Automatically Created Assets Updated in Google Ads. Goodbye DSA?
Today, the legend Ginny Marvin (Ads Product Liaison at Google) announced at Search Week that Automatically Created Assets are now available to all advertisers in English as an open beta for Search campaigns (other languages rolling out later this year). They were announced last year at Google Marketing Live, and these have been tested by a select few up to now. From today, this feature looks to be rolling out to a wider group of search marketers. Along with this, there are multiple improvements Google will be also be making to the AI powered feature.
I think this (combined with Google’s other recent updates) spells the final days of Dynamic Search Ads. Here’s why…
What are Automatically Created Assets in Google Ads?
With automatically created assets, you can let Google Ads AI generate more headlines and descriptions for your responsive search ads based on what’s on your domain, landing page, current ads, and ad group keywords. This is a campaign-level setting and can be turned on/off for Search campaigns.
So what's new with this update to Automatically Created Assets?
In addition to rolling this into open beta for English language (and more languages to come soon), Google are introducing the following improvements in the coming weeks:
- Ad Strength will take into account both automatically created assets and your existing assets when determining your rating.
- Automatically created assets will use inputs you’ve provided such as your keywords to customize your headlines and improve their relevance to the query when it’s predicted to improve performance.
- You’ll also be able to remove any automatically created assets that you’d prefer not to include in your ads.
What does this update mean?
You'll probably see your Ad Strength penalized for not using Automatically Created Assets
Let’s face it, Google is going to score you less for not using it’s AI solutions.
The primary purpose of this feature is to enable search marketers to deliver the most effective ad to users at the optimal moment. Google acknowledges that advertisers may not always have an adequate variety of assets to accomplish this. Therefore, this feature is designed to assist in creating diverse ad combinations that are optimized to reach the right audience at the right time. By using this feature, advertisers can maximize the impact of their advertising campaigns and increase the likelihood of user engagement.
By not adopting this feature, you risk being penalized in two critical areas: Ad Strength and Recommendations score. This is because your ads may not be as relevant to the user’s search query, as the feature uses AI to match the ad to the user’s context and intent more effectively. As a result, your ads may be overlooked by potential customers, and your overall ad performance may suffer.
If you are not utilizing AI to its fullest potential, you are inherently putting yourself at a disadvantage.
Is this the death of Dynamic Search Ads?
Broad Match + Smart Bidding + Responsive Search Ads (powered by Automatically Created Assets) is the trio needed for successful search campaigns. Does this formula kill the need for Dynamic Search Ads (DSA)? I think so, and to be honest it’s been a long time coming.
We chatted to Kirk Williams recently about this too after we’d also pondered the idea at the end of 2022:
Opinion: Dynamic Search Ads to sunset in 2023. Tech & logic used behind Broad Match and PMAX is very similar. Thoughts? #ppcchat
— Search Engine Hubbub (@sehubbub) November 24, 2022
There are a few important sources for automatically created assets that need to be considered here:
- Ad landing page
- Relevant web pages in the same domain as the ad landing page
- Existing text ads in the same ad group
- Keywords in the same ad group
These are all effectively the same signals that are used by DSA to create headlines and display URLs. The differences though is that Google is leveraging more AI to generate your creative assets to maximize ad relevance to the search query.
Yes, you could argue that Page Feeds in Dynamic Search Ads differentiates it from anything here. But don’t forget that we will now see Page Feeds as an addition to Performance Max. As well as this, Google’s language in the latest update clearly shows how ‘Search (Broad and Smart Bidding) + Performance Max = Ads Power Pairing’ can maximize your search query coverage. Where does DSA even fit anymore?
The reference to ‘improved keywordless AI technology’ could be another indication. Yes, Dynamic Search Ads are keywordless in the way they are built; but Google hasn’t updated anything to DSAs for a long time and certainly hasn’t given it access to more advanced AI. It just doesn’t get the same level of performance or growth as other AI solutions can do if given relevant inputs (particularly with combining Broad match keywords + Smart Bidding with the right signals & assets).
What do you need to do?
Get ahead by experimenting to better understand how it can work for you
As with any new development, you need to test Automatically Created Assets in your search campaigns. The only way to understand it is by working with it. You can’t fight this anymore. Be smart and get ahead.
You might need to make sure your approval processes are effective
If you are an agency, this can be a little trickier as you tend to need approval from clients before you go live. You’ll have to work out a process to accommodate this.
You’ll also need this if you work in a more sensitive vertial such as finance where you may need complete control over which assets are appearing, and in which order.
Not using Broad Match or Performance Max yet? Gulp.
Need I say more? Get this done, otherwise you are going to be left behind. The pace of change is accelerating. Don’t become obscelete.
LinkedIn - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/siondanielroberts
- Microsoft Ads Performance Max aims to be more transparent - July 28, 2023
- Automatically Created Assets in Google Ads gets generative AI - May 24, 2023
- Brand Restrictions for Broad Match coming to Google Ads - May 24, 2023