Six ways generative AI can transform your search strategy

With the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI), search marketing has been empowered with advanced capabilities that go beyond traditional approaches. Generative AI is reshaping how we find information online, transforming search marketing and revolutionizing how marketers optimize online presence.

Google splits its  AI products into two categories – Predictive and Generative. Before we dive in, let’s first understand what generative AI is and distinguish it from the more traditional form of predictive AI.

Predictive AI is Google’s bread and butter and has been transformative over the last five years. Google Ads leverages machine learning and predictive modeling to suggest actions or decisions based on user preferences, powering what you should bid in an auction and what search terms your keywords should match to, as well as providing real-time insights to help enhance the search experience.

Generative AI, on the other hand, takes data and creates new and original content, such as text, images (the banner used in this article, for example), and even videos. Unlike traditional AI systems that rely on pre-programmed rules, generative AI utilizes neural networks to learn patterns and generate outputs based on the data it has been trained on. 

With the rise of core creative AIs like ChatGPT and Midjourney coming into popular culture, it begs the question, “Does this spell the end of the publisher-backed internet and the ten blue SERP links?!”

In Adthena’s recent webinar The future of search: How Generative AI will revolutionize the search strategy, Guy Gobert-Jones, search and solutions consultant of Omnicom MediaGroup (OMG), answers this by unpacking the short and long-term impacts of generative AI. 

Gobert-Jones predicts, “The reality will be much more nuanced, focusing on where the AI creates truly addictive user experiences. We will end up with around 10% of total searches powered by this technology.” 

AI is transforming the search landscape and revolutionizing how we find information online. Its ability to generate human-like responses, understand context, and personalize search results has elevated the search experience to new heights.

From a more tactical view, here are six ways generative AI can transform your search strategy.

Automated asset generation is a big topic at the moment. These models power ad formats in campaign types like Performance Max to allow core assets to be seamlessly manipulated into different versions for different devices and ad slot sizes. 

By analyzing existing ad campaigns, user behavior and market trends, generative AI algorithms can generate original and persuasive ad copy. This AI-generated ad copy saves time and effort and will help marketers experiment with different messaging variations and identify the most effective versions – resulting in increased click-through rates (CTRs) and improved ad performance.

Conversely, Gobert-Jones questions, “Current automated asset creation does not leave room for consistent adherence to brand guidelines, but as the technology develops, I expect we will get greater ability to add the guardrails.”

This question comes up a lot. Adthena’s Campaign Optimization solution leverages AI to propose various ad copy variations and enhancements, aiming to optimize the impact of search ads and achieve maximum effectiveness.

The success of a paid search campaign is very much dependent on effective bid management. Leveraging real-time AI-powered data, such as keyword performance, competitors’ bidding strategies and user behavior, will help marketers optimize bidding decisions dynamically. Search marketers can now automate bid adjustments, ensuring optimal ad placement and cost efficiency. This real-time bid optimization, in turn, leads to better ad positioning, increased visibility and improved ROI.

Marketers can now use automated Brand Activator technology to help with just this. When a brand term ranks number one on the SERP for both paid and organic, with no other bidders, there is no need to pay for those clicks. Brand Activator automatically detects those terms and adds them to the negative keyword list. Customers pocket the savings or reinvest in generic terms to drive new revenue.

By analyzing user data and behavior patterns, marketers can identify relevant audience segments for paid search campaigns. Marketers can use Whole Market View technology to understand user demographics, preferences and online behavior. By leveraging AI to refine targeting strategies, marketers can deliver tailored ads to specific user groups to maximize ad relevance and increase the chance of conversions.

Without question, A/B testing is a vital aspect of paid search strategies. Generative AI can automate the ad creative testing process by generating multiple versions of ads and analyzing their performance. This provides valuable insights into which ad elements, such as headlines, images or calls to action, drive the best results. 

Generative AI can provide predictive analytics to forecast paid search campaign performance. By analyzing historical data, market trends and user behavior, marketers can predict the potential outcomes of different bidding strategies, budget allocations, and targeting approaches, helping them to make data-informed decisions and optimize their campaigns proactively.

Last but by no means least, generative AI will help deliver personalized ads to individual users based on their preferences and behavior. Generative AI can generate customized ad variations that resonate with specific individuals by analyzing user data and historical interactions. This personalization enhances the user experience, increases relevancy, and drives higher engagement and conversion rates.

To put this into practice, a Campaign Optimization solution is available that helps customers analyze and evaluate ad copy performance by considering factors like click-through rates, conversion rates, and engagement metrics. The technology leverages AI to suggest ad copy variations and improvements to maximize the effectiveness of search ads.

So, what does this all mean for marketers working within advertising platforms, such as Google Ads?

Gobert-Jones suggests this is where technology will be more transformative. “Think AI assistants in advertising platforms which are there to help you identify trends, spot opportunities and test new ad variations.”

Omnicom recently announced a series of generative AI partnerships with Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Adobe to access and apply their models within an Omnicom tech environment.

Generative AI, with its ability to generate human-like responses, understand context and personalize search results, has elevated the search experience to new heights. As generative AI continues to evolve, it will undoubtedly play a vital role in shaping the future of search, offering more accurate, personalized and relevant results to users worldwide.

The curious world of artificial intelligence is a minefield. If you’re a little in the dark about how AI can fit into your search strategy, unsure who is bidding on your brand, where they are doing it and what adverts they are using, check out Adthena’s guide Reveal your wasted budget with AI-powered search intelligence to reveal AI-driven strategies for unparalleled search success and revenue optimization.

Big Tech Earnings Will Test Investors’ Fervor for A.I.

Nasdaq futures are up on Tuesday morning, ahead of a Big Tech earnings bonanza that kicks off when Microsoft and Alphabet report second-quarter results after the closing bell. One question is at the top of many investors’ minds: Is the hype around artificial intelligence, which has propelled tech giants’ stock prices sky-high in recent months, justified, or is it another bubble in the making?

Wall Street is deeply divided about the A.I. rally. Mike Wilson, Morgan Stanley’s chief U.S. equity strategist, apologized to clients on Monday, writing that his pessimistic stock market calls failed to spot the surge in A.I.-related stocks. (The chip maker Nvidia, for example, has seen its stock triple in value since January.) And analysts at Citigroup are sticking to their bullish thesis for such companies.

On the other hand, Marko Kolanovic, JPMorgan Chase’s chief market strategist, is unconvinced that tech fervor will help the markets avoid a sharp decline this year.

All eyes will be on Microsoft and Alphabet, which are at the forefront of commercializing generative A.I., the technology behind chatbots like ChatGPT that have captured the public’s imagination. Both are incorporating A.I. into a wide array of their products, with Microsoft — which has invested billions in OpenAI — hoping that the technology can help it gain ground on Google in key businesses like search.

Meta’s turn is Wednesday. The parent company of Facebook and Instagram is also betting big on the technology, including by making the code for its most advanced A.I. project free for public use. (Analysts also want to know more about how Meta plans to make money from Threads, its new rival to Twitter, the company rebranded as X.)

Macroeconomic factors are still weighing on these companies. Inflation and an uncertain outlook hit them hard last year, as customers cut back on buying software and spending on advertising, spurring them to lay off thousands of workers.

Recent data shows that inflation has begun to moderate, lifting these stocks in recent weeks, but investors will want to see proof that the sector is through the worst of it. The Fed is widely expected to increase interest rates by a quarter percentage point at its rate-setting meeting on Wednesday, but Wall Street isn’t sure whether the central bank will stop there or continue raising borrowing costs and risk a recession.

And it won’t just come down to tech stocks. This is the busiest week of the current earnings season, with 39 percent of S&P 500 firms announcing results. The next few days will provide an important look at the overall health of corporate America. Consumer bellwethers including Coca-Cola and McDonald’s and industrial titans like Boeing will be reporting.

Unilever says that inflation has peaked. Shares in the consumer goods giant rallied on Tuesday morning after it reported a strong second-half sales outlook, with the company forecasting that slowing price increases will translate to higher consumer purchases. But it warned that the war in Ukraine could send agricultural commodity prices higher, raising costs.

UBS agrees to $387 million in fines over Credit Suisse missteps. UBS reached a deal with U.S. and British regulators to resolve questions into the oversight failures that led to Credit Suisse losing $5.5 billion in the collapse of the investment firm Archegos in 2021. UBS bought its ailing rival this year, inheriting its thicket of legal troubles.

Senators cast new scrutiny over Leon Black’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein. The Senate Finance Committee is investigating whether a $158 million payout from Mr. Black to the disgraced financier for tax and estate planning services was part of a tax-avoidance scheme, The Times reports. Separately, the U.S. Virgin Islands accused JPMorgan Chase of reimbursing a former executive, Jes Staley, for trips to meet Epstein.

The I.R.S. ends surprise visits to homes and businesses. The agency said that it would stop the practice, which was a mainstay of efforts to collect unpaid taxes. The move comes as the I.R.S. rethinks its operations, and faces increased political scrutiny by Republicans and threats to its employees.

The U.S. reportedly scrutinizes Abu Dhabi’s takeover bid for Fortress Investment Group. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States is examining whether the $3 billion deal by Mubadala, an Emirati sovereign wealth fund, poses national security concerns, according to The Financial Times. At issue are the United Arab Emirates’ ties to China.

Cryptocurrencies and climate change have been linked as issues before in terms of how carbon-intensive it is to produce new digital tokens. But the crypto industry is also hoping to piggyback off a legal doctrine at the heart of a Supreme Court decision involving the Environmental Protection Agency last year.

Coinbase is seizing on an E.P.A. loss as a legal defense. Last summer, the Supreme Court struck down an emissions rule by the environmental agency, citing the so-called major questions doctrine, a principle asserting that Congress hasn’t given regulators power to decide significant political or economic issues on their own.

Now, Coinbase is arguing that the S.E.C. can’t prosecute it because it lacks the power to regulate crypto. Moreover, the exchange says, Congress is actively working on legislation to oversee its industry. “It’s never been clearer that the Supreme Court has particular focus on major questions and the role of regulators in our economy,” Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief legal officer, told DealBook.

The S.E.C. counters that Coinbase is missing the point. Agency lawyers wrote in a recent court filing that the E.P.A. case was about rule-making, not the regulator’s power to prosecute. Critics add that it’s not clear that regulating crypto counts as a major-question issue, given that the industry’s total market capitalization is less than that of Apple, Microsoft or Alphabet.

Business advocates appear undeterred by those arguments. “The major questions doctrine seems built for crypto at this moment,” Katie Haun, the crypto investor and former federal prosecutor, tweeted recently.

Separately, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represents businesses more broadly, has expressed eagerness to use major-questions arguments in court to limit the power of a proposed Federal Trade Commission ban on noncompete clauses.

Led by “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” the North American box office had its biggest weekend since 2019 and its fourth-best ever. Here’s how the phenomenon stacks up to other weekend performances, which were each dominated by a single blockbuster.

Though Elon Musk’s rebranding of Twitter as X came as a surprise over the weekend, the abrupt name change is playing about as well as could have been expected these days. Users and advertisers were divided on the wisdom of the move, which eliminated the company’s longtime bird logo, even if pulling down the old signage ran into some hiccups.

The change was reflected at Twitter’s headquarters immediately. Inside the San Francisco office, X logos were projected in the cafeteria, while conference rooms were renamed with words including “eXposure” and “s3Xy,” according to The Times.

But efforts to remove the Twitter name from the building encountered difficulties, when the San Francisco Police Department stopped workers for performing “unauthorized work.” As of this morning, the letters “er” remain visible from the street.

People can’t agree on whether the move will cost the company dearly. Skeptics said ditching the Twitter name and famous bird logo — which Twitter once identified as among its most recognizable assets — could cost as much as $20 billion in value. (Among them: Esther Crawford, the former Twitter executive who was briefly among Mr. Musk’s top lieutenants.) Some users bemoaned the switch to the more generic-sounding X.

Others said that the rebranding could help the company shed years of baggage associated with the Twitter name, a line of thought shared by none other than Jack Dorsey, the company’s co-founder. Some ad executives said that the change wouldn’t meaningfully drive away potential advertisers, while others said that Musk had at least succeeded in drumming up publicity for his platform after Meta’s Threads made a splashy debut.

Speaking of Meta … the Facebook parent company owns an X trademark with regards to social networking, though it relates to a specific blue-and-white logo. Mr. Musk’s company now uses a black-and-white mark, though trademark lawyers said the reliance on a simple letter almost certainly invited legal challenges.

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Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon review — FromSoftware's mecha mayhem masterpiece

Developer FromSoftware took the gaming industry by storm in the 2010s with its many action RPGs like the Dark Souls trilogy, Bloodborne, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and won Game of the Year in 2022 with the monumentally successful Elden Ring. Now, though, the legendary studio is back just a year later with a brand new reboot entry in a lesser-known mecha action franchise it's been contributing to since 1997: Armored Core. After several years of development that began all the way back in 2017, Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon is finally here.

As someone who's only ever played FromSoftware's Souls-style titles, I was incredibly excited to get the opportunity to review Armored Core 6. I've spent the last week and a half playing through its expansive campaign and its suite of various side levels, and I'm ecstatic to say that I've been completely won over by its frenetic vehicular combat, deep sandbox of weapons and mech components, the intriguing narrative, and its phenomenal presentation. Make no mistake: whether you're a longtime Armored Core veteran or a curious Souls fan looking to see what else FromSoftware is capable of, I'm confident you'll absolutely love this game.

Disclaimer: This review was made possible by a Steam code that was provided by Bandai Namco. The company did not see the contents of the review before publication.

While many will no doubt attempt to draw comparisons between Armored Core and more recent FromSoftware properties like Dark Souls or Elden Ring, it's important to understand that the studio's mecha franchise — and this new addition to it — is actually quite distinct. The open-ended and interconnected environments of the Souls titles are traded for a mission-based structure that features carefully designed linear levels, complete with checkpoints and resupply caches. The game also heavily encourages experimentation with its various unlockable mech components and weapon platforms, going so far as to allow you to swap out parts before respawning and create multiple designs you can quickly switch between at your base.

Armored Core 6

Developer: FromSoftwarePublisher: Bandai NamcoGenre: 3D Mech ActionInstall size: 60 GBPlaytime: 35-45 hoursRelease date: August 25, 2023Price: $59.99Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC (Steam), PS5, PS4Reviewed on: Windows PC (Steam)

This emphasis on adapting your loadout to the circumstances of each sortie is at the heart of Armored Core 6's progression. The vast majority of the game's encounters can be won with a number of different approaches, but you won't be sticking to a single build throughout the story like most players typically do in Souls titles. In fact, trying to is a recipe for failure, as many fights simply can't be won with certain weapon or mech types. Good luck trying to hit a nimble Armored Core pilot with a heavy rocket launcher, or with attempting to target a boss' vertically located weak point while rolling around on tank treads. Some levels even task you with staying undetected or gathering intel in a short amount of time, encouraging the use of an extremely lightweight craft that's optimized for movement instead of direct confrontations.

Of course, knowing what you're facing and how to counter it is only half the battle. Even if you find the right key for an encounter's "lock," your foes won't give you an easy victory (this is a FromSoftware game). Opponents frequently assail you with everything from streams of deadly machinegun fire to lethal missile barrages and furious energy blade swipes, forcing you to time evasive boosts and rocket through the air to avoid these attacks while returning fire to keep up the pressure. Many bosses also have distinct weak spots you'll need to target in order to dish out any real damage, testing your ability to maneuver quickly as battles progress. 

In general, carelessness is punished heavily; burning through your mech's energy meter by doing too much unnecessary flying could leave you without the resources needed to dodge a deadly attack, and getting hit repeatedly in a short period of time will break your posture and stagger you Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice style (you can do this to enemies, too). Ammo and repair kits are limited as well, so wasting too many rounds on weaker foes or taking too much damage can leave you without important resources when they're needed (mercifully, they're replenished after death).

Overloading a boss' posture and blowing them to smithereens with my full arsenal has made me whoop and cheer in the ways that only this developer's games can.

On the whole, the pace of this skill-driven combat is blisteringly fast and intense, making Armored Core 6 the most exhilarating game I've played so far this year. In typical FromSoftware fashion, it's also incredibly satisfying to master its challenges and reap the rewards of engaging with its systems. Overloading a boss' posture and blowing them to smithereens with my full arsenal has made me whoop and cheer in the ways that only this developer's games can.

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Beyond the main campaign, there are also plenty of bite-sized engagements to enjoy in the game's Arena. In addition to giving players more of the title's thrilling boss battles to take on, these extra levels will reward brave challengers with extra credits to buy parts with and special OST Chips that can be used to unlock some very interesting and powerful upgrades. For example, one gives you the option to trade out the weapons on your Armored Core's shoulders for extra handheld ones, while others unlock new manually activates moves that expand your repertoire of options in combat.

Should you wish to give your tricked out mech a test run before taking it into your next mission, there's a customizable AC Test arena where you can try it out against a handful of enemy types. Unfortunately, though, I think most will find this space very lacking since you can only practice against three basic foe types. What's more useful is a series of training levels that will help players learn Armored Core 6's rather complex, but ultimately intuitive controls for each type of mech you can build. There's also a PvP mode in which players can battle other pilots in a deathmatch environment, though unfortunately I wasn't able to try it out. It looks pretty fun, though.

But what about the customization? What about the Fashion Souls? If personalizing your Armored Core is something you'd like to do, you'll be happy to know that there are a huge number of options available for doing so. Each individual part of your mech can be decorated with a wide variety of paint jobs and camo patterns, and can be made to look as polished or as weathered as you'd like. There are also several different decals you can place in custom locations on your Armored Core's chassis, and you can use various shapes and pre-made images to design your own emblem, too. Ultimately, the options here are fantastic, and give players plenty of ways to make their mech feel uniquely theirs.

Armored Core 6 puts you in the shoes of mercenary Armored Core pilot "621" and sends you down to Rubicon 3, an ashen, war-torn world that was once home to a remarkable, but destructive energy resource called Coral that ignited and torched the entire planet. Recent reports indicate that Coral has begun to surface on Rubicon once again, and you — working as a "Hound" for the enigmatic Handler Walter — are tasked with finding and claiming it.

Along the way, you'll encounter a myriad of different corporate paramilitaries and mercenary groups looking to take control of the Coral themselves, along with a force of organized Rubiconian resistance fighters trying to take their world back and a handful of other factions. As a ruthless war between these entities rages, all of them will approach you to offer contracts; you'll often find yourself fighting alongside a group in one mission only to turn your weapons against them in the next, as a result. Aside from getting you the credits you'll need to upgrade your Armored Core, completing these contracts allows you to gather the intel you need to hunt down Rubicon's Coral.

Overall, with its intriguing plot and diverse cast, the story of Armored Core 6 is quite good.

I won't be getting into spoiler territory here, but as you make progress, you can look forward to several twists that reveal more about the story's main cast, the Coral you're after, and more. You'll meet a fair number of interesting and enjoyable side characters, too. One, a friendly Armored Core pilot named Rusty, is sure to be remembered as this game's Solaire of Astora.

Overall, with its intriguing plot and diverse cast, the story of Armored Core 6 is quite good. It may not have the same deep worldbuilding you'll find in FromSoftware's other RPGs, but what's here is pretty engaging to unravel. Notably, it's also considerably more straightforward compared to the developer's past narratives due to the linear nature of the campaign.

Historically, FromSoftware's titles have been known not for their raw visual fidelity, but for their incredible art direction and awe-inspiring locations. This was the case with Elden Ring last year, and it will be the case with Armored Core 6, too. Its models and textures look good, no doubt, but the design of Rubicon 3 and its environments is what stands out the most.

While the studio's worlds are often tinged with a degree of melancholy and despair, none are quite as outright bleak as this one. Landscapes scarred by the raging Coral blazes of the past are covered by deep snow and ash as far as the eye can see, with sprawling, yet abandoned cities and patches of surviving flora providing a glimpse at what came before. Husks of various warships and Armored Cores litter the planet's surface, serving as a grim reminder of how long bitter, vicious war has plagued Rubicon. The atmosphere is palpable, especially since these environments are often bathed in moody lighting from a sunrise on the horizon or the deep crimson of Coral burning in the skies.

Slain foes and bosses often combust in huge showers of sparks and fire, while behemoth-sized targets come down with unparalleled level-altering spectacle. It's all just so damn cool.

The visual effects are also worthy of praise, as they do much to sell the brutality of the game's mechanized warfare. Streams of tracer rounds, rockets, energy cannons, and other types of ordnance cut through the air and slam into targets with extraordinary power, while impeccable animations convey the weight of your Armored Cores as well as the awesome kinetic momentum they're capable of. Slain foes and bosses often combust in huge showers of sparks and fire, while behemoth-sized targets come down with unparalleled level-altering spectacle. It's all just so damn cool.

Armored Core 6's visual presentation is complimented excellently by its score, which is primarily made up of dark electronic tracks that evoke the feel of the Blade Runner films. The moody pieces heard throughout regular gameplay then escalate to thrilling themes when boss battles begin, with their intensity ramping up significantly as the fights themselves do. The soundtrack is a departure from the orchestral scores composed for previous games in the series, but it's perfect in its own way.

The game has an impressive suite of sound effects as well, ranging from punchy explosions and thunderous physical impacts to the roar of your weapons and the beeps and whirs of your Armored Core's onboard systems. Both major and minor characters are very well voice-acted, too, as are the various foes you'll face throughout the story.

In my experience, the PC version of Armored Core 6 runs quite well overall. On my i5-12600K/RTX 3070 gaming rig, I had no problems maintaining 60+ FPS on High settings and 3440x1440 ultrawide resolution (hooray for a FromSoftware game with native ultrawide support!) most of the time, though performance did briefly drop to 40 frames or so during some particularly impressive scripted sequences. These dips were rare, but are nonetheless worth mentioning.

In my experience, the PC version of Armored Core 6 runs quite well overall.

I can't speak to the quality of the Xbox version of the game personally, but one of my Windows Central colleagues has played through it on Microsoft's console and reports having a good experience. Sticking to the 1440p 60 FPS Performance Mode is recommended, as the 4K 30 FPS Quality Mode only looks a little better but cuts the framerate in half. Note that on both systems, you can look forward to speedy five or six-second loading times (provided your PC has an SSD).

In terms of bugs, I'm happy to say that I've only experienced one throughout my entire playthrough in which a minor enemy's AI seemed to break, causing the foe to stop fighting me properly. Beyond that, the game's stability has been flawless.

As a hardcore fan of FromSoftware and its Souls games, I went into Armored Core 6 with very high expectations despite the fact that I've never played or even seen much of the franchise until now. After battling my way across Rubicon 3 throughout the last week and a half, I was delighted to find that those expectations were not only met, but were exceeded. This high-octane mecha title delivers all the rich and satisfying combat puzzle gameplay that the developer's fans expect, but in a way that will feel completely new for many.

If it weren't for Baldur's Gate 3, Armored Core 6 would easily be my Game of the Year for 2023 so far (Starfield is about to enter the chat). This is undeniably one of the best PC games and best Xbox games for folks that love FromSoftware's approach to game design, and I'll be singing its praises for years to come. Give it a try, and you'll be in that chorus, too.