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Google Discovery Ads: What are they, and should you be using them?

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Google Discovery Ads are changing the future of the way we advertise. By teaming up with AI, it means we can always stay one step ahead of the customer.

Hallam provide a succinct guide for using Google Discovery Ads.

Following several months of suspense after an announcement during The Google Ads Innovation Keynote in May, Google finally released Discovery Ads in Beta, back in November 2019.

At Hallam, the main question our PPC team have heard from our clients following this announcement has been: “What are Discovery Ads?”. Without having the Google app installed on your phone, it’s likely that you may not have heard of Google Discover before.

What is Google Discover?

Currently used by 800 million people, this number continues to grow. While 30 years ago people would read the newspapers whilst drinking their morning coffee, they’re now reading news sites and scrolling through social.

Google Discover – the new name for Google Feed – helps users to take these actions one step further, by allowing all iPhone and Android users who have the Google app installed, to personalise their newsfeed by following or unfollowing chosen topics.

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Google Discover looks like this:

Unlike Google Search – designed to answer a specific search query – Google Discover’s aim is to provide an answer before the user even asks the question; which, by the looks of it, is where AI is heading in the next few years.

As a user increasingly interacts with Google Discovery, they’re providing a more detailed overview of what they do and do not want to see. This enables Google to learn more about that individual, tailoring their newsfeed to their preferences.

While this may sound scary initially, in the age of machine learning and AI, we need to remember that machines are not our enemies. Far from taking our lives from us, they’re simply changing it by taking over and improving everyday routines, so that simple tasks like reading the news becomes easier for us.

What are Google Discovery Ads?

When Google rolled out Discovery Ads in Beta form, they provided PPC practitioners with the ability to start targeting ads based on Google Discover features.

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The purpose of these ads are to show your customers something they want before they even know they want it. So, rather than responding to a pre-existing demand, they generate demand, which is what search ads are typically utilised for anyway.

Despite their name, Discovery Ads don’t just appear on Google’s Discover app. They also show up on Gmail, which has over 1.5 billion monthly users, and YouTube, which is the second biggest search engine in the world.

What do Google Discovery ads look like?

Google Discovery Ads are very similar to Display Ads, in that they’re designed to be extremely visual and engaging.

They are also available in the form of carousel ads, allowing advertisers to use multiple images so they can encourage people to engage and interact with them.

What are the targeting options?

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Much like the Google Display Network, Google Discover allows you to target custom, affinity and in-market audiences. You can also target remarketing audiences, which is a great way to re-engage with your existing website audience through the use of another medium.

The majority of the targeting rules of Google’s Display Network apply to Google Discover; with the idea being to target people based on their interests, or what they’re searching for. For example, if you’re a tour operator and want to advertise discounts for holidays to Croatia, then it makes sense to target people who are actively searching for trips to Croatia. Similarly, if you’re a seller of garden ornaments, then you’ll want to target people who are searching for garden furniture.

Should I try it?

Google Discovery Ads has presented a new step in advertising, allowing you to expand your inventory by placing your ads in front of people before they even know they want your product or service.

However, the standard is not yet at the same level as Google Display, or even Facebook or Instagram inventory. So, if you’re wondering whether or not to try it, then you should only do so if you’re placing them in front of the right people, and your ads are engaging and tailored to their preferences.

With increasing talks of advertisers stepping away from keywords to focus on targeting audiences, Google Discovery Ads provides an exciting opportunity to do so, with companies able to engage with specific audiences through such a fast-growing medium.

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Irina Holliday, senior paid media consultant at Hallam.

We’re a multi-award winning full-service digital agency based in the UK, and a trusted partner to some of the world’s biggest national and international brands.

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Exploring the Evolution of Language Translation: A Comparative Analysis of AI Chatbots and Google Translate

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A Comparative Analysis of AI Chatbots and Google Translate

According to an article on PCMag, while Google Translate makes translating sentences into over 100 languages easy, regular users acknowledge that there’s still room for improvement.

In theory, large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT are expected to bring about a new era in language translation. These models consume vast amounts of text-based training data and real-time feedback from users worldwide, enabling them to quickly learn to generate coherent, human-like sentences in a wide range of languages.

However, despite the anticipation that ChatGPT would revolutionize translation, previous experiences have shown that such expectations are often inaccurate, posing challenges for translation accuracy. To put these claims to the test, PCMag conducted a blind test, asking fluent speakers of eight non-English languages to evaluate the translation results from various AI services.

The test compared ChatGPT (both the free and paid versions) to Google Translate, as well as to other competing chatbots such as Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini. The evaluation involved comparing the translation quality for two test paragraphs across different languages, including Polish, French, Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Tagalog, and Amharic.

In the first test conducted in June 2023, participants consistently favored AI chatbots over Google Translate. ChatGPT, Google Bard (now Gemini), and Microsoft Bing outperformed Google Translate, with ChatGPT receiving the highest praise. ChatGPT demonstrated superior performance in converting colloquialisms, while Google Translate often provided literal translations that lacked cultural nuance.

For instance, ChatGPT accurately translated colloquial expressions like “blow off steam,” whereas Google Translate produced more literal translations that failed to resonate across cultures. Participants appreciated ChatGPT’s ability to maintain consistent levels of formality and its consideration of gender options in translations.

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The success of AI chatbots like ChatGPT can be attributed to reinforcement learning with human feedback (RLHF), which allows these models to learn from human preferences and produce culturally appropriate translations, particularly for non-native speakers. However, it’s essential to note that while AI chatbots outperformed Google Translate, they still had limitations and occasional inaccuracies.

In a subsequent test, PCMag evaluated different versions of ChatGPT, including the free and paid versions, as well as language-specific AI agents from OpenAI’s GPTStore. The paid version of ChatGPT, known as ChatGPT Plus, consistently delivered the best translations across various languages. However, Google Translate also showed improvement, performing surprisingly well compared to previous tests.

Overall, while ChatGPT Plus emerged as the preferred choice for translation, Google Translate demonstrated notable improvement, challenging the notion that AI chatbots are always superior to traditional translation tools.


Source: https://www.pcmag.com/articles/google-translate-vs-chatgpt-which-is-the-best-language-translator

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Google Implements Stricter Guidelines for Mass Email Senders to Gmail Users

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Beginning in April, Gmail senders bombarding users with unwanted mass emails will encounter a surge in message rejections unless they comply with the freshly minted Gmail email sender protocols, Google cautions.

Fresh Guidelines for Dispatching Mass Emails to Gmail Inboxes In an elucidative piece featured on Forbes, it was highlighted that novel regulations are being ushered in to shield Gmail users from the deluge of unsolicited mass emails. Initially, there were reports surfacing about certain marketers receiving error notifications pertaining to messages dispatched to Gmail accounts. Nonetheless, a Google representative clarified that these specific errors, denoted as 550-5.7.56, weren’t novel but rather stemmed from existing authentication prerequisites.

Moreover, Google has verified that commencing from April, they will initiate “the rejection of a portion of non-compliant email traffic, progressively escalating the rejection rate over time.” Google elaborates that, for instance, if 75% of the traffic adheres to the new email sender authentication criteria, then a portion of the remaining non-conforming 25% will face rejection. The exact proportion remains undisclosed. Google does assert that the implementation of the new regulations will be executed in a “step-by-step fashion.”

This cautious and methodical strategy seems to have already kicked off, with transient errors affecting a “fraction of their non-compliant email traffic” coming into play this month. Additionally, Google stipulates that bulk senders will be granted until June 1 to integrate “one-click unsubscribe” in all commercial or promotional correspondence.

Exclusively Personal Gmail Accounts Subject to Rejection These alterations exclusively affect bulk emails dispatched to personal Gmail accounts. Entities sending out mass emails, specifically those transmitting a minimum of 5,000 messages daily to Gmail accounts, will be mandated to authenticate outgoing emails and “refrain from dispatching unsolicited emails.” The 5,000 message threshold is tabulated based on emails transmitted from the same principal domain, irrespective of the employment of subdomains. Once the threshold is met, the domain is categorized as a permanent bulk sender.

These guidelines do not extend to communications directed at Google Workspace accounts, although all senders, including those utilizing Google Workspace, are required to adhere to the updated criteria.

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Augmented Security and Enhanced Oversight for Gmail Users A Google spokesperson emphasized that these requisites are being rolled out to “fortify sender-side security and augment user control over inbox contents even further.” For the recipient, this translates to heightened trust in the authenticity of the email sender, thus mitigating the risk of falling prey to phishing attempts, a tactic frequently exploited by malevolent entities capitalizing on authentication vulnerabilities. “If anything,” the spokesperson concludes, “meeting these stipulations should facilitate senders in reaching their intended recipients more efficiently, with reduced risks of spoofing and hijacking by malicious actors.”

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Google’s Next-Gen AI Chatbot, Gemini, Faces Delays: What to Expect When It Finally Launches

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Google AI Chatbot Gemini

In an unexpected turn of events, Google has chosen to postpone the much-anticipated debut of its revolutionary generative AI model, Gemini. Initially poised to make waves this week, the unveiling has now been rescheduled for early next year, specifically in January.

Gemini is set to redefine the landscape of conversational AI, representing Google’s most potent endeavor in this domain to date. Positioned as a multimodal AI chatbot, Gemini boasts the capability to process diverse data types. This includes a unique proficiency in comprehending and generating text, images, and various content formats, even going so far as to create an entire website based on a combination of sketches and written descriptions.

Originally, Google had planned an elaborate series of launch events spanning California, New York, and Washington. Regrettably, these events have been canceled due to concerns about Gemini’s responsiveness to non-English prompts. According to anonymous sources cited by The Information, Google’s Chief Executive, Sundar Pichai, personally decided to postpone the launch, acknowledging the importance of global support as a key feature of Gemini’s capabilities.

Gemini is expected to surpass the renowned ChatGPT, powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4 model, and preliminary private tests have shown promising results. Fueled by significantly enhanced computing power, Gemini has outperformed GPT-4, particularly in FLOPS (Floating Point Operations Per Second), owing to its access to a multitude of high-end AI accelerators through the Google Cloud platform.

SemiAnalysis, a research firm affiliated with Substack Inc., expressed in an August blog post that Gemini appears poised to “blow OpenAI’s model out of the water.” The extensive compute power at Google’s disposal has evidently contributed to Gemini’s superior performance.

Google’s Vice President and Manager of Bard and Google Assistant, Sissie Hsiao, offered insights into Gemini’s capabilities, citing examples like generating novel images in response to specific requests, such as illustrating the steps to ice a three-layer cake.

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While Google’s current generative AI offering, Bard, has showcased noteworthy accomplishments, it has struggled to achieve the same level of consumer awareness as ChatGPT. Gemini, with its unparalleled capabilities, is expected to be a game-changer, demonstrating impressive multimodal functionalities never seen before.

During the initial announcement at Google’s I/O developer conference in May, the company emphasized Gemini’s multimodal prowess and its developer-friendly nature. An application programming interface (API) is under development, allowing developers to seamlessly integrate Gemini into third-party applications.

As the world awaits the delayed unveiling of Gemini, the stakes are high, with Google aiming to revolutionize the AI landscape and solidify its position as a leader in generative artificial intelligence. The postponed launch only adds to the anticipation surrounding Gemini’s eventual debut in the coming year.

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