Biddable Monthly Industry Update

What February’s Changes Mean for Your Paid Strategy

Paid performance is getting harder to predict.

February made that clear. Platforms are changing where ads show, how users interact with them, and how traffic reaches your campaigns. You can see performance shift without changing budgets, targeting, or creative.

AI is starting to shape product discovery. Social platforms are leaning further into automation. New placements are opening up, while competition continues to increase.

This means your results are no longer driven just by campaign setup. They depend on how platforms choose to distribute attention.

Here’s what changed in February, and what you should focus on next.

AI is becoming a new paid placement layer

Impacts for brands

You may lose visibility in standard Shopping and search results as attention shifts into AI answers. Performance will depend on how well your product data feeds those environments.

What happened

Google rolled out Shopping ads inside its AI Mode search experience in February 2026. These ads appear alongside or within AI-generated responses, often next to product recommendations, and are clearly labelled as sponsored.

This builds on earlier testing, with ads now embedded directly into conversational search journeys rather than only appearing on traditional results pages.

Why this matters

AI Mode changes how users search. Instead of short keywords, users ask broader, more complex questions and receive summarised answers that include product options.

Ads are now part of that answer layer. This shifts visibility from ranking positions to being included in AI-generated outputs. It also increases the chance of “zero-click” behaviour, where users get what they need without leaving Google. 

What you should do

• Keep product feeds complete and accurate
• Include pricing, availability, and detailed attributes
• Monitor shopping campaign performance alongside query trends
• Test Shopping and Demand Gen formats where appropriate

Search demand is becoming less stable

Impacts for brands

You can see a performance drop or spike without changing anything. Budget planning and forecasting become less reliable as demand moves.

What happened

Google rolled out a Discover-focused update between 5 and 27 February. This update changed how content is selected and distributed within the Discover feed, which is personalised based on user interests and behaviour.

Many publishers reported sharp increases or drops in visibility and traffic during this period. Unlike traditional search updates, these changes were not tied to rankings, but to how content was recommended.

Why this matters

Discover influences what users see before they search. It shapes awareness and interest, which then feeds into search behaviour.

If a topic or brand gains visibility in Discover, search demand can increase. If visibility drops, demand can fall.

This directly affects paid search campaigns. Changes in impressions, clicks, and conversions may be driven by shifts in upstream demand rather than campaign performance.

What you can do

• Track impression volume and query trends alongside performance
• Monitor Demand Gen and Discovery campaigns as early indicators
• Adjust budgets when demand shifts, not just when efficiency changes
• Explain external demand changes in performance reporting

Meta still dominates, but competition is increasing

Impacts for brands

Costs will continue to rise, and results will depend more on creative and data than targeting. Weak inputs will get exposed faster.

What happened

Recent data shows that Facebook and Instagram account for over 55% of global social ad revenue. This confirms that Meta remains the primary platform for paid social investment.

At the same time, Meta continues to expand its use of automation, including Advantage+ campaigns, broader targeting, and algorithm-led optimisation.

This reduces the level of manual control advertisers have over audience selection and delivery.

Why this matters

As more brands compete in the same environment, auction pressure increases. This leads to higher CPMs and tighter competition for attention.

With automation playing a larger role, performance depends less on manual targeting decisions and more on the quality of inputs provided to the system.

Creative, conversion data, and user signals now have a stronger influence on outcomes than detailed audience segmentation.

What you can do

• Increase the volume and variety of creative testing
• Use broader targeting to support algorithmic optimisation
• Ensure conversion tracking is accurate and feeding back strong signals
• Monitor cost trends and optimise towards return, not just scale

Threads is emerging as a new placement

Impacts for brands

There is a window to reach users at a lower cost before competition increases, but only if you adapt your creative to the format.

What happened

Threads has grown to around 141 million daily mobile users, overtaking X in daily usage. It is now being integrated more fully into Meta’s advertising ecosystem as a potential placement.

This gives advertisers access to a growing audience within a less saturated environment compared to Facebook and Instagram feeds.

Why this matters

New placements typically offer lower competition in the early stages, which can lead to more efficient reach and engagement.

However, user behaviour on Threads differs from other platforms. Content is more text-led, conversational, and discussion-driven.

Ads that do not match this format are less likely to perform well.

What you can do

• Test Threads placements within existing campaigns
• Compare engagement and cost metrics against other placements
• Adapt the creative to suit a more conversational format
• Measure performance separately to understand its role

TikTok is scaling fast as a performance channel

Impacts for brands

If you are not investing, you risk missing a growing share of attention and conversions, especially in discovery-led journeys.

What happened

TikTok’s advertising revenue is projected to exceed $20 billion in 2026, with around 35% year-on-year growth. This reflects continued increases in both advertiser spend and platform engagement.

The platform’s algorithm prioritises content discovery, showing users content based on behaviour rather than who they follow.

Why this matters

This creates a different type of demand. Users are shown products and brands before they actively search for them.

As a result, TikTok can drive both awareness and conversions within the same environment. It is not limited to top-of-funnel activity.

Brands that focus only on search-led demand may miss this earlier stage of the journey.

What you can do

• Invest in content designed specifically for TikTok
• Test campaigns across both awareness and performance objectives
• Optimise towards engagement signals such as watch time
• Align creative with platform trends and user behaviour

Google is changing how ads are built and shown

Impacts for brands

You have less control over how your ads appear. Headlines you didn’t expect to be prominent can now be shown as clickable elements, which can affect performance and brand messaging.

What happened

Google has continued to expand how Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) are assembled and displayed.

As part of this, the system can now take unused, unpinned headlines and display them in a sitelink-style format beneath the main ad. These act as additional clickable elements, even if no manual sitelinks have been set up at campaign level.

Because this is handled at the ad level, Google’s AI can repurpose headlines dynamically based on predicted performance, using them in different positions within the ad layout.

Why this matters

This is another step towards automation, where Google has more control over how ads are constructed and shown.

On one hand, this can increase engagement by adding more clickable elements and testing different combinations. On the other, it reduces control over how messaging is presented.

Headlines that were written as supporting lines may now appear more prominently, or function as standalone calls to action. If those headlines don’t make sense in isolation, it can create a disjointed experience or weaken the message.

There is also a trade-off between control and performance.

Restricting how headlines are used (for example, by pinning them) can limit Google’s ability to optimise and may impact performance. Allowing full flexibility improves optimisation potential, but reduces control over how ads appear.

What you can do

Decide how much control you need over ad appearance based on brand and compliance requirements

If strict control is required:

• Pin headlines to specific positions to prevent them being reused elsewhere
• Be aware this may reduce Ad Strength and limit optimisation

If a more flexible approach is acceptable:

• Ensure all headlines can stand alone and make sense as clickable text
• Avoid low-value, repetitive or unclear variations
• Treat every headline as a potential primary message

Regularly review how ads are being assembled and displayed in practice.

What this means in practice

Across all of these changes, the direction is clear.

Platforms are expanding where ads appear and increasing their control over delivery. At the same time, user journeys are becoming less linear, with discovery happening across multiple surfaces before a click.

For brands, this means performance is influenced by a wider set of factors. Not just campaign setup, but platform behaviour, demand shifts, and content visibility.

To stay competitive:

• Track changes outside your accounts, not just inside them
• Test new placements early to understand their role
• Focus on creative quality and data accuracy
• Measure performance in the context of changing user journeys

Paid media still drives results. But success now depends on understanding how platforms shape the path before a user clicks.