Last month, I was out for coffee with a PPC strategist friend—he looked as if he hadn’t slept for days. Turns out, Google’s AI Overviews had him triple-checking his campaigns, convinced they were siphoning off revenue in ways he couldn’t pin down. If you’ve ever watched your click-through rates nosedive seemingly overnight… you know the feeling. The more I dug in, the more I realized: the rules aren’t just changing. They’re being rewritten—subtly, algorithmically, and in real time. And no, the playbook from 2024 won’t save us this time around.
The Sneaky Side of AI Overviews: Invisible Threats to PPC Revenue
Google AI Overviews are quietly shifting paid search dynamics by nudging ads further down the SERP, often below the fold. This subtle move saps attention from high-performing placements, leading to a click-through rate decline and PPC revenue leakage—even when ad positions appear unchanged. Adthena data shows Financial Services CTRs dropped 9% in weeks as AI Overviews ramped up. In my own campaigns, a routine Monday dashboard check revealed a puzzling 12% CTR dip, with impressions holding steady. This masks the true impact, as AI Overviews intercept clicks that would have gone to paid ads. The effect isn’t uniform; it ebbs and flows by query intent and industry. As Adthena notes,
‘AI Overviews are bringing a new layer of unpredictability. Marketers need to get comfortable living in the gray.’
Competitive Chess: If You Don’t Move Fast, Rivals Checkmate
Competitive dynamics in paid search are shifting fast. Aggressive competitors are bidding harder on queries where AI Overviews dominate, or pivoting to keywords with lighter coverage. In the UK retail sector, AI Overview frequency jumped 12% in just seven weeks, yet only 6% of ‘discount code’ searches trigger the feature—prime ground for quick-moving advertisers. Travel advertising opportunities in Australia show 32% AI Overview frequency for ‘last-minute deals,’ leaving the rest open for nimble marketers. I’ve seen an aggressive retailer sweep up market share by targeting less-affected keywords while others debated budget shifts. Stalling isn’t just risky—it’s revenue left on the table for someone else.
‘Move with the market or get left behind. The fastest PPC teams seize advantages by adapting before their rivals even notice.’ — Adthena
Device Roulette: Why Desktop and Mobile AI Overviews Don’t Play Fair
AI Overviews impact paid search performance differently across devices. On mobile, limited screen space means AI Overviews push ads further down or off the first page, causing sharper drops in visibility and CTR. In my healthcare PPC campaigns, I saw mobile CTRs tank as AI Overviews appeared on 49% of queries—a 2% increase, with 87% problem-solving intent. By reallocating budget to desktop, I stabilized results short-term. This device bias means the same campaign can flop on mobile but thrive on desktop, making vertical-specific targeting and device-level experimentation essential. “You can’t afford to ignore device-level trends—what vanishes on mobile might still thrive on desktop. Test, move, adapt.” — Adthena. Monitoring SERP positioning AI Overviews and shifting spend when coverage is lower on one device can slow revenue leakage while you adapt.
The Human Side of Search: Intent, Messaging, and Creative Copy in the AI Era
With search intent and AI Overviews reshaping paid search marketing, not all queries are equally vulnerable. Transactional searches like “buy now” remain more ad-friendly, while informational queries see higher AI Overview presence and lower CTR. To reclaim lost attention, I’ve tested dynamic ad copy strategies—emphasizing trust, guarantees, and real-life testimonials. For finance education queries (“best credit cards for students”), dynamic insertions like “Rated #1 by Students—Compare Offers Today” have helped win clicks back from AI-generated summaries. Intent targeting is key: for problem-solving queries, direct solutions work best; for investigational ones, credibility and expertise matter most. Sometimes, I joke my copywriting skills should update their LinkedIn to “AI Adversary.” As Adthena puts it:
‘Think like a human, not an algorithm. Copy that answers intent—fast—will always snatch attention from bland AI recaps.’
Tools and Intelligence: Staying Sane in an AI-Driven Search World
Real-time PPC insights are now essential. The Adthena AI Overviews Dashboard delivers near real-time, multi-dimensional views of AI Overview frequency and search intent—updating multiple times daily, not just monthly. This lets me react fast to disruption. For example, in the UK automotive sector, AI Overviews appear on just 10% of queries (down 2% from July-August 2025), signaling a window for immediate paid visibility. Adthena market share reports help me spot competitor moves and contextualize performance. I once misread a plateauing ad group as stagnation—until I saw rivals had shifted strategy on a low-overview cluster. The lesson? Insight gives me control, even if I can’t outsmart the algorithm every day. As Adthena says,
‘Search is a moving target—without the right intelligence tools, you’re shooting in the dark.’
Wild Card: Hypothetical—What If AI Overviews Start Monetizing Directly?
Imagine if Google AI Overviews began hosting ads inside the summary panel itself. How would our paid search strategies in 2025 adapt? We might see new ad formats where copy must interact with AI-generated content, or even bidding wars for ‘AI feature spotlights’ on high-value queries. Would CTR still matter if users could convert directly within the Overview? This scenario, while speculative, is a board-level concern for marketing leaders as AI Overviews challenge the fundamentals of digital marketing. As Adthena puts it:
‘The future of paid search might not even look like search as we know it. Get ready for ad innovation inside the summary box.’The rise of conversational, embedded ads could redefine everything—reminding us that agility and curiosity are essential as Google AI Overviews reshape the landscape.
Conclusion: Navigating the New Normal—From Anxiety to Opportunity
Google’s AI Overviews have brought chaos and unpredictability to paid search marketing, but they’ve also revealed hidden goldmines for those who adapt quickly. The pace of PPC disruption varies by industry and geography, so constant monitoring and agile paid search strategies in 2025 are essential. I’ve learned not to dwell on lost ground; instead, I use intent data and sector-specific insights to uncover new wins. Every vertical offers a fleeting window of opportunity before the landscape shifts again. My approach is simple: stay humble, experiment, report obsessively, and never underestimate competitors. This isn’t the end for paid search—it’s a more cunning evolution. As Adthena puts it,
‘The best marketers adapt and thrive—no matter how wild Google’s changes get.’
TL;DR: Don’t sleep on Google AI Overviews: they’re quietly upending PPC results, demanding new tactics by vertical. Whether you’re in retail, travel, finance, healthcare, or automotive, adapt early—because your competitors might already be rewriting their playbooks.
