In this episode of the Paid Search NYC Podcast, host Matt Shenton is joined by Navah Hopkins from Microsoft to break down what Copilot actually is, how it works, and what it means for marketers navigating an AI-driven search and discovery landscape.We go from high-level Copilot use cases and model selection, through to what AI shopping journeys look like in practice, why feed hygiene now matters more than ever, and how Microsoft is bringing Copilot into ad creation and campaign workflows.If you’re trying to understand how AI assistants are changing discovery, commerce, and paid media execution, this is a very practical place to start.🔑 Key Insights from the Episode- What Copilot is — and what it isn’t- The difference between Smart, Think Deeper, Study & Learn, and Search- How to think about model choice depending on the task- Why thread memory matters differently across Copilot modes- How AI assistants move from discovery to transaction in one journey- Why feed hygiene and crawlability are critical for AI commerce- What happens when product feeds aren’t accessible to AI systems- Why brand still matters in upper-funnel AI discovery- How ads show up inside Copilot — and when they don’t- What Microsoft Ads Copilot tools can do across creative and campaign workflows- How Ad Studio helps with brand-safe creative generation- Why AI should be treated as support for marketers, not a replacement⏱ Key Sections & Timestamps00:23 – Intro01:37 – What Copilot is and why it matters04:21 – Returning to threads and how Copilot memory works07:39 – Smart vs Think Deeper vs Study & Learn vs Search09:49 – Which Copilot modes work best with longer threads11:02 – Testing Copilot with a real prompt12:39 – Organic results, product discovery, and early shopping intent16:23 – Why these results are still organic20:13 – Discovery journeys, upper funnel behavior, and advertiser implications21:22 – Why brand and feed hygiene matter more than ever27:59 – Why some shopping results are organic, not ads29:26 – Where transactional intent changes the experience31:17 – What ad inventory can show inside Copilot32:01 – Reporting and measurement limitations today33:34 – Copilot Labs and creative use cases36:15 – Ad Studio, brand kits, and AI-assisted creative workflows40:19 – Using Copilot inside PMAX and campaign creation43:37 – Rewriting messaging and creative with Copilot44:25 – Different levels of control for different marketer workflows45:42 – Final thoughts: AI in service of humanity47:19 – Outro