Introduction
A major annual industry study is sounding a warning for advertisers and agencies in Ireland and beyond: paid search is getting harder, not easier. The State of PPC Global Report 2026, and reporting by Anu Adegbola for Search Engine Land, show practitioners struggling with platform opacity, weakening measurement, and AI that helps with small efficiencies but has not changed the fundamentals of the job. See the original coverage by Anu Adegbola at Search Engine Land. (link: https://searchengineland.com/survey-ppc-is-getting-harder-and-ai-is-only-saving-5-hours-a-week-471364)
Survey snapshot
The survey polled 1,306 PPC professionals in November and December 2025 across agency, freelance and in-house roles. Key findings include:
– 62% name platform opacity as the main reason PPC has become harder; 53% cite measurement loss.
– Practitioners report average AI time savings of just 5.2 hours per week; 55% save only 1 to 5 hours.
– Use of large language models for ad copy climbed to 59%, up from 42% the previous year.
– 73% of in-house teams now keep PPC fully internal, up sharply from 44% two years ago.
– 20% of clients intend to replace agency work with AI, while only 12% plan to switch agencies.
– Global digital ad spend reached an estimated $1 trillion in 2025, with 89% flowing to Google, Meta or Amazon.
For full methodology and the report itself, read the State of PPC Global Report 2026. (link: https://www.ppcsurvey.com/)
What the numbers mean
On the surface the picture is paradoxical: AI adoption is rising rapidly for routine tasks like copywriting, yet the industry feels more constrained. That contradiction is explained by where control sits. Platforms are making more autonomous optimisation decisions and reducing visibility into how budget and bids are allocated. Practitioners report that exact match keywords remain a trusted control (used often or always by 75%), while newer automated features such as AI Max for Search still have low adoption and auto-apply recommendations are widely distrusted.
With nearly nine out of ten dollars of digital spend concentrated in three firms, reliance on platform-provided metrics leaves advertisers exposed. The survey highlights that unless advertisers invest in measurement systems independent of platform reporting, they are increasingly operating without a reliable scoreboard.
AI: useful but not revolutionary
The report shows a pragmatic relationship with AI. Marketers use LLMs for faster ideation and ad copy, but the average time saved is modest. Very few report transformational gains; almost no respondents save more than 20 hours per week from AI tools. The result is a pragmatic, augmentation-first attitude: AI is a productivity tool for repeatable work, not an off-the-shelf substitute for strategic decision-making.
Agency alarm bells
The subtext throughout the report is agency survival. Agencies flag finding talent and growing revenue as top challenges. Importantly, the biggest threat is not rivals but clients choosing to bring paid media in-house and use AI to displace agency roles. The shift to in-house PPC, now reported by 73% of teams, changes the market mix and places pressure on agency margins and talent models.
Implications for Irish marketers and agencies
For Irish advertisers and agencies, the findings require honest strategic recalibration:
– Rebuild measurement independence. Invest in server-side tracking, clean-room techniques, or third-party attribution to avoid over-reliance on platform reporting.
– Reassess value propositions. Agencies must pivot from tactical optimisation to offering measurable strategic value, auditability and expertise in multi-channel measurement.
– Prepare for talent shifts. With more clients keeping PPC in-house, agencies need to diversify services or double down on premium technical capabilities that are hard to replicate with off-the-shelf AI.
– Lobby for transparency. The market concentration the survey highlights has public policy implications. Irish advertisers should join industry efforts calling for clearer platform disclosures and enforceable standards.
A pragmatic way forward
The report does not call for wholesale rejection of automation; rather it suggests a dual approach. Use AI for copy, drafts and research, but retain human oversight over bidding strategies, audience definitions and measurement frameworks. Build internal capability to validate platform-reported metrics and, where possible, maintain parallel measurement to detect discrepancies early.
Conclusion
The State of PPC Global Report 2026 and Search Engine Land coverage by Anu Adegbola make a clear point: the future of paid media will be decided not by the quality of AI prompts but by who controls the data and the metrics. For Irish businesses and agencies, that means investing in independent measurement, sharpening the strategic offer, and pushing back on opaque platform practices. Read more on Search Engine Land and consult the full State of PPC Global Report 2026 for detailed charts and methodology. (link: https://searchengineland.com/survey-ppc-is-getting-harder-and-ai-is-only-saving-5-hours-a-week-471364) (link: https://www.ppcsurvey.com/)
