Google Ads AI, AI Search & the Future of Marketing

In this episode of Cinch Academy, Mandy, Shyan and guest Lauren discuss how AI is reshaping digital marketing, from Google Ads automation and AI-generated creative to SEO foundations and emerging AI search behaviour. The conversation explores how tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude are changing the way marketers research, build campaigns and optimize websites, while also highlighting the continued importance of human strategy and technical SEO.

Main Takeaways:

• AI search tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity are changing keyword strategy and user behaviour

• Landing pages and SEO structure are becoming more important for AI visibility

• Google Ads and Meta platforms increasingly favour AI-generated creative assets

• AI tools can simplify research, trip planning and workflow automation

• Gemini and smart device integrations are becoming more embedded in daily life

• Building personalized GPTs and AI workflows is becoming a valuable marketing skill

• AI-assisted coding and automation tools reduce the need for traditional programming knowledge

• SEO remains the foundation for visibility in both traditional and AI-powered search

• Human oversight is still essential for branding, editing and creative direction

The Abridged Transcription (Listen for full content!)

Shyan: Today, we wanted to talk about Google Ads AI mode and what’s happening with search in general. We’re seeing a lot of changes with ChatGPT and Perplexity. People are starting to search using AI tools instead of Google, and it’s really changing how we think about keyword strategy.

Mandy: AI is pulling information from Google Ads, your website and basically everywhere else. That’s why landing pages matter so much now. They affect your SEO, your Google Ads performance and how AI understands your business.

Shyan: It’s all connected now.

Mandy: Exactly. Making sure your landing pages are updated properly is huge because AI tools are pulling information directly from them.

AI-Generated Assets in Google Ads

Lauren: Google Ads is now automatically generating headlines, descriptions and even images using AI. Facebook ads are doing similar things too, and those systems tend to favour AI-generated creative.

Mandy: Which creates a really interesting question about manual campaign creation versus automated campaigns.

Lauren: Yes, because the platforms are definitely pushing users toward automation.

Using ChatGPT for Travel Planning

Shyan: I actually used ChatGPT to plan my trip to Paris. I asked it to create a detailed itinerary, compare transportation options and recommend restaurants.

Lauren: And it worked well?

Shyan: Surprisingly well. It was incredibly detailed.

AI Image & Video Tools

Lauren: If you’re really interested in AI-generated images and video, I’d recommend checking out Nano Banana. It’s a Google product, and I’ve heard amazing things about the results people are getting with it.

Mandy: I got a Google Pixel last year, and it automatically updated to Gemini and connected with my smart home devices. I was excited at first, but then I realized the assistant's voice had changed, and suddenly it didn’t know some of my settings anymore.

Shyan: They’re pushing Gemini everywhere right now.

Mandy: They really are. I need to spend more time learning it because, clearly, Google is investing heavily in it.

Mandy: Do you guys have any AI goals for this year?

Lauren: I’d really like to build my own GPT or fully customize one for the way I work. Something tuned to my language, my research style and the information I regularly search for.

Shyan: I want to explore more large language models in general. There are so many different tools now, and they all do different things well.

Lauren: Even beyond text generation, I want to learn more about AI video editing and image editing because my experience with it so far has honestly been terrible.

Mandy: It has improved a lot, though.

Lauren: Exactly. I think I just need more time experimenting with it.

Mandy: Apparently, there’s also a way to connect ChatGPT directly to Canva and import things more easily, but I haven’t had time to look into it yet.

Lauren: AI is starting to work more like a collection of software tools. You can basically tell it what you need in normal language, and it starts building the pieces for you.

Shyan: Which is wild because it lowers the barrier for programming so much.

Lauren: Exactly. That’s basically where the SEO auditor program came from — just experimenting with AI tools for months.

SEO as the Foundation for AI Search

Mandy: One of the biggest questions new clients ask us now is, “How do you get found on AI?”

Lauren: And honestly, it still comes back to SEO fundamentals. AI visibility starts with strong SEO and proper indexing.

Shyan: AI still needs to crawl and understand your website structure.

Lauren: Exactly. SEO makes sure those pieces exist and are readable to crawlers. If AI can’t properly see your content, it’s not going to surface it anywhere.

Mandy: I think our AI goal for 2026 is just continuing to learn.

Shyan: I don’t think we’ll ever be done learning at this point.

Lauren: There’s definitely a lot of work ahead of us.

Mandy: Thanks for joining us, Lauren.

Lauren: Thanks for having me.

Mandy: We’ll see everyone next month. Goodbye!

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