Leveraging generative AI in ad scripts for Google Ads optimization

Google Ads scripts have long been a powerful way to automate account management, improve efficiency, and reduce manual work. 

Whether it’s managing search terms, optimizing bids, or generating reports, scripts allow you to scale your efforts while maintaining control over your campaigns.

Now, with generative AI, particularly GPT, scripts are becoming even more accessible and adaptable. 

Advertisers no longer need to write every line of code manually or rely solely on predefined automation rules. 

GPT can generate, refine, and enhance scripts based on simple prompts, allowing even those with little coding experience to build powerful automation tools.

At last year’s SMX Next, I walked through three ways advertisers can use GPT to improve Google Ads scripts in ways they might not have considered before.

3 ways GPT enhances Google Ads scripts

1. Generating a script from handwritten notes or a whiteboard sketch

One of the biggest barriers to using Google Ads scripts is the perception that you need to be a developer to write them. 

However, with GPT, the process becomes much more accessible. 

You don’t need to start with a fully written code outline. GPT can create a functional script from:

• Rough notes.
• A simple process description.
• Even a whiteboard flowchart.

A practical use case for this is detecting negative keyword conflicts. 

With Google’s recent changes to how negative match types work, advertisers might unintentionally block important keywords. This can lead to lost impressions and reduced ad visibility.

Instead of manually reviewing every negative keyword for potential conflicts, you can use GPT to generate a script that:

• Retrieves all negative keywords from your account.
• Identifies possible typo variations that Google might treat as the same term.
• Cross-checks those variations against active campaign keywords.
• Flags potential conflicts in a spreadsheet for easy review.

This approach eliminates guesswork and manual auditing, ensuring negative keywords do not unintentionally restrict relevant searches.

To see how this works, here’s the script that automates this process:

• Negative keyword conflict script

Dig deeper: 6 ways GPT Operator is changing PPC automation

2. Improving GPT’s accuracy by feeding it your own Google Ads data

One of the biggest problems with AI is that it will hallucinate when it doesn’t have all the information to help it respond accurately. 

GPT generates more useful results when it has access to specific, relevant data, but the challenge is how to give it this data when that lives in another system, like Google Ads. 

Google Ads scripts can help because they pull the right data.

There are two main ways to integrate GPT with your campaign data for more accurate and relevant outputs:

• Direct integration in a Google Ads script
  • GPT can be incorporated into a Google Ads script that pulls real-time account data, such as search terms, ad performance metrics, or budget trends.
  • The AI can then analyze this data and provide customized recommendations.
• Exporting data to Google Sheets and using AI within the sheet
  • Instead of modifying scripts, advertisers can export Google Ads reports into a spreadsheet.
  • The GPT for Sheets add-on allows AI to process this data, detect patterns, and suggest optimizations.
  • This method is particularly useful for generating ad copy variations or identifying underperforming keywords.

This approach ensures that AI-driven insights are based on real campaign data rather than general knowledge, leading to more effective recommendations.

Dig deeper: Top AI tools and tactics you should be using in PPC

3. Modifying and expanding an existing script instead of writing a new one

Often, the best way to enhance automation isn’t to start from scratch but to build on what you already have. 

Instead of creating entirely new scripts, GPT can modify existing ones to add new features, improve efficiency, or repurpose them for different tasks.

Example: Turning a search trends script into a newsletter content generator

One example is repurposing a script designed to analyze trending searches into a content idea generator for newsletters and blogs.

The original script pulled emerging search queries from Google Ads reports to help advertisers adjust their bidding strategy. 

By modifying it with GPT, I transformed it into a tool that:

• Identifies high-interest topics based on search trends.
• Suggests blog and newsletter content ideas tailored to current market interests.
• Automates the brainstorming process, making content planning easier for advertisers and marketers.

This type of adaptive automation helps advertisers get more out of their existing tools by applying them in new, creative ways.

Dig deeper: This Google Ads script uses GPT to summarize account performance

Conclusion

GPT isn’t a replacement for traditional automation tools, but it serves as a flexible building block that enhances existing processes. 

Whether you’re using it to generate scripts from simple notes, refine AI recommendations with real data, or modify scripts for new applications, integrating generative AI into your workflow can unlock new levels of efficiency and innovation in Google Ads.

[Watch] Leveraging generative AI in ad scripts for Google Ads optimization

To explore these strategies in more detail, you can watch my full SMX Next 2024 session.