Fried Bids, Digital News | 1-6 Jan 2025
Andrea Girelli
MarTech Director | Adjunct Lecturer | Exploring AdTech Innovations, Driving Martech Strategies, Bridging Marketing & IT, and Championing Digital Transformation to Unlock Business Growth and Future-Ready Solutions
This is my personal selection of the most interesting stories published 1st-6th January 2025. Enjoy!
Google Ads is set to implement a significant AI-driven transformation in 2025, which executives claim will surpass the impact of the mobile revolution on digital marketing. The initiative, led by Brendon Kraham, VP of global search ads, focuses on three key areas: evolving search behavior to embrace multimodal experiences, introducing AI-powered creative tools for marketers, and enhancing measurement capabilities across channels. This shift aims to address changing consumer interactions with brands and the increasing competition in the advertising landscape. Google plans to enhance its core products, including Performance Max and Demand Gen, utilizing its Gemini AI platform while ensuring user privacy. Advertisers will need to adapt quickly to these new tools to remain competitive.
Omnicom Media Group has conducted research titled "The Future of Search," revealing significant changes in consumer search behavior, driven by the rise of social media platforms and advances in AI. Led by Joanna O’Connell, the research highlights a generational shift, with younger consumers increasingly using platforms like TikTok and Amazon for search, moving away from traditional text-based queries. This evolution signifies that search is now more of a behavior than just a channel. Marketers are urged to adapt their strategies, recognizing that search dynamics vary across platforms. The findings emphasize the need for brands to innovate beyond conventional tactics and optimize content for AI-driven interpretations to stay competitive in this rapidly changing landscape.
Google's Search Relations team has issued a warning about the overuse of JavaScript in web development, highlighting its potential negative impact on AI search optimization. In a recent podcast, Martin Splitt, a Google Search Developer Advocate, explained that while JavaScript enhances user experiences, its excessive application can hinder search engines, particularly AI crawlers that struggle to render JavaScript. This challenge is critical as AI search engines grow in importance, potentially leading to lost traffic for sites relying heavily on JavaScript. Recommendations include utilizing server-side rendering to ensure visibility, prioritizing HTML content, and reevaluating traditional JavaScript-first strategies to accommodate both standard and AI-driven search engines.
Meta has introduced AI-generated bot profiles on Instagram and Facebook, featuring personas like "Jane Austen" and "Carter," which aim to engage users through social interactions. Despite a high-profile launch in September 2023, these bots have garnered minimal interest, with each account attracting only a few thousand followers and limited engagement. Recently, users began expressing confusion and frustration upon discovering these profiles, critiquing their relevance and the lack of options to block them. Meta acknowledged that these profiles have existed since 2023 as part of an early experiment and confirmed they are removing the bots to address user concerns. The initiative aligns with Meta's vision of integrating AI characters into social media, despite the backlash against the perceived flood of bots on the platforms.
X plans to launch a payments service called "X Money" in a limited capacity within the year. This initiative, led by CEO Linda Yaccarino, comes despite delays in obtaining necessary licenses, particularly in New York, where an application was withdrawn following concerns over the platform's ties to the Saudi Arabian government. Although X has secured payment transmitter licenses in 38 U.S. states, the service will initially roll out regionally, allowing X to begin operations while addressing licensing issues. Elon Musk envisions X Money as part of a broader "everything app" concept, similar to WeChat in China, but challenges remain, including regulatory scrutiny and public trust in the platform.
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Roku has introduced the Roku Data Cloud, transforming its clean room offering into a comprehensive data and analytics suite. By integrating advanced tools for audience targeting, measurement, and optimization, the platform enables advertisers to securely match their first-party data with Roku's insights through privacy-compliant solutions. This evolution supports campaigns on Roku’s OneView platform and strengthens data collaboration with brands and agencies, allowing them to connect streaming campaigns to measurable retail and business outcomes. The initiative enhances connected TV strategies by ensuring precision and regulatory compliance across marketing efforts.
Meta has officially stopped selling the Quest Pro VR headset just over two months after announcing its discontinuation. Initially launched at $999 in late 2022, the headset failed to generate significant sales, prompting Meta to encourage consumers to consider the more popular Meta Quest 3 instead. Despite the Quest Pro featuring improved internals and new functionalities compared to its predecessor, it struggled due to its high price, weight, and underwhelming display quality. The product page now indicates that the Quest Pro is no longer available, but the company continues to sell its Touch Pro controllers, which are compatible with the Quest 2 and 3. This move reflects broader challenges in the high-end VR market, where devices have yet to gain mainstream traction.
TikTok has appealed to President-elect Donald Trump in an effort to avoid a ban in the U.S., highlighting his popularity on the platform. In a recent post on Truth Social, Trump shared a graphic showcasing his TikTok performance, stating, "Why would I want to get rid of TikTok?" This appeal comes as TikTok faces a January 19 deadline to sell itself to a U.S. company or face removal from app stores due to national security concerns. Trump's team has filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court to extend this deadline, hoping to negotiate a new deal after his inauguration on January 20. TikTok aims to leverage Trump's influence and popularity in hopes of securing its future in the U.S. market.
The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down the FCC's recent attempt to reinstate net neutrality rules, effectively ending the agency's efforts to classify internet service providers as common carriers. This decision marks the second failure for the FCC in its attempts to enforce net neutrality, following a similar outcome in 2017. The court ruled that the Biden administration's FCC lacked the legal authority to impose these regulations, citing a 2024 Supreme Court decision that limited agency power to interpret telecommunications law. With the ruling, the court aligned with arguments from the telecommunications industry, which has long opposed net neutrality. This development leaves the future of open internet protections uncertain, prompting calls for Congress to legislate net neutrality principles directly.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed that the company's ChatGPT Pro subscription service, priced at $200 per month, is struggling to turn a profit despite its popularity. He noted that user engagement has exceeded expectations, leading to higher operational costs than anticipated. Launched as an upgrade from the $20 Plus plan, ChatGPT Pro offers unlimited access to advanced features but has resulted in increased resource consumption due to its "chain of thought" approach, which requires generating more tokens and longer processing times. This situation complicates OpenAI's transition from a non-profit to a public benefit corporation, as they seek to establish a sustainable business model while addressing the financial challenges posed by the service's heavy usage.
Microsoft has implemented a strategy to make its Bing search engine appear like Google when users search for "Google" without logging into a Microsoft account. This design mimics Google’s interface, complete with a search bar and a Google-like Doodle, while subtly masking the Bing search bar at the top of the page. This tactic aims to keep users on Bing and Microsoft Edge, particularly during the initial setup of new PCs. Google’s Chrome leader criticized Microsoft for this approach, labeling it as a deceptive tactic to confuse users and limit their choices. This move is part of a broader pattern of Microsoft employing various strategies to encourage users to favor its services over Google’s.
MarTech Director | Adjunct Lecturer | Exploring AdTech Innovations, Driving Martech Strategies, Bridging Marketing & IT, and Championing Digital Transformation to Unlock Business Growth and Future-Ready Solutions
2 个月https://ces.oneomg.com/future-of-search/