Jake Agus at BrightonSEO: Using Microsoft Ads strategically in an AI-first, Google-led landscape

Search is changing – and fast. AI is reshaping how people discover information, how intent is formed, and where decisions are happening. You’ve heard this all before but as advertisers, this shift is forcing us to rethink some long-held assumptions about performance marketing and paid search. 

At BrightonSEO, I spoke about where Microsoft Ads fits into this evolving landscape. Not as an afterthought. Not as a smaller version of Google. But as a platform that now plays a very different and increasingly strategic role in how brands show up at the moments that matter.

Google is still dominating global search, sitting at around 90% market share. But focusing on that headline number alone distracts from the nuance underneath. Microsoft, via Bing, holds 7-8% share in the US and roughly 6% in the UK – and that reach extends further through Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, and AOL.

This context matters more than ever, especially as AI changes how search works all together. 

The challenge: treating Microsoft Ads like Google-lite

For years, Microsoft Ads has been treated as a backup plan. A cloned Google Ads account. The same keywords, the same bids, the same ads — just with a smaller budget and lower expectations.

When you run a Google‑lite strategy, you predictably get Google‑lite results. The reality is that this approach ignores Microsoft’s biggest strength: its audience.

Around 49% of Bing users are decision‑makers, compared to just 24% on Google. The Microsoft audience skews older, has a higher household income, and is far more likely to hold senior roles. In B2B particularly, you’re often paying Google CPCs to reach people who can’t actually sign off on the purchase.

What’s more, Microsoft’s audience data is built on how people work, not just how they browse. Through LinkedIn, Teams, Outlook, and the wider Microsoft 365 ecosystem, Microsoft understands job roles, seniority, industries, and professional intent in a way Google simply can’t replicate.

That difference makes all the difference as AI enters the equation.

The effect on marketers in AI-first search

AI‑driven search is collapsing the traditional funnel. We used to map intent neatly: awareness, research, consideration, conversion, with keywords telling us exactly where someone sat in that journey. LLMs break that model completely.

Instead of searching for “best running shoes for flat feet,” users now ask: 
“I run three times a week, have flat feet, and knee pain, what shoes should I buy?”

In this single interaction, multiple stages of the funnel are skipped, research is synthesised and recommendations are delivered before a click even happens. 

For PPC, that throws out the rule book. There are fewer explicit keywords, richer context, and far less reliance on exact‑match query strings. Audience signals and automated bidding matter more, while presence in the discovery moment is where decisions are formed.

AI answers are taking up real estate on the SERP. Familiar brands are trusted more. Visibility is shifting from ‘who ranks highest’ to ‘who gets mentioned at all.’

This boils down to one central truth: if you’re not in the answer, you’re not in the decision.

Microsoft’s ecosystem sits right at the centre of this shift, with Copilot embedded into Windows, Edge, and the wider workplace environment. Exactly where high‑value research happens.

Our solution

Optimise for presence, not position.

Microsoft Ads shouldn’t be evaluated purely on last‑click CPA. It often converts users Google never reached or users Google has already spent money warming up. Incrementality is the right lens.

Ask a different question: What revenue wouldn’t we have captured without Microsoft in the mix? GEO holdout tests, platform incrementality tools, and assisted conversion analysis tell a much more accurate story than CPA alone.

Microsoft offers capabilities Google simply doesn’t:

• LinkedIn audience targeting on search (job title, seniority, company size, industry)
• In‑market audiences built from Microsoft 365 behaviour;Teams, Outlook, Excel
• Copilot ad placements, where brands appear inside AI answers, not just SERPs
• Default Windows and Edge discovery, reaching users before they even choose a search engine

In Copilot‑driven journeys, the user asks a complex question, the AI frames the answer, and your brand appears within that context. The decision is already being shaped before the click happens.

Staying ahead with IDHL

This isn’t traditional PPC. But you’re in good hands with IDHL. As an AI-first agency, we’ve made it a priority to keep pace with AI development and find opportunities for it to benefit our clients’ growth. Our experts are waiting to discuss strategy, get in touch with us today.