Leslie Tan
Pure SEO recently attended the 2017 Google Partners Masterclass event. In this event, Google provided more insight into their vision of the future – that the world is moving from mobile first to AI first. Find out more about the key takeaways from the event.
What is Artificial Intelligence and how does it work?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is essentially the science of making things smart enough to the point where they can even perform sophisticated tasks. Machine learning (ML) is also a key component of AI. Machine learning is a technique that develops AI. The idea is that you teach the computer to learn from examples without explicitly telling it to.
Whether you realise it or not most of us are using some form of artificial intelligence. A common example includes the virtual personal assistant that is installed on your phone. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence work together to help us solve everyday problems. Google has already been using Machine Learning to improve many of their products such as:
- Speech recognition for Google Search
- App recommendations for the Google Play Store
- Smart reply for Gmail
- Search by image for search engines
- Video recommendations for YouTube
- Text, graphic and speech translation for Google Translate.
Over time these products will continue to improve because of machine learning. Eventually, the AI will become more accurate as it learns and better understands user behaviour. Voice search is one example of how machine learning and AI have improved their products. In 2017, Google’s voice recognition software now only has a 4.9% error rate (for US English). The virtual assistant on your device will be the tool that connects all these features across all of Google’s products. Therefore, making the virtual assistant a key part of what Google believes will be an AI first world.
How Will AI and ML Affect Google AdWords?
AI is designed to help with the heavy lifting of optimising campaign performance. There were three questions that were asked during the presentation.
- Are you making the best use of your time?
- Are you driving the best results possible?
- Are you operating in the most profitable way?
AdWords Smart Bidding was one example that was brought up. The auction-powered technology uses advanced machine learning to assist with accurate bidding decisions and optimisation software to adjust bids for every auction. With AI, Google claims that 50% of your time will be saved so that you can focus on other areas of importance for your business.
The Future of the Digital Agency?
The business impact of automation includes saved time and improved margins from greater efficiency. With that saved time, you can invest in creative thinking and strategies that grow your business revenue. Three key areas that separate a digital agency of the future from an agency of today is their ability to:
- Embrace change
- Remain Curious
- Live life as a student (the learning never stops).
The Google Partners Masterclass event provided great insight about the future of Google and where it is headed. To find out more about how you can prepare your business for an AI first world, get in touch with our team via our contact form or call 0800 SEARCH.
