Dec 8, 2025
In this episode of The Digital Marketing Podcast, Daniel Rowles and Ciaran Rogers dive into one of the most significant shifts in digital marketing: the rise of non keyword signals and what it means for search, privacy, and the future of campaign targeting.
With AI-powered ad platforms like Google’s AI Max and social algorithms driven by behavioural data rather than search intent, the old model of keyword-driven marketing is rapidly giving way to something more opaque, more personalised, and potentially more invasive.
Daniel and Ciaran explore how AI systems now use a vast array of signals, from your browsing patterns and email content to your location history and viewing habits, to anticipate what you might want before you even search. But what does this mean for marketers who’ve spent years honing their SEO and PPC strategies? And what does it mean for user privacy in a world where your chatbot conversations may be fuelling ad targeting?
In This Episode:
What are non keyword
signals?
Understand how platforms like Google and Meta are using behaviour,
context and historical activity instead of just search terms.
Why your impressions are up
but clicks are down
Learn how AI summaries in Google Search are reducing organic
click-throughs, even when your rankings are strong.
AI Max campaigns and
keywordless targeting
Discover how Google Ads is shifting towards AI-led campaigns that
rely on intent and engagement signals rather than keyword triggers
, and why some brands are seeing 20–30% uplift as a result.
What Meta’s CMO said about
disconnected content
Hear how Alex Schultz explained the shift from connected (likes,
follows) to disconnected content (Reels, Stories, Shorts), and what
that means for social strategy.
Privacy concerns and grey
areas
Explore the implications of Meta’s new terms allowing AI chat
interactions to inform ad targeting, and whether AI chat data could
be inadvertently shared or commercialised.
Real-world scenario: Chatbots
used for lead capture
Daniel raises a powerful example, what if you offered a free AI
chatbot to other brands, then harvested user intent data for your
own ad targeting?
Platform security, data
visibility and agent risks
From OneDrive access errors to AI agents managing your logins, the
hosts discuss the human errors that AI amplifies, and the need for
robust security practices.
Key Takeaways:
We’re entering a post-keyword
era
Platforms are using AI to interpret intent through broader, richer
data sources, including chat behaviour, video viewing and app
usage.
Organic traffic is being
cannibalised by AI summaries
Even if your visibility improves, actual user clicks may continue
to decline.
Privacy risks are
growing
Terms and conditions are changing, and conversations with AI tools
may no longer be as private as they seem.
Marketing teams must audit how
they use AI
Understand what data your AI tools are accessing and how that data
could be used, now and in the future.
Join the
conversation
This isn’t just a podcast - it’s an open debate. Daniel and
Ciaran want your input, and they’re giving away prizes, books and
merch to contributors.
📥 Access the show
notes, tools, and links at:
https://targetinternet.com/resources/the-big-debate-non-keyword-signals-ai-chats-privacy
Join the debate:
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7403862051749564417