How to achieve early clicks and bigger wins with AI before Black Friday

Did you know that 90% of U.S. retail conversions happen outside the Cyber 5?¹

Today’s holiday shoppers are beginning earlier, researching longer, and discovering new brands that meet their values and their price point.

Black Friday still matters, but it's no longer the entire story. For marketers, it should be the midpoint of your holiday arc. And the smart move is to start your search campaigns early and scale with AI-powered tools that reduce manual lift.

Early clicks, bigger wins, and why timing matters for search

Starting in October means you’re not just catching new customers - you’re setting yourself up for a solid finish to the year. The data shows how critical an early start is:

Early campaigns build awareness and drive performance by creating momentum, establishing trust, and helping your brand stand out among holiday season noise. As shoppers research products, your strategic ad campaigns can help shape demand.

Starting campaigns early can also save costs. November sees high competition and CPC spikes, while October provides rising CTRs with lower CPCs. Data shows that investing early brings better results throughout Q4.⁴

Starting early is one thing, but optimizing your campaigns and getting them out the door without added stress is another—which is where AI-powered automation can help.

Agentic automation: How to scale early without losing control

Automation doesn’t mean “set it and forget it.” You want to guide, validate, and adjust. Here's how:

• Copilot in Microsoft Advertising Platform is your 24/7 AI assistant. Chat with it to uncover real-time insights, generate campaign assets, and iterate on creative—all on-brand, all effortless.
• Performance Max runs multi-format, cross-channel campaigns while keeping you in the driver's seat. Launch early so the algorithm has time to learn and hit full power by November.

Meet shoppers where they actually search

Discovery is shifting. Shoppers aren't just typing keywords anymore. They're talking to AI, asking questions, and expecting intuitive answers.

The numbers back this up:

So how do you win in this new landscape?

1. Optimize for natural language.
   Think: "best gifts under $50 for dads who love sports" not just "sports gifts."
   
   
2. Structure your content around questions.
   Design your creative to answer common questions shoppers may have.
   
   
3. Check out our latest blog on GEO.
   See how to optimize content for inclusion in AI search answers.

When your ads match real conversations and how people actually shop, conversion becomes the natural next step.

Your Q4 game plan

The window to holiday success opens well before Black Friday. By starting your full-funnel campaigns now, you’ll turn early clicks into long-term growth.

And with these tools, you can build multiple touchpoints across the funnel...

• Audience Planner: Research and warm up your ideal customers.
  
  
• Performance Max: Scale across formats effortlessly.
  
  
• Dynamic Search ads: If you want broad, bias-free coverage of your site’s landing pages and inventory, DSA can complement your strategy by capturing emerging intent as it evolves.
  
  
• Layer in Dynamic remarketing to reconnect with those that browsed but didn’t convert, and target abandoned carts.
  
  
• Add Impression-based remarketing to reconnect early-funnel audiences who’ve seen your ads and build sequential messaging streams based on impressions (i.e. click-free lists).

Think of it like this: Early clicks feed performance... Performance fuels the algorithm... Conversions rise as the season peaks.

Your Holiday Success Toolkit: Expert Advice, Playbooks, and More

1. Discover our complete holiday advertising playbook for more ways to Celebrate Smarter this season.
   
   
2. Get in touch with Microsoft Advertising and schedule a consultation with our team of experts to discuss your holiday campaign needs.
   
   
3. Join our on-demand webinar on maximizing holiday performance and avoiding common pitfalls.