Google

Google Opens Automatically Created Assets Publicly to Boost Efficiency

Google has made the most recent improvements to the conversational experience and automatically created assets for Google Ads available to the public. More users will be able to employ AI to increase the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. The new capability is an effort toward automating the workflow for advertising. ACAs were previously restricted to marketers running English-language campaigns during open beta. The ACAs, however, are now offered in seven other languages. In the upcoming months, automatically created assets will begin utilizing generative AI for advertisers with English assets in the U.S. and U.K. Google’s goal is to assist marketers in producing more assets that are better suited to users’ search queries.

A quick look at Automatically Created Assets

Automatically created assets are an opt-in campaign-level setting. Advertisers can select this setting to generate new assets (headlines and descriptions) to be used with the ones they already submitted for responsive advertising. These materials are created based on the specific context of each advertisement, which includes the landing page, current advertisements, and the ad group’s keywords.

Benefits of automatically created assets

Performance

It improves the efficiency of responsive search advertisements (RSA) by automatically adding more headlines and descriptions.

Relevance

Consistently improve the user experience on landing pages, ad copy, and inquiry pages.

Productivity

Reduce the amount of time spent manually writing effective ad copy.

Increase in Automatically Created Assets

The extension of automatically created assets is one of the most prominent improvements. Based on the unique context of an advertisement, such as the landing page or previous advertisements, this function generates personalized headlines and descriptions. The aim is to increase the Ad Strength indicator, which measures the efficiency of ads in responsive search campaigns. Marketers can remove any ACA they feel is unsuitable for their advertising. This feature, which was first only available in English, has since been made available in seven more languages. French, Italian, Japanese, German, Portuguese, and Spanish are among them.

ACAs can boost ad relevance by matching ads and landing pages better. However, it entails handing over authority to Google’s AI. For brands with severe compliance rules or industries with heavy regulation, this might not be appropriate. This is because the company won’t have complete control over the message of the advertisement.

Read More: Google Boosts Performance Max with URL Contains Targeting Tool

Utilize ACAs to deliver better-suited search advertising.

Advertisers will have two choices to start employing automatically generated assets:

• Turn them on by using the campaign setting
• On the Recommendations page, locate the “enable automatically created assets” suggestions and simply follow the on-screen instructions to get started

Create better search campaigns with Google Ads’ conversational experience.

The most recent large language model (LLM) innovation powers the conversational experience in Google advertisements. With the use of this technology, advertisers may communicate with Google advertisements in natural language to create campaign pieces. Building search campaigns makes it possible to achieve greater results with fewer resources. All that is needed for a campaign is the advertiser’s website URL, and Google AI will generate the rest. They will receive headlines and pictures from it. Marketers can interact with AI during each session to change suggestions and approve them prior to launching the campaign. Google has won praise for saving time and inspiring fresh ideas for advertisers during beta testing now taking place in the United States and the United Kingdom. Google intends to improve these capabilities even more and send them out to more marketers in the upcoming months based on early feedback.

Google’s Ongoing Application of Generative AI

By offering a more automated and effective workflow, the new generative AI features coming to Google Ads seek to reduce the complexity of contemporary digital advertising. Advertisers should be able to quickly handle changing customer behavior and the increasing need for more individualized and successful advertising tactics thanks to these new technologies. Google’s AI-powered upgrades to its ad platform offer capabilities that might greatly speed up the production and placement of ads, making them more effective and targeted in a world that is becoming more automated.

Read More: Google Secretly Alters Ad Auctions to Boost Revenue Targets

Google Secretly Alters Ad Auctions to Boost Revenue Targets

Google has acknowledged that it modified ad auctions covertly to hit revenue targets. The search engine regularly modifies the auctions it employs to sell search advertisements, raising the cost of ads and reserve pricing for the typical advertiser by as much as 5%. A Google executive acknowledged that the price of advertising fluctuated during the auction process to satisfy revenue goals. This week, Google’s advertising tactics were highlighted in an ongoing federal antitrust trial.

Google’s Executive Testimony

According to testimony from Jerry Dischler, Vice President and General Manager of Google’s Advertising Products, the company modifies its ad auctions to achieve set revenue goals. These modifications include price hikes of up to 5% without the advertiser’s knowledge. He admitted to the U.S. Justice Department during the Antitrust Trial that the business may have raised pricing for some inquiries by as much as 10%. The testimony is a piece of a bigger lawsuit in which the US DOJ accuses Google of illegally maintaining a monopoly on online search. As the trial goes on, more and more details are emerging about Google’s pricing adjustments, its rivalry with Amazon, and the effects of its policies on advertisers.

Read More: Google Boosts Performance Max with URL Contains Targeting Tool

Advertising Practices of Google

During the federal inquiry, Dischler also disclosed that the internet behemoth frequently modifies its ad auctions. Without telling advertisers, these changes are made with the intention of selling search advertising. He also expressed worries about revenue and the potential impact on employee morale of a big decline in Google’s stock price. This applies particularly to teams in expensive areas. He also made it clear that his intention was to think outside the box so they could fulfill their quota. The majority of Google’s income comes from search adverts. According to Dischler, the corporation will make more than $100 billion from search ads in 2020. Since 2012, Google’s ad revenue growth, according to the DOJ, has regularly been in the high teens.

So I always knew this was the case, but to see it actually stated by the VP of ads is astounding!

And what do you think smart bidding is? A smart way for Google to be able to easily manipulate ad prices! SMH pic.twitter.com/rwvpCmWC0M

— Anthony Higman (@AnthonyHigman) September 19, 2023

 

Changes in prices and Increasing Competition

Dischler acknowledged that some adjustments to auctions led to a 5% rise in expenses for regular marketers. In certain cases, price increases reached 10%. Nevertheless, he thought that a 15% price hike would cause the majority of marketers to go to rivals like Meta Platforms Inc. or ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok. Even so, he admitted that he had no reason to think that Google wouldn’t continue to attract enough advertisers to grow its revenue.

Read More: Google Unveils Fresh Consent Management Rules for EEA and UK

The threat from Amazon

When it comes to retail advertising, Amazon is growing twice as fast. Amazon is currently posing a serious threat to Google in the retail advertising market. Dischler acknowledged that companies that make consumer goods have threatened to switch their advertising budgets from Google to Amazon.

Why do tweaking ad prices matter?

The argument made by the Justice Department that Google has an unlicensed monopoly may be strengthened if Google can increase ad prices without seeing considerable competition. Given that Google’s search engine is a free offering for users, the government is unable to apply this defense against Google itself. They can counter that greater competition might have addressed other problems like search industry privacy requirements.

Why did Google tweak search ad auctions?

To ensure that his team exceeded the sales goals that Google CFO Ruth Porat had communicated to Wall Street, according to Dischler, staff members allegedly shook the cushions. He penned the following to his employees in an email in May 2019:

If we don’t meet quota for the second quarter in a row and we miss the street’s expectations again, which is not what Ruth signaled to the street, so we will get punished pretty bad in the market. I care more about revenue than the average person but think we can all agree that for our teams trying to live in high cost areas another $100,000 in stock price loss will not be great for morale, not to mention the huge impact on our sales team.

Read More: Imagine Communications Join Forces with Google Ad Manager

US Govt. vs Google: Google Accused of Breaking Antitrust Laws

The commanding search engine Google is currently engaged in a civil lawsuit in Washington, where it is facing its greatest legal challenge yet. It is accused of breaking American antitrust laws. The tech business which is synonymous with online information searching, has used its enormously effective search engine to create a large industry encompassing cloud computing, advertising, and YouTube. The Alphabet-owned business grew up when antitrust regulation was less strict. This is especially against IT companies who create creative and frequently free methods for people to browse and utilize the internet.

The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) complaint focuses on two allegations: Google Search and whether the business utilized illegal agreements to oust competitors and harm customers and advertisers in the process. Google pays businesses billions of dollars to be the browser’s default search engine. In recent years, attempts to regulate Google and other digital titans have fallen short. In the absence of regulations, the government is attempting to regulate web competition and restrain internet gatekeepers using antitrust laws that date back 113 years. The trial’s verdict is expected to have effects that far beyond Google’s operations. It will reveal whether US regulators’ attempts to put Google’s practices on the radar and control the market will be successful.

Why is Google facing an antitrust lawsuit?

In a lawsuit filed more than three years ago, the DOJ and 38 states accused Google of illegally maintaining a monopoly in the online search and advertising sectors. In terms of market share, Google holds around 90%. The government further asserts that it upholds its supremacy by entering into limited contracts with phone and browser manufacturers including Apple, Mozilla, Samsung, and Verizon. The majority of American phones now come pre-installed with Google’s search engine, which the government claims is unlawful. Pre-installing or marketing competing search engines is prohibited per Google’s distinct contracts with Android-based mobile partners.

The DOJ claims that Google excludes competing search engines through these arrangements. Additionally, the government claims that Google’s billions of dollars in payments to partners have prevented rival search engines like Microsoft Bing and DuckDuckGo from gaining sizable market share. According to the DOJ, Google’s strategy of forcibly preloading its services onto smartphones running its Android software assisted the internet giant in keeping a monopoly. The states also contend that Google did not fully integrate Microsoft’s Bing into its well-known advertising engine, Search Ads 360. They contend, however, that Google favors advertising on its own platform and directs advertisers’ money there. This is accomplished by forcibly denying marketers the chance to promote choices that would best aid them.

Read More: Google Unveils Fresh Consent Management Rules for EEA and UK

What harm do Google’s agreements bring?

According to the Department of Justice, Google’s exclusive agreements with Apple and other parties restrict competitors from successfully vying for search market share or enhancing their products. Other businesses, like Microsoft, are unable to conduct enough searches to enhance their goods since Google freezes up all browsers and receives all inquiries. According to the authorities, it offers Google an unfair competitive edge. Due to Google’s agreements, innovation is further stifled because the firm is not required to enhance its search engine in order to retain market share. The DOJ also claims that Google increased the cost of advertising on its search sites by abusing its monopoly power.

How is Google countering the allegations?

Google claims that by giving browser providers what they want—a single default search choice for users—through its agreements with Apple and other parties, it fosters competition. Google claims that its commercial tactics are accepted and legal. It claims that the arrangement is comparable to a cereal manufacturer paying retailers to stick their cartons at eye level when it charges to appear in Mozilla’s Firefox or Apple’s Safari. Both businesses select Google because it consistently outperforms competitors rather than under the influence of revenue sharing or other inducements. Because consumers can alter their settings to change the default search engine, Google argues that the agreements do not preclude its partners from giving other search engines.

Google claims that users of Android smartphones can choose another search engine instead of the one that comes preloaded on their device. But because so few users do so, it cannot be interpreted as evidence of exclusive practices but rather as customers sticking with the better product. The leading search engine has additionally asserted time and time again that it faces many successful rivals in online search. The business cites TikTok and Amazon as thriving competitors. Google claims that despite the fact that they do not run general-purpose search engines, users go to these competing websites to find goods and content instead of using Google. The California-based business has added that the government is using faulty logic to single out the business due to its notoriety. The business thinks its success is a result of producing the best search engine.

Kent Walker, Google’s chief legal officer said,

We look forward to showing at trial that promoting and distributing our services is both legal and pro-competitive.

Read More: Google Boosts Performance Max with URL Contains Targeting Tool

What does the government need to prove to prevail in the trial?

The government must demonstrate that Google controls the economic sectors at the center of the case through monopoly power. They will attempt to persuade the judge to adopt a definition of a search engine that is rather rigid. They will also attempt to persuade the judge to disagree with Google’s claim that the search engine market is occupied by websites like Amazon and social media platforms like TikTok. The more competitive the market, the simpler it is for Google to claim that it lacks monopoly strength.

Additionally, the government must demonstrate that Google’s business relationships significantly lower competition between search engines. They must demonstrate that it prevented them from striking comparable agreements with device manufacturers and acquiring new clients. The DOJ will likely need to demonstrate how these company activities directly or indirectly affected consumers. This is highly likely to influence the judge’s decision to hear antitrust complaints.

What is the future for Google if it loses?

The decision might diminish Google’s importance and impact in the technology sector if it loses this case. There can be substantial repercussions for the business. It might restrict Google’s ability to contend in the market and reorganize the balance of power in Silicon Valley. The U.S. and its state partners are not seeking a monetary fine. Instead, they are asking for an injunction that would prevent Google from carrying on with the allegedly anticompetitive tactics. The firm could be disbanded by the court as a remedy. However, another trial will determine Google’s fate if the court finds that the firm violated the law. The DOJ could also request that Google be prohibited from entering into exclusive distribution deals. In doing so, it will allow competing search engines a greater presence on consumer electronics.

 Paul Gallant, a tech-policy analyst at Cowen Washington Research Group stated, 

Breaking up the company over unlawful payments to equipment manufacturers seems unlikely relative to the harm.

What does U.S. antitrust law say?

It is not against the law for a business to enter into an agreement with one client that excludes others. Such exclusive agreements are typical and receive little regulatory attention. When a firm lacks market power, it is unable to significantly impact the competition. However, if a large and strong business stops competitors from entering the market, exclusive agreements may be illegal under antitrust laws.

The U.S. – Microsoft Antitrust Trial

In 1998, the government filed a lawsuit against Microsoft. The company was acquitted of attempting to monopolize the market for internet browsers for Windows systems. In the court case, the DOJ won. It opened the door for competitors like Google and Facebook to succeed in the future. The trial court held that Microsoft had combined Internet Explorer with Windows OS and illegally attempted to obstruct Netscape Navigator. According to the DOJ, Google imitated Microsoft’s strategy from the 1990s. They state that it was in order to establish and preserve its own dominance in internet search and advertising. The comparison, according to Google, is incorrect.

Read More: Antitrust Complaint Filed Against Google in the EU!

Google Boosts Performance Max with URL Contains Targeting Tool

Performance Max (PMax) campaigns now include the ‘URL Contains Targeting Functionality’ feature from Google. The tech behemoth has yet again raised the bar in the fiercely competitive field of digital marketing. It is poised to transform marketing tactics with its latest product, URL Contains Targeting Functionality for PMax. The multinational software company has always sought to connect its technology with the goal of giving advertising useful solutions. By providing a clever gateway between advertisers and their target demographic, this feature raises the bar once again. Advertisers can manually specify the URL to show the PMax advertisements using the capability, which is also accessible in Dynamic Search advertisements (DSA).

What is Performance Max Campaigns in Google Ads?

PMax campaign is a Google Ads campaign type. What distinguishes it from the competition is its capacity to integrate smart bidding and targeting elements into a single goal-based campaign across the whole Google Network. It utilizes all of Google’s advertising platforms. PMax’s main objective is to assist advertisers in growing their visibility and conversions within the Google Network. The campaign type uses smart bidding, an AI-driven automated bidding technique, to optimize ad performance in real time. Depending on what is most effective at a specific place and time, advertisements are displayed in a variety of formats.

How does a PMax Campaign work?

Ad Optimization

Ads are automatically and dynamically optimized utilizing data provided by advertisers (including various assets tailored to each advertising channel, such as photos, videos, logos, and ad content).

Cross-channel advertising

Performance Max may choose when and where to display adverts across the Google Advertising Network. This is possible thanks to machine learning technologies. PMax displays ads where the target audience is most likely to interact.

Bidding and budget strategy automation

It uses ML and automation to increase conversions and maximize budget efficiency.

Campaign issue identification

Detects campaign problems automatically and offers a diagnostic insights tool. Every time a potential issue arises in relation to an account, billing, campaign status, some policy violations, ad strength, budget, and more, advertisers receive immediate alerts that include solutions to troubleshoot the issue.

Read More: Google’s Triple Treat- Unleashes a Trio of Updates to Elevate User Experience

A Deep Dive into URL Contains Targeting Functionality

Advertisers can manually specify the URL where the PMax adverts are displayed by using the URL Contains Targeting tool. It substantially improves ad optimization by enabling the deliberate routing of users to certain URLs, like blogs or about us pages.

The significance of URL functionality to advertisers

Advertisers can use this essential feature to remove non-monetizable pages from their ad campaigns. It gives them the ability to target and provide ads to audiences that are most appropriate for their offerings. By focusing on the URL-included feature, marketers may enhance conversions

URL Contains Targeting Functionality- How does it work?

Advertisers can target particular pages using URLs that contain a particular text string, or “Token.” It is important to note that a text fragment enclosed by a delimiter (:, /,?, +, &) is referred to as a token within URLs. It‘s vital to keep in mind, though, that this capability does not apply to all URL types. It cannot be utilized, for instance, with URLs like “electronicexample.com/servicemenu” since the term MENU is present after the targeted keyword SERVICES. However, URLs like “electronicsexample.com/services-menu/” are compatible with this feature. This is due to the ‘-‘ separating the keyword SERVICES from the word MENU.

Google’s URL Contains Targeting Functionality that eliminates uncertainty in ad tactics at a time when digital marketing is constantly changing, allowing advertisers to increase their reach and impact. With such potent features, it’s intriguing to wonder what Google may release next.

Here’s what they said

As reported by Search Engine Land, Google said

This is a new feature rolling out for Performance Max. We are bringing the same URL Contains targeting functionality from Dynamic Search ads (DSA) into Performance Max to better support DSA use cases in PMax as part of the voluntary upgrade we announced in July. This feature works exactly as it does in DSA today.

Read More: Google Unveils Fresh Consent Management Rules for EEA and UK

Google Unveils Fresh Consent Management Rules for EEA and UK

EEA and UK advertisers and developers who use Google AdSense, Ad Manager, or AdMob for ad serving will need to use the new consent management platforms (CMPs) starting next year. The Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF) of IAB Europe (the Interactive Advertising Bureau) has been incorporated into this platform and received Google certification. Google is always searching for ways to improve consent experiences in order to meet consumer needs and statutory measures. This demonstrates their commitment to transparency and control.

CMPs consent requirements

For CMPs collaborating with its partners who use display ads in the EEA and the UK, Google has implemented a novel rule. Ad Manager and AdMob partners have until January 16, 2024, to adopt the CMP adjustments. Google-approved CMPs evaluate against Google’s certification requirements focusing on TCF compliance. Publishers who fail to comply will face restrictions from delivering ads to EEA and UK audiences. The rule also covers the use of AdSense, Ad Manager, or AdMob. When serving ads, they will have to connect the verified CMP to the TCF.

Google has also stated that traffic from Google-certified CMP will continue to qualify for limited, personalized, and non-personalized (NPA) advertisements. Google will seek authorization for both on-platform and off-platform reconciliation. They further indicated that CTV inventory is not currently subject to CMP regulations.

CMPs that collaborate with its publishing partners. It will keep trying to certify them in accordance with the certification standard. Google thinks the advertising sector can develop a more consistent and trustworthy system for disclosure and consent by embracing IAB Europe’s uniform framework. Additionally, these activities will promote a more security-conscious digital advertising environment and the current advancements in user privacy.

The Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF).

The IAB’s TCF v2.2 is becoming a crucial component in supporting the industry participants, including Google, which is currently restructuring its framework to align with this. It has significantly altered Europe’s data privacy landscape. The TCF is a tool for transparency that depends on standardization. It makes it easier to comply with GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive’s specific requirements. It applies applicable concepts and requirements drawn from EU-level guidelines from the EDPB and national-level guidelines from Data Protection Authorities, to the unique situation of the online industry.

The TCF is an industry-wide voluntary norm placed on technology partners that support the distribution, personalization, or evaluation of advertising and content (third parties or vendors). It aims to assist them to collaborate with publishers of apps and websites (first parties) to offer users a standardized experience when they make privacy choices.

Users have the option to give or withdraw consent as well as exercise their “right to refuse” the processing of personal data through TCF. It contains basic practical standards for educating users, giving them privacy choices, and respecting those choices that are derived from guidelines of Data Protection bodies and the law.

Read More: Antitrust Complaint Filed Against Google in the EU!

What is the EU user consent policy?

According to this policy, advertisers must ensure specific disclaimers and consents are received from end users in the EEA and the UK. This will be done in case they choose to include or use any of the Google products that implement the policy. In the event of non-compliance, usage of Google products may be restricted or suspended, and the agreement may be terminated. The publishers must legally get the end users’ authorization before collecting, distributing, and using personal data for individual advertising. It is also crucial to keep track of the end users’ consent and give them explicit information on how to withdraw their consent.

A quick look at personalized and non-personalized ads

Personalized ads

Previously called interest-based advertising, it is a robust technique that enhances advertising authenticity for users while increasing ROI for advertisers. They enhance both the user and advertiser experience by enabling advertisers to focus their campaigns on user interests. Personalized ads are ads chosen for display based on previously gathered or past data. The user’s past search queries, actions, visits to websites or apps, interests, remarketing, etc are all included in this.

Non-personalized ads

These adverts do not predicate on previous user activity. They focus on users based on relevant data, like basic geo-targeting, the user’s location, web or mobile content, and keywords. NPA uses cookies or mobile ad identifiers for frequency capping, aggregated ad reporting, and contest ad fraud and abuse. One must get consent before using cookies or mobile ad tags as per the ePrivacy Directive in some EEA countries. NPAs will only be provided to users who have signed in with Google in the EEA and shared their age under-age consent set by GDPR.

Read More: Meta Adopts Consent Policy for Targeted Ads Data in Europe

Delve In What the Quarterly Results For Big Tech Titans Are Saying

The quarterly results for big tech companies are out. Here are some key takeaways for advertisers and marketers.

Microsoft

Microsoft’s fiscal year has been challenging on many fronts. The acquisition of Xandr, the ad-buying platform, and the increase in search volume revenues failed to produce satisfactory results, making Microsoft miss the mark in Q4. With continuous commitments to investing in artificial intelligence technologies, analysts predicted the quarter to be successful for Microsoft. The company attributed stagnant growth to a decline in advertising spending, which was lower than a quarter on quarter.

Its Talent Solutions contributed to the company’s revenue growth exceeding expectations. Despite the increased revenue, Microsoft reported a reduction in numbers due to low ad spending. The tech giant concluded it was due to marketing solutions decline. LinkedIn’s revenue increased due to growth in Talent solutions. Microsoft Cloud showed promising growth in all of its businesses with improvements in its verticals. Search and news advertising went up with the Xandr acquisition.

By the numbers:

• Revenue was up by 8% increasing to $56.2 billion.
• Advertising and news search revenues up to $86 million, a 3% increase including traffic acquisition cost, 8% increase excluding traffic acquisition cost.
• Azure Cloud revenue growth slowed from 27% to 26%.
• LinkedIn revenue increased by 5%.
• Microsoft Cloud’s quarterly revenue was 21% or $30.3 billion YoY.

Currently, the company is prioritizing developing and spearheading safe generative AI models and practices. Their aim is to help customers use Microsoft Cloud to make the most of their digital resources and drive operations control.

Satya Nadella, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Microsoft stated in the Q4 results announcement,

We remain focused on leading the new AI platform shift, helping customers use the Microsoft Cloud to get the most value out of their digital spend, and driving operating leverage.

Amy Hood, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Microsoft cited,

Advertising spend was slightly lower than anticipated which impacted Search and News advertising and LinkedIn Marketing Solutions. For LinkedIn, we expect revenue growth in the low to mid-single digits.

She further added,

Even with share gains in our hiring business, growth will continue to be impacted by the overall markets for recruiting and advertising, especially in the technology industry where we have significant exposure.

Meta

Meta produced results in Q2 that exceeded analysts’ expectations. Revenues from advertising rose robustly. The revenue uptick signaled the social giant’s ad business recovery after previous years of gloom and cross-border concerns. Meta cited the increase in DAUs for Reels, the company’s short-form video content app. This attracts 200 billion people to Facebook and Instagram. The app also generated $10 billion annually, which is a $3 billion increase Q/Q.

The company credits the increase in ad revenues to Threads, the text-based app, and continued investment in artificial intelligence. The company ascribed the increase in ad impressions to a heightened focus on TikTok’s rival Reels and AI-driven products as the key factors in the positive outcome. Meta commits to AI advancements and data centers. The CEO has also highlighted AI as the focal point of Meta’s growth strategy. He predicts revenue from AI-powered structures for marketers, AI chat agents, and productivity tools for employees.

By the numbers:

• Revenue up to $32 billion, up 11%.
• Facebook DAUs are 2.06 billion on average, an increase of 5% year over year.
• Facebook’s MAUs of 3.03 billion increased by 3% year-over-year.
• Family daily active people (DAP) 3.07 billion on average, 7% up Yo-Y.
• Family monthly active people (MAP) 3.88 billion and 6% higher Yo-Y.
• Ad impressions in Q2 2023 increased 34% year-over-year and the average price per ad decreased 16% Yo-Y.

Susan Li, Meta’s Chief Financial Officer however stated that their ongoing commitment to invest in Reality Labs, Meta’s unit for metaverse-related initiatives negatively impacted their results. However, it will not hamper their ambition to spearhead metaverse developments.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta added,

We had a good quarter. We continue to see strong engagement across our apps and we have the most exciting roadmap I’ve seen in a while with Llama 2, Threads, Reels, new AI products in pipeline, and the launch of Quest 3 this fall.

Alphabet

Alphabet, Google’s parent company overcame its advertising slump in the Q/Q, signaling a return to momentum with favorable results. The revival of their revenue graph was needed to reshape the competitive AI technology landscape. The Q2 results erased concerns about Google losing digital ad prowess to AI advancements on the financial forefront.

The company attributed the overall growth to increasing Google Cloud Services demand, which is anticipated to adopt AI as it advances. The rise in revenues can be traced to costs from YouTube subscriptions and the Pixel family’s content acquisition. YouTube witnessed a surge in stabilized ad spending despite competition from TikTok. Google Cloud revenues were up due to its AI-optimized structure which piqued consumer interest.

By the numbers:

• Revenue was $74.6 billion, up 7%.
• Ad sales rose 3% to $58.1 billion.
• YouTube revenues increased by 4% to $77 billion driven by brand advertising.
• Network advertising revenues were down 5% at $7.9 billion.
• Google Search and other advertising revenues were up 5%, to $42.6 billion.
• Google Cloud revenues are up 28%, at $23.5 billion.

Alphabet is certain that the money needed to finance AI advancements will come from Google’s advertising engine. As such, Google has predicted that it will face more difficulties not only from rivals like ChatGPT, Microsoft, and Bing but also from Amazon’s shopping unit and TikTok and Reddit in trending topics. As part of its efforts to strengthen cybersecurity capabilities, search, and advertising capabilities, the CEO mentioned that AI would be integrated across its product groups.

Sundar Pichai, CEO, said in the announcement,

There’s exciting momentum across our products and the company, which drove strong results this quarter. Our continued leadership in AI and our excellence in engineering and innovation are driving the next evolution of Search and improving all our services.

CFO Ruth Porat commented,

We expect elevated levels of investment in our technical infrastructure, increasing through 2023 and continuing in 2024. The primary driver is to support AI opportunities across Alphabet, including investments in GPUs and proprietary TPUs, as well as data center capacity. With all that said, we remain committed to durably re-engineering our cost base to help create capacity for these investments in support of long-term, sustainable financial value.

Amazon

Amazon released its second-quarter earnings, and the numbers were impressive. According to CEO Andy Jassy, Amazon saw developments in areas they had been steadily advancing in for the past quarters. The e-commerce giant attributes its revenue growth to the rise in price points, selections, and convenience available to its consumers. Amazon continues to see strong demand for everyday essentials, positive feedback from customers, and updates to its website, mobile apps, and customizations.

AWS growth stabilized in Q2. Moreover, it continues to grow with customers, partner networks, functionality, and operational presentation. AWS revenues were twice as high as any other provider. Amazon is constantly working to further AWS technologies and features to aid customers in leveraging generative AI, productivity, and security. Ad revenue increased due to performance-based advertising efforts, improved customer relevance of ads, and ML benefits to understand ROI and ad spending for brands.

By the numbers:

• $134.4 billion revenue, an increase of 11% Y-o-Y vs estimates of $131.5 billion by Refinitiv analysts.
• Advertising revenue is up 22% Yo-o-Y, to $10.68 billion.
• AWS sales revenue growth of 12% Yo-Y to $22.1 billion.
• Subscription service revenues including Prime memberships were up 14%, at $9.8 billion.

Amazon is currently working on enhancing Machine Learning models to help marketers access audiences that were difficult to reach with Amazon ads. During an AWS event in New York, Amazon also committed to enhancing generative AI-powered applications with the latest and improved pre-trained large language models (LLMs).

CEO Andy Jassy mentioned in the earnings call,

As the economy has been uncertain over the last year, AWS customers have needed assistance cost optimizing to withstand this challenging time. They have also needed assistance reallocating spending to new initiatives that better drive growth. We’ve proactively helped customers do this.

Apple

Apple reported their results for the third quarter that were better than their expectations, however, revenue was down Yo-Y. The company attributed the growth in its revenue to healthy iPhone sales across the world. Apple set an all-time high record for services revenues, including advertising, the app store, and music, exceeding its predictions. The slump in iPad sales revenue was accredited to the iPad Air launch in the prior year. They continue to invest in product enhancements to encourage customer satisfaction which was reported to be 98% across the U.S.

By the numbers:

• Revenue was $81.8 billion, down 1% Yo-Y.
• iPhone revenues are $39.7 down 2% Y-o-Y.
• $6.8 billion, down 7%, for Mac.
• iPad $5.6 billion, down 20%.
• Wearables home, and accessories revenues were $8.3 billion up 2% with expectations.
• Services revenue $21.2 acceleration of 8%.

Apple is releasing its most ambitious and advanced personal electronic device, the Apple Vision Pro early next year for ordinary consumers. It is currently only available to advertisers, content creators, etc for demo purposes and has received stellar reviews.

AI and machine learning will continue to be an integral part of product design. Apple is planning to introduce AI and ML-powered live voicemail in iOS 17. They have also invested in research into generative AI and continue to responsibly enhance their products with these technologies. This is with the goal of enriching people’s lives.

Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO said,

We are happy to report that we had an all-time revenue record in Services during the June quarter, driven by over 1 billion paid subscriptions, and we saw continued strength in emerging markets thanks to robust sales of iPhone. From education to the environment, we are continuing to advance our values, while championing innovation that enriches the lives of our customers and leaves the world better than we found it.

Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO, further remarked,

Our June quarter year-over-year business performance improved from the March quarter, and our installed base of active devices reached an all-time high in every geographic segment.

Snapchat.INC

Snapchat reported its quarterly results and they were mixed. Although revenue was up Q/Q, it still saw a Yo-Y dip. Just like its competitors, Snapchat is grappling with a slump in advertising revenues. Snapchat also introduced an exciting and innovative AI feature a few months back to keep the platform happening and engaged. My AI, Snapchat’s AI chatbot is now integrated into group chats, recommendations, and ‘Lens’ suggestions.

By the numbers:

• Revenue was $1,068 million compared to $1,111 million the previous year
• DAUs 397 million, an increase of 50 million or 14% Yo-Y
• 4 million global users for paid subscriptions introduced in the previous year

This quarter, the social media company pledged to improve advertisers’ expectations through machine learning technology. It will do so to upgrade its framework, find creative approaches to measuring and optimizing ad spending, and encourage new leadership. Its continuous investment in ML infrastructure has improved company ranking and content personalization.

Snapchat believes that it will face healthy community growth in the next quarter with expected DAU increases of 405 to 406 million.

Evan Spiegel, Snapchat’s CEO said,

We are excited by the progress we have made delivering increased return on investment for our advertising partners, growing our community to 397 million daily active users, and reaching more than 4 million Snapchat+ subscribers.

 

Omnicom Media Group

Omnicom Media Group ended its second quarter of 2023 on a high note. The organic growth rate was up 3.4% compared to the previous quarter’s results, placing it within its projected range. Omnicom spearheads generative AI developments in the media business. Their ongoing strategic alliances with companies like Adobe, AWS (Amazon Web Services), and Microsoft help them do this.

The business has also promised to invest in media sales capabilities, environmentally friendly technology, and data from first parties. They are currently realigning their staff to match strategy choices and outlook.

By the numbers:

• 3.4% organic revenue growth in Q2 23, with $3,609.9 million revenue
• Advertising Media revenue growth was 4.2%, while organic growth grew by 5.1%
• Third-party costs which include supplier costs the company incurs when providing services to clients increased to $86.8 million
• Organic growth rate for Public Relations was up 0.1%, while execution & support decreased by 3.8%

John Wren, Chairman and CEO of Omnicom said in the announcement,

While the balance of the year will continue to see economic uncertainty, we are entering a dynamic and exciting new era for our company. Omnicom has secure leading positions in generative AI technologies and partnerships to deliver on our promise to achieve the best outcome for our clients and increase the operational efficiency of our company.

 

eBay

EBay has exceeded Wall Street’s expectations in all key metrics and delivered positive results. However, the marketplace’s weakened momentum among active buyers was worrying. Gross merchandise sales decreased also recorded. 

In spite of this, the e-commerce marketplace believes that its increasing focus on AI integration into its platform will drive further user momentum. The company currently prioritizes laying a strong foundation for generative AI tools across the website to aid marketers and product listers.

By the numbers:

• Revenue was up to $2.51 billion, an increase of 5% from the previous year
• Advertising revenues were $367 million, up 33.5% Yo-Y.
• Promoted Listings revenue was up 47%, reporting $341 million
• The active buyer base declined by 4%

In the next five years, eBay plans to implement AI enhancements in every part of its organization. They are constantly integrating generative AI features into their site. They are also working towards reinventing the e-commerce landscape. Its work has already produced stellar results and hopes to deliver long-term results.

Jamie Iannone, CEO said,

The foundational work we’ve accomplished over the past 3 years has set us up for a new phase of innovation. Our teams are focused on thinking bigger and moving faster as we build game-changing features and functionality for customers to keep eBay at the forefront of eCommerce.

 

Read More: Advertise Your Brand in the Metaverse: The Future of Digital Advertising

Google’s Triple Treat- Unleashes a Trio of Updates to Elevate User Experience

Google is embracing the future of greatness. Three game-changing changes from the tech superpower will revolutionize user experience across platforms. These updates, which range from enhanced usability to seamless disruptive capabilities, will enhance user journeys to a higher level. This article explores in detail these innovative improvements that will affect our online life.

Generative Search Experience Update

The AI-generated answers in Google’s latest search generative experience can now display playable videos in addition to photos. Google stated in their blog, “With our generative AI-powered Search experience (SGE) you can quickly get up to speed on a new topic, uncover quick tips for your specific questions or discover products and things to consider.” Google has included generative AI in its search engine so that users can benefit from it. The upgrades that will simplify your life are listed below.

Enjoy images and videos with your searches

It’s been said that seeing something for oneself helps one grasp it better. Google recently added images and videos to its search results, and individuals who have joined Google Labs will soon be able to access the upgrade. As a result, when someone queries something, it returns relevant material including photographs and YouTube videos in addition to a text description. For instance, if consumers look up how to remove stains from marble, they can easily find guidance and pertinent material online.

Amplify Curiosity

Users can search the web for useful information when particular topics pique their attention. Google offers them relevant links to aid in their search results along with an AI overview. Additionally, each link on the website has the published date attached, and they are constantly working to improve the AI model.

Turbocharge your insights

Google recently revealed significant speed improvements that cut AI snapshot time in half.

Google AI updates indicate the sources it has accessed information from, setting it apart from rival AI chatbots like ChatGPT. It is useful to cite and refer to links when researching.

Doesn’t it all sound cool? But wait, there’s more!

Mobile Lookup Updates

In order to improve users’ search experiences on the Google mobile browser, Google has unveiled additional updates. With expanded search concepts, popular and trending topics and themes, and other improvements, searching is now simpler.

Google’s Search Serenades

Google now provides search suggestions pertinent to the website the user is currently browsing. “Related to this page” is the feature’s name, and it offers consumers additional options to look through.

The Google Trendspotting journey

The upgrade also makes it easier for users to access address bar-based trending topics and searches. The iOS version of this feature will be released later this year, but it is only available in the Chrome browser for Android.

Search for similar terms

Users may now search for a word or term immediately from the page they are currently viewing thanks to Google’s touch-to-search upgrade. This was introduced a few years ago on Android. Now that the tool has been updated, they can use it to get relevant search results. For instance, the user can select a word and learn more about it. This is if they are reading about a subject and come across a term that interests them. 

Intensify your search

In addition, users will be able to view 10 queries rather than just six suggestions to improve their search experience. The first results will be those most pertinent to the search query. After that, visitors may scroll down to search for further possibilities.

Google Analytics 4 Updates

Google has released several enhanced capabilities on the Google Analytics 4 platform. These capabilities are aimed at improving campaign optimization and helping advertisers better understand user behavior patterns. The upgrade offers enhanced metrics, particularly for iOS campaigns, and a deeper look at targeting tools and performance uplift possibilities. This is how app marketers will benefit:

Audience tools

Unnotified audience suggestions

This tool will help untap the audience of the current app to target those users who are not reachable via push notifications. Only 37% of users enable push notifications, according to Google, meaning brands are missing out. This technology allows marketers to interact with users when they download apps

Relevant app users

Google will automatically identify the most appropriate app consumers for the app engagement promotion if the advertisers have set up a demographic in GA4 for both app and web users.

GA4 Audience Builder in Google Ads

Google will offer the option to create effective GA4 audiences directly in Google Ads during ad campaign setup in the upcoming weeks.

Improved performance

App marketers may automatically enhance app campaign metrics using consented, signed-in data. Google’s experimentation analysis shows that app campaigns generated 10% higher conversions for every dollar spent. Through the GA4 property, advertisers can activate Google Signals to make them available.

Improved marketing optimization for iOS

In order to help marketers better understand the efficacy and measurement of their iOS initiatives, GA4 makes privacy-centric solutions possible. This is how-

• To enhance multichannel reporting and inference, GA4’s feature enables app integration with SKadNetwork. Additionally, it offers a tool for setting up the SKadNetwork so that conversion data is gathered without identifying information escaping the user’s device.
• By including a consenting user’s phone number as a sign-in method, advertisers can optimize their campaigns more effectively.
• With geo-targeted conversion lift measurement, advertisers can now measure iOS app advertisements’ gradual effects with increased accuracy.

With these innovative enhancements, Google simplifies the user experience and puts every search, trend, and recommendation at our fingertips. With these modifications, the tech giant is becoming more empowered, perceptive, and motivating. Only exciting times lay ahead for the users as Google keeps expanding and experimenting with technology to stay relevant in the ever-evolving landscape.

Read More: Google Ads Enhances CTV Advertising

Google Breaks Regional Barriers by Unveiling Arabic BARD

Google has introduced Arabic language in its AI generative platform BARD, along with 39 other languages. Unlike BARD’s initial launch in May, which was only in English, Google has further taken a leap towards inclusivity. Their objective is to make it available in multiple languages.

Arabic, a very complex and intricate language, consists of several dialects, which often lead to challenges while communicating. Arabic speakers also face difficulties in online interaction since the textual form is mainly in classical Arabic. Over the years, Arabic speakers have turned to Arabeezy, an application which combines English letters and numbers, to communicate with each other.

Google has recognized these intricacies, and has launched Arabic BARD, which understands 16 diverse colloquial vernaculars. The model is powered by Google’s latest language model ‘PaLM2’ which can understand information in multiple languages. These include Emirati, Egyptian, and Saudi Arabic and it responds back in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA).

It also has the proficiency to understand code-switching, where the input is able to integrate Arabic and an additional language. The thoughtfully designed user-interface supports right-to-left scriptures, making it further easily operable.

Features Available for Arabic Speaking Users

Google Bard in Arabic is filled with an extensive array of unique features to help with your creative potential. Here are some of them:

•   Hear BARD’s responses out loud by clicking on the sound icon.
•   Revisit, pin, and rename your BARD chats.
•   Share BARD responses with your friends and connections using the shareable link.
•   Export Python code to Replit and Google Colab, an online integrated development environment for developers to write and execute code.   

Challenges Google faced while developing Arabic Script

Google has made significant technology investments to enhance its Arabic skills for the past two decades. In order to create a language model in Arabic, it was essential to understand certain words which were often spelt the same. Without pronunciations or knowing the meaning of the word, it was inconvenient for the AI to understand the same. This has been a huge limitation for all the known translation tools. What they failed to revise was that without the proper accent or diacritical signs, it was difficult to decipher the intended meaning behind them. But BARD was able to recognize that, indicating a significant breakthrough for the language.

Najeeb Jarrar, Regional Director of Marketing at Google MENA said,

Arabic speakers are now able to leverage the power of BARD, where they’re able to create new content and collaborate with this AI, experiment to generate and create new ideas, simplify topics, and also, directly get involved in the wonders of such technology.

Jack Krawcyzk, Director of Product Management at Google added,

As part of our bold and responsible approach to AI, we’re proactively engaged with experts, policymakers, and regulators on this expansion. And as we bring BARD to more regions and languages over time, we’ll continue to use our AI principles as a guide, incorporate user feedback, and take steps to protect people’s privacy and data.

So next time you want to know about some concept or brainstorm and materialize an idea, give BARD a try. You will not only be able to use unique tools, but might discover a fresh perspective to life!

Read More: Google’s BARD vs ChatGPT: Which AI Will Rule the Search Realm?

Google and Omnicom Collaborate to Enhance Advertising with Generative AI

Omnicom has partnered with Google to integrate the search giant’s generative AI models into its ad tech platform. This collaboration marks the first commercial application of Google’s generative AI technology, which was previously not widely available. Through this integration, brands will gain access to generative text and image capabilities, enabling them to create dynamic and engaging content. This innovative partnership aims to enhance the creative capabilities of Omnicom’s ad tech platform and provide brands with new opportunities for personalized and impactful advertising.

Omnicom will leverage the capabilities of Google Cloud’s Vertex AI, specifically its foundation models such as PaLM 2 and Imagen. PaLM 2 is Google’s large language model for text and Imagen is similar to DALL-E, for generating images.Imagen allows organizations to generate and customize studio-grade images at scale from input text with low latency and enterprise-grade data governance.

Through seamless integration into their open marketing orchestration platform Omni, agencies and client teams will now have unprecedented access to these powerful models. This integration will enable expediting the content development process, providing enhanced efficiency and creativity.

Jonathan Nelson, CEO, Omnicom Digital said,

We’re thrilled to have another first-mover advantage with Google Cloud’s foundation models and to continue strengthening the use of Generative AI within Omnicom.

By creating Omni as an open operating system, we’re able to quickly integrate these innovative models and mobilize them to thousands of Omnicom employees that use Omni. We’re especially excited to see how Imagen will unlock greater inspiration for our people and elevate the ideas created for clients.

As reported by Adage, Nelson further mentioned that they are closely looking at the video. The models developed by Google were trained using “copyright-free” data. The issue of copyright has hindered the broader adoption of certain AI applications in marketing as agencies and brands have concerns about utilizing the material for which they don’t possess proper licensing.

Nelson said,

Their version of Imagen is particularly interesting because it’s copyright-free which is a huge deal for us so it can be applicable to advertising.

June Yang, Vice President of Cloud AI and Industry Solutions at Google Cloud,

Our partnership with Omnicom deepens this commitment as it allows marketers to create studio-grade images with mask-free editing for any business need, in a platform where they are already familiar, with only a few typing prompts. We cannot wait to see what they create!

Adage reported Omnicom will train machines using data from brands’ entire marketing copy archives to develop custom AI models. Nelson introduced the concept of “data stacking,” where the agency combines its own data with clients’ data, specifically benefiting media and optimization. This approach enables the creation of proprietary products based on the developed models.

This partnership is the latest collaboration between Google and Omnicom, who have closely collaborated together for decades. This includes their early collaboration as an alpha partner for clean room integrations with Ads Data Hub.

Interesting Read: Microsoft Store Ads Expand to Bing Search Results, Empowering Global Advertisers

Google’s Phasing Out of Third-Party Cookies: A Paradigm Shift in Digital Advertising

Google’s recent announcement of phasing out third-party cookies has sent ripples through the digital advertising industry. This move is part of the tech giant’s commitment to prioritize user privacy and reshape the way online advertising operates. In this article, we delve into the details of Google’s plan, its implications for advertisers, and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

The Shift Towards Privacy-Conscious Advertising

Google’s Privacy Sandbox initiative aims to replace third-party cookies with a more privacy-conscious approach. Instead of individual user tracking, Privacy Sandbox proposes the concept of cohorts, grouping users based on similar browsing patterns and interests. By protecting user data and allowing individuals to manage their interests, Google seeks to strike a balance between privacy and effective advertising.

Phased Rollout and Testing

Google plans to gradually implement this change, beginning with 1% of Chrome users in early 2024. This initial phase serves as a real-world test, allowing developers to assess their readiness for the broader transition. The company also plans to make Privacy Sandbox’s relevance and measurement APIs available to all Chrome users in the Chrome 115 release, enabling developers to experiment and test these APIs with live traffic. Tech Crunch quoted Google’s Victor Wong, who leads product for Private Advertising Technology within Privacy Sandbox said, 

This plan was developed with close consultation and coordination with UK’s Competition and Markets Authority — the CMA. We consulted with them on this and we felt this is the best way to, jointly with the industry, actually test out the solution.

In Q4 [2023], we help coordinate some of the testing and make that easier. Q1 [2024], we deprecate for 1%, which then, for everyone in the industry, forces them to seriously start experimenting and testing.

Adapting Advertising Strategies

The deprecation of third-party cookies necessitates a significant shift in advertising strategies. Advertisers must explore alternative targeting and measurement methods that rely less on individual user tracking. Leveraging first-party data, investing in contextual targeting, and collaborating with industry partners are among the recommended approaches to navigate this transition successfully.

Challenges and Opportunities

The elimination of third-party cookies poses challenges in measuring conversions, personalizing ad experiences, and attributing campaign success. However, it also opens doors to innovative solutions, such as enhanced first-party data utilization, contextual advertising, and increased collaboration among advertisers, agencies, and technology providers. Advertisers have an opportunity to build stronger relationships with their target audiences while respecting their privacy.

Industry Response and Readiness

While Google’s move towards privacy-conscious advertising has received praise, it has also sparked discussions and concerns within the industry. Adtech developers are eager to test Privacy Sandbox APIs at scale, and some have already begun experimenting. However, other browser vendors are pursuing different approaches, adding complexity to the advertising ecosystem.

Preparing for the Future

Advertisers are advised to stay informed about the latest developments and guidelines associated with Privacy Sandbox. They should assess the compatibility of their current advertising tools and platforms, invest in building first-party data capabilities, and actively collaborate with industry stakeholders to shape the future of privacy-centric advertising.

Google’s decision to phase out third-party cookies marks a significant milestone in the evolution of digital advertising. As the industry adjusts to the new reality, advertisers must embrace innovative strategies and technologies that respect user privacy while maintaining effective targeting and measurement capabilities. The road ahead may present challenges, but by staying proactive and adaptable, advertisers can seize the opportunities that arise and continue to connect with their audiences in a privacy-conscious manner. The era of cookieless advertising is upon us, and it’s time to embrace the change.

Interesting Read: And Google Does It Again,  Delays Phaseout of Third-Party Cookies