Google has gotten very busy dealing with the AI threat.
While this is potentially a threat to Google’s existence, it is very far from that point. But it is affecting their bottom line. There are two angles on this: How it affects marketing, and how it affects the consumer.
On the consumer-facing side, Google wants you to continue to use Google for your searches. They’ve slipped below 90% and Google wants to stop the bleeding and regain their lost share. So they are doing things to LOOK better to consumers and they are doing things to improve search experiences and results.
So you see “AI Overviews” and “AI Mode” now as a direct response to ChatGPT and other AI based searches. A large percentage of Google searches now produce AI Overviews as the first “Position Zero” search result, the first thing you see after paid ads listings. Many searchers will never get beyond the AI Overview but look to it for their answers. This continues the trend of pushing the 10 top organic results further out of the limelight. These changes aren’t just cosmetic as AI plays a larger and larger role in Google’s algorithms. It remains to be seen how consumers feel about AI Overview and AI Mode, as opposed to asking ChatGPT.
For marketers, AI is changing the face of digital marketing and Google is responding to this by rolling out several new features that themselves heavily use AI.
We’ve been testing and rolling them out to many of our clients as they are providing improved performance in most cases. The common denominator is turning over more of the reins to Google. That is a trend that has been going on for years now, but has reached whole new levels with “Performance Max” where Google decides what platform or platforms will work best for you – search, display, YouTube, etc. – and adjusts to produce the best results across platforms.
In this as with other AI driven options, Google is making use of the extraordinary amount of information they possess about consumers, which they do not share with marketers – for privacy reasons, they really can’t. I think it is generally seen that Google knows a spooky amount about us, our habits and preferences.
An AI Max campaign runs on a specific platform but still gives a lot more control to Google. You’re no longer so focused on specific keywords, it is more about identifying audiences.
Another brand new option called “Demand Gen for Maps,” is in Beta and runs Google Ads that are shown in Google Maps results, giving marketers the chance to compete for local listings with paid ads.
These are all changes in the last several months, some only weeks old. Expect Google to continue to roll out more AI based features. Where will it all end up? This is a rapidly changing scene and I don’t think anyone can predict how it is all going to shake out.
Fasten your seat belt, folks. We are in for interesting times.