The Easter eggs may have been eaten, but the platforms saved a few surprises of their own! With spring finally in the air, here are the April updates to put a spring in every advertiser’s step.
Read on to learn more about:
- Google upgrades Dynamic Search Ads to AI Max
- ChatGPT ads expand with CPC pricing and logged-out reach
- Reddit rolls out Reminder Ads globally
- Google Ads update budget pacing toward full monthly targets
- Google Ads update AI agents for safety and compliance
- Other Minor Updates:
- DV360 streamlines YouTube partnerships and Lookalike audiences
Google upgrades Dynamic Search Ads to AI Max
AI Max is a new format built on Gemini that uses real-time reasoning to match your site’s content against the conversational queries Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) regularly misses. The migration will be phased throughout 2026, meaning existing DSA campaigns will eventually be transitioned automatically. Unlike traditional DSA, AI Max analyses both on-page text and visual elements to generate headlines, drawing on far more of your site’s context than before.
What this means for you
DSA is going away, and Google’s algorithms are taking on even more of the matching decisions. If that loss of visibility makes you nervous, that’s fair, but the upside is better coverage of long-tail, conversational queries, which matter as AI-driven search grows. Get your landing pages and structured data in order now; AI Max lives or dies on how cleanly it can crawl your site. If DSA currently drives serious volume for you, expect some disruption during the switch. Running AI Max as a separate test campaign before the forced migration gives you a solid baseline to compare against when things get bumpy.
ChatGPT ads expand with CPC pricing and logged-out reach
OpenAI has launched a dedicated Ads Manager for ChatGPT, introduced CPC pricing, and started showing ads to logged-out users, giving media buyers more direct control over their campaigns. Inventory is no longer limited to registered accounts, representing a massive jump in potential reach, and CPC aligns the pricing model with traditional search (you pay for clicks, not impressions). That being said, early advertiser reports are mixed, performance is inconsistent, and nobody seems quite sure what “good” looks like yet.
What this means for you
The shift to CPC means you are finally paying for clicks rather than just hoping someone noticed your ad. The logged-out expansion is a clear signal that OpenAI is serious about building a proper ad channel. But the honest position right now is that returns are unproven. Run a contained test, get to know the Ads Manager, and keep your core search budget where it’s working until the data gives you a clearer reason to move it.
Reddit rolls out Reminder Ads globally
Rolling out across both Awareness and Traffic objectives, the format adds a lightweight “Remind Me” button to standard image and video ads. When a user taps it, they receive two push notifications, one 24 hours before the event and one when it goes live, plus a calendar sync option and a link back to wherever you are sending traffic. Reddit’s early numbers show a 21% higher CTR on Traffic objectives compared to standard image ads.
What this means for you
If you have a specific moment to build towards, like a product launch, a flash sale, or a live event, this format secures a more active commitment from the user than a standard ad impression. Reddit’s community structure amplifies this; putting a countdown in front of highly engaged subreddits like r/gaming or r/sneakers means the audience is already primed for what you are announcing. Because you can track exactly how many people hit “Remind Me,” you get a real mid-funnel signal of intent rather than just guessing who actually paid attention.
Google Ads update budget pacing toward full monthly targets
Starting at the beginning of June, Google is changing how it handles budgets for campaigns that use ad schedules (such as running only on weekdays or during business hours). Previously, Google would naturally lower your total monthly spend if your ads only ran on a few days. However, the system will now aim to spend your full monthly budget (calculated as 30.4 times your daily budget) regardless of how limited your schedule is. This means that if you only run ads on weekends, Google will spend much more aggressively on those active days to ensure the entire monthly pot is used.
The standard safety rules are not changing: Google will still never bill you more than 30.4 times your daily budget in a month, and it will never spend more than twice your daily budget on a single day. Your ads will also still respect your specific off times and won’t show when they aren’t scheduled. The big shift is simply that Google is moving from pacing by day to pacing by month, prioritising full budget utilisation over spreading your money evenly across the calendar.
What this means for you
If you use ad schedules to keep your costs down, you need to revisit your daily budget immediately, or you might see a significant spike in your monthly bill. For example, a campaign that previously spent £500 a month because it only ran on weekdays could suddenly jump to £1,500 a month under this new logic, even if you don’t change a single setting. To keep your spending the same as before, you should take your desired total monthly spend and divide it by 30.4 to find your new, lower daily budget.
This update is a clear signal that Google wants its AI to have more flexibility to find customers whenever your ads are eligible to run. While this might help you capture more high-value leads on the days you are active, it removes the natural cost-saving benefit of a limited schedule. As this rolls out in June, keep a very close eye on your daily spend to ensure the AI’s more aggressive pacing is actually leading to better results and not just a faster way to drain your budget.
Google Ads update AI agents for safety and compliance
Google is enhancing its Ads Advisor assistant with agentic AI features designed to handle the tedious administrative hurdles that often stall campaign launches. Instead of marketers manually troubleshooting policy flags or waiting weeks for industry certifications, these new AI agents proactively scan accounts to fix violations, grant instant certifications, and monitor security 24/7. By automating these background tasks and introducing a dedicated security dashboard with passkey support, Google aims to transform its AI from a simple help tool into an active operator. This shift allows advertisers to bypass the traditional fix and appeal cycle, theoretically leading to faster execution and significantly less manual oversight.
What this means for you
The arrival of these AI agents means you can spend less time acting as an IT admin and more time focusing on creative strategy and performance. If you have ever had a campaign paused for a minor policy misunderstanding or been delayed by a slow certification process, these tools should act as a fast track to keep your ads live and performing. However, while instant fixes sound ideal, it is still crucial to review the AI’s automated adjustments to ensure they align with your brand’s specific compliance standards. These updates will start to roll out to English accounts in the coming months.
Other Minor Updates:
DV360 streamlines YouTube partnerships and Lookalike audiences
Google has introduced two key updates to DV360. Creator-initiated brand partner access lets YouTube creators link sponsored videos directly to an advertiser’s DV360 account through YouTube Studio.
On the audience side, Lookalike targeting is expanding beyond Demand Gen to cover YouTube Auction and Non-Guaranteed Instant Deal line items, replacing the older Audience Expansion tool. Creators can now push content straight into your DV360 pipeline, and you can amplify it right away. The Lookalike expansion is the one to prioritise, though. Having your first-party data work consistently across all YouTube inventory is a meaningful upgrade from what Audience Expansion offered.
If you’re still relying on it for standard YouTube campaigns, migrate sooner rather than later. The targeting is far more precise, and there’s no good reason to stay on the old tool.
Look out for our May edition of “What’s New in Paid Media” for a monthly round-up of industry updates to inspire your PPC, Paid Social, and Programmatic strategy. If you want to talk about your business’s aspirations, get in touch!
