Google's AI search won't be ad-free much longer
Google is attempting to infuse its world-dominant search engine with AI through its Search Generative Experience (SGE), currently available for user testing. Even though SGE is still in its early stages, Google is planning on adding ads.
On Tuesday, Google released its third-quarter earnings, which revealed that despite steep investments into AI and growing competition with search engines like Bing on the rise, Google is still in a good spot with an 11% increase in revenue from last year.
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During Google's earnings call, CEO Sundar Pichai also talked about the company's plan to introduce ads to the SGE, sharing that Google would be experimenting with new formats, according to a report.
The advertisements are supposed to open opportunities for more companies to get their products in front of the right audience. They are also meant to equally benefit the customers who will be able to find what they need sooner.
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Google's chief business officer, Philipp Schindler, added, "It's extremely important to us that in this new experience, advertisers still have the opportunity to reach potential customers along their search journeys," according to the report.
When Google first introduced the idea of SGE in May, the company showcased some demos of what ads on the platform would look like.
It seems like a user would search for something specific, such as "hiking backpacks for kids," as seen by the photo, and then Google would provide a conversational answer that would be followed by ads for the specific product.
Bing Chat made a similar move, implementing ads to its own platform only a month after it was released while it was still in preview, which surprised many.
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Similar to Google's demo, Bing Chat's ads are displayed below the conversational text output that answers the user's query. The ads relate to the nature of the query and, at times, can help connect users to the ideal product.