Dentsu predicts gen AI search could be next big media opportunity for brands
Expanding ad inventory in AI search tools such as Bard and Bing will be a focus area for the holding company in 2024.
Bard, Bing or Perplexity could provide brands with new ways to reach consumers, says Dan Calladine / Unsplash
Generative AI-assisted search tools could radically change the way consumers discover media, products and services online. They could also provide a golden opportunity for advertisers, according to a research report published by the Japanese holding company Dentsu.
The company’s 2024 Media Trends report pinpoints generative search – applications such as Google’s Bard, Microsoft’s Bing or AI tool Perplexity – as a potential media channel.
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A more “natural” experience that relies on natural language dialogue rather than the single search queries users have become accustomed to, as well as the detailed summaries yielded by AI search tools in place of a ranked list of results, could lead more users to turn to these tools for search tasks.
According to Dan Calladine, head of media futures at Dentsu and one of the editors of the report, the company expects more ad inventory within generative search engines to become available – potentially allowing advertisers to show up in user searches.
He says: “Rather than providing a list of things that most relate to your search query, it provides something more complex. You can compare [results] reasonably, which is obviously of great use to the consumer but also potentially a great use to the advertiser as well because they can make sure they’re in the results for these sorts of things.
“If you were asking about cars it might give you five cars you might consider buying if you’re in the market.“
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Both Microsoft and Google have already begun inserting ad inventory into their generative search tools, Bing and Bard, the latter through its Search Generative Experience product in the US.
Dentsu’s report suggests that further opportunities for advertising within these channels will soon emerge – and that if this means of using search becomes widely adopted, apps and sites that do not integrate AI-assisted search tools risk being left behind.
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Search isn’t the only AI-related opportunity highlighted by the report. AI-assisted effectiveness tools native to the major social platforms could offer speedy ways to optimize campaigns.
Meta’s Advantage+, a service that automates the optimization of direct response campaigns, represents one of the first, notes Calladine. Meta claimed in its 2022 fourth-quarter earnings call that the tool increased conversion rates by 20%.
“Advantage+ is a really good example, but there are lots of others,” says Calladine, who points to nascent efforts from Amazon and Google’s Product Studio.