post-ad brand searches will be counted as conversions.

Benefits for businesses in Bulgaria:

• A more accurate picture of the impact of brand campaigns.

• The ability to capture the “hidden” effect of ads on brand awareness.

• Better justification of advertising budgets to management.

Recommendation from NIT: Monitor the new data carefully and separate brand conversions from direct sales so you have a realistic view of return on investment.

2. AI creates lifestyle images directly from product photos

What’s new?
In Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns, you can now generate up to 20 lifestyle variations of a product directly in the platform – no photoshoot required.

Why it matters:

• Faster A/B testing of different visual concepts.

• Lower production costs for advertising materials.

• The ability to adapt images for different audiences.

Example: If you sell shoes, AI can turn a standard product photo into an image with a model wearing them on the beach, in an office, or in the mountains.

Recommendation from NIT: Use these variations for campaign testing, but validate which visuals drive the best CTR and conversions.

3. Detailed data for RSA assets (Responsive Search Ads)

What’s new?
You can now see clicks and impressions for each individual part of the ad – headlines, descriptions, and more.

Why it matters:

• You can identify exactly which messages work and which do not.

• Easily optimize ad copy for maximum impact.

 Recommendation from NIT: Test different tones and keywords. Remove weak headlines and descriptions to increase CTR.

4. Lifetime budgets in Microsoft Ads

What does this mean:
You can now set a fixed budget for the entire campaign (for now, only for Audience Ads).

Benefits:

• Easy management of long-term campaigns.

• Reduced risk of accidentally exceeding the budget.

Recommendation from NIT: For campaigns with a defined duration (e.g. seasonal offers), set a lifetime budget instead of a monthly one.

5. Google is deleting historical data for PMax channels

Deadline: until August 8, 2025.
After this date, historical data for Performance Max channels will no longer be available.

Recommendation: Export your data now so you have an archive for analysis and future comparison.

6. AI Max Search Ads are now being tested live

What is this?
Automatically created ads with longer headlines and sitelinks leading to the same page.

Possible effects:

• More visibility in search results.

• Less control over the final form of the ad.

Recommendation from NIT: Monitor campaigns closely and analyze how AI generates the messages to avoid inappropriate content.

How to prepare for these changes

1. Update your conversion tracking strategies – include brand searches in the analysis, but do not mix the metrics.

2. Experiment with AI images, but test the results before full implementation.

3. Use the new RSA data to optimize ad copy.

4. Archive historical PMax data before it is deleted.

5. Review budget settings in Microsoft Ads for more flexible management.

6. Monitor AI Max Search Ads so you are ready for the automation of search ads.

Digital advertising has always been a game of adaptation – those who change quickly and intelligently win. The changes we are seeing now in Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and AI tools are not just technical updates. They are a signal that 2025 will be a year of greater automation, more precise reporting, and a much bigger role for artificial intelligence in marketing.

Ignoring them means leaving the first move to the competition. Using them in time, on the other hand, can be your chance to achieve better results with a smaller budget, measure performance more accurately, and speak the language of the modern consumer.

 

NIT – New Internet Technologies Ltd. is here to help you successfully navigate these changes – from strategic planning of Google ads to campaign execution and optimization.
If you want to stay ahead of the competition, contact us today.