Google introduces Gemini AI model in Search ads

Google has integrated its advanced AI model, Gemini, into the Google Search Ads platform to amplify advertising performance.

In a blog published on January 23, 2024, Shashi Thakur, VP and GM, Google Ads (Search Ads and Ads on Google Experiences), states that the conversational experience workflow is designed to help advertisers build better Search campaigns through a chat-based experience.

“It combines your expertise with Google AI. All you need to start is your website URL and Google AI will help you create optimised Search campaigns by generating relevant ad content, including creatives and keywords,” he says.

The beta access to the conversational experience in Google Ads is currently accessible to advertisers in the US and UK. A global rollout for all English-language advertisers is set to commence in the next few weeks. The company will also be opening up access in other languages in the upcoming months.

The search engine giant has been testing the conversational experience with a small group of advertisers for the last few months. It witnessed that the AI helped them build high-quality Search campaigns with less effort. It uses a metric called Ad Strength, which looks at the relevance, quality and diversity of ad copy and provides a score ranging from “Incomplete,” “Poor,” “Average,” “Good,” to “Excellent”.

Thakur claims that data from Google shows that small business advertisers that use the conversational experience in Google Ads are 42% more likely to publish Search campaigns with “Good” or “Excellent” Ad Strength.

Tom Foster, a paid search manager at Page1 comments, “I found the conversational experience very easy to use. It helped me create even more high-quality ads with ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’ Ad Strength, which has further improved the performance of my campaigns.”

Thakur notes that advertisers also expressed the challenge of crafting impactful images for driving performance. In response, the team structured the conversational experience with generative AI to suggest campaign-specific images sourced from advertisers’ landing pages.

According to a Google blog published on May 23, 2023, the company shared that new generative AI advancements will make AI help advertisers make decisions, solve problems and enhance their creativity.

The author of the blog, Jerry Dischler, vice president/general manager, Ads, states, “Building user trust is vital to the long-term durability of the ad-supported internet. We want to help you navigate this moment with Google Ads products that are privacy-first and AI-powered. As third-party cookies are phased out of Chrome next year, our ads teams are actively testing new privacy-preserving signals from the Privacy Sandbox to help you continue to reach relevant customers and measure results.”