On-Demand: Brittany Sager on AI Ads & Beyond Podcast

Why You're Losing Customers By Watching Your Rivals

with Brittany Sager, Assoc. Dir. of Paid Media, Seer Interactive

Competitive intelligence in paid media should go beyond looking at what competitors are doing. Brittany shares why she advocates for following customers over competitors and blending traditional tools with AI signals.

Seer's Associate Director of Paid Media, Brittany Sager, sat down with Lisa Raehsler, host of the AI Ads & Beyond podcast, to chat about how AI is transforming paid media.

Check out Brittany's top takeaways on why customers (not competitors) should be your north star and what you should know before jumping into a new channel.

Brit's Key Takeaways

1. Follow Your Ideal Customer, Not Your Competitors

Brit's perspective: If you try to reverse-engineer what or where your competitors are spending, you'll just end up spinning your wheels. Instead, let your audience help guide your ad programs.

What your brand can do: Figure out where your ideal audience spends its time (tools like SparkToro can pinpoint YouTube channels, social platforms, and search behavior based on an ICP). Then put your ad spend toward those channels, instead of focusing on showing up where your competitors are.

2. Write Ad Copy That Reflects Real Customer Language

Brit's perspective: If you and your competitors are making the same claims and using the same language, no one stands out. Swap generic "we're the best" language for claims based on positive customer reviews and criticisms of your competitors that you can refute.

What your brand can do: Use an LLM to sift through competitor reviews (like Google reviews and Reddit threads) and find real pain points, such as poor service from automation instead of humans. Then build ad copy around your counter-strength, like "live support 24/7."

3. Be Wary of Legacy Metrics and Tools

Brit's perspective: Go ahead and use competitive metrics or legacy PPC tools, but treat them as directional signals rather than proof. Auction Insights is shrinking in usefulness, while AI Max and Performance Max can distort impression share. Semrush and similar tools are directional at best - in Brit's experience, spend estimates rarely match real brand budgets.

What your brand can do: Compare metrics like rising CPCs and falling impression shares against other industry signals. For peer-spend data, consider leveraging Google reps, who probably know more than the tool estimations.

4. Use a Readiness Scorecard Before Entering New Channels

Brit's perspective: Develop a readiness analysis that helps you assess whether a channel is a good fit before jumping into that space. Brit's scorecard includes information on whether the brand's audience is in that channel, how competitive the channel is, and if a brand has the resources and budget to compete.

What your brand can do: Focus on putting ad dollars toward channels that make sense for your audience and you have the resources to support. For example, video can be effective but requires real resources and intention.

5. Think in Terms of the Full Customer Journey

Brit's perspective: With AI search, brands have to shift from a mindset of "what keywords are we bidding on?" to asking "how do we get considered?" Seer likes to talk about the jobs of marketers in terms of today's user journey: you have to be seen (does your brand have visibility?), you have to be believed (do you have credibility?), and you have to be chosen (do users sign up for your newsletter or purchase your product?).

What your brand can do: Check whether your brand is cited in AI responses for target prompts versus competitors (are you visible?). Then evaluate whether your brand has credibility and users trust what you say. Addressing both of those steps will go a long way toward seeing movement on the final piece: converting believers into buyers.

Listen to the full podcast episode