PPC Live #15 brought together some of the brightest minds in performance marketing, delivering cutting-edge insights on AI in ad copy, marketing data optimisation, and GA4 analytics. As the moderator of the event, I had the privilege of guiding the discussions, ensuring we tackled the most pressing challenges and opportunities in PPC today. Here’s a breakdown of the key takeaways from our expert speakers:
Ad Copy Testing with AI Models – Gokce Yesilbas
Gokce Yesilbas explored how AI models can revolutionise ad copy testing, emphasising that relying solely on ChatGPT is like painting with one colour—you need a full palette of AI models. Key insights included:
AI Model Diversity Matters – Using multiple models (ChatGPT-4o, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Gemini 2.0, Llama 3.1, Deepseek) yields better results than relying on just one.
A/B Testing & Multivariate Testing – Experiments showed that AI-generated ad copy, particularly in low-resource languages like German and Turkish, outperformed human-written ads in CTR.
Prompt Engineering Techniques – Leveraging expert simulators, cross-lingual prompts, and standardised brand messaging significantly improved AI-generated copy.
Tools & Analysis – Platforms like Langtail help marketers access various AI models with greater flexibility, avoiding predefined constraints.
The conclusion? AI-generated ad copy is highly effective, but marketers must test wisely, refine their prompts, and continuously optimise their strategies to maximise performance.
How to Unf*ck Your Marketing Data – Russell McAthy
Russell McAthy delivered a masterclass in cutting through marketing data confusion. His no-nonsense approach tackled three major pitfalls:
KPI Confusion – KPIs often lack standardised measurement. Russell illustrated how something as simple as “Add to Basket Rate” can be calculated in multiple ways, leading to misaligned business decisions.
Customer Retention with RFM Modelling – Instead of treating all customers the same, using Recency, Frequency, and Monetary Value (RFM) segmentation helps businesses understand customer behaviour better and tailor marketing strategies accordingly.
ROAS ≠ ROI – Relying on last-click attribution undervalues marketing efforts. Russell highlighted the importance of machine-learned attribution (MLA) to assign real value to every channel’s contribution in the conversion path.
Key takeaway? If you’re not spending at least £100k, stop obsessing over complex attribution models. Just focus on understanding your first and last click before diving into deeper analytics.
GA4 in Action: Essential Skills & Hidden Features – Baris Asa
GA4 remains a challenge for many marketers, but Baris Asa broke it down into actionable insights:
GA4 vs. Universal Analytics – Unlike session-based tracking in UA, GA4 is event-based, requiring a new approach to data analysis.
Essential Settings – Configuring data retention, internal traffic exclusion, and event tracking is critical to getting accurate GA4 insights.
Custom Reports & Attribution Paths – Setting up custom channel groups and optimising reporting identity ensures cleaner data for better decision-making.
Predictive Audiences – Using GA4’s AI-powered audience segmentation can boost Google Ads performance by predicting which users are most likely to convert.
Key takeaway? GA4 is powerful but only if configured correctly. Fixing unassigned traffic, UTM parameters, and attribution settings is key to unlocking its full potential.
Panel Discussion: The Future of Attribution & AI in PPC
The session wrapped up with a lively panel discussion, where industry experts debated the future of attribution and AI-driven feed management. As the moderator, I steered the conversation towards practical insights that marketers can act on today.
- Russell on Attribution – “If you’re not spending £100k+, don’t worry about multi-touch attribution. Just focus on your first and last click.”
- Sem Tielemans on AI & Product Feeds – AI’s growing influence in PPC is making manual feed management tools obsolete. Both Sem and the audience agreed that feed management solutions could be at risk in the near future.
What’s Next? PPC Live at Brighton
PPC Live is heading to Brighton the night before BrightonSEO, with an incredible speaker lineup:
- Sem Tielemans – A rising PPC expert tackling the evolution of AI in paid media and Growth Manager at ProductHero.
- Sophie Fell – Recently voted among the top 25 most influential digital experts and Head of Paid Media at Liberty Group.
- António Miguel Lima – Director of Data at WeDiscover, bringing fresh insights into advanced PPC measurement.
Mark your calendars—this is one PPC event you won’t want to miss!
Want to attend BrightonSEO for free? Keep an eye on our upcoming posts on social media: we’ll be giving away two tickets to BrightonSEO! Stay tuned for more details!
