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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MP HC sets up judicial commission to probe water contamination in Indore
Indore (PTI): The Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court on Tuesday set up a commission of inquiry comprising a former HC judge to probe the issue of water contamination in city's Bhagirathpura, saying the matter requires probe by an independent, credible authority and "urgent judicial scrutiny".
It also directed the commission to submit an interim report after four weeks from the date of commencement of proceedings.
A division bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi constituted the commission while hearing several public interest litigations (PILs) filed simultaneously regarding the deaths of several people in Bhagirathpura due to the consumption of contaminated water.
The HC reserved the order after hearing all the parties during the day, and released it late at night.
The state government on Tuesday told the HC that the deaths of 16 people in Indore's Bhagirathpura area was possibly linked to a month-long outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water.
The government presented an audit report of 23 deaths from the current gastroenteritis epidemic in Bhagirathpura before the bench, suggesting that 16 of these fatalities may have been linked to the outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water.
The report, prepared by a committee of five experts from the city's Government Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, stated that the deaths of four people in Bhagirathpura were unrelated to the outbreak, while no conclusion could be reached regarding the cause of death of three other people in the area.
During the hearing, the high court sought to know from the state government the scientific basis behind its report.
The division bench also expressed surprise at the state government's use of the term "verbal autopsy" in relation to the report, sarcastically stating that it had heard the term for the first time.
The HC expressed concern over the Bhagirathpura case, stating that the situation was "alarming," and noted that cases of people falling ill due to contaminated drinking water have also been reported in Mhow, near Indore.
In its order, the HC said the serious issue concerning contamination of the drinking water supply in Bhagirathpura area allegedly resulted in widespread health hazards to residents, including children and elderly persons.
According to the petitioners and media reports, death toll is about 30 till today, but the report depicts only 16 without any basis or record, it said.
It is averred that sewage mixing, leakage in the pipeline, and failure of civic authorities to maintain potable water standards have led to the outbreak of water-borne diseases. Photographs, medical reports, and complaints submitted to the authorities prima facie indicate a matter requiring urgent judicial scrutiny, the HC said.
"Considering the gravity of the allegation and affecting the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India and the need for an independent fact-finding exercise, the Court is of the opinion that the matter requires investigation by an independent, credible authority," it said.
"Accordingly, we appoint Justice Sushil Kumar Gupta, former judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, a one-man commission of inquiry into the issues relating to water contamination in Bhagirathpura, Indore, and its impact on other areas of the city," the HC added.
As per the order, the commission shall inquire into and submit a report on the cause of contamination -- whether the drinking water supplied to Bhagirathpura was contaminated; and the source and nature of contamination (sewage ingress, industrial discharge, pipeline damage etc).
The panel will also probe the number of actual deaths of affected residents on account of contaminated water; find out the nature of disease reported and adequacy of medical response and preventive measures; suggest immediate steps required to ensure safe drinking water as well as long-term infrastructural and monitoring reforms.
It will also identify and fix responsibility upon the officers and officials found prima facie responsible for the Bhagirathpura water contamination incident, and suggest guidelines for compensation to affected residents, particularly vulnerable sections.
The commission shall have powers of a civil court for the purpose of summoning officials and witnesses; calling up records from the government department, hospitals, laboratories and civic bodies; ordering water quality testing through accredited laboratories; conducting spot inspections.
All state authorities involving district administration, Indore Municipal Corporation, public health engineering department and Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board shall extend full co-operation and provide records as sought by the commission, it said.
The state government shall provide office space, staff, and logistical support to the commission, it said.
During the hearing in the day, the state government also presented a status report to the court in this matter.
According to reports, a total of 454 patients were admitted to local hospitals during the vomiting and diarrhea outbreak, of whom 441 have been discharged after treatment, and 11 are currently hospitalised.
According to officials, due to a leak in the municipal drinking water pipeline in Bhagirathpura, sewage from a toilet was also mixed in the water.
