It was only a matter of time before the robot overlords came for Google Ads.
The Financial Times reported today that the company is set to integrate generative AI into its ad manager in the coming months, joining the growing list of other major companies adopting the technology.
🤖 AI-Powered Ads 2023
According to an internal presentation obtained by media, the new AI tech, which uses large language models similar to those behind Google's Bard chatbot, will be used to generate ads across various platforms including:
- Search pages
- YouTube
- Gmail
💡 How it Works
Marketers will provide creative content for an ad campaign such as images, video clips, and written copy, which will then be ‘remixed' by Google's AI to produce algorithmically generated ads that target specific audiences.
The report noted that the new offering will be integrated into Performance Max, which already uses a rather opaque system of programmed automation to determine ad placement, budget allocation, and simple ad copy creation.
🤔 More Automation, More Misinformation?
There are concerns that the new AI push could result in false or misleading content being promoted in ads, especially given that these chatbots are prone to hallucinations.
For instance, I asked ChatGPT to tell me about myself, and it got most of it right — then it started going a little haywire, at one point reporting that I am a trained wine sommelier, which I am not.
That sort of mess-up is funny when it's about yourself; not so funny when it starts making things up about your brand, or the products you sell.
Google says it has plans and safeguards in place to prevent misinformation. No details on those.
