Google has shared its latest Demand Gen ads updates, including artificial intelligence-powered assistance for product discovery on YouTube, new one-click ads on YouTube Shorts and Gmail and promoted location pins on Google Maps.
First, YouTube is rolling out new AI-powered assistance alongside product feeds in-stream, which will enable viewers to ask questions about products without leaving the video playback.
As shown in this image, viewers will be able to use the Ask YouTube bot alongside the playback window to get more info on the products shown in a video clip.
YouTube announced the update at its Made On event earlier this week.
Google is also rolling out single-tap image ads on YouTube Shorts and in Gmail, providing more ways to drive response from these promotions.
As explained by Google: “On Shorts, you and your customers will benefit from one-click experiences when you upload 9:16 full-bleed image ads. With Gmail, this update simplifies the ad experience on a channel already delivering strong performance. Advertisers adding Gmail to their Demand Gen campaigns on average see their image creatives achieve a 40% increase in conversions at the same ROI.”
Finally, Google is also adding affiliate location extensions in Google Maps, which will enable businesses to promote their location in the map display.
The offering is similar to Snapchat’s promoted places on the Snap Map, providing more business-specific content on map listings, which could help to drive interest from local consumers.
These updates are being rolled out within Google’s Demand Gen offerings from this week.
