Google Ads agency vs AI automation: an honest cost comparison
Most UK agencies charge either a flat retainer (£500–£2,000/month for SMEs) or 10–20% of ad spend. On a £2,000/month budget that is often £400–£600 going to management rather than clicks.
The honest question is not "is an agency worth it?" but "which parts of what an agency does can be automated, and does what remains justify the fee?"
What agencies actually do each month
Strip away reporting decks and the recurring work is fairly consistent: search term review and negatives, bid and budget adjustments, ad copy testing, checking competitor impression share, and flagging tracking issues.
All of that is pattern work over structured data. It is exactly the class of task software does faster and more consistently than a person doing twelve accounts.
What software cannot replace
Strategy that depends on knowing your business: what a lead is worth, which services you actually want more of, seasonal decisions, pricing and offer changes, creative direction and brand voice.
If your account needs a fundamental rethink, or you are entering a new market, a good strategist earns their fee. If your account needs to be maintained well every day, software wins on both cost and consistency.
The cost comparison at three budget levels
At £1,000/month ad spend: an agency at £500 retainer means a third of your total investment is management. Automation at a fixed monthly fee leaves far more in the auction.
At £5,000/month: a 15% fee is £750. Automation plus a few hours of your own strategic attention is usually the better trade.
At £30,000+/month with multiple markets, feeds and creative production: hybrid. Use automation for the daily maintenance and a specialist for strategy — many agencies now run exactly this way.
Questions to ask before you switch either way
Whichever direction you go, these four answers tell you most of what you need:
- Who owns the Google Ads account — you or the provider? It should always be you.
- Can you see every change made, when, and by whom?
- Can changes be reverted, and how quickly?
- What happens to the account if you leave next month?
See this running on your own account
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