The Click Brief Podcast: February 2026

Episode Notes Meta Embeds Manus AI Into Ads Manager Meta has begun embedding its Manus AI assistant directly into Ads Manager, allowing advertisers to analyze campaign performance conversationally within the platform. While early tests show potential, the hosts caution that advertisers should treat these tools as assistants rather than autonomous strategists. Jeremy Packee and Emily Anderson break down February’s biggest paid media updates, including Meta’s push deeper into AI-powered campaign management and Google’s major change to budget pacing tied to ad scheduling. They also discuss Google’s expanding AI-powered commerce ecosystem, new bidding options for acquiring first-time customers, and emerging AI tools transforming creative production. The episode also explores Google’s Nano Banana 2 image model and the new Pomelli Photoshoot tool, which can transform simple product images into studio-style marketing assets. The hosts close with a rapid-fire roundup of updates across Google, Microsoft, Instagram, X, and the evolving AI search landscape. Episode Highlights Biggest Watchout Google’s new ad scheduling pacing will attempt to spend the full monthly budget within active scheduled days, potentially causing overspend if advertisers rely heavily on ad scheduling. New Feature to Test Google Ads now allows advertisers to set a separate target ROAS for new customer acquisition. Creative Shift AI tools like Nano Banana 2 and Pomelli Photoshoot are making creative concepting and product photography faster and more accessible. Other Platform Updates • Google continues expanding conversational search and brand agents within the SERP • ChatGPT now has hundreds of millions of users but still drives far less outbound traffic than Google • Microsoft added AI search visibility reporting in Bing Webmaster Tools and Clarity • Advertisers reported dormant broad match keywords being quietly re-enabled in some Google Ads accounts • Microsoft Ads introduced multi-image shopping ads • Google removed parked domains from the Search Partner Network • Instagram is testing feed customization and AI product tagging • X is testing AI content labeling and new aspect ratios • Instagram rolled out teen safety alerts tied to self-harm-related searches Follow The Click Brief for fast, no-fluff performance marketing updates. Visit The Click Brief blog for more in-depth analysis and updates from February