inserting advertising while you buy without leaving it
Tech giants are finding a thousand and one ways to monetize their AI tools beyond their payment plans for a reason: in a few years almost everyone will be using AI and not everyone will go through the hoop of paying for a subscription. Hence, Google has made a move in the field of purchasing items through AI. The company has announced recently the incorporation of personalized ads in its purchasing mode through its AI, one more bet to monetize its chatbot and compete directly with OpenAI and the rest of the competitors in the recent open front of AI-assisted commerce. What has changed. The company will allow advertisers to present exclusive offers to users who are about to purchase a product through Google’s AI mode, powered by its model Gemini. Vidhya Srinivasan, vice president of Google Ads and Commerce, counted through an official publication that it is “a new concept that goes beyond our traditional search ad model.” Stores may also offer discounts or free shipping at checkout. The idea is that AI assists the user in the entire purchasing process, without going through the websites. Why it is important. It’s a significant shift from the traditional model of sponsored ads in search results, which generates tens of billions of dollars for Google but has been threatened by the rise of AI chatbots. The company is leveraging its dominance in online search to position its AI model in front of billions of users. Gemini still lags behind ChatGPT in popularity, despite all its advances, so the company is looking for new goals and objectives to make Gemini a more attractive model for users. How it works. The new advertising function will use contextual information from user conversations with the chatbot to activate offers on relevant products. Our conversation with Gemini will be a succulent package of information for the AI to recommend products to us while we use its shopping mode. Retailers will be able to configure the promotions they want to show, and Google will use its AI to determine the optimal time to present each offer. The company notes that it will initially focus on discounts, but plans to expand to other attributes such as bundled packages and free shipping. Its current partners include brands such as Petco, elf Cosmetics and Samsonite. The commercial career of AI. Google is not alone in this battle. Last month, OpenAI stopped press on any advertising-related topics internally after its CEO, Sam Altman, will declare a “code red” about the need to improve ChatGPT, as they mention from Financial Times. However, OpenAI already has an instant purchase feature which allows you to purchase products directly on ChatGPT, charging a commission for sales. Microsoft also presented its Copilot Checkoutstating that purchases through their chatbot generate 53% more sales in the first 30 minutes of interaction. Universal protocol and purchasing agents. In addition to personalized advertising, Google presented what it calls “Universal Commerce Protocol”, developed together with large retailers such as Walmart, Target and Shopify. This open source system aims to become a standard so that AI agents can research products and make purchases without leaving the Google platform. Chains like Kroger, Lowe’s, and Papa Johns are already testing these tools to prepare for everything to come when it comes to AI-assisted commerce. Everyone wants to participate, but not at Google’s expense. There is still the elephant in the room when we talk about buying directly from a chatbot: it is not yet a reliable tool and that can damage the store’s image. That’s why many companies are developing their own AI agents, giving them more control over how their products are displayed and delivered. The analysis firm McKinsey esteem that the AI-powered commerce market could represent a $3-$5 trillion opportunity globally by 2030. Cover image | Google and own assembly In Xataka | OpenAI fully enters health for a simple reason: ChatGPT is already our front-line doctor (although we don’t want to admit it)