Major players across the advertising landscape are rapidly implementing cutting-edge AI technologies across their platforms. Here’s how Google’s and Microsoft’s latest AI updates might affect your paid search campaigns:
1. Search Ads in AI Overviews
Your search ads can now appear above, below, or within the AI Overviews section—the top of a SERP. Ads will show based on Google’s understanding of the intent behind the query and the AI Overviews content.
AI Overviews ads are currently only available in the U.S. on desktop or mobile. Advertisers are automatically opted into this feature and cannot opt out of running here. Reporting granularity on placement is not yet available.
To be eligible for placement within the AI Overviews section, ads must be a text, shopping, local, or app ad in a Search, Shopping, Performance Max, or App campaign.
So What?
Ads appearing next to AI Overviews content was only a matter of time. We’re looking forward to the availability of more granular reporting, but advertisers running across all match types with strong negative keyword lists will likely find this transition seamless and enjoy the benefits of highly-relevant placements.
2. Meet AI Max (No relation to Pmax)
AI Max is a beta product leaning into AI audiences and creative rather than keywords to deliver the most relevant ads. Advertisers who opt-in to AI Max will be able to control three key functionalities:
- Search term matching: allows Google to use existing broad match keywords and keywordless technology—where Google scans your landing pages and ad group assets to identify relevant queries that may have been otherwise missed—to expand your reach via more relevant search queries
- Asset Optimization: allows campaigns to deliver more customized text to generate new headlines and descriptions based on landing pages, ads, and keywords
- Final URL Expansion: Google AI will send traffic to your URLs that are more relevant and themed to your ad group. Asset Optimization must be turned on to ensure ad copy matches landing page content
Additional controls seek to replace the need for keywords, including locations of interest, brand controls (brand association inclusion/exclusion list), and URL parameters.
We’ll also have access to search term reporting that measures the incrementality of AI Max enhancements—a refreshing approach considering the lack of reporting transparency in Google’s Pmax.
So What?
Advertisers are constantly threading the needle of relevant messaging by target audience without over-segmentation—using AI to curate ads for each specific query seeks to solve this problem with minimal effort. We expect other platforms, especially within social, to mimic this capability before long. For advertisers with strong historical data and negative keyword lists, AI Max is likely a good fit. For those newer to search, we recommend building your database and support via keywords, RSAs, and negative keyword lists prior to AI enhancements.
3. Advertising within Copilot
Not to be left out, Microsoft is launching ads within its LLM/AI web assistant, Copilot. Ads in Copilot work similarly to Google’s AI Overviews ads, including automatic opt-in for advertisers. Unfortunately, similarities also extend to a lack of reporting transparency with these placements.
To be eligible for Ads in Copilot, ads/campaigns must be at least one of the following:
- multimedia ads
- product ads (including shopping and performance campaigns serving product ads)
- search ads with logo extensions or business logo automated extensions
- either a Property Promotion or Tours and Activities Vertical ad type
So What?
As AI chat becomes more common in everyday usage, allowing search ads to appear next to chat queries provides brands with additional opportunities to engage with consumers where they are.
Just like Google’s ads in AI Overviews, Ads in Copilot build off your search account foundations. If your ads are already eligible based on the criteria above, you’re all set to get started!
Have questions about how to make the most of these capabilities for your paid search campaigns? Reach out to info@ksmmedia.com and we’ll connect you with our experts.