A report points to ad spend shifting from Google to Meta and new chatbot ad formats. Here’s how to review your channels before changing budgets. Have a question about yours? Call 602-851-4104.
A change in the ad market can make a small business owner wonder if their budget is in the wrong place. A recent AdExchanger report says some advertisers and agency executives have shifted spending to Meta after finding that their Google budgets were not delivering the reach they wanted. The report also describes new ads appearing in AI search and chatbot products, including Google AI Mode, ChatGPT and Bing AI Mode.
That’s worth paying attention to, but it isn’t a reason to move your own budget on impulse. One report about some advertisers does not tell you what will work for your business. The practical move is to review what each channel is doing for your goals, check what you can measure, and make changes based on your own information.
What the report says, and what it doesn’t
The AdExchanger story describes advertisers moving some spending toward Meta after concerns that their Google budgets were not delivering the reach they wanted. It also points to ads appearing in AI search and chatbot products. That means the places where businesses may encounter advertising are changing, and it gives advertisers more to consider when planning their next steps.
But the reported shift is not a universal rule. It does not establish that Meta is the right choice for every business, or that Google is no longer useful. It also does not tell a small business owner which campaign, audience, or channel will be suitable for their particular needs. Your own goals and available performance information matter more than a broad headline.
The report’s point about new AI ad formats deserves the same careful reading. The named products are Google AI Mode, ChatGPT and Bing AI Mode. That is a signal to pay attention to how advertising options develop, not proof that a business should immediately set aside money for every new placement. Before committing, find out what is actually available to your business, what the placement is designed to do, and how you would assess its performance.
Read the AdExchanger report for the news behind this discussion. Then bring the question back to your own business: what are you asking your advertising to accomplish?
Review performance before moving money
Start with the purpose of the campaign. Are you trying to reach a particular audience, make more people aware of an offer, or encourage a specific action? If the goal is unclear, it will be hard to decide whether a channel is doing its job. A change in spend should follow a clear question, not just the sense that another platform is getting attention.
Next, review the information you already have. Look at the campaign’s spending and the measures connected to its goal. Depending on how your campaigns are set up, that may include reach, clicks, calls, form submissions or other tracked actions. Check that you understand what each number represents. A number that looks impressive on its own may not tell you whether the campaign is helping with the business problem you set out to address.
It also helps to compare like with like. If you’re weighing one channel against another, look at campaigns with similar goals and periods where the information is available. Note differences in audience, creative, offer and tracking. Those details can affect the comparison. If several things changed at once, it may be difficult to tell which change influenced the result.
This isn’t about finding a perfect answer in one report. It’s about making a decision you can explain. If the current information is incomplete, improving the way you track campaign activity may be a more sensible first step than shifting a large part of the budget.
Treat new AI ad placements as a question to investigate
Ads appearing in AI search and chatbot products may sound like a new opportunity. The useful first question is not simply, “Should we advertise there?” Ask what the placement is, what audience it may reach, what action it supports, and what information will be available to assess it.
Those details matter because a new placement is not automatically a good fit. If you can’t identify how the option connects to your business goal, it may be too early to include it in your plan. If the available information is limited, say so in your decision. Don’t treat a promising description as evidence of likely results.
A careful test, if an option is available and appropriate, should have a clear purpose and a defined way to review what happens. Decide in advance what you will monitor and what would lead you to continue, adjust or pause. The right scope depends on your business, budget and ability to track the activity. There’s no need to commit beyond what you can reasonably assess.
The same standard applies to established channels. Meta may be worth reviewing if your current data suggests a mismatch between your goals and your Google campaign’s reach. But the report alone doesn’t show what your own campaigns will do. Check your account information and ask what is behind the numbers before changing direction.
Make the next decision manageable
For a small business, managing every platform and new format can become a job in itself. You don’t need to master each tool before making a sound decision. Start by writing down the business problem, the goal for the advertising, the information you can currently review, and the part you can’t yet answer.
Then decide whether the next step is to adjust existing campaigns, improve tracking, compare channel performance, or learn more about an emerging ad option. Sometimes the simplest reasonable step is to keep the current plan while you gather clearer information. Sometimes a limited change may be appropriate. The recommendation should follow the diagnosis, and the scope should fit the question.
At Why Not Results, we help businesses review marketing, technology and workflow needs before recommending a next step. Our approach combines human guidance with practical digital support. Paid advertising, including Google and Meta, is available, with the right scope depending on the business and its needs. We’re based in Phoenix and provide digital services remotely across the United States.
Start with your numbers
A headline about Meta gaining ad spend is a reason to ask better questions, not a reason to copy someone else’s budget. Review your goals, check what your campaigns can tell you, and investigate new placements before deciding where money should go.
Want help sorting through the options? Call Why Not Results at 602-851-4104. We’ll start with the problem and work toward a practical next step.