Is there still such a thing as a Google Ads “expert”

This is a weird moment to be a Google Ads expert. And it has been weird for a while but in my travel and being out at GML and just getting off the phone with my VP at Paid Search Association, I can write about my thinking a bit more clearly.

For years, our status came from knowing every lever, every setting, every obscure checkbox inside the interface. The perfect setup, the campaign structure that worked. Why standard shopping is better than Pmax etc (the list goes on).

Today, that execution layer, the place we learned, experimented, and proved our value is being stripped away. Not just changed. Removed.

And I’m actually in favor of it. I am here for the party!

When Google takes execution off our plate, it forces a shift: away from button‑pushing and toward strategy and business thinking. I’ve said this over and over it opens up space for real strategic work. But as more of that execution layer collapses, a hard question shows up:

If we’re not “the people who know all the settings and perfect campaign setups” anymore, what makes us different?

This was already a brutally competitive industry

Even before Google started taking levers away, this was a cutthroat space. I have PPC agency owners who no longer list their clients on their website because other agencies will call them.

It is hard to even get in the room with a real business owner and consult on what you do best. How do you prove that your lever‑pulling or structure is better than someone else’s lever‑pulling or structure?

We used to sell on performance. But the performance gains now? They’re:

• Smaller

• Slower

• More incremental

• More like compounding than “hockey stick”

Honestly, PPC in 2026 behaves a lot like SEO did around 2009—slow, cumulative, unforgiving if you’re impatient.

So if performance isn’t going to be “through the roof,” and the interface is doing more of the work for us, we’re back to that same question:

What, exactly, are we selling?

I’m not mad at Google but their evolution exposes the fake experts for sure

I’m not here to complain about Google. This company built my career.

I actually think they’ve evolved with the user in mind. I also still trust their tech to align me with the best customer for me or my client.

User behavior has changed. They have shareholders to keep happy. Google is just doing what they need to do, and in many ways, they’re doing the right thing by simplifying and automating.

But that evolution exposes a gap for service providers:

• When CPCs aren’t going down…

• When competition isn’t going down…

• When the “secret settings” are going away…

…how do I prove my work?

That’s the tension I live in, especially as someone who now teaches people how to manage their own Google Ads.

Because let’s be honest: When was the last time you saw CPCs get cheaper? When was the last time you saw competition go down?

Exactly.

The power shift: from outsourcing execution to owning strategy

Here’s where I’ve landed, and why I’m actually optimistic:

And to be fair I landed her because when I was “managing ad accounts” I would pour my heart and soul into my clients and sacrifice family.

If execution is increasingly automated, the real power is in learning to think and not just learning to click or be templated.

That’s why I’m so glad I shifted into teaching. The demand for understanding Google Ads, not just outsourcing it, is growing fast. More and more business owners are:

• Stopping the habit of paying agencies just to “do the doing”

• Realizing the “doing” isn’t where the differentiation is anymore

• Wanting to own the strategy, even if they still get help on implementation

At Google Marketing Live, a keynote said something like:

“We’ve taken the execution so you can do more.”

And they’re right.

Agencies can do more now. AI lets them be more productive, handle more accounts, and scale harder. I even texted a friend who owns an agency and they said, “They’re not wrong.”

But here’s the catch: “More” doesn’t automatically mean “deeper.”

Strategy requires something AI and high‑volume agencies don’t have

Let’s talk about what strategy actually is.

Strategy is not:

• “Which bid strategy should I use?”

• “How many headlines should I test?”

• “What’s the best audience segment?”

• “What’s the best match type” MY GAWD!

Strategy is:

• Who are we?

• Who do we stand for?

• What are we willing to not do?

• What are we building over the next 12–24 months, not just this week?

That kind of thinking requires:

• Time

• Focus

• Emotional investment

• The ability to lose sleep over the right problems

And that is not what happens when your account is one of 100 on someone’s roster.

That’s where I think the real shift is happening among Google Ads experts:

• Consultants - the ones who see the whole business, not just the account are going to be in higher demand.

• People who actually worry about your account at 10 p.m. are the ones who will be at the finish line with you.

• Those who can teach you to think, not just “run your ads,” are the ones who will still matter when every lever is automated.

The real question

So here’s the question underneath my rant:

In a world where Google Ads is taking away the executional layer, what does it actually mean to be a Google Ads expert now?

My answer: It means you’re not selling the perfect campaign setup, settings, or secret tricks.

You’re selling thinking. You’re selling discernment. You’re selling the ability to sit with a founder and say:

“Here’s who you are, here’s what the platform is doing, and here’s how we navigate this together on purpose.” or “Here is WHY we are setting the account up like this”, “This might not be what we want to do but this is where Google Ads, your business and your ideal customer align”

That’s the work that doesn’t get automated away.