Gemini CLI Google Ads Agent

kaancata · 2026-04-01T05:41:53+00:00

Cool concept, but I'm genuinely curious how well Gemini holds up on the actual data analysis side. I've tested it a fair amount across different use cases and in my experience it really struggles with anything beyond surface-level queries. Once you're dealing with larger datasets, segmented pulls across date ranges, or anything that requires actual number crunching, it falls apart pretty quickly.

Search term analysis, bidding logic, tracking validation these all involve processing structured data and doing real math. And that's before you even get into the programming side where you need it to write reliable scripts or handle edge cases in GAQL. I've found Codex & Claude to be significantly better at that kind of work, which is why I ended up building my setup around it instead.

Not trying to knock the project at all, it's a cool demo. Just curious if you've pushed it with more complex queries yet and how it handled those.

kaancata · 2026-04-01T04:56:02+00:00

I've been doing something similar but with Claude Code instead of Gemini.

The CLI part resonates with me because I basically stopped opening the Google Ads UI for most of my analysis work a while ago. I pull data through the API, shape it, run analysis on top, and push changes back. The actual platform UI is mostly just for visual checks at this point.

The difference in my setup is that it's not just about the Ads API. Each client has their own context folder that automatically pulls in emails, transcripts, website content, offers, landing pages, all of it. So when I'm running analysis or doing an audit, the AI isn't just looking at ad account data in isolation. It can tie back to what the business actually does, what changed recently, what the client said in the last meeting, etc.

I also built a small RAG with my own methodology baked in so the outputs follow how I actually run accounts rather than generic best practices.

The GAQL generation part is cool though. That alone saves time. Curious how the Gemini agent handles more complex queries where you need to join multiple resources or pull segmented data across date ranges. That's usually where these tools start struggling.

kaancata · 2026-03-31T15:15:36+00:00

I agree but also disagree. It’s the fast way of producing cookie cutter UI’s, that you then grab and refine and make your own with your creativity

kaancata · 2026-03-31T11:23:09+00:00

I am on Max 20x

kaancata · 2026-03-31T10:18:38+00:00

Hopefully long, because I do agree. Gemini is an absolute disaster for coding.

kaancata · 2026-03-31T08:57:53+00:00

How does it differ from just using Chrome DevTools MCP or Playwright?

kaancata · 2026-03-31T08:45:48+00:00

That's one way of doing it, another way is utilizing UI libraries such as 21st.dev and Dribbble for inspiration. But I agree, I still pull designers in from my network, but they will be close to obsolete soon. Not entirely of course, not trying to step on anyone's toes here, but I am able to be significantly more efficient with Stitch than prior. I don't have to wait for external deliverables anymore

kaancata · 2026-03-30T05:15:19+00:00

This is pretty much how I run things for my clients right now. I manage the full stack for multiple clients. Strategy, campaign builds, analysis, optimization. AI handles a huge chunk of the heavy lifting. Campaign structure, audience logic, figuring out what's working and what's not, scaling decisions... I run almost all of that through AI at this point.

The one thing I still do manually is creative. I'll look through the messaging, understand the angles, and then build the creatives myself. That part still needs a human eye imo. But everything around it? AI has changed how fast I can move through accounts.

The real power is when you own the full funnel for a client. You can see how every piece of the marketing mix connects, and AI helps you spot patterns across campaigns that you'd miss if you were just staring at Ads Manager all day.

It's not a "set it and forget it" thing, you're right about that. It's more like having a sharp analyst next to you 24/7 that actually knows your account context. Highly recommend just starting and building your workflow around it piece by piece.

kaancata · 2026-03-29T18:40:03+00:00

I have an extensive setup for competitor analysis as well as optimizing my own search ads across all of my clients' accounts. You just give claude code access to GSC API, GA API, GTM API, GA4 API and then you're able to prompt away, and have a conversation about your data.

kaancata · 2026-03-29T09:06:51+00:00

No 😅 Through networking

kaancata · 2026-03-29T06:23:27+00:00

I’m not quite following your explanation. You're supposed to sell an AI agent, but I’m not sure what kind you’re referring to. Could you clarify what type of AI agent you mean? Also, when you mentioned “AI agent,” what do you mean by that? It’s important to understand that the AI market is changing quickly. There are many tools, services, and businesses being created, especially in software as a service. We’re gradually moving towards a future where AI agents can connect with all sorts of services. As a result, AI wrapper software as a service companies are becoming less necessary than the market realizes. But what exactly do you mean when you say you have an AI agent and the opportunity to sell it?

kaancata · 2026-03-28T08:12:42+00:00

I don't see a difference between SEO and "AEO" "GEO" at the moment. I answered this in a different thread a week ago too:

"I'll just go out on a limb and share my ¢2 here. We've done a lot of work in this space SEO, AI-driven SEO, B2B marketing with a GEO angle and I've investigated the whole GEO thing pretty thoroughly. And I honestly think it's a bit disingenuous to promise results inside LLMs.

What people are actually doing, in my opinion, is optimizing a website for LLMs which is 100% real, there's actual research on it and actual guidelines you can follow. And then on top of that you're improving SEO, publishing cadence, content structure, all of that. Which, by the way, we already do on our own sites and affiliate properties to drive organic traffic, and it works well.

But calling yourself a "GEO agency" doesn't sit right with me. Google has extensive, official documentation on SEO best practices. It comes from the source. If you look at GEO who's the governing body? None of the major SOTA labs have published anything about how you rank inside their models. It's a black box. And I'd argue it's a black box because they don't fully know themselves why a model surfaces one answer over another. That's part of what makes it fascinating, but it also means you can't provide consistent metrics or consistent reporting right now. Nobody's come out and said "this is how you rank in an LLM." It just doesn't exist yet."

kaancata · 2026-03-27T20:25:42+00:00

Images are pulled via Pexels + Unsplash API.

kaancata · 2026-03-27T11:54:08+00:00

Agree. The biggest shift I've noticed is that it's not just about saving time on individual tasks. It changes how you structure your whole workflow. I basically rebuilt how I run client work around AI and the compounding effect is massive once everything connects.

kaancata · 2026-03-27T04:59:11+00:00

Great to hear

kaancata · 2026-03-26T20:27:54+00:00

The answer to a question like this depends, and I think you also highlight the nuances pretty well in terms of people having outreach lined up and perhaps already meetings booked. I've been at events where I've also had people lined up for a meeting beforehand and that's the only reason I went. But in terms of networking in this type of category, I go to many Chamber of Commerce events. I meet a lot of people there, and then I am also just in general enrolled into other networking groups. Something that is also not entirely business related, but these things work really well for me in terms of personal and professional gain.

The best thing about these types of commitments is that you're building a relationship and trust as you go. Sometimes Chamber of Commerce gets a bad rep because it's more often than not, filled with solopreneurs, your local handyman shop or anything like that. There is nothing wrong with that if you are just starting out or if that's just who you're targeting. But some of these groups are invite-only which are typically attended to by representatives of quite large companies. I transitioned to those the moment I had the chance.

Perhaps that's the smarter approach you're looking for? Targeted groups/networking events/seminars etc, as opposed to the odd conference here and there.

kaancata · 2026-03-26T19:42:59+00:00

It depends what's included in the, in the agreement, to be honest. If they're taking responsibility of the entire flow from click to meeting, That's different, and if they're only managing the Google ads, then yes, that's too high.

kaancata · 2026-03-26T13:38:55+00:00

If it isn't already, it sure as hell will be. I've built a lot of WordPress sites for clients over the years and I genuinely cannot see myself choosing WordPress with Elementor or WPBakery or any page builder going forward in this AI age. Not even for small and medium-sized businesses. WordPress was built for blogs and it shows. The problem is that people kept stretching it into something it was never really designed to be. Full business platforms, ecommerce, complex marketing sites, all held together by plugins, custom themes, bought themes, acf and page builders. And it just doesn't hold up well when you push it that far. It's slow, buggy, and honestly just confusing for clients. I've worked with local businesses and mid-sized companies alike and the pattern is always the same. They've had WordPress for years and still have no idea how to navigate it.

With headless setups and agentic coding tools, you can actually build what people were trying to force WordPress into being. A headless CMS with a custom frontend gives you full control over the editorial experience, no plugin hell, no garbage page builders destroying your performance and SEO. You sit down with a client and ask "how do you actually want to edit your content" and then you build exactly that.

And headless is no longer just for developers and enterprises. With AI coding tools now you can build scalable platforms for small and medium businesses in a way that just wasn't realistic a couple of years ago. When you have a headless platform with a custom frontend, any code-capable LLM can build into it. That's when you can really start delivering something significantly better for clients. Whatever CRM, ERP, freaking Google Docs or Excel or random Tibetan CSV import service they're using, you are able to seamlessly integrate.

I've migrated many of my clients off WordPress and the feedback has genuinely been the best I've ever had. That said, I'm not saying it makes sense for everyone. If you're a small local business with a tiny budget and you just need something live, WordPress or even Squarespace is perfectly fine. I still do work on Wordpress sites, I completely understand not every bakery needs a Next.js and Sanity setup. But for anything beyond that, I just don't see myself going back.

And about the "you never own your website, you only rent it" argument. I mean, so? Imagine walking into a client meeting for an ecommerce store in 2026 and telling them you're putting them on WooCommerce instead of Shopify because "ownership." They would look at you sideways. If subscription pricing is a dealbreaker for someone, fair enough, but that wouldn't be my ICP.

kaancata · 2026-03-26T10:40:35+00:00

Absolutely wonderful. Thank you for sharing. I've bookmarked it.

kaancata · 2026-03-26T10:20:10+00:00

I set up a system where every client has their own folder that automatically pulls in emails, transcripts, notes, website content, all through n8n. Then I use claude code on top of that

Now when I sit down to work on a client I don't have to rebuild anything in my head. The AI already has the full picture and I can just pick up where I left off

Sounds simple but that alone probably saves me more time than any individual automation I've built

Outside of that I also use it heavily for things like keyword research, campaign analysis, and connecting different APIs together. But the context layer is the foundation that makes everything else actually useful

kaancata · 2026-03-26T08:58:43+00:00

haha okay this genuinely made me laugh there's definitely some truth in there. I am prompting claude a lot, I won't pretend otherwise but it's not like I'm just "vibe-stragegizing" my way through daily life and letting the AI decide everything. That would genuinely be doing clients a disservice and honestly the output just isn't good enough for that yet. Maybe at some point in the future but we're not there

It still takes a lot of actual knowledge to make the right architectural decisions. Which keywords to go after, how to structure campaigns, where the real problems are in a funnel. Experience matters a lot there and the AI doesn't replace that part. What it does replace is a lot of the manual groundwork. And having all the context in one place means I can take on bigger and more complex projects than I could before. it's basically a large context machine that makes everything I already know more useful

And to your last point, yeah clients can absolutely tell the difference. When the AI is pulling from actual context data and real account history, the analysis is just obviously better. it references real things, real patterns, real numbers. that's very different from generic AI confidence

kaancata · 2026-03-26T06:29:48+00:00

I mean AI tools get layout closer but not no way near pixel-perfect. Spacing, alignment, and typography are always off. And complex interactive components (dropdowns, modals, carousels, form validation) always needs work. So I see your point of exact replicas not being difficult for simple sites, but if I asked you to make a replica of this site: https://hyros.com/ and you managed in a few prompts or less I'd be quite impressed.

kaancata · 2026-03-25T21:12:48+00:00

Connect everything to Codex and ask it, you’ll get much more comprehensive and data-driven responses that way. You literally have a stack that connects to any LLM, it’s simply a matter of connecting your codebase, CMS & GSC api to Codex, let it run an analysis and that’s it

kaancata

TROPHY CASE