According to a report by The Financial Times, Google is turning to its advertising business as its next AI frontier. The report says that Google plans to augment its ad programs with generative AI this year. With this new approach, customers can input content like text, image, and video into Google’s AI systems, which will remix them to generate ads based on goals like audience and sales targets.
The FT report states that these tools will likely be integrated into Google’s Performance Max program, which gives an overview of customers’ campaigns. While Performance Max already uses machine learning to customize ad spend, these new updates will directly deal with the creative content used in advertisements.
The tools will reportedly focus on the visuals used in ads and optimizing them for specific audiences. This could include automatically creating multiple versions of an advertisement, targeting different demographics or regions with a unique style. It’s also possible that Google may introduce automated A/B testing to measure which visual styles are more effective for certain campaigns.
Google has yet to confirm these reports but if true, it would be a major advancement in their ability to customize creative content for digital marketing campaigns. For businesses who regularly run online adverts, this could be an invaluable tool that allows them to quickly find the best visuals and strategies for reaching their target audience without needing complex manual editing processes.
However, this new approach could introduce new dangers, as generative AI systems like text generators are notorious for introducing errors and replicating biases found in their training data. One person familiar with the presentation told the FT they were worried that Google’s AI could introduce factual errors into ad campaigns. Google responded by stating that it would introduce guardrails to try and protect against this eventuality.
Despite Google’s assurances, it is unlikely that the company will be able to fully safeguard its new AI products. The technology is developing rapidly, and methods of reducing mistakes are still in their infancy. Moreover, Google is rushing to keep up with rivals, and in its haste, the company has made serious mistakes before. For example, when the company revealed its experimental chatbot Bard, the system made a factual error in its first-ever demo.
Google is also facing pressure from all sides, with many companies in the startup space offering AI systems to augment advertising work, and established companies from Microsoft to Canva already offering AI tools to “remix” creative content. Facebook and Instagram owner Meta, Google’s biggest rival in online advertising, also plans to introduce generative AI advertising tools later this year.
In conclusion, while Google’s move into generative AI in advertising is not surprising, it remains to be seen how the company will address the dangers associated with it. The company’s rush to keep up with rivals could result in serious mistakes, and it will be essential for the company to address the reliability and ethical concerns associated with AI.