I'll be honest with you - I've been in marketing for 15 years and running ScaledOn for the last two, and I've never seen platform changes this dramatic happen this fast.

Last Tuesday, I was sitting in my office just digging into client results - no meetings, no calls, just me, coffee, and a wall of numbers.

Usually, it’s pretty predictable: a mix of wins, a few underperformers we know how to fix, and a couple of surprises.

But in this time, I noticed something that made me pause.

Some of our clients - across completely different industries - were quietly pulling ahead, getting cheaper clicks and more sales without touching their budgets.

Others, just as strong in Q1, were slipping.

Same ad spend. Same strategy. Same markets.

🚨 The Uncomfortable Truth About Platform AI

Meta and Google aren't just "testing" AI features anymore. They've gone all-in, and the results from their latest earnings calls should terrify every business owner who isn't paying attention.

Translation? If you're still posting the same polished, corporate content you were six months ago, Meta's AI is actively working against you.


📊 Google Q2 2025: AI Infrastructure Bet Paying Off

The numbers that matter:

  • Revenue: $96.43B (+14% YoY, beat by $2.4B)

  • YouTube Ads: $8.7B (+13% YoY)

  • Search: $48.5B (+14% YoY)

  • Gemini adoption: 85,000+ enterprises (35x growth YoY)

  • CapEx: $85B for AI infrastructure (up $10B)

Translation?
- Search isn’t dead. A 14% YoY increase means brands still ranking (and adapting SEO to resolution-based queries) will keep winning.

- Video is the second growth engine. YouTube’s 13% ad growth = sustained demand. Brands integrating YouTube into campaigns now can expect better ROAS before competition increases.

Beyond this: While everyone talks about AI Overviews, Google quietly launched Gmail Shopping beta - turning Promotions tabs into mini storefronts.

Picture this: Your customer opens their email to check messages, and right there in their Promotions tab is your summer sale - complete with product images, star ratings, pricing, and a "Buy Now" button. No clicking through to your website. No friction.

Why this matters:

  • Gmail users check inboxes multiple times/day (high intent)

  • Competition is almost zero - for now

  • Early movers will get cheaper clicks

📊 Bing Ads (The Underpriced Search Channel)

Microsoft’s search ad revenue is up 21% for 4 straight quarters - driven by Bing integration into Copilot, Windows, and Office apps.

Most competitors ignore Bing. We don’t.

For B2B, services, and high-ticket products, the CPMs are still a bargain - and the targeting is getting smarter every month.

💡 Bottom line: Bing isn’t just “Google Lite.” It’s a LinkedIn + Search + AI assistant network. Brands who take advantage of the audience data, multimedia formats, and Copilot search shifts can own market share while the competition sleeps.


📬 What This Means for Your Business (The Real Talk)

I'm going to be direct because that's what you need right now: if you're not actively adapting to these AI changes, you're not just falling behind - you're becoming invisible.

But here's the real kicker: Google's AI Overviews are now appearing in 50% of healthcare searches, 29% of financial searches, and they're pushing paid ads below the fold across virtually every industry.

The shift from "keyword searches" to "resolution questions" is happening faster than we predicted. Brands that pivoted early to what we call "Answer Engine Optimization" are quietly capturing the traffic everyone else is losing.


🧠 What to Do in Q3–Q4 (From What’s Working at ScaledOn)

Meta:

  • Move from quarterly refresh to rolling creative drops every 30-45 days.

  • Video-first: Reels, Stories, UGC hooks - even for service brands.

  • Creator-style formats - authenticity beats polish

Google:

  • Prep Merchant Center feeds now for Gmail Shopping - quality images, reviews, pricing.

  • Keep YouTube ads in rotation (13% growth YoY = steady demand).

  • Maintain SEO discipline - AI Overviews haven’t killed search, but volatility is real. Shift SEO from keywords to resolution questions (Answer Engine Optimization).

Bing Ads:

  • Position brands early before CPCs rise

  • Start with retargeting + lookalike audiences from your search campaigns.

  • Layer in in-market segments (Microsoft’s LinkedIn integration helps refine targeting by job title, company size, and industry).

  • With Copilot integrated into Windows, Office, and Edge, queries are becoming longer and more “resolution-focused” (similar to how we’re shifting from SEO to AEO).

🧭 Final Thought

Meta’s AI decides what gets seen. Google’s AI decides where sales happen. Bing’s AI is quietly creating cheaper opportunities.

The brands winning this quarter aren’t spending more - they’re adapting faster.

Let’s scale smarter,

—Iulia

P.S. If you can't make it live, you’ll find it on our YouTube Channel. But honestly? The real value is in the live Q&A portion where you can ask about your specific situation.