De-risking the Future ​

How can a leading retailer like Bensons for Beds embrace the future of AI-powered search to drive growth, without relinquishing brand control? With the sunset of traditional DSA campaigns on the horizon, a forward-thinking strategy was essential. The challenge was to navigate the transition to AI Max, balancing its promise of expanded reach and efficiency with valid concerns over the "black box" nature of AI-generated assets and URL expansion. Our task was to prove the power of AI while demonstrating a path to adoption that ensured complete brand safety and alignment.​

We replaced apprehension with confidence by devising a strategic, two-phased approach designed to de-risk the test and build client trust through data.​

• Phase 1 - Building Trust with PMAX: We first isolated and tested the core components of AI Max—URL expansion and auto-created assets, within the more familiar environment of existing Performance Max campaigns. This controlled test allowed us to analyse the AI's output, make necessary optimisations, and demonstrate its effectiveness, proving the technology's value and safety.​

• Phase 2 - AI Max Experiment: With confidence established, we launched a rigorous A/B experiment on a key campaign. We pitted the traditional setup against a new, fully-fledged AI Max build, implementing a strict 50/50 traffic split to generate a statistically significant and fair comparison of performance.​

The results were extremely positive, dispelling initial pessimism around AI Max and delivering a significant uplift in performance. The success of the test created a strong business case for rolling AI Max out across other generic campaigns, shaping future strategy for the account.​