Google’s second-quarter earnings call revealed how the tech giant is leveraging AI to improve its advertising products, potentially opening up new opportunities for marketers.
Google is betting big on AI to drive innovation across its advertising platforms, from search to YouTube, while addressing growing privacy concerns.
Why we care. Google is leveraging AI to transform its advertising products, potentially opening new avenues for marketers despite privacy concerns. Whether advertisers like it or not, AI solutions are here to stay. However, expectations should be tempered as we are only at the beginning of this evolution, with many more developments to come.
Key points to remember:
- AI-powered features: Google introduced more than 30 new AI-powered advertising features and products in the second quarter, focusing on streamlining workflows and improving the production of creative assets.
- Focus on retail: Merchant Center’s new AI tools make it easy for retailers to generate campaign-ready assets, with features like Virtual Try-On generating 60% more high-quality views.
- YouTube Growth: Connected TV (CTV) views on YouTube have increased 130% over the past three years, with the platform now ranking as the second most-watched viewer after Disney in overall TV viewership.
- Evolution of research: AI insights in search show positive trends, with increased usage and user satisfaction. Google plans to test search and shopping ads in AI previews.
In figures:
- Advertisers using AI-driven profit optimization and smart bidding strategies see an increase in profits of 15% on average.
- Demand Gen, when combined with Search or PMax, generates on average 14% more conversions.
- Verizon creator ads on YouTube had a 15% lower CPA and 38% higher conversion rate than other ads.
The first days. AI in advertising is still in its infancy. Google executives stressed that it will take time to translate AI capabilities into meaningful solutions for consumers and businesses.
What they say. “We now believe that user choice is the best path forward” for third-party cookies, Google said, indicating a change in its approach to privacy.
What to watch. How Google’s commitment to privacy-enhancing technologies will evolve alongside its AI-driven advertising innovations.
Bottom line. Google’s AI push is reshaping the digital advertising landscape, but must carefully balance innovation with growing privacy concerns.
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About the author
Anu Adegbola was Paid Media Editor of Search Engine Land since 2024. It covers paid search, paid social, retail media, video and more.
In 2008, Anu’s career began with
lead digital marketing campaigns (primarily, but not exclusively, paid search) by strategizing, maximizing ROI, automating repetitive processes, and improving the efficiency of every part of marketing services through leadership inspiring on the agency side as well as on the client and marketing technology side.
Outside of Search Engine Land article editing, she is the founder of the PPC networking event – PPC Live and the host of weekly PPCChat Roundup podcast.
She is also an international speaker with some of the stages she has presented on SMX (USA), SMX (Munich), Friends of Search (Amsterdam), BrightonSEO, The Marketing Meetup, HeroConf (PPC Hero), SearchLove, BiddableWorld, SESLondon. , PPC Chat Live, AdWorld Experience (Bologna) and more.