Loop Digital May Digital Marketing Industry Update 2025

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Is Google’s AI strategy creating more problems than solutions?

May 2025 has brought a fresh wave of controversy surrounding Google’s AI initiatives. The tech giant now faces £12 billion in civil claims across Europe over shopping comparison monopoly allegations, whilst new data reveals that AI Overviews may have slashed organic click-through rates by a staggering 30% over the past year. Most concerning for marketers, Google’s new AI Mode traffic appears to be completely untrackable in analytics platforms. Hence, it may be time to revisit or rethink your SEO strategy.

These headlines here represent fundamental shifts in how search operates and how businesses can measure their digital performance. At the same time, Google has unveiled ambitious new AI tools at Marketing Live 2025, including the cinematic Flow filmmaking platform and expanded ad placements within AI Overviews themselves.

Google is simultaneously revolutionising digital marketing capabilities whilst potentially undermining the very metrics that marketers rely upon to measure success. Understanding these dual forces will be crucial for any business navigating the evolving search landscape in 2025.

In this month’s industry update, we’ll examine the major developments shaping digital marketing and what they mean for your strategies moving forward.

Digital Marketing Highlights

Google Marketing Live 2025 Reveals AI-Powered Campaign Revolution

Google’s flagship marketing event 2025 showcased a comprehensive AI overhaul across its advertising ecosystem. The standout announcement was AI Max for Search campaigns, enabling Google’s AI to build upon existing keywords, headlines, descriptions, and landing pages to enhance conversions automatically. This represents a significant shift towards autonomous campaign management, where AI tailors advertisements in real-time to match user search intent.

Google Launches “Flow”, A Cinematic AI Video Creation Tool

Google has launched Flow, an AI-powered filmmaking tool built around its advanced Veo 3 model, enabling marketers to create cinematic video content with unprecedented ease. The platform integrates camera controls, scene-building capabilities, and asset management, allowing businesses to transform static product images into dynamic video advertisements. For brands seeking to enhance their visual storytelling without extensive production resources, Flow represents a significant democratisation of high-quality video creation.

Google Business Profiles Introduces ‘What’s Happening’ Feature

Local businesses now have enhanced visibility options through Google’s new ‘What’s Happening’ feature for Business Profiles. This update allows restaurants and bars to prominently display daily specials, events, and live entertainment directly at the top of their Google Business listings. The feature aims to drive immediate customer engagement by showcasing time-sensitive offers and activities, potentially increasing foot traffic for hospitality venues during quieter periods.

One Third of Users Stick to Bing Over Google 

Remarkably, research indicates that 33% of Google users who trialled Bing for two weeks chose to remain with Microsoft’s search engine. This finding suggests growing openness to alternative search platforms, particularly as concerns about Google’s AI Overviews mount. For marketers, this trend underscores the importance of diversifying search engine optimisation strategies beyond Google’s ecosystem.

Human Content Strategy Emerges as AI Overview Defence

Industry experts increasingly advocate for producing “unmistakably human” content as the most effective strategy for maintaining visibility despite AI Overviews. This approach emphasises personal experiences, unique perspectives, and authentic storytelling that AI cannot replicate. Content creators should focus on expertise, firsthand knowledge, and genuine insights to differentiate their material from AI-generated summaries.

Google Faces Record £12 Billion EU Civil Claims Over Shopping Monopoly

European price comparison websites have collectively filed civil lawsuits seeking nearly £12 billion in damages from Google, following the 2017 EU antitrust ruling that imposed a €2.4 billion fine for favouring its own shopping service. These legal challenges could fundamentally reshape how Google prioritises content in search results, particularly affecting shopping and comparison queries. The outcome may force significant changes to search result structures and ranking algorithms.

SEO Highlights

Google’s AI Mode Traffic Proves Untrackable in Analytics

A critical discovery has emerged regarding Google’s new AI Mode: clicks from this feature aren’t passing referral data, making it impossible to track in Google Analytics or Search Console. This development represents a significant challenge for marketers who rely on accurate traffic attribution to measure campaign effectiveness. The issue appears to stem from a technical code “noreferrer element” that strips referral information, meaning this traffic won’t be seen in analytics, effectively rendering AI Mode traffic invisible to standard analytics platforms.

New Research Shows Users Only Read Third of AI Overviews

User experience studies reveal that searchers only read approximately one-third of Google’s AI Overview content, suggesting these summaries may be less engaging than anticipated. This finding challenges Google’s assertion that AI Overviews enhance user experience, particularly as the feature continues expanding across more query types and geographical regions.

Devastating 30% Drop in Search Click-Through Rates Revealed

Recent data reveals a significant downturn in organic CTRs due to Google’s AI Overviews. BrightEdge reported a 30% year-over-year drop across general search traffic, while MailOnline experienced a staggering 56% decrease in clicks, even when ranking first organically. These figures highlight the growing impact of AI summaries on user behaviour and pose existential questions for content-driven publishers relying on organic discovery.

Growing Spam Problem Infiltrates AI Overviews

Security concerns mount as spam content increasingly appears within Google’s AI Overviews, undermining the feature’s credibility and user trust. This development highlights the challenges Google faces in maintaining content quality while scaling AI-generated responses across billions of queries. Businesses should monitor their content carefully to ensure legitimate information isn’t overshadowed by spam within these AI summaries.

Google Claims 20x Improvement in Scam Detection

Google has announced significant advancements in identifying and removing fraudulent content from search results, Google is claiming a 20-fold improvement in scam detection capabilities. This enhancement utilises advanced AI models to identify deceptive listings, fake reviews, and malicious websites more effectively than previous systems.

Google Searches Drop in Safari for First Time

For the first time in 22 years, Google searches conducted through Apple’s Safari browser have declined, signalling a potential shift in user search behaviour. This unprecedented development suggests growing competition from alternative search engines and changing user preferences, particularly among Apple’s ecosystem users.

AI Overviews Drive Visits but Reduce Engagement

Paradoxical data shows that whilst Google visits have increased following AI Overview expansion, user engagement metrics are declining. This suggests that whilst users may click through from AI Overviews, they’re spending less time on destination websites, potentially affecting conversion rates and user experience metrics. This could be a stage to take a step back, revise your digital marketing strategy, starting with an in-depth website analysis and performance. 

CEO of Google and Alphabet Sundar Pichai Acknowledges ‘Extraordinary’ Risks to Google Search

The CEO of Google and Alphabet, Sundar Pichai, has publicly acknowledged “extraordinary” risks facing Google Search, likely referring to regulatory pressures, competitive threats, and the challenges of balancing AI innovation with user and publisher needs. This rare admission of vulnerability from Google’s leadership suggests internal concerns about the platform’s long-term sustainability.

Google Massively Expands AI Overviews for Travel and Entertainment

Google has significantly broadened AI Overview deployment across travel and entertainment queries, potentially affecting how users discover and book holidays, restaurants, and activities. This expansion means travel marketers must adapt their content strategies to account for AI-generated summaries that may reduce direct website traffic.

Paid Media Highlights

Search Max (AI Max) Revolutionises Google Ads Campaign Management

Google’s new AI Max functionality for Search campaigns represents a paradigm shift towards fully automated campaign optimisation. The Search Max system leverages artificial intelligence to enhance keywords, headlines, descriptions, and landing page recommendations, automatically tailoring advertisements to match search intent more precisely. Early adopters should monitor performance closely while the AI learns campaign patterns.

Customer Match Minimums Slashed to Just 100 Users

Google has dramatically reduced Customer Match list requirements from 1,000 to just 100 users for Search campaigns in Google Ads, democratising audience targeting for smaller businesses. This change enables more precise remarketing and lookalike audience creation for companies with limited customer databases, potentially improving campaign efficiency across the board.

Advertisements Now Appearing in AI Overviews

A significant development sees Search and Shopping advertisements now integrated directly within AI Overview responses. These ads blend seamlessly into AI-generated answers, offering brands new touchpoints earlier in the customer journey. The feature is rolling out gradually, with text-based search ads and product listings with images being the primary formats.

Enhanced Testing and Measurement Tools Launch

Google has unveiled comprehensive updates to its testing and measurement capabilities, including easier incrementality testing and smarter cross-channel insights from GA4. The new Data Manager tools enable more sophisticated campaign attribution and ROI measurement, addressing long-standing challenges in multi-channel campaign assessment.

Chrome-Based Marketing Advisor AI Assistant Announced

Google’s forthcoming Marketing Advisor represents an AI-powered Chrome extension designed to help marketers manage campaigns and identify growth opportunities directly within their browser. The tool will provide contextual recommendations, spot missing conversion tags, and suggest optimisations without requiring users to leave their current workflow.

Google Ads Costs Continue Rising Despite Improved Conversions

LocalIQ analysis of 16,446 campaigns reveals that 87% of sectors experienced higher cost-per-click rates, though this is offset by significantly improved conversion rates across 65% of industries. Marketers should budget for continued CPC (Cost Per Click) inflation whilst optimising for enhanced conversion quality rather than purely volume-based metrics.

YouTube Unveils QR Code Shopping Ads for Television Viewers

YouTube has launched innovative shopping advertisements that connect big-screen viewing with mobile purchasing through QR code integration. This development bridges the gap between traditional television advertising and e-commerce, enabling immediate purchase actions from living room viewing experiences.

Performance Max Campaigns Gain Device Targeting Controls

Google has introduced device targeting capabilities for Performance Max campaigns, allowing advertisers to optimise spending across computers, phones, tablets, and connected TVs. This granular control enables better budget allocation based on device-specific performance patterns and customer behaviour.

Enhanced Ad Transparency Reveals Funding Sources

Google is expanding advertisement transparency by displaying who funds advertisements, with agency accounts now showing client payment profiles where applicable. This initiative addresses growing concerns about advertisement authenticity and political influence, particularly relevant for regulated industries and political campaigns.

Search Themes Limit Expands to 50 in Performance Max

Google has increased the Search themes limit from 25 to 50 within Performance Max campaigns, providing advertisers with greater control over automated targeting whilst maintaining the platform’s machine learning advantages. This change enables more nuanced campaign customisation without sacrificing automation benefits.

AI-Powered Product Filtering Launched in Merchant Centre

Google Merchant Centre now features AI-driven product filtering capabilities, enabling advertisers to identify and resolve feed issues more efficiently. The system accepts plain English queries, which AI translates into appropriate filter categories, streamlining product catalogue management for e-commerce businesses.

Web and Design Highlights

WooCommerce Bug Triggers Fatal Errors Across Websites

A significant WooCommerce bug has caused fatal errors on numerous WordPress sites, particularly affecting those relying on block-based themes and functionality. The WooCommerce team is actively working on a resolution, though the issue highlights the risks of automatic updates in mission-critical e-commerce environments. Site owners should implement staging environments and backup protocols to mitigate such risks to their website.

WordPress Jubilee Continues with Additional Block Removals

Following Matt Mullenweg’s initial “Jubilee” announcement, WordPress.org has continued removing additional account blocks and restrictions. This ongoing liberalisation of access suggests a strategic shift towards greater community openness, though platform guidelines remain strictly enforced for future violations.

New WordPress Malware Disguised as Security Plugin

WordFence security researchers have identified sophisticated malware masquerading as a legitimate WordPress anti-malware plugin. The infection originates in wp-cron.php files and demonstrates increasingly advanced techniques used by cybercriminals to compromise WordPress installations. Website administrators should verify plugin authenticity through official repositories and implement comprehensive security monitoring.

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