How I'm Actually Using AI in Google Ads
Not Theory - Real Workflows
Everyone’s talking about AI in marketing. Most of it is hype.
I want to show you what I’m actually doing. The real workflows. What works. What doesn’t.
This isn’t a ChatGPT tutorial. It’s what happens when you spend years in ad accounts and then suddenly have access to tools that can process data faster than you ever could.
The 30-minute audit I give away for free
I can’t take on every client who reaches out.
But I hate saying “no” without giving something useful. So I built a fast audit process.
Here’s what it looks like:
I pull together three data sources: transcript from our discovery call (I use Fathom to record everything), market research the AI summarizes for me, and a TrueClicks AI analysis of their account.
Thirty minutes later, I have a document with 3-5 concrete recommendations.
Sometimes they’re things the brand can fix themselves. Sometimes it confirms they need help. Either way, they walk away with something useful.
Last month, this led to four freelancer referrals. People I couldn’t work with, matched with people who could help them.
The funny thing? Those freelancers now refer prospects back to me when the account is too complex for them.
Giving away value isn’t charity. It’s building a network of people who trust you.
AI as a sparring partner (what it can and can’t do)
I’ve been using TrueClicks AI as something like a second brain for account analysis.
Here’s what it’s good at:
Pattern recognition at scale. It can scan an account and identify what I call “heroes and zombies” - the campaigns, ad groups, or products that are carrying everything vs. the ones that are dead weight but still spending.
Category-level opportunities. Things like: “Your feed-only campaigns are outperforming your feed-and-search campaigns in this product category.” Stuff that would take me hours to spot manually.
Structured data analysis. Give it a spreadsheet of search terms or product performance, and it can identify patterns I’d miss.
Here’s what it’s not good at:
Impact percentages are arbitrary. When it says “this change could improve ROAS by 15%,” that number is basically made up. The directional insight is useful. The specific number isn’t.
It doesn’t understand your business. AI doesn’t know that Q4 is your big season, or that one product line has higher margins, or that you just launched in a new market. You still need human context.
It’s not a replacement for experience. It’s a sparring partner. Someone to bounce ideas off. If you don’t already know what good looks like, the AI won’t tell you.
I told my team: “If you need some perspective and I’m not available, start with TrueClicks (no referral).” It’s not as good as an experienced human. But it’s better than staring at data alone.
The one ADHD trick that changed how I work
This isn’t really about ADHD. It’s about how media buying destroys focus.
Here’s the problem: you sit down to analyze an account. Thirty minutes later, you’re three rabbit holes deep into some random campaign experiment that seemed interesting.
The solution sounds obvious but almost nobody does it.
Separate ideation from execution.
In the morning, I do analysis. I look at data. I generate ideas. I make a list of everything that needs to happen.
I don’t do any of it yet.
In the afternoon, I batch execution. I work through the list. No new analysis. No “let me just check this one thing.” Just execution.
This works because ideation and execution use different parts of your brain.
When you’re analyzing data, you want your brain open. Exploring. Making connections.
When you’re building campaigns or making changes, you want your brain focused. Systematic. Following the plan.
Mixing them is how you end up working 10 hours but only accomplishing what should take 3.
I’m not perfect at this. Some days I still get sucked in. But the days where I keep them separate? I get three times as much done. Not exaggerating.
How I built a multi-language campaign in one morning
Here’s a recent example that still kind of blows my mind.
A client needed category-specific campaigns across 10+ languages. English, Dutch, German, French, Spanish, the whole thing.
Old process: export search terms, analyze manually, build campaigns in each language separately, have native speakers review. We’re talking weeks of work.
New process:
1. Export search terms from Google Ads
2. Feed them to Claude with a prompt: “Group these by category and intent”
3. Generate keyword lists and ad copy for each category
4. Use what I call “copywriter personas” - tell the AI to write as a native German speaker, native French speaker, etc.
5. Export everything in TSV format (Google’s import format)
6. Import directly into Google Ads
One morning. Ten languages. Full campaign structure with keywords and ads.
Did I still have native speakers review? Yes. Were there some tweaks? Of course.
But the 80% solution was done in hours instead of weeks.
This is what AI changes. Not the strategy. Not the thinking. The execution speed.
Where this is all heading
I’ve been doing this long enough to see the direction.
The tactical work is getting automated. Bid adjustments. Keyword matching. Even some creative testing. Google’s algorithms handle most of it now.
What’s left for humans?
Pattern recognition across longer time horizons. Not “what happened yesterday” but “what’s the trend over the last 6 weeks?”
Connecting data to business context. The AI sees numbers. You understand that Q4 matters more than Q1, or that this product has weird seasonality, or that a competitor just entered the market.
Asking the right questions. The AI can answer almost any question you ask. The hard part is knowing which questions matter.
The job is becoming less about manual optimization and more about strategic thinking at scale.
Less tweaking. More pattern-spotting.
Less “let me adjust this bid” and more “what’s actually happening here and what should we do about it?”
I’m calling this the “strategic generalist” role. You don’t need to be an expert in every platform. You need to understand enough to spot patterns, ask good questions, and use AI tools to execute faster than anyone thought possible.
What this means for you
If you’re running ads for e-commerce brands:
1. Build your sparring partner stack. Find AI tools that can analyze your accounts at scale. Not to replace your thinking - to accelerate it.
2. Separate your days. Morning for analysis and ideation. Afternoon for execution. This one change will make you measurably more productive.
3. Stop hoarding insights. Give value freely. Build a network. The best clients come from referrals, not cold outreach.
4. Invest in pattern recognition. The tactical skills are getting commoditized. Strategic thinking at scale is where the value is moving.
The tools are changing fast. The fundamentals aren’t.
Understand the business. Ask good questions. Use whatever tools make you faster.
That’s the game.
- Raoul