Google Ads introduces auto-generated advertisement tool using generative AI
New Delhi: Advertisers and businesses will now be able to auto-generate advertisements on Google Ads platform, said Dan Taylor, vice president of global ads at Google. Using Large Language Models (LLMs) and generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI), Google Ads will be able to create campaign workflows based on business prompts given by marketers.
"It learns from the advertisers landing pages, queries that are performing well and headlines that they've already approved to create entirely new creatives," he said during his recent India visit.
According to a McKinsey study, marketing and sales have the biggest reported revenue effects of AI.
Taylor spoke about Gen AI tools introduced during Google I/O held on May 10 this year for marketers and advertisers like Performance Max, and how brands like Myntra, Samsung, HDFC, and Tata AIG saw up to 18 per cent higher conversions by adding AI to their marketing mix.
Performance Max combines Google's AI technologies across bidding, budget optimisation, audiences, creatives, attribution, and more, the company said.
The technology behemoth also reiterated its focus on privacy amid rising privacy regulations by countries.
In a survey of 16,500 individuals from 11 Asia-Pacific markets, 8 out of 10 consumers recognised the importance of online privacy and security of their personal information, he said.
"So much so that 70 per cent of those consumers would stop engaging with a brand in response to a violation of their trust around data. So this is a real consumer concern," Taylor said.
Days before the government introduced the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill in the parliament, Google announced enhanced privacy features like Privacy Sandbox for web and Android, as it introduced generative capabilities for its ads business for marketers.
The Sandbox initiative balances people's privacy with business interest, Taylor said.
"We're rethinking Chrome and Android as platforms for privacy while working with the industry to develop internet and app experience with privacy at the core that still deliver great outcomes," he added.
Taylor also said his company was engaging with the EU Commission "constructively" to address their concerns around Google's ads business and avoid conflict of interest between consumers and advertisers.
As Gen AI capabilities are enabled across sectors and impact international discourse, Taylor said Google has been working on AI tools for a decade.
"While the public discourse on AI seems relatively new, we've been innovating on AI and tools that help consumers and businesses for well over a decade."
During the annual Google I/O conference in May, the company introduced AI tools for marketers with a focus on scaling small businesses.
"Indian businesses have been investing to put digital front and centre into their marketing and we're excited about supporting them in leveraging tools like AI to deliver the right outcomes," he said.
With tools like Google products studio, businesses can create customised product images for free, without cost-intensive photoshoots.
He said that AI tools move at the speed of customers, and -- as the internet economy is projected to grow 6 times to USD 1 trillion by the next decade -- businesses are not competing with AI, but with other marketers using AI.
He also said that news publishers are "embracing the opportunity of generative AI" from a content creation and optimisation standpoint.
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Kerala polls: Vijayan, Revanth Reddy trade barbs as campaigning ends
Kannur (Kerala)/Hyderabad (PTI): A war of words between Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his Telangana counterpart Revanth Reddy turned acrimonious on Tuesday, the final day of campaigning for the April 9 Assembly polls.
The two leaders sparred on the virtual world as well, exchanging letters on their respective social media handles.
The escalation came after Vijayan, responding to Reddy's earlier remarks, used Malayalam expressions considered nearly derogatory, signalling strong disapproval of the Telangana CM's comments.
Reddy, campaigning for the UDF in Kollam district, hit back swiftly, likening Vijayan to PM Narendra Modi.
He said he would take any personal remarks from the senior leader as a "blessing" considering his age, but objected to what he described as insults directed at the people of Kerala. "But you cannot abuse our Kerala people," he said, hours before campaigning drew to a close.
The controversy began after Reddy had said "nee po mone Vijaya" by invoking a famous dialogue from superstar Mohanlal's blockbuster movie "Narasimham" while referring to Vijayan on April 1 during a UDF campaign roadshow in Nemom constituency.
Earlier in the day, while reacting to Reddy's earlier remarks, Vijayan said a CM must maintain basic standards of conduct and questioned whether such dignity was being followed.
In his response to a query, Vijayan used Malayalam words that were seen as nearly derogatory for Reddy, signalling his strong disapproval of the remarks made against him.
Sharply reacting to the CM's objectionable remarks, Congress leader V D Satheesan said Vijayan appeared to have "completely lost composure" and warned that any further deterioration in his conduct would have brought "greater embarrassment" to the state.
After the critical remarks during the press meet, Vijayan wrote on his 'X' handle that political differences are natural, but expressing strong disagreement through personally insulting remarks is an attitude that he rejects. Reddy's statements lacked factual backing.
In a detailed letter attached with the 'X' post addressing the Telangana CM, Vijayan said the experience of the people of Kerala was "vastly different" from what Reddy had portrayed.
He clarified that he did not intend to engage in a debate over the performance of the Telangana government, stating that it was for the people of Telangana and political parties there to assess their government.
Referring to Reddy's comments, Vijayan said the LDF government has been consistently publishing progress reports over the past 10 years on the implementation of its election promises, underlining its commitment to continuous accountability.
He also rejected the allegation of "selective appropriation" of Kerala's achievements, including its top ranking in the NITI Aayog SDG Index, and said such criticism was misplaced.
Dismissing claims of industrial stagnation, Vijayan said Kerala has made significant strides in the startup ecosystem and ease of doing business, adding that these achievements have been widely acknowledged.
He also alleged that key infrastructure projects in Kerala, including the Kochi Metro and Vizhinjam Port, faced delays under previous Congress-led governments at the Centre, while long-pending promises such as a railway coach factory remained unfulfilled.
Vijayan further accused the BJP-led Union government of discrimination against Kerala and said the state has been actively resisting what he described as "anti-federal and undemocratic" policies through legal and political means, including approaching the Supreme Court.
He also rejected Reddy's criticism that the LDF was not vocal enough against the BJP, asserting that Kerala has been at the forefront of defending constitutional values.
Concluding his letter, Vijayan reiterated the state government's commitment to building a "Nava Keralam" and moving forward as a model for others.
On April 1, while addressing party workers in Nemom, Reddy used the popular Malayalam film dialogue "Nee po mone Vijaya". He adapted it to target Vijayan, saying "Nee po mone Vijaya".
Reddy went further, claiming that Vijayan's "time is over" and that his "expiry date has passed".
Responding to these allegations, Vijayan had said that the Telangana CM was "misinformed" and accused him of "ridiculing" Kerala and its people while trying to hide the weaknesses of his own state.
In a later response, Reddy defended his remarks and said that many of the statistics cited by Vijayan were taken from the NITI Aayog SDG Index 2023 24, arguing that the data was already outdated.
Reddy in his letter questioned the veteran Marxist leader's claim that Kerala would become the first state to completely eradicate extreme poverty by late 2025 had been achieved. Further, he chooses to conduct himself respectfully and gracefully in his criticism of the Kerala government's performance, whereas Vijayan opted to use language of poor taste.
Reddy, in his letter on X, said that while he respects NITI Aayog's corruption rankings, he wants to know why the infamous gold smuggling case, linked to individuals connected to the CMO, remains unresolved, and why 4.5 kg of gold allegedly misappropriated from the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple has not been accounted for.
