Over the past few months, Google and Microsoft have accelerated the search and advertising race by applying general AI to their tools, which can provide conversational text responses to questions, aggregate online information and surface relevant web pages.
The battle between Google and Microsoft to use AI to compete for online advertising and search market share is getting fiercer. Photo: GI
Google rushes to bring AI into advertising
AI capabilities will also change the way advertisers reach consumers through search engines, a market estimated to grow to $286 billion this year, according to research firm MAGNA.
For example, a user could search for “hiking backpacks for kids” on the new version of Google, and the AI could respond with ads for a specific backpack, along with tips on how to choose the best backpack for kids.
“This is a new, simpler, and more useful way to interact with Google search,” Jerry Dischler, the company’s vice president and general manager of advertising, said in an interview. “This is going to be a great opportunity to deliver a fun experience for users that will lead to new commercial opportunities in the future.”
Google unveiled a new version of its search engine earlier this month, called Search Innovative Experience (SGE), which is currently in testing and will be officially rolled out soon.
Dischler added that the company will experiment with new ways and places to place ads for Google. During its annual Google Marketing Live event on Tuesday, Google also announced a new conversational chatbot that will help brands with ad creation.
Google said advertisers can enter their website into the AI chatbot and the tool will suggest specific headlines, keywords and images to include in ads to grab consumers' attention.
The tech giant also launched a tool that can automatically generate ads for brands. Google said that tool will now be integrated with general AI and can generate ads based on the context of a user's query.
Specifically, if a consumer searches for products for dry and sensitive skin, Google says it might automatically generate an ad for a particular skin care brand, with the headline “soothe your dry, sensitive skin.”
Strong response from Microsoft
Despite dominating the online advertising and search markets for years, Google has begun to feel the heat from rival Microsoft, which is quickly transforming itself into a potential challenger thanks to its early adoption of AI advances in its products, especially after investing in OpenAI.
Microsoft has also begun testing AI in advertising services in its new Bing search engine, and has been holding regular meetings with advertisers since early February.
Since launching the new AI-powered Bing earlier this year, Microsoft says its users have engaged in more than half a billion conversations and created more than 200 million images with the AI-powered Bing Image Creator. The company says daily downloads of the Bing mobile app have increased eightfold since its launch.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks at the Microsoft Build event in Seattle, US on May 23, 2023. Photo: Microsoft
Most recently, at its annual Microsoft Build developer conference in Seattle on Tuesday (May 23), Microsoft launched new tools for developers to integrate general AI into business software. They said these tools can help simplify office work, by connecting all the different applications currently used by businesses.
Microsoft also plans to partner with OpenAI to bring Bing search to ChatGPT (rather than the other way around). “ChatGPT answers can be based on search results and web data, and include quotes so you can learn more — all directly from within the conversation,” Microsoft explains of the move, suggesting that Bing AI and ChatGPT will complement each other in the search market.
Also at Tuesday's event, Microsoft introduced third-party plug-ins for business and commerce for its Bing chats, making it easier for people to take action after receiving information.
For example, when a Bing user asks for travel recommendations, they can instantly book a tour from the travel agency that placed the ad. Or if a user asks for a recipe, they can get a shopping list of items from a food brand.
Microsoft also said it is using new technology to help users identify whether images are AI-generated based on information contained in their metadata. Google also recently announced efforts to help users identify AI-generated images.
Hoang Hai (according to FT, Reuters, CNN)
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