The Google Ads ecosystem shifted drastically in 2025. With the global rollout of AI-powered optimisation layers, advertisers suddenly found themselves in hard predicaments, and facing a deceptively simple question: Should we rely on Performance Max, double down on manual campaigns, or attempt a hybrid approach?
The Google Ads ecosystem shifted drastically in 2025. With the global rollout of AI-powered optimisation layers, advertisers suddenly found themselves in hard predicaments, and facing a deceptively simple question: Should we rely on Performance Max, double down on manual campaigns, or attempt a hybrid approach?
The reality, though, is this: Performance Max and manual Google Ads campaigns are not enemies. They are tools designed for different strategic moments, different data environments, and different levels of human oversight. Knowing when to let AI take the wheel and when to intervene with real human expertise is now one of the most important skills in paid media.
This guide will break down exactly how Performance Max works, where manual campaigns still win, and how to structure a high-performing Google Ads account that avoids wasted spend while staying competitive in an increasingly growing AI-driven landscape. Plus, this is just the beginning of the rest of our lives with AI. Let’s get used to it, shall we?
What Performance Max Really Is and What It Isn’t
Performance Max is not an optimisation tweak – it’s a campaign type. When you launch a Performance Max campaign, you are giving Google permission to serve ads across all of its inventory (Search, Display, YouTube, Discover, Gmail and Maps).
Rather than controlling each channel separately, Performance Max optimises holistically around user intent, using machine learning to decide where, when, and how ads should appear in real time. Its defining characteristics include:
- Cross-channel delivery
Ads are served wherever Google predicts the highest probability of conversion, without you manually selecting placements or networks. - Asset-based ad copy creation
Instead of writing finished ads, you provide headlines, descriptions, images and videos. Google assembles these dynamically into thousands of variations, testing combinations continuously. - Goal-led optimisation
Rather than centring on metrics alone, like cost per click (CPC), Performance Max focuses on outcomes, qualified lead volume, conversion value, or target cost per acquisition (CPA). - Minimal manual control
You cannot apply traditional bid adjustments, see granular placement data, or manage keywords in the same way as search campaigns. This is intentional.
Performance Max is built for scale and speed. When supported by strong conversion tracking and high-quality creative assets, it often outperforms traditional structures. But when data quality is poor, it can also accelerate bad decisions just as quickly, resulting in serious ad spend waste.
Where Manual Campaigns Still Matter
Manual campaigns, especially those with search ads, are very much still relevant. They haven’t been replaced – they just serve a different purpose. Their biggest advantage, though, is control. You decide exactly which search terms trigger your ads, which ones are blocked, how much you’re willing to pay, and where your budget is spent.
This level of control makes it easier to match what someone is searching for with the right message and the right landing page. You can also clearly see what you’re paying per click, which searches are driving results, and where your ads are showing up.
For businesses in regulated industries, specialised B2B spaces, or companies still finding their footing, this hands-on approach is often essential. Manual campaigns work best when you don’t have lots of conversions yet, when buying decisions take time, or when searches are very specific. In these situations, human judgement matters because not every enquiry is a good one.
Automation often struggles here. A form submission might look like a success, but it doesn’t always mean a real sale is coming. If the system can’t see what happens after the lead comes in, it may improve for quantity instead of quality. This is where people still outperform machines (see, they’re never taking over) and understanding which leads actually matter.
The Strengths and Risks of AI-Driven Campaigns
AI-driven campaigns like Performance Max are powerful because they can react in the blink of an eye. They analyse huge amounts of data in real time, picking up on browsing behaviour, subtle changes in intent, and competition in ad auctions – the type of things humans simply can’t track manually.
This allows AI campaigns to adjust bids automatically, find new audiences you might not have considered, and scale successful ads very quickly. When everything is set up properly, this can drive impressive results in the run. The downside is visibility. With AI campaigns, you don’t always see where your ads appear, which search terms triggered them, or why certain decisions were made. Without clear limits in place, the system can spend money in low-quality places, chase volume instead of profit, or send traffic that looks good on paper but doesn’t turn into real customers.
Automation doesn’t remove responsibility. It just means the responsibility shifts from managing every detail to making sure the system is being guided in the right direction by human expertise.
AI Can Optimise. But It Can’t Set a Strategy
This is where a lot of advertisers get it wrong. AI is really good at deciding how to spend your money efficiently. It can spot patterns, react fast, and adjust in real time. But AI can’t decide why you’re advertising, where that money should go in the bigger picture, or whether the results actually make sense for your business. That part still needs people.
Human expertise is required to:
- Decide what success really means, not just count clicks or form fills
- Tell the difference between a real, qualified lead and someone just browsing
- Make sure the messaging sounds right for the brand and audience
- Check that the landing pages actually match what people are looking for
- Know when automation is helping and when it’s quietly wasting budget
The best outcomes don’t come from handing everything over to AI and hoping for the best. They come from guiding the automation, keeping an eye on it, and stepping in when needed.
Ultimately, AI does the heavy lifting, and people make sure it’s lifting in the right direction.
Why a Hybrid Approach Works Best
For most businesses, the best results come from using both approaches together. Instead of choosing between manual and AI campaigns, successful advertisers combine them.
In practice, this usually means letting AI campaigns handle scale and discovery that reach new audiences and finding additional demand. Meanwhile, manual search campaigns focus on high-intent searches where control and precision matter most. Budgets are split so that core revenue is protected, while some spending is reserved for testing and learning.
In this setup, AI handles speed and data processing, while humans stay in charge of strategy, messaging, and risk. This balance is why more and more well-performing accounts are moving toward a hybrid structure.
What Actually Matters When Choosing between Them
The real question sitting in your think bubble isn’t which option is better overall, but it’s when each one makes perfect sense. AI-driven campaigns perform best when tracking is set up correctly and when landing pages clearly match what users are looking for. Plus, there’s plenty of creative to test, and enough data to go around for the whole system to learn properly. They also work best in environments where short-term volatility is acceptable.
Manual campaigns tend to work better when leading quality is more important than volume, when searches need to be tightly controlled, when budgets are running low, or when you need predictable daily spend and full transparency.
Trying to force automation into situations it isn’t built for is one of the quickest ways to waste money. The smartest approach is choosing the right tool for the right job, and knowing when you, as the human, should step in.
The Bottom Line
Performance Max isn’t meant to replace manual campaigns at all. It’s a tool built to handle scale because it works fast, adjusts automatically, and relies heavily on data to make decisions. Manual campaigns are still important when details matter. They give you control over what people are searching for, clarity over where your money is going, and transparency about what’s actually working. In many cases, that level of insight simply can’t be handed over completely to automation.
The future of Google Ads isn’t fully automated, and it isn’t fully manual either. It’s about using AI to do the heavy lifting, while humans stay in charge of direction, judgement, and decisions. Automation needs guidance, regular checks, and clear boundaries to work properly.
The advertisers who perform best are the ones who know when to let AI run on its own and when to step in and adjust things. That’s how wasted spend is avoided, profits are protected, and performance stays consistent in a system that’s becoming more automated every day.
The real advantage isn’t picking one approach over the other. It’s about knowing when to take control.
Which goal should people choose when setting up a new Performance Max campaign?
When setting up a new Performance Max campaign, people should choose the goal that most aligns with their primary business objective. Performance Max is designed to drive conversions, so the available and most appropriate goals are sales, leads, or local store visits and promotions. The choice of goal directly influences how Google’s machine learning algorithms optimise your campaign across various channels (Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, Maps, and Discover).
What is Performance Max, and how does it differ from manual campaigns?
Performance Max is an AI-driven Google Ads campaign type that automates ad delivery across all Google channels (Search, YouTube, Display, Gmail, Discover, Maps) from one campaign, using your goals and assets to find converting customers, while manual campaigns offer advertisers granular control over keywords, placements, bids, and targeting for each channel separately, requiring more hands-on management but allowing precise optimisation for specific niches. The key difference is Automation (PMax) vs. Control (Manual).
When should I use Performance Max?
Use Performance Max when you have clear conversion goals (sales or leads, etc.), want to maximise reach across all Google channels (Search, Display, YouTube, Discover, Gmail, Maps) with automation, have good quality assets (images, videos, text), and want to find new customers beyond just keywords, especially if you have a mature account with sufficient conversion data. It’s great for expanding beyond standard Search campaigns but offers less granular control, so use it for growth and automation, potentially alongside tightly controlled Search campaigns for control.
