Google recently unveiled its latest innovations and updates at the annual Google Marketing Live 2024 event. As expected, AI was central to many announcements, particularly its integration into existing products to further automate ad formats, data management, and even visual creation directly within the Google Ads platform. This shift aligns with the ongoing advancements in the Google Search Generative Experience (SGE). 

Key Takeaways:

AI-driven visual asset creation in Performance Max campaigns: 

• Thanks to generative AI, you will be able to create ads much faster, customise them to fit your brand, perform advanced image edits, and automatically highlight product feeds in AI-generated content.

New Google features for Shopping campaigns: 

• Introduction of 3D views in Shopping formats. 
• Video highlights and virtual try-ons. 
• Loyalty promotions bidding and tailored promos, allowing you to showcase promotions directly in your Shopping ads to attract new customers who might need an extra incentive for their first purchase. 

YouTube Ads innovations: 

• U.S. Shopify Plus and Advanced merchants will be able to seamlessly sync their products to YouTube, enabling eligible creators to tag products in their content (US only). 
• Collaborate with YouTube creators to create effective ads and build trust on YouTube Shorts, in-stream, and in-feed creative. 

Measurement and data: 

• Data diagnostics will offer in-depth guidance to help advertisers prepare for privacy and regulation changes. Advertisers will receive personalised, detailed suggestions on features to enable our issues to be resolved within their existing setup to achieve better results. 
• Google Ads Data Manager promises more efficient management of diverse data feeds.

Many more updates are expected in 2024, with details on their launch and availability across different regions still to come. Access to betas and the ability for businesses to integrate these new tools and features will be critical, especially during key shopping moments like Black Friday and the holidays. 

It’s increasingly important for advertisers to stay ahead of the curve and test new formats as quickly as possible. The generative AI search experience will bring significant changes, and advertisers will need to demonstrate flexibility and adaptability in the coming months. 

Our team of experts is ready to assist you in navigating the new features and ensuring swift implementation in your current ecosystem. Reach out to us to make sure your strategies are both effective and future-proof.