The Big Debate: Non Keyword Signals - AI Chats & Privacy

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.

📌 Useful Links:

Click Here by Alex Schultz - A marketer’s guide to measurement and incrementality

Meta AI Privacy Announcement - Meta’s changes to AI chat data policies

💬 Join the discussion via LinkedIn 🎁 Get involved and win - Prizes for selected participants in the debate