Need to Know News - October 16th, 2024
In this week's Need to Know News edition...why Google’s search market share may plummet...fake Jennifer Aniston bikini body ad is the latest AI celebrity scam...the AI start-up trying to automate customer interviews...plus, a whole lot more!
AI In Action
Google’s Search Ad Market in US May Plummet Below 50%
Google's share of the nearly $300 billion U.S. search advertising market is expected to fall below 50% in 2025, marking the first time in over a decade that the tech giant's dominance has been challenged. According to data compiled by eMarketer, the rise of competitors like TikTok, Amazon, and Jeff Bezos-backed AI startup Perplexity is largely responsible for this decline.
Google currently holds a 50.5% share of the search ad market, but Amazon is quickly gaining ground with a projected 22.3% market share this year and a 17.6% growth rate. As consumers increasingly turn to these platforms for product searches and targeted ads, advertisers are welcoming the increased options and potential for lower costs.
Adobe Unveils AI Video Generator Trained On Licensed Content
Adobe is shaking up the AI-powered video creation landscape with Firefly Video Model, a new text-to-video tool that sets itself apart by using only licensed content for training. This approach aims to avoid the ethical and copyright issues that have plagued competitors like OpenAI and Google.
Currently in beta, Firefly Video Model targets media professionals, promising footage that seamlessly blends with traditional content. Major brands like Gatorade and Mattel are already using Adobe's image generation tools, but the company may face resistance from some creatives. As one ad copywriter noted regarding an AI-generated Toys "R" Us commercial, "Most consumers won't know the difference or care, and most marketers will be more than happy to make this kind of spot for less money.".
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How AI Gives Hershey an Edge for High-Stakes Halloween Season
By working with Chalice Custom Algorithms, Hershey is refining its media buying and planning to engage the "moveable middle" of shoppers and manage programmatic efforts across key digital platforms.
This AI-driven approach is crucial during an election year when political advertising floods quieter pockets of the country. Hershey tested Chalice last Halloween and saw promising results, with one retailer beating sell-through by 1.5%, directly correlated to media. Despite the heavy lift of manually sharing data, Hershey believes they are just scratching the surface of AI's potential.
Taboola Introduces Abby, An Industry First Generative AI Assistant
Taboola, a global leader in powering recommendations for the open web, has unveiled Abby, an industry-first Generative AI assistant that enables advertisers to launch and manage campaigns with ease. By simply "talking to Abby," advertisers can set up every aspect of their campaigns, from budgeting and targeting to creative optimization, even without extensive advertising expertise.
Built on over a decade of learnings from successful advertiser campaigns, Abby offers a conversational approach that allows campaigns to go live 75% faster than manual setup. With advanced Generative AI creative features, advertisers can effortlessly modify images and create relevant captions. As CEO Adam Singolda states, "Abby reinvents what's possible for advertisers of all sizes, taking the guesswork and time demands out of launching campaigns."
Amazon Ads Launches New AI Tools for Advertisers – AI Creative Studio and Audio Generator
These generative AI tools empower brands to effortlessly craft engaging content across images, video, and audio, eliminating boundaries between ad formats. With AI Creative Studio, advertisers can explore, get inspired, and create ads all in one place, while Audio Generator enables the development of interactive audio ads in mere minutes.
Jennifer Aniston Bikini Body Ad is Latest AI Celebrity Scam
A recent AI-generated video featuring Jennifer Aniston promoting a health supplement fooled over 700,000 viewers before being debunked as a deepfake. The clip, taken from a Hollywood Reporter interview, showcased Aniston discussing her "bikini body" and the collagen product - except she never said those things.
Despite new California laws aimed at protecting performers' digital likenesses, unauthorized celebrity AI ads remain rampant. Experts liken it to "one big game of whack a mole," with stars and their teams constantly vigilant in taking down fake content.
LinkedIn Announces Updates to Event Ads and AI Campaign Options
With live events on LinkedIn up 14.4% in the past year, new Live Event Ads features enable brands to promote user posts about their events and share enticing "sneak peek" videos to drive interest. The company's "Accelerate" automated campaign creation tool, which utilizes AI to streamline the entire campaign process, is also getting a significant upgrade.
Marketers can now include videos, documents like eBooks and whitepapers, and customer testimonials when creating an Accelerate campaign, in addition to single-image ads. LinkedIn is also introducing new campaign objectives for Accelerate, such as brand awareness, engagement, website conversions, and video views.
At the Frontier of AI
How AI Search Platforms May Change Travel Marketing
While new platforms like Perplexity and You.com offer "clickless" answers and real-time information, Google's dominance in the travel search market remains unshaken for now according to Northstar.
Travel suppliers and destinations are exploring ways to leverage AI search on their own websites, with companies like MMGY Global and Mobi developing tools to optimize content for both human and machine consumption. Mobi's Intent Driven Search platform, for example, allows for natural language searches across millions of data points, from dining options to local attractions. As travelers move away from widget-based search, the industry must adapt to provide more relevant, detailed results. However, as Kiwi's Mario Gavira notes, Google's extensive travel partnerships and testing capabilities will help it maintain its lead.
Strella Raises $4 million to Automate Market Research with AI-Powered Customer Interviews
By automating the process of conducting interviews, analyzing responses, and synthesizing findings, Strella promises to deliver deep customer insights up to 10 times faster and at half the cost of traditional methods.
Co-founders Lydia Hylton and Priya Krishnan designed the platform to work alongside human researchers, offering the flexibility to blend AI-moderated and human-led interviews. With early adopters like Duolingo and Spanx already on board, Strella aims to make qualitative research accessible to teams of all sizes across industries. Jessica Leao, partner at lead investor Decibel, puts it, "You get to transform this entire world of quantitative research into qualitative research, because you're no longer blocked on time."
Google Amps Up Gemini’s AI Model for New Shopping Platform
By leveraging its vast Shopping Graph and advanced Gemini models, the tech giant aims to simplify product research and offer a personalized experience tailored to individual users. The new platform boasts an intuitive design, featuring a customized home page with shoppable products and videos based on user preferences.
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