Marketers cut AI-driven ad platform budgets amid transparency concerns

The artificial intelligence AdTech blues are setting in.

Media buyers are pushing back against AI-driven platforms like Google‘s Performance Max and Meta’s Advantage+, redirecting budgets due to concerns about transparency, control, and diminishing returns. This shift marks a significant moment in the advertising industry as marketers reassess their relationship with black-box AI solutions and seek greater visibility into where their ad dollars are actually going.

The big picture: Marketers are actively reducing spend on AI-driven advertising platforms, with some clients cutting Google Performance Max budgets by up to 50% and redirecting those funds to more transparent channels.

Why this matters: This pullback represents a growing crisis of confidence in automated media buying systems that promise efficiency but deliver opacity, potentially signaling a broader industry recalibration around AI’s role in advertising.

What they’re saying: “I have clients who’ve transitioned out of Performance Max completely, to a mix of Google ads, search campaigns and outside of the walled garden, open web campaigns,” said John Davis, director of audience development at Crowd Louder Media.

• “I had one client where their Performance Max CPM was pretty much the same as their search CPM, so I cut their PMax spend in half,” explained Sara Kerr, associate media director at ZGM Modern Marketing Partners.
• Kerr also mentioned an onboarding client with “horrifically large spend in Performance Max” that immediately raised concerns, noting “it’s going to be a tough conversation.”

Behind the numbers: The shift away from Performance Max often occurs when marketers hit diminishing returns, discovering that increasing investment no longer yields proportional results.

Key concerns: Transparency issues around ad placement, performance metrics, and return on investment have long troubled marketers using AI-driven platforms.

• The lack of clear visibility into where ads are appearing and what’s actually working has evolved from a frustration to a dealbreaker for many brands.
• At worst, marketers fear losing control over their entire media strategy by relying too heavily on these automated systems.

The bottom line: While AI will inevitably play a growing role in media buying, the current pushback suggests marketers are demanding solutions that provide both efficiency and transparency rather than being forced to choose between them.