This Month in Paid Media: April 2026

April was another month where the pace of change in paid media didn’t let up. From Google planning to retire a long-standing campaign type to ChatGPT entering the advertising space, the platforms are making bold moves – and the direction of travel is clear.

AI is no longer just influencing how ads are optimised. It is reshaping the surfaces, the formats and the business models underneath them.

Here are four updates that stood out to us.

1. Google retires Dynamic Search Ads in favour of AI Max

Google is phasing out DSA campaigns entirely by September, replacing them with AI Max. It’s worth looking into manually migrating DSAs to AI Max, keeping an eye on performance and optimising if needed, rather than waiting for Google to switch and potentially seeing a drop in performance if DSAs are a big part of accounts.

This is one of the most significant structural shifts to search advertising in years. For teams still running DSA, now is the time to audit and prepare.

In practice, this means:

• Keyword-free targeting will work differently and AI will have more control
• Site structure and landing page quality become even more important signals
• Campaign setups built around DSA logic will need to be rethought

The brands that get ahead of this transition, rather than waiting for it to be forced, will be in the stronger position.

2. ChatGPT starts showing ads (including to logged-out users)

OpenAI has begun rolling out advertising within ChatGPT, starting with logged-out users. It is a fundamental shift in how the platform is monetised and it opens up a genuinely new advertising surface outside of traditional search and social.

It is early days, but it is worth paying attention now.

What makes this different:

• Users are in active conversation, not scanning a results page
• Ad relevance and context work very differently here
• Measurement and attribution frameworks are still being established

3. Microsoft launches AI Max and new ad tools for the agentic web era

Microsoft has introduced AI Max alongside a suite of new advertising tools built with agentic AI in mind. As users increasingly interact with AI agents to research, compare and buy, the traditional search results page becomes just one of many places a decision might happen.

Both Google and Microsoft are now building ad products around AI agents, not just search. This is where the industry is heading.

The implications for advertisers:

• Visibility in agent-led moments will become as important as search ranking
• How brands structure and present their data will matter more
• Early movers will have time to learn before these formats scale

It is worth starting to think now about how your brand shows up when an AI agent, not a human, is doing the searching.

4. Meta launches Instagram spinoff ‘Instants’ as a standalone app

Meta has launched Instants, a standalone app that opens directly to the camera and lets users share disappearing images with friends. The Snapchat comparison is obvious. But the more interesting question is what it becomes.

Reels started modestly. Stories was borrowed from a competitor. Both became major ad surfaces.

Things to keep in mind:

• New ad placements are likely to follow if the app gains traction
• Early adopters have historically had an advantage on new Meta surfaces
• Getting in before costs rise and formats get crowded is usually easier said than done

No urgency to act today, but this is one to watch closely over the coming months.

What this tells us about the direction of paid media

For advertisers, the opportunity lies in staying close to these changes. Testing early, auditing setups and understanding new features before they become mainstream will make a real difference.

If you would like to talk through how any of these updates could affect your paid media strategy, get in touch with our team or explore more Insights below.