AI Innovations in Google Ads and Beyond
Many of these innovations will likely be very intriguing for e-commerce advertisers, but they will also significantly affect all Internet users, especially consumers searching for online content. These changes can also significantly ease the marketers’ workload, with some of them still requiring more improvements. Of the many updates announced, I’ve chosen the most captivating ones. Stick around for a few minutes as I walk you through each change.
1. Generating Ad Assets Based on the Landing Page in Google Ads
This option is available for new campaigns, currently only in English-language ads. I haven’t tested it yet, but from what I’ve heard from my colleagues, it still needs a lot of refinement. The quality of the landing page and its content plays a key role here. If the quality of these things is low, Google won’t be able to create an interesting ad (which is quite obvious).
In addition to providing the target URL, you can input a few unique selling points and keywords that Google will use to create the ad later. This feature can be used to create additional ads within a specific group on Polish accounts and active campaigns. In this case, the system will create them based on the assets available in the account (i.e., already-used ad content). This feature won’t be groundbreaking, but it will definitely save us time when we want to create a new ad quickly.
source: google.com
2. Performance Max and Google Search AI-pairing
Google has been emphasizing the testing of the combination of Performance Max campaigns and Google Search in broad matches for some time now. This combination is said to deliver the best results regarding the number of conversions and target returns. Google assures that Broad Match is now more “intelligent” than it was before.
I use this solution in some of my campaigns, and I agree that it works better than in the past. However, it’s still not as effective as Google claims it to be. We still need significant manual control over the queries. Some of them are still off-target, and if we don’t have a lot of money in our budget, we can easily lose a significant portion of it. This solution is definitely worth checking out when working for clients with larger budgets where we can afford more testing.
3. AI-powered search results
What’s new for search engine users? Google is announcing an enhancement of search results based on AI. This option is already available in the US and is expected to expand to other countries soon. When making a query, Google will provide an answer and deliver all necessary information, additional opinions, and suggestions. No idea for dinner or a birthday party? Google will plan it for you! (Unfortunately, it won’t wash the dishes… yet). The change in presenting search results will affect both organic and paid results.
Here, as always, the best practice in creating ads will be necessary – content tailored to the user’s query and an attractive offer. For advertisers, it’s crucial that if Google presents results “comprehensively,” our product or service, being complementary to the search, has a chance for an additional purchase. This definitely increases our current reach (beyond our keywords) and provides an opportunity for higher returns. I’m just curious how well it will “match” our offer to the others… We’ll probably find out soon.
4. Product search by photos
Do you like someone’s shoes you saw on the street but are too shy to ask where they’re from? Just take a photo, and Google will help you find them in its network. Based on the photo, the search network will show you products in Shopping ads and all relevant information you might need (e.g., the price). Sounds good?
In my opinion, this is one of the most exciting solutions for potential consumers. We’ll see how or if it will impact the requirements for product photos in Google Merchant Center. We must remember that well-executed product photos are one of the key elements (if not the most important) in promoting online stores in Google Shopping. I assume that the better and more professional the product images are, the higher the likelihood of being found through photos will be. Therefore, we must firmly educate our clients (if they aren’t already aware of this) and ensure the quality of graphics and pictures in every e-commerce collaboration.
source: google.com
5. 3D product displays and more in Google Shopping Ads
Speaking of product photo requirements, there will soon be an option to present products in 3D format in the search network at the Shopping ad tile level. Additionally, expandable options will be ready for use at the ad level, such as checking available sizes, colors, or other product parameters.
How can we, as marketers, use this in our work? Providing the most information about the assortment will help drive sales more effectively – we can expand our reach at the ad stage, showing that we have many available product parameters (it’s important to ensure our assortment is always up-to-date and has many variable options) which will make the offer more attractive to a broader audience. On the other hand, it will allow us to filter out those who are not interested in purchasing and save on advertising on some groups (looking from the perspective of a client who thinks: “If my color/size isn’t available, I won’t click and visit the site”).
source: google.com
6. Automated Animated Ads in YouTube Shorts for Demand Gen Campaigns
There will soon be an option to automatically create animated video ads in Shorts for Demand Gen campaigns. Animations will be created automatically based on product photos in the Google Merchant Center. This is an exciting option because video creatives often perform better than graphics in Demand Gen ads. Currently, there is an option to create videos based on graphic creations in the account manually. But what if we don’t have them and can’t make a dedicated video?
If we are a seller and already have imported product photos into Google Merchant Center, the problem should be solved. However, I’m very curious about the quality of these materials, as working with existing tools can show that they can sometimes be very poor (video creatives looking like PowerPoint presentations, for example). Google is constantly working on improving these options, so I think there is a chance for something interesting to come out of this feature.
7. Creating high-quality photos with Product Studio
What if our product photos in GMC leave much to be desired? Soon, we won’t have to accept their ugliness or hire a professional photographer to save us. Product Studio, an AI tool within Google Merchant Center Next, is here to help you create high-quality product images in seconds based on the assets provided by the advertiser.
There will also be an option to create video material based on them. If it works effectively, it could become a breakthrough tool for e-commerce advertisers and save a lot of resources. Hopefully, all photos in Google Shopping won’t look the same afterward. 😉 Currently, the option is only available for English-language prompts and in a few selected countries. Google, however, announced its expansion to other countries in the near future (like most of the new features discussed here).
source: google.com
Summary
These solutions are just a few of Google’s new betas and innovations—and there’s much more to come! As we can see, many of them will involve the visual presentation of products, which can save our clients’ time and resources. I’m very curious about the quality of the materials created by Google and whether most of them won’t look very similar, losing authenticity.
Similar to current solutions like automatic asset creation or Power Pair – they are promising but do not completely exclude the human factor and our intervention, which needs to be verified and assessed with a “live” eye. While many innovative improvements may appear for search engine users, for advertisers, I think we can still sleep peacefully – AI works well. Still, with our helpful hand, it can continuously work much better.
