AI-Enhanced Search Is Shaping the Future of Digital Marketing: GooGle’s generative search experience is a game changer

Let’s embrace the vibrant future of search…

Updating your understanding of how algorithms work is essential, and here comes another update — Google Search is getting AI'd. This brings two significant updates that will reshape your marketing approach to online search and influence your customer's search behavior.

Circle to Search offers an easier way for users to search within their screen, while the second, an AI-powered MULTISEARCH experience dubbed Generative Search Experience, makes search results more intuitive and integrated into our Google usage.

SEE SOME BRANDS TIPS BELOW ON HOW TO USE:

Personal note: I would consider myself an absolute POWER SEARCH USER, meaning I search anything and everything. Any random thought, SEARCHED. I am a history buff but futurist, everything is and will be SEARCHED. If I can’t find it, I note it for a later time to be searched again. You search. I use all of the Search engines, including CHAT GPT to do larger searches. If i’m feeling like I want an opinion, then to the social media platform’s search engines I go — it’s a collaborative collection of content. We all search.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? This update, available on select premium Android smartphones, makes virtually everything searchable. GREEN TEXT BUBBLES BE DAMNED: With Android accounting for about 57.56 percent of the mobile OS market in February 2024, compared to iOS's 42 percent, this rollout has the potential to impact a significant portion of mobile users globally.

As for the future of platforms, Google, like all major tech companies, aspires to create an AI interface that keeps users within their ecosystem for, literally, everything. I think this is a big deal. Here’s what being rolled-out:

Circle to Search: Revolutionizing On-Screen Searches

This interactive search feature allows you to highlight a word to learn its meaning, you can circle a pair of boots in a photo with your fingertips, then search will let you shop for that pair or a similar pair just from that circle. This will basically push all businesses to want their audiences to post about their products. Because, it works as free native advertising. This is huge news for frenemies and anyone casted on the Real Housewives franchise.

You can zig-zag a line around a landmark to identify it or in the area it is placed — big news for tourism, real estate, city and government promotions. It eliminates many intermediate steps without the need to switch apps, keeping user engagement seamless.

Here’s a screenshot I took while scrolling on TikTok. You can see how a native owned-content campaign and social campaign are integrated within the image for their upcoming Easter campaign. You can see the TikTok interface combined with the allowance of search.

Multisearch: The Power of AI in Understanding Complex Queries

Multisearch leverages generative AI advancements, allowing searches using both images and text. Imagine you are at a yard sale, and you come across a mysterious looking board game that thumps jungle beats every time you touch it, and your dad just happens to be the owner of an up-and-coming sneaker company (any Millennial will instantly not play with the bearded guy because this clearly sounds like the plot to Jumanji). But, let’s say you didn’t know any of that; you use multisearch to help NOT unleash a stampede on Main Street and find info more effectively.

For marketers and businesses, this update offers a new opportunity to engage with consumers when their interest is most piqued.

My PR executive advice: I would advise businesses to implement a robust customer service process and communicate attractive return policies to draw in customers more effectively.

Google’s AI search will absolutely push TikTok and Instagram platforms to add clickable links within the on-screen image interfaces.

Brands will want to actually beef up their Google Business Brand pages with a social aspect. Too bad Google+ went away, because this feature could actually be impactful for people who have personal and professional brands.

Images: Campaign images, product positioning, labeling, colors, branding, and product images are more important than ever before. Which means this is will be a huge freaking deal and place more importance on Intellectual Property.

As a user: I just got the update on my phone and I would also say, it’s going to be a big game changer for how we interact with our phones and all apps. Search is now intuitive.

The future of AI and Human Behavior: I just showed my iPhone loving friend, and she said “How’d you get that feature?” I’ve been talking about Generative Search Experience to her for a bit now. But, it wasn’t until I just physically showed her the features in-person that she wanted to know more or even understand what I was talking about. This is on brand for most people when it comes to AI, you don’t understand the seamless ease until it’s shown live to you.

It’s all about the headline: I can also see the potential this will and can have for media literacy and fact-checking. This will mean that headlines have a bigger impact as a green screen swap-in for social media users.

Staying ahead of tech advancements like Circle to Search and multisearch is crucial for agencies like ours, but also to businesses like yours. These tools enable us to offer our clients cutting-edge strategies that take advantage of the evolving digital landscape. Integrating generative AI into your marketing plans allows you the chance to create more personalized, engaging, and effective marketing campaigns to reach a broader audience in innovative ways.

We are excited to explore these new horizons and help our clients navigate the ever-changing digital ecosystem, ensuring they remain at the forefront of marketing innovation. If you're looking to elevate your business with the latest in digital marketing strategies, we invite you to schedule a free consultation call with us to discuss your business needs — click here.

More about the author: Andréa M. Garcia is the managing partner of COMMS/NATION LLC where her team builds strategic award-winning PR and communications campaigns and thought-provoking leadership for ambitious business leaders who want to dominate their respective industries. She’s a trailblazer in communications and a dedicated advocate for minority entrepreneurs.