Google Ads isn’t necessarily dead. But if you think it should be the centre of your entire advertising strategy, it’s time to rethink your approach.
For years, businesses have relied on Google Ads to generate leads, acquire customers, and grow revenue. Whenever a company wanted to reach people actively searching for its products or services, Google was often the first place it invested its advertising budget.
But customer behaviour is changing, and the way people discover, research, compare, and purchase products is changing with it.
AI-powered search, online communities, customer review platforms, and emerging advertising channels are creating new opportunities for businesses to reach their audiences.
The financial markets are also paying attention.
On October 28, 2026, Alphabet reported its third-quarter results. According to Yahoo Finance’s report on the results, total revenue was $127.6 billion, up 24.7% year over year and in line with analyst consensus. Google Search grew 12%. Even so, the shares fell 8.3% immediately after the report. Reuters’ coverage points to investor concerns about search advertising, competition from AI, and the cost of infrastructure investment.
Does that mean Google Ads has stopped working?
No. Google’s advertising business remains substantial. But it raises an important question for marketers.
If customer behaviour is changing, should your advertising strategy remain the same?
I believe it’s time to reconsider where we invest our budgets, how we reach our audiences, and how we measure marketing performance.
Let’s look at why.
1. The Way People Search Is Changing
Think about how you researched a product or service five years ago.
You would open Google, enter a query, visit multiple websites, compare your options, and make a decision.
Now, consider how you might approach the same task using an AI tool.
You could ask ChatGPT to compare different software products, identify their strengths and weaknesses, recommend solutions for your business, and summarise the information you need to make a decision.
Instead of opening every website yourself, you can begin your research with a single conversation.
This changes the discovery process.
According to G2’s 2026 Buyer Behavior Report, about eight in ten software buyers used an AI chatbot to source software recommendations in the last 24 months. The report, based on a June 2026 survey of 1,038 B2B decision-makers, also shows how AI tools are influencing vendor shortlists and how buyers use review platforms to validate their choices.
For SaaS businesses, this shift deserves serious attention.
Imagine someone searching for project management software.
Previously, that person might have searched Google for the best project management tools, clicked several advertisements, and visited different websites.
Today, they might ask an AI assistant to recommend software based on their team size, budget, integrations, and business requirements.
The AI assistant can help them identify options before they visit individual vendor websites.
Your product might still be a good fit. But if your brand isn’t visible or adequately represented in the sources used during their research, you could miss the opportunity to be considered.
The question is no longer just whether your website ranks on Google. It’s whether your brand appears wherever your potential customers are researching their options.
This doesn’t mean traditional search is disappearing. It means businesses need to understand how traditional search and AI-assisted discovery work together. If you want to see how AI tools describe your brand today, you can run a free AI visibility audit.
2. More Than Half of Internet Traffic Is Automated
Here’s another finding worth paying attention to.
According to Imperva’s 2026 Bad Bot Report, automated traffic accounted for more than 53% of internet traffic in 2025, up from 51% the year before, compared with 47% attributed to human activity.
More than half of the internet traffic measured in the report came from automated sources.
However, there’s an important distinction. Automated traffic includes different kinds of bots, such as search crawlers, monitoring systems, and malicious bots. The figure does not mean that AI agents alone account for more than half of internet traffic, nor does it establish that AI agents outnumber humans in product research.
So, why should marketers care?
Because the way we measure digital performance needs to evolve.
Imagine that your website receives 10,000 visits in a month. That number alone doesn’t tell you how many genuine potential customers visited your website, how many automated requests occurred, or how many visitors were interested in your product.
For this reason, businesses need to look beyond traffic volume.
You should measure qualified visitors, engagement, conversions, lead quality, and revenue contribution. You should also ensure that your analytics systems distinguish human activity from automated traffic as accurately as possible.
AI systems can also retrieve information from websites to help answer users’ questions. Depending on the system and query, multiple sources may be consulted.
This creates a new consideration for businesses: your digital presence needs to serve both the people researching your product and the systems helping them discover it.
The takeaway is simple: don’t measure marketing performance by traffic alone. Measure whether you’re reaching the right audience and generating meaningful business outcomes.
3. ChatGPT Advertising Is an Alternative Worth Testing
Now, let’s talk about advertising.
If Google Ads has been your primary acquisition channel, should you start exploring alternatives?
Yes, at least on a small scale.
One option worth evaluating is ChatGPT advertising.
OpenAI has introduced advertising in ChatGPT, creating another potential channel for businesses to reach audiences in an AI-powered environment.
You can review the latest information in the official Ads in ChatGPT documentation and check the ChatGPT Ads platform for current advertiser availability and campaign access.
Consider the difference between a conventional keyword search and a detailed conversation.
Someone searching for a software development agency might enter a broad keyword into Google.
Another person might ask an AI assistant:
“I’m looking for a software development agency that can help my startup build an MVP within three months. What should I look for, and which companies should I compare?”
Both people have a business need, but their research behaviour is different.
Conversational AI creates opportunities for advertising in an environment where users may be exploring a problem, evaluating alternatives, or considering a purchase.
Does this mean ChatGPT advertising will outperform Google Ads?
Not necessarily.
Its performance will depend on your industry, target audience, campaign objectives, creative, budget, and conversion economics. Availability and campaign capabilities may also vary by country.
But that’s precisely why businesses should consider testing emerging channels.
Marketing has always involved experimentation. When a new channel becomes available, the objective isn’t to assume it will work. The objective is to determine whether it works for your business.
Start with a defined budget. Establish your success metrics. Test your messaging and offers. Compare the results with your existing campaigns.
If the numbers make sense, scale gradually.
If they don’t, learn from the experiment and adjust your approach.
Don’t move your entire budget to a new platform because it’s attracting attention. Test it, measure it, and let the results guide your next decision.
4. Don’t Experiment With New Advertising Channels Without Expertise
Here’s where many businesses make a mistake.
They hear about a new advertising platform, create an account, launch a campaign, and expect results.
When the campaign fails to generate leads, they conclude that the platform doesn’t work.
But the problem might not be the platform itself.
It could be the audience targeting, creative, offer, landing page, messaging, or conversion tracking.
Running an advertisement is relatively straightforward. Running a campaign that produces profitable results requires a different level of expertise.
Similarly, an advertisement that performs well on Google may not perform equally well in a conversational AI environment.
This is why businesses should approach new advertising channels with a clear testing framework rather than simply moving money from one platform to another.
Before launching a campaign, define:
- The objective: Are you looking for qualified leads, product purchases, registrations, or brand awareness?
- The audience: Who are you trying to reach, and what problem are they trying to solve?
- The offer: Why should someone take action now?
- The creative: What message will attract attention and communicate value?
- The conversion path: What happens after someone clicks or engages with your advertisement?
- The measurement framework: How will you track conversions, lead quality, customer acquisition cost, and revenue?
An expert can help you make better decisions, avoid preventable mistakes, and understand why a campaign is or isn’t working.
The goal isn’t to advertise everywhere.
It’s to identify the channels that can reach the right audience and produce measurable business results.
5. If You’re Selling SaaS, Look Beyond Google Ads
If you’re running a SaaS business, this is where the conversation becomes even more interesting.
B2B software purchases rarely depend on one person’s opinion alone.
Depending on the organisation and the size of the purchase, several stakeholders may be involved.
These could include:
- The end user: The person who will use the software and experience its benefits.
- The internal champion: The person who identifies the problem and recommends a solution.
- The evaluator: The person who compares available products and assesses their suitability.
- The decision-maker: The person who selects the preferred solution.
- The approver: The person who authorises the purchase or budget.
- The executive sponsor: A founder, CEO, or senior leader who may need to approve a significant investment.
These roles can overlap, and not every company follows the same buying process.
However, the important point is that different stakeholders may research your product through different channels.
One person might discover your software through Google.
Another might ask ChatGPT for recommendations.
Someone else might search Reddit for user experiences or visit G2 and Capterra to compare competing products.
By the time your sales team speaks with the prospect, the buying group may already have shortlisted a few vendors.
This is why SaaS companies should consider a broader acquisition and brand visibility strategy.
Reddit: Reach Relevant Communities
Reddit can help you understand the questions potential customers are asking, the problems they experience, and the alternatives they are considering.
Depending on your audience and campaign objectives, Reddit Ads can also be worth testing.
However, paid advertising and organic community participation are different activities. If you participate in discussions, focus on providing relevant information rather than repeatedly promoting your product.
The objective is to understand your audience and reach the right people, not simply generate impressions.
G2 and Capterra: Help Buyers Evaluate Your Product
Software buyers often need more than an advertisement before they commit to a product.
They want to know whether the software solves their problem, integrates with their existing tools, offers reliable support, and delivers value.
That is where software review platforms can help.
According to G2’s 2026 Buyer Behavior Report, review sites were the top influence on software buyer shortlists at 38%, followed closely by AI chatbots at 37%.
These findings highlight an important relationship: AI can help buyers discover and shortlist products, while reviews provide additional evidence for evaluating those choices.
For SaaS companies, maintaining a credible presence on relevant review platforms can support the buyer journey.
Focus on collecting genuine customer feedback, responding to reviews, keeping your product information accurate, and addressing recurring concerns.
You can explore G2 and Capterra to understand how software buyers compare products in your category.
Trustpilot: Build Customer Confidence
Trustpilot may also be relevant for businesses whose customers use public reviews to assess credibility.
Its suitability depends on your business model, customer base, and industry.
The important thing is to choose review platforms based on where your customers actually research products, rather than assuming every platform deserves equal investment.
AI-Powered Search: Improve Your Visibility
Consider how your business appears when potential customers ask AI tools for product recommendations, competitor comparisons, and solutions to specific problems.
Your objective should be to help potential customers understand why your product belongs on their shortlist. Our guide to AI-SEO for SaaS companies covers page-level steps in more detail.
The objective is not to abandon Google Ads.
It’s to ensure that your business remains visible throughout the buying journey rather than depending on a single touchpoint.
6. B2C and D2C Brands Need a Different Approach
If you’re selling a B2C or D2C product, your priorities may be different.
For consumer brands, purchasing decisions can be influenced by product discovery, recommendations, social proof, creative presentation, price, convenience, and the overall customer experience.
Google Ads can still be effective for capturing purchase intent. But depending on your category, you may also benefit from social advertising, creator partnerships, short-form video, community engagement, and retention campaigns.
Consider how customers discover a new skincare product, a healthy snack, or a fitness accessory.
They might see a creator using the product, watch a short video explaining its benefits, read customer reviews, and then search for the brand or visit its website.
Another customer might discover the product through Google Shopping and make a purchase immediately.
These are different paths to conversion.
Your job is to identify which paths are most relevant to your audience and build your marketing strategy accordingly.
Pay Attention to Short-Form Video
Short-form video on platforms such as Instagram and YouTube gives brands another way to demonstrate products, communicate benefits, and reach new audiences.
You don’t necessarily need a large production budget to get started.
The important thing is to create content that gives people a reason to stop scrolling and pay attention.
Don’t assume that a newer format will automatically deliver better results. Test different concepts, measure audience response, and invest more in the formats that perform well.
Early experimentation can help you learn what resonates with your audience before committing to a larger campaign.
7. Reconsider How You Allocate Your Advertising Budget
Now comes the most important question.
Where should you invest your marketing budget?
The answer depends on your business, audience, acquisition costs, and the channels that are producing results.
But one thing is worth reconsidering: allocating most of your budget to a single channel simply because it has worked in the past.
Customer behaviour changes. Competition changes. Advertising costs change. New platforms emerge.
Your budget allocation should reflect those changes.
For example, a B2B SaaS company might divide its acquisition investment across Google Ads, LinkedIn, review platform initiatives, content marketing, and experiments with emerging AI advertising channels.
A D2C brand might prioritise Google Shopping, paid social, creator partnerships, short-form video, and customer retention.
These are starting points, not universal budget recommendations. Your actual allocation should depend on the evidence you collect.
Before moving money between channels, answer these questions:
- Which channels generate our most qualified leads or customers?
- What is our customer acquisition cost for each channel?
- Which channels generate customers who stay longer or produce more revenue?
- Where does our target audience conduct product research?
- Which emerging channels are worth testing?
- How much can we invest in experimentation without affecting our core acquisition activities?
- Are we measuring conversions and revenue accurately?
You should also distinguish between channels that generate immediate demand and channels that build awareness or influence future decisions.
A campaign that generates direct conversions may produce a different short-term return from a review platform initiative or a content campaign that supports several later interactions.
That doesn’t make the latter channels less valuable. It means you need an appropriate measurement framework.
For a practical approach, divide your budget into three categories:
Core channels: Advertising channels that consistently generate measurable business results.
Growth opportunities: Channels that show promising performance but need further validation.
Experiments: New platforms and campaign formats that you want to test with a controlled budget.
Review the results regularly and adjust your allocation based on performance.
Don’t move your entire budget because a new platform is getting attention. Run controlled experiments, compare the results, and let the evidence guide your decisions.
8. The Real Opportunity Is to Build a More Balanced Marketing Strategy
Let’s come back to the original question.
Is Google Ads not working anymore?
That isn’t the conclusion the evidence supports.
Google Ads remains a significant advertising channel, and Alphabet’s latest results show that its business continues to grow, even as investors question its performance relative to expectations and the cost of adapting to AI.
But the way customers discover and evaluate products is evolving.
AI-powered search is changing how people conduct research. Review platforms remain important in software buying decisions. Online communities can influence product evaluation. Short-form video gives consumer brands additional ways to reach audiences.
These developments create an opportunity for businesses to reconsider their marketing strategies.
Instead of asking, “Which advertising platform should we invest in next?” start by asking:
“Where does our target audience discover, research, compare, and purchase products?”
Then build your strategy around the answer.
For one business, Google Ads might remain the primary acquisition channel.
For another, LinkedIn, review platforms, and content marketing might play a larger role.
A third business might find that experimenting with ChatGPT advertising produces promising results.
There is no single answer that works for every company.
What matters is understanding your audience, testing the right channels, measuring performance, and allocating your resources based on evidence.
The businesses that adapt their marketing strategies as customer behaviour changes will be better positioned to find new growth opportunities.
Don’t abandon what works. But don’t ignore what is changing, either.
I’ll be sharing more insights on emerging advertising channels, content distribution, and practical ways to adapt your marketing strategy.
In Part 2, I’ll explore some of the opportunities businesses should watch, how different channels fit into the customer journey, and what you should consider before investing in them.
If you’re building a SaaS, B2C, or D2C brand, keep an eye out for the next article.
Because the goal isn’t to be present on every platform.
It’s to be present where your customers are making decisions.
If you want a second opinion on your channel mix, Voxturr’s SaaS SEO agency team works across search, AI visibility and paid channels. You can start with a free AI visibility audit or talk to our SEO team.
