The Scariest Ad Mistake Shopify Stores Make — Drew Smith | Why Paid Media Is Harder Now, How AI Changed Google Ads, Why Most Products Stay Hidden, What Makes Performance Max Tricky, Why Big Data Sets Matter, How One Brand Grew 28% Fast (#413)

In this episode of the Ecommerce Coffee Break podcast, Claus Lauter interviews Drew Smith, co-founder of Up.ai, about the challenges retailers face in managing paid media campaigns and how AI, particularly Google's Performance Max, has changed the landscape. Drew discusses the shift from manual PPC management to AI-driven systems, the importance of aligning media goals with business objectives, and the limitations of reinforcement learning in Performance Max campaigns. He introduces Up.ai's Product Data Platform as a solution to leverage product data alongside customer data to improve ad performance. Drew also shares success stories, discusses the onboarding process, pricing structure, and future trends in AI and paid media, including Up.ai's expansion into multi-channel advertising.