Advertisers have not been shy about sharing their opinions on all of the Google Marketing Live 2024 announcements.
The many AI updates sparked mixed emotions (Boris Beceric used AI to count the number of AI mentions – 101). Performance Max updates were more positive; others were upset that B2B was overlooked; and there were many more emotions in between.
Here is a summary of some reactions from nine experts to GML 2024:
AI and automation
Amalia Fowler, Founder, Good AF Consulting:
“I was confused by the statement that AI will not replace the marketer, and that AI will later be able to develop marketing strategies. The ‘control’ narrative seemed like lip service, but some updates actually address advertisers’ concerns.
“We are in an age of automation and AI, and by definition, machine learning requires a certain amount of learning, which in the case of Google Ads requires a budget. This tells me that advertisers on a shoestring need to wait to use Google Ads or divert more money to Google Ads, and small businesses need to carefully rethink their marketing strategies from a holistic perspective.
“Many of the products mentioned require data from elsewhere – including text samples or using creative feeds. Garbage in, garbage out.”
“The updates felt like slightly evolved versions of last year’s GML.”
Jeremy Krantz, Director of Paid Search, Compound Growth Marketing:
“The live AI prototype felt like a hasty reaction to ChatGPT 4o and everything else related to AI and Pmax was very much as expected.
“Overall, GML 2024 was very disappointing, especially from a B2B perspective. No surprises or unexpected announcements were made.
“Hopefully B2B will come into focus at some point, because at the moment we are once again being completely ignored.”
Sarah Stemen, Founder, Sarah Stemen LLC:
“Producing AI assets in Pmax can be incredibly powerful for rapid testing. I believe the real power of this feature will be the combination of AI assets + asset level reporting
Ads in AI dashboards were inevitable because dashboards take up a lot of space and offer numerous commercial opportunities.
The delivery was unclear. It seems as if Google doesn’t yet know how to do it.
When Google creates a video in Pmax, isn’t that essentially what happens when you convert images to videos?
It seemed like a variation on an existing process, but maybe that’s just my perspective. I’d love to hear your thoughts on whether this is really new or just another variation.”
Navah Hopkins, Brand Ambassador, Optmyzr:
“There are several updates that apply to B2B/Lead Gen: image-to-video ads, brand controls, demand gen lookalikes that only require 100 users, profit bidding, and ad serving in AI overviews.”
Niki Grant, Partner Support Director, ClickTech Solution:
“I’m sure we all knew GML would be full of AI updates, and features like brand guidelines are a step in the right direction for advertisers who want to ride the AI wave while still maintaining some control over their presence.
“New visual formats will be interesting as Google moves further away from the world of text ads, especially brand profiles, which offer a new way to introduce your brand to customers. It’s nice to see something that looks genuinely different and isn’t just a variation on what we’re used to.
“Profit optimization goals in Performance Max sound particularly important as advertisers look to optimize for real profit metrics rather than ‘media metrics.’ I’m curious to see how much data is required to achieve these goals and whether this will marginalize smaller advertisers.”
Lars Maat (founder of Maatwerk Online):
“The [Meridian] could be ‘a thing’. In my opinion Meridian is not suitable for all advertisers. MMM is something really ‘difficult’ and complex and I don’t think the majority of advertisers are ready for it. Agencies, OK. Big advertisers, OK. But the small companies? Not so
That ads are tailored to the content in the AI overview – ‘we already knew that, right? We were already facing that when we introduced SGE.’”
Julie Friedman Bacchini (Founder of Neptune Moon):
This conversational AI is getting on my nerves. Is it just me?
Advertisers don’t need to “democratise content creation”. We need advertising solutions that help us reach people who want to buy what we sell.
So the artificial intelligence still makes mistakes, so don’t be upset if this happens with your account…
Google’s Gemini AI cannot generate images of people or products, so keep that in mind. The examples do not reflect this.
So if human input is essential, how can generative AI predict performance before anything is even executed?
Maximum power (PMax)
Fowler:
The 100 user list for lookalikes is what matters most to me here, followed by brand controls in terms of PMax placements.
Scott Carruthers (Head of PPC at Journey Further):
More insights for maximum performance – asset level reporting, etc. (isn’t this what we’ve all been waiting for?!)
Linking YouTube creator accounts to ad accounts – the ability to promote UGC is hugely important and Google is lacking in this area compared to other platforms. YouTube ads will certainly gain more traction with better links/creator support.
Bacchini:
Asset-level reporting and YouTube exclusions are a welcome addition to PMax.
A 10% improvement in broad match? The bar was set low (everyone check your query reports).
Jyll Saskin-Gales (Google Ads Coach at Learn with Jyll):
While the “power pair” proclamation of Search + PMax is a good selling point, PMax is clearly the way of the future in this multimodal environment.
B2B and lead generation
Krantz:
Overall, GML 2024 was very disappointing, especially from a B2B perspective. No surprises or unexpected announcements were made.
Hopefully B2B will come into focus at some point, because at the moment we are once again completely ignored
Storms:
Tons of shopping and commerce announcements. As Harrison Jack Hepp hilariously posted, not a single bone for lead generation targets and/or B2B advertisers
Tribe:
Virtual try-on and 3D product images are interesting because, although we already have similar solutions, any improvement to the shopping experience is, in my opinion, overall positive.
Interested in virtual try-on and 3D product images that enhance the shopping experience.
When Google converts images to videos and creates a video in Pmax, isn’t this essentially what happens?
It seemed to me like a variation on an existing process, but maybe that’s just my perspective. I’d love to hear your thoughts on whether this is actually new or just another variation.
Storms:
How do you compete with TikTok Shop, Amazon, Pinterest and others? Google Lens Search and Circle to Search.
Grant:
While the developments in shopping formats sound innovative, it remains to be seen how many advertisers outside of major brands will find AI-driven shopping formats a help in reducing production costs or a hindrance with nuances and implications that are yet to be foreseen. In the meantime, I look forward to seeing how different brands decide to use “stickers” on their YouTube Shorts!
Bacchini:
Will Shopping Ads soon include review text in their ads???? Is there any control over this?
Some things from last year also seem to be new? Especially the images and video material.
Overall, comments reflect a mix of cautious optimism about specific updates and considerable skepticism about the overall relevance and innovation of GML 2024, particularly for B2B and smaller advertisers.
Why we care. Advertisers are happy with some of the new updates, but are tired of the frequent AI-driven changes. Smaller brands in particular want better updates and a clearer understanding of how these changes affect their performance. This need has not been met until now.