Unmasking the “Migration Collision”
Charting Friction in AI-Powered Advertising
“I mapped the hidden black boxes and loopholes in AI-powered ad migrations (PMax, GA4, SA360) — turning scattered frustrations into a clear, shared blueprint for change.”
Year
2025
Services
UX Research & Investigation, Service Blueprinting & Problem Mapping, Competitive Benchmarking & External Research, Cross-Functional Synthesis & Insight Reporting, Executive Stakeholder Communication, Strategic Influence & Roadmap Input
Context
When Google Ads introduced Performance Max (PMax) and Google Analytics 4 (GA4), advertisers were promised powerful AI-driven performance. But instead of smooth adoption, many encountered unexpected friction — confusing workflows, opaque AI decisions, and unclear migration paths.
My role wasn’t to redesign the products, but to act as a detective: exposing where the advertiser journey broke down, so the company could act on evidence, not assumptions.
Challenge Approach
Advertisers faced a “Migration Collision” — unexpected effort, unclear guidance, and conflicting information when moving from old tools (like Universal Analytics) to AI-first systems (PMax/GA4).
Key pain points:
Discover/Explore → conflicting info, unclear materials, hidden migration hurdles.
Setup → tag issues discovered too late, lack of clarity on when migration was “done.”
Monitor/Optimize → no easy data comparison, mysterious AI recommendations, and reactive alerts.
Approach
To uncover the truth, I conducted a multi-lens investigation:
Deep product study → mapping PMax, SA360, GA4 migrations.
Outside-in perspective → analyzing forums, social media, and trade press alongside internal reports.
First-hand observation → note-taking and clarifying questions during advertiser and expert interviews.
Mixed-method synthesis → reviewing 50+ docs, 6 expert connects, 6 customer interviews, 24 observed touchpoints.
The result was a holistic understanding: an evidence-backed map of advertiser pain.
Solution
I produced a Service Blueprint & Problem Map — a visual artifact showing:
Advertiser stages (Discover → Explore → Setup → Monitor → Optimize).
“Black Boxes” (unclear areas like AI decisions, data migration).
“Loopholes” (system gaps like late problem discovery, missing proactive alerts).
This map became a shared compass across product, support, sales, and leadership.
Impact
While my role was diagnostic (not delivering fixes), the clarity had strategic ripple effects:
Unified understanding → teams moved from fragmented opinions to a shared map of reality.
Executive influence → my work directly shaped leadership strategy, embedding a new “Migration Collision” friction metric into how success was measured.
Roadmap inspiration → findings set goals for cross-functional teams in the following year.
Customer-first shift → surfaced the lack of a holistic view of advertiser pain, influencing top-level planning.
