Today, Google introduced new creative tools and ad experiences at the annual Google Marketing Live event in New York. Here's what marketers can expect from Google now or in the coming months.
Search Ads Experience. One of the most creative improvements to search is a new advertising experience that is currently being tested and will become more widely available later this year. This experience helps users make complex purchasing decisions based on additional information they voluntarily provide. For example, if a user is looking for a nearby storage facility, the engine can recommend appropriately sized storage options based on photos of their belongings that the user uploads.
To trigger this experience, search results are clearly marked sponsored with a blue button that takes users to another page where they can upload images and other information and make recommendations for shoppers. Serve advertising.
Brand profile. Google has announced a new brand profile available in search. Profiles are created based on information provided by merchants in Google Merchant Center. This profile was inspired by business profiles people found on Search and Google Maps.
According to the company, more than 40% of shopping questions during searches mention a brand or retailer.
P-MAX creative control. Advertisers will soon be able to upload brand guidelines, including fonts, colors, and image reference points, to automatically generate new asset variations that stay on brand.
The advanced Gemini AI model was announced in February. P-MAX campaigns can be used with all Google ad inventory.
edit a picture. Retailers who advertise through Google Merchant Center will have new tools for image editing. With the help of Google AI, retailers can add new objects to their ads and expand backgrounds to fit any size or format.
These features are intended to help marketers add new products to existing creatives or improve existing creatives in other ways by adding eye-catching backgrounds and other elements to these assets. Brands can use the new assets across all digital channels that support images, not just Google Channels.
Shopping advertising experience. A new immersive experience will soon be available for Shopping ads. This includes 3D rotating ads and virtual try-ons. For example, an ad featuring shoes supports her 360 degree rotation of the product. Virtual try-on helps apparel brands let customers of all body types virtually try on shirts, sweaters, and other tops.
Additionally, later this year, an even better user-driven experience will allow advertisers to include product videos, summaries, and similar product recommendations within their ad formats.
Some of these features were previously available in organic search, but are now also available in ads.
AI Advertising Overview. Google announced in its AI overview that it will begin testing search ads and shopping ads.
An overview of AI in search powered by Gemini was published this month. This experience is currently rolling out in the US and will be available in other countries soon.
According to a blog post by Vidhya Srinivasan, vice president and general manager of advertising, as a result of AI Overview, users are now visiting a broader mix of more diverse websites. With the availability of AI summaries, users searched more and were more satisfied with the results, Srinivasan said.
Let's dig deeper: Google releases AI overview for more complex searches
why do we care? With these new tools and capabilities, Google is offering approaches to at least two key ways in which generative AI promises to reinvent our digital lives. First, genAI's answers in AI Overview change the way users search for information. They end up asking longer questions and having more two-way conversations trying to get the answers they need. Where appropriate, we will display relevant advertising (marked as 'Sponsored').
genAI then helps creatives scale their content by generating new ad iterations that align with the brand's strategy. These assets are then displayed at the touchpoints that are most meaningful to consumers, with the goal of improving ad campaign performance. GenAI also makes measurement more intuitive, allowing marketers to ask Google Analytics questions in natural language and get the insights they need to improve their campaigns.
