Google introduces machine learning ad tools and brands are hot for them

The new tools include responsive search ads that mix, match, and optimize ads in real time to show the best-performing ad for each search query; a new way to optimize performance of YouTube ads for "brand lift" (increasing customers' awareness, ad recall, consideration, and favorability); and a new campaign type designed to drive foot traffic to local businesses by automatically optimizing their ads across Search, YouTube, and Maps. Marketers are excited to give them a spin. "They're making it simpler for business to create ads and, more importantly, understand the success of those ads," says Eric Heaton, tech director at global creative agency B-Reel, which works with brands like Nike, H&M, and Google. "The products surrounding campaign tracking and insights are going to be a real game changer, especially the cross-device behavior tracking, and the new'Instant Reporting' feature on [Google Marketing Platform]. Marketers will be able to better understand the way users are engaging with their ads, and adapt them in real time."