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By Jay Ives, Forbes 30 Under 30
Over the last few years, I’ve had the same conversation with founders over and over again.
“Something changed with Google, but I can’t tell what.”
They’re not wrong.
Search does feel different. Ads behave differently. Results move faster. What used to work doesn’t stick the way it used to. And it’s easy to assume Google is just making things harder.
But after watching hundreds of accounts go through this shift, I see it differently. Google isn’t making marketing harder. It’s making it clearer.
Between 2022 and 2025, Google quietly rewired how it understands businesses. And in 2026, that rewiring is finally paying off for the brands that adapted early.
This is where AEO and Google Ads stop being separate things and start working together naturally.
The Updates That Changed How Search Works
The shift started in August 2022 with the Helpful Content Update. That was Google’s first real signal that content written to “win SEO” was going to lose value. It wanted content written to help people make decisions.
In 2023, a series of Core Updates pushed that idea further. Google started paying more attention to what users did after clicking, not just what pages said before the click. Did they stay? Did they come back? Did they search again?
By March 2024, Helpful Content was fully baked into the core algorithm. From that point on, it wasn’t an update you recovered from. It was the new normal.
Then in May 2024, Google launched AI Overviews across U.S. search results, and suddenly the top of the page wasn’t just links anymore. It was answers.
That’s when everything clicked.
Google wasn’t trying to replace websites. It was trying to understand them better.
Why This Is Good News If You’re Building Something Real
If you’re a brand that actually solves a problem, these updates work in your favor.
Google is now much better at figuring out who does what, who they do it for, and when they should show up. That means you don’t have to outspend competitors to win. You just have to be clear.
This is where AEO comes in.
AEO is simply the practice of explaining your business in a way machines and people both understand. Clear answers. Clear structure. Clear purpose. When you do that, Google can use your content everywhere. In organic results, in AI summaries, and even inside ad campaigns.
This is the foundation of how we approach AI SEO now, and why it works across both paid and organic search Here:
https://www.jivesmedia.com/services/ai-seo/
Google Ads Isn’t About Bidding Anymore
This is the part most advertisers struggle with.
Google Ads looks the same on the surface, but it behaves completely differently underneath. The system now learns. It predicts. It connects dots you can’t see.
Performance Max, broad match, and smart bidding weren’t designed to take control away from you. They were designed to work when Google understands you clearly.
When your site, your messaging, and your landing pages all say the same thing, Google learns faster and your costs drop. When they’re scattered, performance fades over time.
That’s why some accounts look great for 60 days and then slowly fall apart. The system got confused.
Where AEO and Google Ads Actually Meet
The best-performing brands in 2026 aren’t doing more. They’re simplifying.
They’re using fewer landing pages. They’re answering questions directly. They’re aligning ad copy with how people actually search. And they’re letting Google’s systems do what they’re good at once the signals are clean.
When ads reinforce the same answers users see in AI Overviews, trust forms faster and decisions happen sooner. It’s subtle, but it works.
This is how we structure modern Google Ads systems now, with ads and content built to support each other instead of competing Here:
https://www.jivesmedia.com/services/google-ads/
The Real Opportunity Is Clarity
The biggest change in 2026 isn’t technology. It’s clarity.
Brands that are easy to understand win. Brands that are confusing get expensive.
Google’s updates didn’t raise the bar. They removed the noise.
When you explain what you do clearly, answer real questions, and give users a good experience, Google’s AI does the rest. That’s the part most people are overthinking.
Conclusion
When your content, ads, and experience all tell the same story, growth gets easier, not harder. In 2026, the brands that win won’t be the ones chasing updates. They’ll be the ones building clarity into everything they do.