Google's Marketing Live event showcased AI-powered visual search results featuring ads that engage users within the context of an AI-assisted search. This new approach blurs the line between AI-generated search results and advertisements.
The new version of Google Lens visual search was introduced by Google's Group Product Manager, Sylvanus Bent. This tool will be useful for surfacing information and helping users find where to buy items. The new feature is expected to drive traffic to websites, although the quality of this traffic is yet to be determined.
An example of this feature in action was given, where a user can snap a photo of an item, such as a luggage bag at an airport, and Google Lens will direct them to shopping options. Shopping ads will appear at the top of the results on linked searches, allowing businesses to offer what a consumer is looking for.
Sylvanus also introduced an AI-powered form of advertising that happens directly within search. He refrained from calling it advertising, instead referring to it as an "experience". This new form of AI search experience blurs the boundaries between search and advertising within the context of AI-powered suggestions, paid suggestions.
An example was given of a user searching for short term storage. The search query turns into a dynamic ad experience that leads the searcher into adding packing supplies to their shopping cart. This involves the user uploading photos of their furniture, after which Google's AI generates a description of the belongings and provides recommendations for the right size and type of storage unit.
This new form of advertising is seen as taking the definition of a helpful ad to the next level, integrating paid product suggestions into an AI-assisted search. The extent to which this will impact AI-assisted search and whether it will become a platform for using AI to offer paid suggestions is yet to be seen.
