AI-Managed Campaigns, Content & Distribution — from Intelligence to Revenue
Governing question: "What should the market see?"
UK digital ad spend hit £40.5bn in 2025, following £35.5bn in 2024 (+13%). Search holds a 44% share at £17.9bn, social 28% at £11.5bn, and video 23% at £9.3bn.
Google dominates UK search (~90%+ share); Meta leads social display, TikTok is growing fastest, and Amazon Ads is expanding in retail search.
With 5.7m UK SMEs, only an estimated 12-15% actively run paid search. Average SMB ad spend sits at £500-2,000/month, giving an addressable SMB advertising budget of roughly £3-5bn/year.
WordStream (~$49/mo), AdEspresso (~$49/mo) and Revealbot (~$99/mo) lower the entry barrier but still require strategic know-how and time many SMBs lack.
Local and sector agencies serve SMBs with monthly retainers or percentage-of-spend models. Setup fees of £250-1,000 are typical; standard monthly fees range £500-2,000.
10-20% of ad spend is standard for SME accounts, falling to 5-10% above £20K/mo. Flat retainers start around £500/mo for entry-tier support.
Businesses say "I don't know what works," "we got burned by an agency," and "we can't measure ROI." iOS 14.5 and cookie deprecation have degraded pixel tracking, while Google's interface and Performance Max feel like a "black box."
Simple channel selection, transparent reporting, affordable management, no long contracts, and plain-language support rather than jargon-filled dashboards.
% of ad spend is most common (10-20% for SMEs). Flat retainers run £500-2,000/mo. Performance/hybrid options include CPA (£15-150/lead), revenue share (10-30%) and ROAS bonuses.
Typical one-off setup is £250-1,000, covering account build, conversion tracking, keyword research and initial ad copy.
Starter £197/mo + 10%; Growth £397/mo + 8%; Scale £797/mo + 5%. Positioned below agency rates and above DIY tools with transparent AI-driven reporting.