AI chatbots have moved from novelty to default interface in record time. For a growing share of questions, especially exploratory, comparative, and intent-shaping ones, people now start with ChatGPT, Google Gemini, or Microsoft Copilot instead of Search, marketplaces, or a retailer’s site.

With AI Max, Google takes another step toward fully automated search advertising. During this year’s Friends of Search event, significant attention was paid to AI Max in Google’s session. Less reliance on keywords and greater trust in AI: that is the core of the proposition. But how does this promise compare to reality?

A practical guide with learnings, best practices, and checklists per channel, ensuring your brand is prepared, flexible, and impactfully visible throughout the tournament.

Search is no longer just Google, but a behavior-driven, cross-platform playing field. Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews are replacing the static results pages that dominated over the past two decades.

How can we create content that, on one hand, appeals to what people want to see, and on the other hand, is suitable for information that helps AI make decisions and recommendations?