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I joined Google with the AdMob acquisition in 2009. It was a pivotal moment in our industry. Mobile was emerging as the dominant technology, and the second platform shift was suddenly underway. There was a lot of uncertainty. What would the user experience be? How would ads look? But the industry came together, and mobile has proved to be incredibly impactful for consumers and businesses alike.
Today, we’re in the midst of another transformative shift and marketers are asking comparable questions: How is AI changing Search? Will AI help me find my most valuable customers? How can it help my teams be more productive? The AI shift will be significantly more impactful than the mobile shift. And, while the uncertainty surrounding AI may be far greater, so is the opportunity.
During my keynote presentation at the 2024 Digital Marketing Expo and Conference (DMEXCO) in Cologne, Germany this week, I explored the ways that we’re applying innovations in predictive and generative AI to deliver powerful consumer products and the best ROI for your business. Let’s dive in.
From curiosity to customer connections
Human curiosity knows no bounds. This collective thirst for knowledge has propelled Google Search for over 25 years and made it so that, even with billions of daily searches, a staggering 15% of queries are new every single day.1 People bring their curiosities to Google because, globally, they say it is the No. 1 most trusted platform to deliver the right information at the right time.2
With each platform shift, we’ve delivered breakthroughs to help answer people’s questions better. And we’ve done so responsibly, meeting the high standards that people expect from Google. In response to the latest innovations in AI, Google Search is transforming in two key ways: what and how you can ask (more complex and nuanced questions that go beyond text), and what you get back (richer, more helpful answers). In other words, completely new inputs and outputs.
Take Lens and Circle to Search. Lens is a manifestation of multimodal capability, leveraging the input from the camera and output of relevant results. And, by using Circle to Search on your Android phone, you can select what you’re curious about with a simple gesture that feels natural to you — like circling, highlighting, scribbling, or tapping — and get more information right where you are.
AI Overviews show the expansionary possibilities of AI-powered Search; they’re a unique application of generative AI, specifically designed to be helpful for information journeys in Search, meaning it’s a different experience than interacting with an LLM-based chatbot. AI Overviews are one of the biggest improvements we have made to Search in the last 20 years.
Since launching in the U.S., we've found that people who use AI Overviews search more and are more satisfied with their results; they visit a greater diversity of websites for help with more complex questions; and we even see higher engagement from younger users aged 18 to 24. In addition, when people click from search result pages with AI Overviews, these clicks are higher quality for websites — meaning users are more likely to spend more time on the sites they visit. Last month, we announced we’d be bringing AI Overviews to six new countries.
The best AI for your best ROI
With exceptional predictive and generative capabilities, purpose-built for advertisers, you can put Google AI to work across your creative, media, and measurement today. We aim to deliver the best AI-powered campaigns to help you do that, and many marketers are putting them to work and seeing results.
In marketing mix models run by TransUnion among U.S. retail and consumer electronics advertisers, Google Performance Max campaigns drove 19% higher return on ad spend in 2023 than AI-powered and automated performance campaigns on the largest social platform by share of spend.3 Beyond Performance Max, marketers are also taking advantage of AI-powered video campaigns to reach as many potential customers as possible at scale, and Demand Gen campaigns to drive performance and action across Google’s most visual surfaces. So regardless of your goal, the best of Google AI is present in every campaign Google Ads offers.
Expanded control for greater impact
Even with AI in the mix, marketers bring essential context, knowledge, creativity, and strategic inputs that guide AI to deliver the best results. This week we shared five new developments that, along with existing features like campaign goals and audience settings, expand your control over AI-powered campaigns. These developments include capabilities like more detailed insights on Performance Max campaign performance, the ability to choose which videos run where in Demand Gen campaigns, and more — all built to keep you in the driver’s seat.
Your next steps
A lot has changed since the shift to mobile, but Google’s commitment to create effective, responsible technologies that help users and advertisers alike has remained constant.
For marketing and marketers, our vision and product strategy are rooted in what we are building toward: an all-at-once efficiency and growth flywheel across creative, media, and measurement. While it’s still early days, there are many things you can do now to set the process into motion, propel your business forward, and drive your bottom line. I urge you to explore and take these next steps today.