Google Marketing Live 2024 was marked with a lot of advancement in the AI x Marketing world and how Google AI will aid advertisers in reaching their goals.
Every year, during Google Marketing Live, Google announces major advancements in how advertisers can leverage their advertising platform (i.e. Google Ads) by arming them with new tools and techniques that will benefit them in the long run.
This year’s ceremony was no different. However, the main talking point was AI. From 2024, Google will be incorporating AI in all its Advertising avenues(Search, Shorts, Video, Display, etc.) while making significant improvements to its existing AI architecture for Google Ads.
Here is a recap of what you missed during the Google Marketing Live 2024.
PS: I’ve arranged it according to what I find interesting in the announcements and what I use often in Google Ads.
1. YouTube is getting Image Animation Ads + Stickers
The most interesting addition yet is being able to make an animation from your product images on Demand Gen platforms (Gmail, YouTube Discover).
Google makes this feature possible by automatically selecting images from your product feed in the Merchant Center account. This will give small online store owners/marketers with little or no product video budget equitable competing grounds.
Also, stickers are widely used now, hence, making them clickable in your product animation design will give your animation that “native” feel and improve CTR.
These types of Ads will run alongside video Ads in Demand Gen.
2. AI try-ons, Product Videos for clothes in the shopping feed
There is no doubt when it comes to shopping, Confidence is somewhat a big indicator in purchase decisions. Shoppers want to feel or look good in clothes they buy from online vendors.
During the 2023 GML, Google announced direct shopping in the Shopping Ad feed. Later this year, Google will allow merchants to provide a try-on experience for shoppers by selecting virtual models of their sizes.
Google will also be rolling out 3D experiences for 360 view, video/product stories or highlights, Up, down, and cross-sale offers by advertisers directly in the shopping Ads.
3. AI Photo Editor Live in Google Ads
One(1) team advertising department? No problem.
Google Ads will let you generate new creatives or edit existing images with AI, like removing objects, extending backgrounds, or adding new designs.
Additionally, you will be able to connect your product images via the Merchant Center and edit product images as you please. For example, removing the backgrounds, adding watermarks, or extending the images for a great customer experience.
For Large marketing teams, collaborations with Creative Apps like Canva, Smartly, and Pencil Pro have been established to create seamless creativity across these channels.
4. First-Party Data Unification in Google Ads
Google is rolling out a new tool in AdWords called Google Ads Data Manager. This tool will be responsible for collecting first-party data from Advertisers.
Data sources may include email lists, surveys, and a few CRM tools like (Hubspot, Salesforce, Google Cloud, etc.) to enable Google AI to serve personalized ads for Advertisers.
5. Circle to Search improvements
Let’s say a customer sees your product and would like to purchase it, but they can’t recall the name. The first thing to come to mind is taking a screenshot or a picture of the product.
Now with Google Visual Search, you can circle or upload the product on Google Lens to search. Google will automatically place advertisers’ products on top of the search results with the help of AI matching the exact product queried.
6. Shopping Ads in SGE
According to Google, as soon as Search Generative Experience(SGE) ~ the Generative AI Google uses to prepare summaries for informational queries in search results is available worldwide, it will be rolling out a new advertising experience in SGE to improve shopping experiences for users.
For example, When a user makes a query about “amazing things to do in Paris”; the AI will generate a summary of activities to do in Paris, beneath the summary, it will show ads based on the query for the user to browse.
AI will guide Google in generating the best and most unique ad results to display according to the query. This presents a more targeted approach to advertising.
7. Shop while watching your video
In YouTube Shorts, you can swipe right to open the product landing page directly on YouTube and complete the transaction without disrupting the video Ad you are currently watching.
8. Add custom brand guidelines in Display Ad
Very soon, you will be able to add customized brand guidelines like colors and fonts to your AdWords account. This will aid you serve ads that meet your visual style and appeal to your customers.
For example, rather than a brand like NALO serving display ads in the default Google Ad white color, it can choose a custom primary(Blue) color, a secondary(orange) color, and even a font(Montserrat) to display across channels and devices.
Wrapping Up
While there are a lot of features announced by the Google Team during the Google Marketing Live 2024, here are my top announcements for Advertisers and Marketers.
In due time, most of these features will be available for all users worldwide. What features are you most excited about for your brand?
