Proving AI search ROI to leadership: Google's latest signals

Most marketing leaders we speak with are being asked the same uncomfortable question by their CEO or board: is our AI investment actually working? A recent Think with Google piece from Dan Taylor, Google's vice president of global ads, tackles that question head-on for Search. It's written from Google's perspective, of course, but the signals in it are worth understanding.

What's happening

Google's argument is that AI is expanding Search rather than shrinking it. When people can ask questions in any way they like, they ask more of them. Google reports that AI Overviews now has 2.5 billion monthly users and AI Mode has passed 1 billion, just over a year after launch. Its U.S. data shows AI Mode queries are around three times longer than traditional searches, and more of them are conversational or multimodal.

On the paid side, Google has built its Gemini model into Google Ads to better interpret those longer queries. Ads are now eligible to appear above or below AI Overviews in more than 200 markets, and Google is testing ads inside AI Mode. It says AI Max, its AI-driven search campaign feature, drives 27% more conversions at a similar CPA or ROAS compared with manual campaigns, based on its internal 2025 data for non-retail advertisers that relied heavily on exact and phrase match.

The most practical news is a reporting feature Google says is coming for AI Max. It will show the search term, the creative served and the landing page in one view, so marketers can explain what the AI is actually doing.

For organic visibility, Google repeats its now-familiar line that good SEO is good GEO.

What it means for B2B and technology marketers

Longer, conversational queries are good news for B2B. Technology buyers rarely search for two-word phrases. They ask detailed questions about integration, licensing, compliance and migration effort. Those queries were hard to anticipate with keyword lists. AI-driven matching makes them reachable, but only if your landing pages genuinely answer them.

The flip side is accountability. Handing more targeting to automation without agreed success measures is how marketing teams lose leadership confidence. The question Google poses, "is AI search working?", should be answered in your terms: qualified pipeline, sales-accepted opportunities and cost per opportunity, not clicks or conversions defined as form fills.

For Microsoft partners, the same thinking applies across platforms. Microsoft Advertising serves ads into Bing and Copilot experiences, and buyers in Microsoft-centric organisations often search there. Any AI search measurement framework should cover both ecosystems rather than optimising Google in isolation.

How to put it to work

1. Define success before you scale. Write down the business outcome AI search campaigns must improve and how you'll measure it. Share it with finance and sales leadership now.
2. Import real outcomes. Feed CRM stages such as sales-qualified lead or opportunity back into your ad platforms, so automation optimises for pipeline, not form fills.
3. Run a controlled test. Compare an AI-driven campaign against your existing structure for a set period, with a clear holdout or split where your platform allows.
4. Audit landing pages for long questions. Make sure pages answer detailed buyer queries directly, including pricing approach, deployment timelines and integration requirements.
5. Review search terms monthly. Use available reporting to check which queries are triggering ads, and tighten brand guardrails or negatives where needed.
6. Report in plain language. Give leadership a one-page view of spend, pipeline influenced and cost per opportunity, with your assumptions stated.

Our glossary entry on demand generation explains how capture and creation work together in this model.

How UBE Marketing can help

Founded in Sydney by Alvin Paronda, UBE Marketing is a marketing agency that works as the extended marketing team for B2B technology companies. We plan and measures demand generation programs for B2B technology companies, connecting search activity to pipeline across Google and Microsoft platforms. If leadership is asking for proof, talk to us about building a measurement framework that stands up.