Edition #491
On is Google growing or not? AI trends & Linkedin as the new creator spot.
So is Google search usage up or down? In questioning Eddie Cue said April was the first time Google searches from the Safari address bar was down. Yet Google said, the queries have only gone up.
Google stock dropped on the news. But you have to imagine, that Apple have some incentives here to play down how mission critical Google is with $20b on the line! And highlight the optionality consumers have. Which is exactly what Mark Gurman picked up on.
The mention of bringing other AI providers into browser bar search, spooked the stock as well. But these positions are pay to play. And Google has the top spot, because consumers choose it BUT also they have the best unit economics.
You bet Google is going to have the best unit economics on AI search too. In parallel, they are really hitting their stride with their AI products. I guess, this is the counter narrative, but I wouldn’t under estimate Google. My take, AI search is Google’s to lose right now.
Google even said a few weeks back:
“ChatGPT has drawn away some search queries from Google, a senior Google executive testified on Wednesday, but primarily “homework and math” queries which don’t generate much in ad revenue. The executive, Sissie Hsiao, said “so far we have not seen cannibalization of commercial queries or [queries with] commercial intent.”
Which is a thread I’ve picked up on, are you losing out on high value search? Or low quality ones that weren’t adding a lot of value (for the user) to your eco-system?
Notable stories this week
- Jaguar has partnered with CNN’s Courageous Studios to create a documentary.
- LinkedIn emerges as a serious player in the creator economy.
- Apple Tries to Save $20 Billion Google Search Deal By Saying It’s Unnecessary.
- Snapchat introduces sponsored AI lenses for advertisers.
- NBCU to sell ads for cable spinoff Versant.
- LG Ads pitches new offerings during Newsfronts.
- Google tries to salvage the Privacy sandbox.
- The AI Agent evolution reshaping advertising’s ecosystem.
- The Guardian plots US expansion following record revenue year.
- Programmatic ad spend loses out to email this year.
- The AI Agent Revolution Reshaping Advertising’s Ecosystem
- Meta wants to do everything for DR advertisers and previews new optimization tools.
- There is already (theoretically) $780m in escrow after 19 days to assist publishers in transition if proposed remedy goes ahead.
- Mark Zuckerberg just declared war on the entire advertising industry.
- Why creator-led content marketing is the new standard in search.
Deals/M&A
- General Atlantic buys minority stake valuing Liftoff at $4.3b.
- Tariffs and AI are causing major shifts in the ad tech M&A landscape.
- Yahoo Sports partners with Kevin Durants Boardroom to boost content strategy.
- Vox Media sells gaming site Polygon.
- Roku acquires Subscription Streamer Frndly TV.
Campaign of the week
- Lego built actual F1 cars and had the drivers do a race ahead of the Miami GP. 2m views already!
View all 2024 best campaigns.
Smartest commentary
- “The increased productivity from AI will make advertising a meaningfully larger share of global GDP than it is today.” –Mark Zuckerberg.
- “Quickest fix for half of all mediocre B2B content:..Reframe the hero…Most brands write case studies with them wearing the cape, but great content makes the reader the hero…They see their own problems in the first 3 paragraphs. They walk away with tools they can implement. And their sentiment isn’t, ”wow, what a smart brand” … it’s “wait, that could work for us…No special powers. Just reframing.” –Abby Murray.
Datapoints of note
- Advertisers lose $700k per billion impressions whilst tvs are turned off.
- B2B influencer marketing agency Creator Match, which launched in early 2024, has made 80 percent of its lifetime revenue in the “past few months,” paying out over $1 million to LinkedIn creators during that period, per CEO AJ Eckstein.
- Meta’s recommendation algorithms are also boosting organic engagement on its apps. In the past six months, improvements to content recommendations yielded a 7% increase in time spent on Facebook, a 6% increase on Instagram and a 35% increase on Threads.
- Anduril ‘don’t work here’ employment video increased applicants three fold.
- 20% of Levelsios Google traffic is now ChatGPT traffic.
- Roblox is now doing 7.2b hours of monthly engagement.
- Reddit gets 50m search queries per day.
Events
- Media breakfast coming up in May, let me know if you want to join.
View all 2024 datapoints of note.
That’s it for this week.
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