Google is venturing into a new advertising landscape by placing ads within third-party AI chatbot conversations, utilising its AdSense network. This initiative, which has reportedly been in development since last year, marks a significant evolution in the company's advertising strategy.
The AdSense programme traditionally serves as a platform for placing advertisements on various websites, allowing advertisers to pay Google for the opportunity to reach potential customers. In return, Google shares a portion of this revenue with the website owners displaying the ads. As conversational AI technologies continue to rise in popularity, Google is capitalising on this trend by integrating advertising directly into chatbot interfaces, thus generating new revenue avenues.
According to a spokesperson from Google, "AdSense for Search is available for websites that want to show relevant ads in their conversational AI experiences," indicating an intention to broaden the scope of ad placement beyond conventional search results. This move is set to evolve throughout the year, building on initial tests conducted last year with AI startups like iAsk and Liner.
The introduction of ads in AI interactions comes amid ongoing scrutiny of Google's advertising practices. The company has faced significant challenges regarding its dominant position in the online advertising sphere. Notably, in a 2019 EU antitrust case concerning ad placements within Google search results on external sites, a ruling was made in favour of Google; however, this decision was later annulled in September. More recently, a US judge declared that Google holds an illegal monopoly over both online ad exchanges and publisher ad servers, a ruling which the company intends to appeal.
On a related note, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai testified in a separate antitrust trial focused on Google's control over online search. The US government is reportedly considering measures that could compel Google to divest its Chrome browser, a move that officials argue would dismantle the framework bolstering Google's ad business by leveraging user data for advertising purposes.
As Google integrates ads within conversational AI, the implications for both users and advertisers remain to be seen. The effectiveness of this strategy will likely depend on user acceptance and the broader reception of advertising in emergent AI technologies.
Source: Noah Wire Services