Field notes on AI ads.
Original research, opinions, and tactics on AI in paid advertising — from the team building AdControlCenter.
Why Your Best Ad Creative Is Probably Already Out There
The creative brief you're agonizing over has already been solved — here's how to find it, adapt it, and still build a brand worth remembering.
Should You Let Meta's Algorithm Run the Show? Here's the Truth
Ceding control to Meta's algorithm feels like gambling, but fighting it might be costing you more than you think—here's how to find the line.
AEO, GEO, and the Death of Keyword-First SEO Strategy
Keyword rankings are no longer a reliable proxy for business outcomes — here's what AEO and GEO actually change about how you should build content.
How to Build a Media Plan with AI: Step-by-Step for Ad Teams
Most AI media planning guides stop at 'ask ChatGPT for channel ideas'—this one shows the full workflow, from brief to budget allocation, that ad teams are actually shipping.
Building Scalable AI Creative Workflows: A Practical Guide
Most founders treating AI tools as one-off generators are leaving the real efficiency on the table — here's how to chain them into repeatable production workflows that actually scale.
How to Scale Google Ads Past $10k/Month Without Wrecking ROAS
Most Google Ads accounts break at the $10k/month threshold not because the product stopped working, but because the bidding strategy was never built to scale.
Why AI Isn't Citing Your Brand (And How to Fix That)
Ranking #1 on Google no longer guarantees visibility—here's why AI systems skip your brand entirely and what you can actually do about it.
Meta Ad Creative That Actually Converts: Hooks, Formats & Testing
Most Meta ad creative fails in the first three seconds—here's the exact framework for hooks, formats, and testing cadence that stops the scroll and converts.
Conversion Tracking Setup: GTM, GA4, and Offline Imports Explained
Most founders running paid ads are flying blind — not because they lack tools, but because GTM, GA4, and offline imports are all firing and none of them agree.
Google PMax: What You Can Actually Control (And What You Can't)
PMax hands Google the wheel — here's the exact list of levers you still own, and how to use them before the algorithm makes decisions you can't reverse.
CBO vs ABO in Meta Ads: Campaign Structure, Ad Sets, and Creative Count (2026)
Most Meta campaigns fail not because of bad creative but because of broken structure — here's the exact framework we use and why consolidation almost always wins.
Hands-on: building a logo overlay system that doesn't look fake
Most AI-placed logos look pasted on because they ignore what's already in the image — here's the two-step vision pipeline we built to fix that.
What ChatGPT gets wrong about Google Ads (with examples)
ChatGPT gives confident Google Ads advice that was accurate two years ago — here are the four mistakes that will cost you real money.