Google Announces New AI Ad Tools at Marketing Live 2024

Google has announced a range of new ad tools at its “Marketing Live” event, including some impressive creative editing tools (powered by AI), new Shorts ad formats, updated Google Business presentation, and more.

And these are definitely worth taking note of for your strategy.

First off, Google’s working on a new process that will enable marketers to enter in their brand logo, color guidelines and selected fonts, along with product images, in order to generate more brand-aligned creative variations.

As you can see in this example, Performance Max users will soon be able to enter various branding details to guide the generation of visual assets via Google’s AI system.

That’ll mean that the generated creative is more uniform and consistent.

Which could be a great way to maintain your branding approach while using AI.

You’ll be able to view generated variations of the creative in different placement formats, which could be of major benefit in building your assets.

Google says that the option is coming soon in Performance Max campaigns.

Google’s also developing an AI creative enhancement process, that’ll enable you to add in generated objects, extend image backgrounds, and crop your visuals to fit via text prompts.

As you can see in this example, you’ll be able to, for example, highlight a section of an image that you want to change, then type in what you want to add (like “a large abstract oil painting for a wall canvas”). The system will then update that specific element for you, making it easier to refine your creative elements.

Google says that retailers will also be able to use these new editing features with product images from their Google Merchant Center feed, while it’s also rolling out similar in Product Studio, as well as with the capacity to generate short videos from a single product photo.

“So, with just the click of a button, you can animate components of still product images to create short videos or playful product GIFs for social media.”

Google’s also got an updated, more visual format for Google Business profiles in Search.

As you can see in this example, Google’s new brand profiles will highlight information listed in Google’s Merchant Center, as well as Google’s Shopping Graph, to provide a more attention-grabbing overview of your business.

As per Google:

“Our visual brand profiles are inspired by the Business Profiles we offer local businesses on Search and Maps. Your profile will spotlight engaging product and brand imagery, videos and customer reviews. Plus, we’ll show your current deals, promotions and shipping policies front and center, in one convenient place for shoppers.”

Which means that you need to update your Google business listings, in order to ensure that the most accurate info is presented in brand search queries.

Google says that the new brand display format will be rolled out in phases over the coming months.

Google’s also making its new AI-generated body shape examples available for shopping ads, in order to provide more context as to what items of clothing look like on different body types.

The process uses generative AI to simulate what a specific item of clothing will look like on different models.

Google originally detailed the new option last year, but now, it’s looking to bring these displays to more ad types.

Google’s also looking to add generated 3D ads, as well as a feature “that lets shoppers dive deeper into an ad to see product videos (including user created Shorts), summaries and similar products provided by the advertiser.”

Google’s also developing a new ad experience in Search which will guide people through the planning process for certain purchase decisions.

As per Google:

“Let’s say friends are renovating and they search for “short term storage.” Clicking an ad for a storage facility may lead to a dynamic experience where AI helps them figure out what they need. If they share details, like photos of furniture and their budget, Google AI could then recommend storage unit sizing and packing materials with a link to purchase on the website.”

Google’s also adding new formats for Shorts ads, in order to help brands tap into the rising popularity of short-form video content, while it’s also testing new ad formats to align with its AI overviews, which are now available for selected search queries.

Finally, Google’s also making its Ads Data Manager available to all users, which enables businesses to feed their first-party data into the Google Ads system, in order to refine their campaign targeting. The process will also use AI to filter your information and create more meaningful audience targeting options.

These are some impressive and interesting updates from The Big G, which hold a lot of potential, in a range of ways. And while the arrival of generative AI overviews in Search will also have SEO impacts, it’s interesting to consider how Google’s looking to counter this, and ensure ad opportunities remain high in this new format.