Every category where a model named Google Ads for a mid-market B2B company. Share is first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts; rank is within every product named in that category.

Category	Function	Share	Rank	Negative rate	Labels	Quadrant	Since September 2026
Search and social advertising platforms	Marketing	13%	1 of 113	10%	30	accepted challenger	▲+1Since September 2026: 10% → 12%, +1 point. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.
Programmatic and display advertising	Marketing	3%	8 of 92	14%	7	under 10 labels · led by StackAdapt at 48%	▲+2Since September 2026: 2% → 4%, +2 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.
Click fraud protection	Marketing	2%	15 of 52	0%	2	under 10 labels · led by ClickCease at 36%
Video advertising	Marketing	2%	10 of 114	0%	5	under 10 labels · led by StackAdapt at 32%	=heldSince September 2026: 2% → 2%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.
Retail media platforms	Marketing	2%	14 of 121	0%	4	under 10 labels · led by Amazon Ads at 33%
Mobile apps	Marketing	0%	44 of 117	25%	4	under 10 labels · led by Customer.io at 17%	=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.
Ecommerce marketing	Marketing	0%	42 of 115	0%	2	under 10 labels · led by HubSpot Marketing Hub at 38%	=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.
Native and content advertising	Marketing	0%	70 of 86	50%	2	under 10 labels · led by StackAdapt at 41%	newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now.
Attribution and marketing mix modeling	Marketing	0%	76 of 123	0%	1	under 10 labels · led by Dreamdata at 27%	newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now.
Data clean rooms	GTM data and infrastructure	0%	40 of 100	0%	1	under 10 labels · led by Snowflake Data Clean Rooms at 19%

Movement

Since September 2026, Google Ads held within the floor in all ten categories: no change cleared 11 points.

Best category · Paid ads · by segment

Small business▼−3Since September 2026: 16% → 13%, −3 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.

13%from 16% in September 2026

Inside the floor by 8 pointsRank 1 of 106, unchanged

Mid-market▲+1Since September 2026: 10% → 12%, +1 point. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.

12%from 10% in September 2026

Inside the floor by 10 pointsRank 1 → 2 of 107

Enterprise=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.

0%from 0% in September 2026

Inside the floor by 11 pointsRank 19 → 79 of 81

All categories · Mid-market

Category	September 2026	Now	Change	Reading	Rank
Retail media	0%	2%	newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 2% now.	New this edition	Rank 14 of 121, unchanged
Programmatic	2%	4%	▲+2Since September 2026: 2% → 4%, +2 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.	Within noise	Rank 8 of 92, unchanged
Paid ads	10%	12%	▲+1Since September 2026: 10% → 12%, +1 point. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.	Within noise	Rank 1 of 113, unchanged
Click fraud protection	0%	0%	newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now.	New this edition	Rank 15 of 52, unchanged
Video ads	2%	2%	=heldSince September 2026: 2% → 2%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.	Within noise	Rank 9 → 10 of 114
Mobile apps	0%	0%	=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.	Within noise	Rank 26 → 44 of 117
Ecommerce marketing	0%	0%	=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.	Within noise	Rank 31 → 42 of 115
Native ads	0%	0%	newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now.	New this edition	Rank 70 of 86, unchanged
Attribution & MMM	0%	0%	newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now.	New this edition	Rank 76 of 123, unchanged
Data clean rooms	0%	0%	newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now.	New this edition	Rank 40 of 100, unchanged

Shares here are read over the models both editions asked, so they can differ by a point or two from the standing above, which counts every model in this edition.

The floor is 11 points of share, measured: how far the models move a leader on their own when the same questions are asked twice with nothing changed. A larger change is movement; a smaller one is noise, and both are shown. Movement is read over the twelve models both editions asked; GPT-6 Luna, Muse Glimmer 30B joined this edition and are in the standing but not yet in the comparison. How the floor is measured · The editions

By model

How each model treated Google Ads across every prompt where it was named for a mid-market B2B company. Fourteen models, six prompts per category.

ShowHide

Model	First choice	Alternative	Mention	Negative	Labels
Claude Haiku 4.5	3	2	2	0	7
GPT-5.4 mini	2	2	1	0	5
Gemini 3.5 Flash	0	3	0	1	4
Perplexity Sonar	0	0	0	1	1
Grok 4.20	1	0	0	1	2
Mistral Small	2	1	1	0	4
DeepSeek V4 Flash	0	2	0	1	3
Llama 4 Maverick	1	1	1	0	3
Qwen 3.7 Flash	1	4	4	0	9
Kimi K2	1	1	0	0	2
GLM 4.7 FlashX	1	1	0	1	3
MiniMax M2.5	4	3	0	0	7
GPT-6 Luna	3	1	1	1	6
Muse Glimmer 30B	0	2	0	0	2

By framing

Which of the six questions produced the naming. By model says how often; this says asked what. The first-choice count on the right carries the marks of the models that produced it.

FramingLabels by classFirst choices

Direct34 labels6

Paraphrase32 labels11

Comparative28 labels11not counted in share

Budget-constrained43 labels15

Scale-constrained6 labels1

Negative44 labels17not counted in share

First choiceAlternativeMentionNegative187 labels in all, every segment counted; 33 of the 61 first choices count toward share, since the comparative and negative framings do not. The bar is one segment per label class, to scale within the framing.

What the models said for it

Verbatim evidence the judge attached to positive labels.

“I'd generally recommend Google Ads / Google Display & Video 360 as the first place to start for connected TV and online video” GPT-5.4 mini · Video ads · paraphrase prompt · first choice

“the native platforms like Google Ads and Meta Ads Manager ... are often the best starting point—they're completely free to use” Grok 4.20 · Paid ads · budget prompt · first choice

“For PPC, Google Ads (particularly for branded and intent-based campaigns) is often considered the best overall solution.” Mistral Small · Paid ads · paraphrase prompt · first choice

“Google Ads or Meta Ads are the best choices—no minimum spend, flexible daily budgets, and powerful targeting.” GLM 4.7 FlashX · Programmatic · budget prompt · first choice

And against it

Verbatim evidence attached to negative labels. A warning on a product with few labels is a warning; on a product with many, it is one voice among them.

“Trustpilot shows significant dissatisfaction around misleading promotional credits, billing discrepancies, unexpected deductions, and unhelpful support.” DeepSeek V4 Flash · Paid ads · negative prompt · soft negative

“Google Ads can be useful, but choosing it as the main channel *only* because CPIs are low is risky if downstream ROI is weak.” Perplexity Sonar · Mobile apps · negative prompt · soft negative

“Google is a broader display-buying option—not a dedicated content-recommendation network.” GPT-6 Luna · Native ads · comparative prompt · soft negative

“Verdict: Essential but challenging; consider using a third-party management tool” GLM 4.7 FlashX · Paid ads · negative prompt · soft negative

Named alongside

The products named in the same answers as Google Ads, over the 185 answers that named it. Took the first choice instead counts the answers where the other product was the first choice and Google Ads was named but was not.

ShowHide

ProductSame answerTook the first choice insteadHead to head

Meta Ads81 of 1853Compare →

LinkedIn Campaign Manager53 of 1856Compare →

The Trade Desk34 of 1852Not among the top eight

Microsoft Advertising33 of 1853Not among the top eight

Optmyzr31 of 1857Compare →

StackAdapt28 of 18510Not among the top eight

Marin Software28 of 1851Compare →

WordStream Advisor26 of 1852Not among the top eight

Adzooma23 of 18510Compare →

Skai22 of 1854Compare →

A head-to-head page exists where both products are among a category's top eight. The other rows are the same fact without a page behind them, so they link to the product instead.

What carried it into the answer

The sites and pages cited by the answers that named Google Ads. A fact about retrieval, not a lever on the model.

Citations exist only for the models that return a source list, five of the fourteen in this edition, so these counts come from 167 of the 185 answers that named Google Ads and are not a share of its labels.

Domains cited

g2.com71

blog.hubspot.com46

fueler.io43

madgicx.com39

get-ryze.ai33

worldmetrics.org28

improvado.io27

stackmatix.com26

support.google.comYour site26

clicksgeek.com25

338 of the 364 domain citations in answers naming Google Ads came from somebody else's page.

Pages cited

blog.hubspot.com/marketing/ad-management-tools37

get-ryze.ai/blog/best-ad-management-tools-comparison-202622

fueler.io/blog/best-social-media-advertising-software-for-businesses15

g2.com/categories/paid-search-advertising15

g2.com/categories/social-media-advertising15

g2.com/categories/paid-search-advertising/small-business13

stackmatix.com/blog/ppc-advertising-software-tools13

bir.ch/blog/campaign-management-software12

Pages are listed as the models cited them.

Search and answers

Where Google Ads stands in Google search beside where it stands in the models' answers.

ShowHide

In search

Google, US estimates

Searches for its name, Google: 550,000 a month (“google ads”)
AI search demand for its name, est.: 15,818 a month
Its own site: It sits on Google's site (google.com), so there are no site figures for it alone

In answers

This edition

Share of first choices

13%

rank 1 of 113 in paid ads

First choices

across its categories

Named in: 185 answers
Its own site cited: in 167 of the answers that named it

Search figures are US estimates from DataForSEO, read September 28, 2026; AI search demand is its modeled, directional estimate, not a count of queries to any assistant. The answers are this edition's. Two measurements side by side: neither is read as the cause of the other.

Names read as Google Ads

What the judge wrote, as written, with how often. The vendor table decides that these count as Google Ads; a claim can dispute any of them.

Google Ads Editor 3Google Ads (Search & Display) 2Google Ads Manager 2Google 1Google Ads (DV360 Identity Link) 1Google Ads (Native Platform) 1Google Ads (UAC - Universal App Campaigns) 1Google Ads (YouTube and YouTube CTV) 1Google Ads + Microsoft Ads + LinkedIn Campaign Manager (Direct Platform) 1Google Ads / Performance Max 1Google/YouTube Ads 1

Follow Google Ads

An email the morning each edition publishes: where this product moved, where it held, and by how much against the noise floor. One address, confirmed by a click; a stop link in every email.

Already following? Everything you follow, with a stop for each.

The company

Google is the company behind Google Ads.

ShowHide

On record

Wikidata

Website: google.com
Headquarters: Mountain View, California, United States
Founded: 1998
Ownership: Part of Alphabet Inc.
Also from Google: Adometry, Attribution 360, BigQuery, Firebase, Google ADH, Google Ad Manager, Google AdMob, Google AdSense and 81 more

Fetched September 14, 2026, with a correction applied. These describe the company, not the product's standing, and a claimed page can dispute any of them. · Wikidata

In its own words

Stated by the vendor, not checked

Positioning: Celebrate your story on Google for Publishers
google.com/ads/publisher/about
For: Publishers, creators, bloggers and app developers
google.com/ads/publisher/about
Price stated: $10,000 USD in Google Ads Credits google.com/nonprofits/offerings/google-ad-grants
Free plan or trial: $10,000 USD of in-kind advertising every month for text ads google.com/nonprofits/offerings/google-ad-grants
Customers named: Teach for JapanEl ClasificadoCurb Free s Cory LeeWorld Surf LeagueNicole ThelinLow Income Relief
Not stated on the pages read: Starting price, integrations, certifications, hosting

What Google Ads's own pages state, read September 28, 2026: google.com/ads/publisher, google.com/ads/publisher/about, google.com/ads/publisher/stories, google.com/nonprofits/offerings/google-ad-grants, google.com/ads/publisher/intl/cs. A claimed page can correct any of them.

Is this your product?

Claim this page

Claiming is free and changes nothing in the data. A claimed page shows a verified contact who is told when each edition publishes and when Google Ads's standing changes by more than the noise floor; the right to propose corrections to the vendor table, meaning names the judge wrote that should or should not read as Google Ads, applied by version and listed in the change log; and a one-line description supplied by the vendor and marked as such.

What a new claim receivesHide what a new claim receives

A new claim receives the current edition's vendor brief for Google Ads by email, built from the raw record of the edition. It shows:

where Google Ads is named, by buyer and by framing, and which cells hold its first choices;
the claims the models make when they name it, ranked, with the strongest and the weakest quoted;
its vocabulary against the segment leader's, and the pages the models cited;
who was chosen in the answers that did not name Google Ads, and every reason the record gives;
a battlecard for each top rival: the head-to-head split, why they win, and the reservation quoted against them;
one page of published figures cleared to show a buyer.

Badges

Wins only: a badge exists where Google Ads is ranked in a category's top three this edition. Three sizes, one file each, light and dark; the code is under each.

ShowHide

AI models recommend Google Ads first in Search and social advertising platforms this edition. Each badge says so in the buyer's words, names the edition, and links to the standing. The next edition issues a new badge; this one stays true as a record of October 2026.

Wide · 320 × 104 Website, beside other badges

Show the code

<a href="https://gtm-ai-index.com/marketing/search-and-social-advertising-platforms/"><img src="https://gtm-ai-index.com/badges/2026-10/google-ads--search-and-social-advertising-platforms-wide.svg" alt="AI models' first choice in Search and social advertising platforms, October 2026 Edition, GTM AI Recommendation Index" width="320" height="104"></a>

Copy the code as it is. The link is part of the badge: it points at the Search and social advertising platforms standing, where the claim can be checked.

Square · 240 × 240 LinkedIn, slides

Show the code

<a href="https://gtm-ai-index.com/marketing/search-and-social-advertising-platforms/"><img src="https://gtm-ai-index.com/badges/2026-10/google-ads--search-and-social-advertising-platforms-square.svg" alt="AI models' first choice in Search and social advertising platforms, October 2026 Edition, GTM AI Recommendation Index" width="240" height="240"></a>

Copy the code as it is. The link is part of the badge: it points at the Search and social advertising platforms standing, where the claim can be checked.

Compact · 200 × 56 Email signature, footer

Show the code

<a href="https://gtm-ai-index.com/marketing/search-and-social-advertising-platforms/"><img src="https://gtm-ai-index.com/badges/2026-10/google-ads--search-and-social-advertising-platforms-compact.svg" alt="AI models' first choice in Search and social advertising platforms, October 2026 Edition, GTM AI Recommendation Index" width="200" height="56"></a>

Copy the code as it is. The link is part of the badge: it points at the Search and social advertising platforms standing, where the claim can be checked.

Badges read on light and dark pages. Alt text carries the claim, the category, the edition and the index, so it stays a citation where the image does not load.