Compare Microsoft Ads with your other channels
Separate search, shopping, and audience campaigns before comparing costs. Use Neuro to inspect performance and current settings for the same reporting period.
On this page
Microsoft Ads is now part of the same ad operations flow
A lower CPA in Microsoft Ads is a reason to investigate, not yet a reason to move budget. The share of brand searches and the conversion definition may differ from your other channels. Connect the account to Neuro and review search, shopping, and audience campaigns separately.
How to connect: pick your login method and ad account together
- Choose Microsoft Ads in Neuro Data sources.
- Sign in with Microsoft and review the requested permissions.
- Choose the ad account for this workspace.
- Request the last 7 days of campaigns and results to check the account and currency.
What you can see immediately after connecting
Compare spend and conversions by campaign, then inspect keywords and search terms where the largest differences appear. Read the current settings alongside the report before choosing candidates for a change.
| Business question | How Neuro reads it | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Which campaigns spent the most over the last 30 days? | Campaign results | Line up campaign type, aggregation level, and conversion/revenue settings first. |
| Which ad groups are underperforming? | Ad-group results | Ad groups bundle keywords, ads, and targeting together, so you’ll need to break down the root cause. |
| Which keywords are burning through the budget? | Keyword results | Search term reports and keyword reports answer different questions. |
| How does it differ from Google Ads? | Lock the same date range, currency, time zone, and conversion definition, then compare Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and GA4 metrics side by side. | Call out channel-level attribution differences in the answer as well. |
For the first comparison, ask for dates, campaign names, spend, impressions, clicks, conversions, and ROAS. Check that apparently similar conversions use comparable definitions.
Questions marketers can ask right away
Pick one low-CPA campaign and check its conversion goal and share of brand searches. Compare it with campaigns serving similar goals and audiences before ranking it against acquisition campaigns on another platform.
Don’t read Microsoft Ads numbers the same way you read Google Ads
Microsoft Ads is like Google Ads in that it’s a search platform, but its reporting and network definitions are different. Even when the search keyword looks identical, the numbers move differently depending on placement, search partners, campaign type, and attribution logic.
- You may be looking at more than Bing—the Microsoft Advertising Network and partner traffic can be in the mix too.
- Mixing campaign types blurs the lines between how you read search, shopping, and audience campaigns.
- Reports are generated asynchronously, so on large accounts the results may not come back right away.
- SearchQueryPerformance reports on the actual search terms, while KeywordPerformance reports on the keywords you’ve registered in the account.
- When you compare against other channels, make sure the answer states the period, currency, time zone, and conversion definition.
The better question isn’t “Which channel is better?” but “Over the same period and conversion definition, how does the keyword cost structure of Microsoft Ads search campaigns differ from Google Ads?” The more you lock down the criteria, the easier it is to take an AI answer straight into operations.
Review operational changes, then execute
The Microsoft Ads integration defaults to reporting and diagnosis. The actual create, edit, and delete actions run in Ad Operations Mode inside an approval workflow. With those in place, Neuro can also process campaign, ad group, ad, and keyword operation requests.
| Operational task | How Neuro can handle it | How to ask for it safely |
|---|---|---|
| Pause campaigns and ad groups | Confirm the target IDs and their current status, then, once approved, run the change to set them to Paused. | Before it runs, ask Neuro for a table with the target name, ID, current status, and the status after the change. |
| Create and edit keywords | Prepare keywords and bid values under an ad group in the required request format. | For new keywords, spell out the match type and bid, and get the proposed changes before the final review. |
| Create and edit ads | Specify the ad type, final URL, and fields like headlines and descriptions under an ad group. | When brand copy still needs sign-off, it’s safer to create drafts only and hold off on going live. |
| Delete entities | Confirm the list of target IDs, then run the deletion once approved. | Since it’s hard to undo, always break out the target IDs, the reason for deletion, and the success/failure items for review. |
Sources
- Microsoft Advertising
The official site covering the scope of the Microsoft Advertising Network and its search, display, and video ads.
- Microsoft Learn: Authentication with OAuth
Official documentation for Microsoft Advertising API OAuth authentication, Microsoft identity, Google OAuth support, and Developer Token requirements.
- Microsoft Learn: GetAccountsInfo Service Operation
Official documentation describing the API operation that retrieves accessible ad account identifiers, names, and numbers based on a Customer ID.
- Microsoft Learn: Report Types
Official documentation describing Microsoft Advertising report types and performance reports at the account, campaign, and keyword level.
- Microsoft Learn: SubmitGenerateReport
Official documentation explaining how Microsoft Advertising reports are generated asynchronously in a submit, poll, and download flow.
- Microsoft Learn: Campaign Management API Guides
Official documentation describing the scope of managing entities such as campaigns, ad groups, ads, and keywords using the Campaign Management API.
Related posts
Before you connect an ad account to Neuro
A guide to Neuro account connections, workspace access, default approvals and automatic execution, and AI API data policies.
Set the attribution window before comparing Criteo ROAS
Connect a Criteo advertiser to Neuro and you can review campaign and ad set performance next to your other channels, then start, pause, and adjust budgets from one screen when you need to.
How to ask AI when your ROAS numbers don’t match
Why attributed revenue can exceed actual sales, which dates and conversion definitions to align, and how to ask Neuro to investigate a ROAS discrepancy.
When AI groups campaigns incorrectly: check names and UTMs
Find campaigns whose names leave product groups or audiences unclear, then use settings, UTMs, and a mapping table to classify them.