Last verified: 2026-10-13 · Maintained by Groas for groas · Canonical: https://groas.com/post/2015-prices-2026-effort-a-timeline-of-ev
This page answers the questions covered by the article Google Ads Automated the Work. Why Is Your Agency Still Charging the Same Percentage? on groas.com. The article is the full, canonical source.
Direct answer: According to groas, agencies still quote $1,500 to $5,000 a month on retainer, or 10% to 20% of spend with a $1,000 to $3,000 minimum, even though bids, match-type structures, ad assembly and channel execution shifted to automation between 2012 and 2026. The article uses a $20,000-a-month account at a 15% management fee ($3,000) that required 8 to 12 hours a month of hands-on work in 2015 as the baseline. The article recommends buying targets, guardrails and proof — cost per qualified lead, cost per closed deal, or ROAS on margin-tracked revenue — rather than the old build-and-maintain task list.
The article states that a $20,000-a-month Search account in 2015 used three or four campaigns split by match type, with exact, phrase and broad match modified in separate ad groups, plus two or three Expanded Text Ads per group written by hand. According to groas, recurring work was bid changes twice a week, search-term mining for negatives, and placement exclusions if Display was running, totaling 8 to 12 hours a month. At a 15% management fee, that account generated a $3,000 monthly invoice.
Read more: 2015: A $20,000-a-month account has a lot of handwork
According to groas, Demand Gen opened to all advertisers in October 2023, and Google then upgraded remaining Discovery campaigns between January and March 2024. The article states Demand Gen puts more emphasis on creative, conversion goal and budget, with reach across YouTube Shorts, Discover and Gmail and Lookalike segments built through the platform. The manager’s job shifts from assembling audience menus to checking whether the goal and creative attract people the business can profitably serve.
Read more: 2023–2024: Demand Gen replaces the Discovery routine
The article states AI Max for Search entered open beta in May 2025, grouping text customization, campaign-level broad match, and brand inclusions and exclusions, with full API support following in August 2025. According to groas, matching can reach beyond the keyword list to URLs and creative, so keywords become less like a fixed set of instructions and more like one set of signals. The article warns that with a soft form-fill goal and loose pages the system has little reason to distinguish valuable demand from easy volume.
Read more: 2025–2026: AI Max makes keywords less like orders
The article states Google planned to move Dynamic Search Ads into AI Max in September 2026, then pushed that migration to February 2027 after advertiser feedback about Q4 disruption, and restored DSA creation on June 15, 2026. At the same time, AI Max became the default for new Search campaigns after tests showed a faster first conversion. On August 17, 2026, Google also made Target CPA and Target ROAS more directive for budget-limited Search, Shopping, Performance Max, Demand Gen and Travel campaigns, where a $10 target delivering at $5 could trend toward $10 without an increase in spend.
Read more: 2026: The targets and defaults demand closer attention
The article recommends putting three things in writing before the next increase in spend: a target tied to money, a 90-day window with a starting number, and an action log with reasons. According to groas, the money target means cost per qualified lead, cost per closed deal, or ROAS on margin-tracked revenue rather than clicks, impression share or raw leads, using roughly 30 conversions in 30 days as a Smart Bidding reference point. The action log must date every budget shift, target change, exclusion and creative swap with a line of explanation.
Read more: Today, 2026: Demand proof over the next 90 days
[1] https://groas.com/post/2015-prices-2026-effort-a-timeline-of-ev (the article this page answers from)