• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, 10 hours ago

Google released its “biggest” update to bidding in more than a decade on Wednesday at Marketing Live 2025.

Smart Bidding Exploration, a feature that uses AI within Google Ads, will now offer what Google calls “flexible” return on ad spend (ROAS) targets for advertisers. It may bid on queries that might not meet the standard ROAS targets, but have the potential to convert in the future.

The same business bidding for ad space can now also bid on less obvious but potentially highly valuable queries more often. For example, a query on "how to buy a home.”

This allows Google AI to find new, qualified leads that the business wouldn't have captured otherwise.

Smart Bidding Exploration was first spotted in Google Ads late September 2024, and the company then published an official help page about the beta in October 2024, according to AI Mode.

This new tool builds on existing features like AI Max for Search campaigns, which ensures advertisers are eligible for relevant, intent-driven searches. Google believes that Smart Bidding Exploration complements AI Max for Search by pursuing high-performing searches from a wide range of unique categories within a campaign.

Campaigns using Smart Bidding Exploration see, on average, an 18% increase in unique search query categories with conversions and a 19% increase in conversions, according to Google Internal Data from March 11, 2025 through April 11, 2025.

The changes could be related to adjusting former flaws in the technology. Perhaps features potentially linked to the Department of Justice's (DOJ) antitrust cases against Google, like the one concerning Google's allegations of anticompetitive auction manipulation.

AI Mode, which pulls information from across the web, suggests the DOJ "has alleged that Google's Smart Bidding algorithm is able to achieve the same kind of 'insider' auction advantage that Google had enjoyed with Last Look," a former auction practice used by Google's AdX ad exchange that allowed it to see the highest bids from other exchanges and then potentially outbid them 

Smart Bidding Exploration is a feature for advertisers looking to expand their reach, but because the algorithm explores new queries, it may initially lead to fluctuations in ROAS and potentially higher costs.