Over the last few years, Google has moved steadily toward automation: bidding that adjusts every auction, broader keyword matching, campaigns like Performance Max that run across Google’s networks, and AI-generated ad text and images. For local businesses, this is a mix of real help and real risk.
What AI does well
- Bidding. Automated bidding can weigh signals — device, time, location, search context — that no human could adjust manually for every auction.
- Finding variations. Broader matching can surface searches you wouldn’t have thought of.
- Testing ad combinations. Responsive search ads mix headlines and descriptions to find what works.
What AI depends on
All of it optimizes toward whatever you tell Google is a conversion. If tracking counts page views or unanswered calls as leads, the AI will efficiently buy more of those. Automation amplifies the quality of your data — good or bad.
Where human judgment still matters
- Deciding which services and areas are worth advertising
- Defining what a real lead is, and checking that tracking matches reality
- Reading search terms and blocking irrelevant ones
- Writing ads that reflect your actual offer, guarantees and differentiators
- Building landing pages and making sure leads are answered
- Knowing your season, capacity and margins
How we use it
We use automated bidding once an account has reliable conversion data, and keep the strategic decisions — structure, targeting, negatives, offers and pages — firmly human. For most local service accounts, focused Search campaigns with good tracking outperform “let the AI handle it” setups, especially early on.
Cole Mello is the founder of Altura Marketing Group. He studied marketing at Washington State University and manages Google Ads, Local Services Ads and Meta campaigns for local service businesses. About Altura