How to find wasted Google Ads search spend with an AI assistant

Pull the search terms you paid for, join them to your keyword set, and list what converted nothing.

Both readings are on this page.

For you

What the answer looks like, and what to type to get it.

The way this normally goesLink to this section

Open the search terms report and set the date range.
Export it, because the interface will not sort spend against conversions the way you need.
Export keyword performance separately.
Join the two in a spreadsheet on the keyword column.
Read the result and decide what to add as a negative.

The way it goes with an assistantLink to this section

Ask for it in one sentence.
The assistant reads the search term report and keyword performance in the same turn.
It returns the terms with spend, no conversion, and no match in your keyword set.
You decide what becomes a negative. The gateway does not add negatives.

Prompts to start fromLink to this section

Finding itLink to this section

text

Show me search terms we paid for last month that we would never have bid on.
Which search terms cost more than 50 EUR and converted nothing?
Group last quarter's search terms by intent and show spend against conversions for each group.
Are we paying for competitor brand terms, and how much?

Deciding what to doLink to this section

text

Which of these terms are close enough to our keywords to be worth keeping?
Rank the wasted terms by what we would save over a month at the current rate.
Which campaigns do these terms come from, and what are their budgets?

Tools this usesLink to this section

Tool	Why
`google_ads_get_search_terms`	The search term report, over the period asked for.
`google_ads_get_keyword_performance`	What you actually bid on, to separate a match from a stray.
`google_ads_get_budgets`	Puts the wasted spend against the budget it came out of.
`google_ads_run_gaql`	When the question needs a field the specialised tools do not carry.

What it will not doLink to this section

Adding a negative keyword is not exposed. The gateway changes status, budgets, names, schedules and ad group bids, and nothing else.
The search term report only reports terms that reached the reporting threshold. Terms below it exist and are not listed, by Google's design.

For your agent

The tool sequence, the parameters that matter, and what will be refused.

Both readings as Markdown: /guides/wasted-search-spend.md

This job reads one source, across 4 tool calls. It changes nothing, so it works on every plan.

SequenceLink to this section

Step	Tool	Purpose
1	`google_ads_get_search_terms`	The search term report, over the period asked for.
2	`google_ads_get_keyword_performance`	What you actually bid on, to separate a match from a stray.
3	`google_ads_get_budgets`	Puts the wasted spend against the budget it came out of.
4	`google_ads_run_gaql`	When the question needs a field the specialised tools do not carry.

Constraints that will refuse youLink to this section

Only the ad accounts the account owner ticked are reachable. Call list_accounts first rather than guessing an identifier.
Adding a negative keyword is not exposed. The gateway changes status, budgets, names, schedules and ad group bids, and nothing else.
The search term report only reports terms that reached the reporting threshold. Terms below it exist and are not listed, by Google's design.

What the person is likely to askLink to this section

text

Show me search terms we paid for last month that we would never have bid on.
Which search terms cost more than 50 EUR and converted nothing?
Group last quarter's search terms by intent and show spend against conversions for each group.
Are we paying for competitor brand terms, and how much?
Which of these terms are close enough to our keywords to be worth keeping?
Rank the wasted terms by what we would save over a month at the current rate.
Which campaigns do these terms come from, and what are their budgets?