Google’s AI-generated advertising tools bring brands into search chat

Google is experimenting with advertising in its new AI-powered search engine, causing publishers and brands to rethink how they set up their websites and manage advertising campaigns.

On Tuesday, Google unveiled a range of AI tools for advertising, including the ability to use text prompts to generate ad copy, just as a person commands ChatGPT Write text. And Google is testing new ad formats in the AI-generated search experience it launched earlier this year, which advertising experts say could transform the way marketers approach search advertising.

Google did that AI Announcements at Google Marketing Live, an annual conference to showcase new advertising technologies.

“The biggest advances in AI are on the marketing and sales side,” said Dan Taylor, Google’s vice president of global ads, during a conversation with media ahead of Google Marketing Live.

Google’s announcements concerned its experimental ads in generative search, which fall under a division called Search Labs. Google has also updated its AI-powered ad creation tools that marketers use in Google Ads.

“We’re introducing a new, natural-language conversational experience in Google Ads,” Google said in its announcement, “designed to accelerate campaign creation and simplify search ads by combining your expertise with Google AI.”

Marketers can use chat prompts – conversational techniques – to create ads that are displayed on Google’s ad platform. Google noted in its announcements that it has already integrated AI into parts of its ad platform, including through Performance Max ads and Smart Bidding, which apply automation to campaigns.

The marketing event comes after Google widely rolled out AI-powered search fundamentally different experience than traditional search, during the Google I/O developer conference earlier this month. Google followed Microsoft Bing in integrating generative AI into search.

Also read: How Bing’s AI chat will challenge search engine advertising

Instead of just navigating the web one link at a time, generative AI provides long answers to search queries on almost any topic. For example, a person might ask Google’s chatbot for travel or shopping tips, and generative search responses write long answers. On Tuesday, Google showed how generative search can include Shopping ads with product images and sponsored links to websites.