Why Google's new AI search may be a bad deal for users
Google says its new generative AI feature will start a "new era of search" by "unlocking new types of questions" and "transforming the way information is organized." But a closer look at Google’s own promotional materials reveals a downside: you may have to face a barrage of ads every time you use it. But how many ads is too many? For Google, it seems, there is no limit.
Google offered a sneak peek at ad placements in its brand new Search Generative Experience (SGE) at an event for advertisers on May 23. There, Google revealed that ads would not only appear before and after the AI-powered snapshot, as originally announced, but would also infiltrate the AI-generated responses. And if the example Google gave is anything to go by, it's not a pretty sight.
Google is getting cheeky and annoying with ads in the Gmail inbox
Google and advertising go hand-in-hand, but now the company is treading on dangerous ground with a strategy that has quickly angered Gmail users.
Of course, ads in Gmail are far from new -- they have appeared in various places over the years including in the Promotions inbox. Recently, however, users have noticed that advertising emails and promotional messages are being nestled in between other emails in their inboxes.
Microsoft is preparing to bring ads to AI-powered Bing Chat
In a move that will come as a surprise to just about no one, Microsoft has announced that it is "exploring" the idea of adding advertising to its GPT-4-based Bing Chat.
The company is framing the addition of ads to the AI-powered chat bot as a means of "driving more traffic and value to publishers from the new Bing". Microsoft says that it is seeking to do this by, among other things, "pioneering the future of advertising".
A world without cookies is still an advertising world
Third-party tracking using cookies is coming to an end. While the death of cookies has been delayed several times already, there is no doubt that cookies won’t play a role anymore in the future when it comes to advertising.
Google, being an advertising company, needs to get it right though, as most of the organization’s revenue depends on advertising. Good news for Google is that it owns Chrome, which more or less determines through an update when cookies are no longer usable.
Microsoft is showing ads in the Windows 11 Start menu
If you're someone who has previously been irritated by Microsoft displaying ads in Windows, prepare to roll your eyes, gnash your teeth and howl in anguish. Windows 11 users are finding that the company is now showing advertisements in the Start menu.
As has been the case in the past, Microsoft is using Start menu ads to promote its own products and services -- specifically OneDrive and Microsoft accounts. Unsurprisingly, the reaction from users who have seen the ads has been less than positive.
Apple is bringing more ads to the App Store this week
In the tech world, it Google that is most readily associated with ads, but it is far from alone. Apple is perhaps not quite as guilty of bombarding people with advertising as some companies, but starting October 25, the App Store will be used to display more ads than ever before.
Although Apple has not exactly shouted about the impending change -- one that is sure to irritate even the most devote fans of Apple -- details of what is happening have been shared in emails sent out to developers. As of Tuesday, the Today tab of the Apple Store will be home to adverts.
Netflix finally announces its cheaper subscription -- Basic with Ads
It has been a very, very long time coming, but a cheaper Netflix subscription tier, complete with ads, arrives next month.
The new ad-supported plan is called Basic with Ads, and will cost $6.99 per month when it launches in the US on November 3. Netflix says that the cheaper tier will be available in 11 other countries, and shares details of the limitations subscribers will have to put up with, including the fact that some shows and movies simply will not be available if you're not paying for a more expensive ad-free Basic, Standard or Premium plan.
Microsoft is displaying ads in yet another of its apps; Windows-maker gets sneaky in mobile Outlook
There's no such thing as a free lunch, and there's no such thing as free software (well... very, very rarely). If you don't pay a monetary price for software, you're almost certainly going to pay for it with your privacy, or by seeing ads.
This is something that users of Microsoft's software have had little choice but to become increasingly familiar with -- even in the case of paid-for software. The latest of the company's apps to fall victim to the advertising plague is Outlook Mobile. Users are particularly annoyed because the ads are difficult to distinguish from emails.
Microsoft teams up with Netflix to offer cheaper, ad-supported subscriptions
Netflix has previously confirmed plans to introduce an ad-supported tier that would provide a lower cost subscription entry point. Details have been somewhat lacking, but it has just been announced that Microsoft is partnering with the streaming video service as it introduces cheaper plans.
The company has signed a deal with Netflix, with the streaming giant describing Microsoft as "our global advertising technology and sales partner".
What do Apple's new privacy-focused changes mean for advertisers?
One of the key announcements at Apple's developer conference earlier this week was around improvement to the privacy-focused to the SKAdNetwork API.
These are aimed at providing ad networks and developers with the ability to better measure how ads perform while still preserving user privacy.
Microsoft is preparing to hit Xbox users with in-game ads: report
Over the years, Microsoft has found a variety of ways to bombard its customers with ads. As well as using Windows 11 to promote its own Edge web browser, the company has also used the Start menu to "recommend" apps to people.
And now it seems as though Xbox gamers are next. A new report says that Microsoft is working on a program that will display third-party ads in Xbox games. So, what is going on, and is it as bad as it sounds?
The overpromise of technology
Last month on Twitter, tech writer Casey Newton posted the above pic, observing that he sees it all over San Francisco. "This ad is all over SF and I can’t decide what I dislike more: the wild overpromising or the total lack of information about what it does," he said.
I’ve noticed the same ad but it didn’t register as much with me as it did with Casey because these messages have finally exhausted me. It’s because the constant overpromise of technology has been going on for years. From a well-founded and ongoing skepticism about what AI actually is and can be, to the ill-founded hype that touches almost anything tech-related these days, both the perception and reality of technology need an adjustment.
I wish Facebook knew more about me
The other day I was chatting with a friend and she mentioned how Facebook was listening into personal conversations via her phone. It was the only possible explanation, she said, for how it could know she was in the market for a new sofa. Her husband was the only person (other than me) she’d mentioned this to and although she hadn’t yet got around to looking for a sofa online, her Facebook feed was full of ads for upholstered seating. I’ve heard this conspiracy theory before, of course, we all have. If it’s not Facebook listening in, it’s Google. But it made me smile.
When I go into Facebook (or Instagram), which is several times every day, I see stories from my friends and family, interspersed with 'targeted' adverts for products and services that I have no interest in -- such as the advert I saw today for a train company whose trains I’ve never been on because they don’t run anywhere near where I live or travel to. Judging by all the food ads Facebook shows me, it thinks I’m a staunch (and very hungry) vegan. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
How changes to tracking will affect the online world [Q&A]
The Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) is a random device identifier assigned to a user's device which advertisers use to track data so they can deliver customized advertising.
But Apple is about to replace the iOS IDFA tracking system in iOS 14 with a new App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature which will allow iPhone users to opt-out of tracking on third-party apps and sites. This, plus Google's crack down on third-party cookies, means privacy is a hot topic currently -- and all signs point to even more shifts in the coming year.
Australia to force Google and Facebook to pay for news content
Facebook and Google both make huge amounts of money through advertising, and the Australian government feels this money should be shared with the smaller players the companies benefit from.
Specifically, digital platforms such as Google and Facebook will be required to pay news outlets for the content they produce. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) told the government that initial plans for a voluntary code of conduct were unlikely to work, hence the move to a mandatory code. The move by the Australian government could well lead to similar moves in other countries.
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