Paid Search Costs Rise as AI Answers Steal Clicks
Here is my read after a week of calls with marketers: Spend climbed 17% while clicks barely moved — marketers are paying more for scarcer click pools.
For context, see Wikipedia: Search engine marketing.
What matters for teams on the ground is simpler: what changed this week, what to test next, and what to refuse by default.
- Define the conversion before you scale
- Separate brand safety from performance tests
- Compare incrementality, not vanity CTR
| Signal | Detail |
|---|---|
| Channel | Signal this month |
| ChatGPT Ads | Open access + conversion tools |
| Google Shopping | Budget share rebound |
| Paid social | Clicks up, CPC softer |
Source: Skai. Numbers and product claims above come from that reporting; interpretation is mine.