Google unveils new AI advertising tools for Nigerian businesses

Google has announced new artificial intelligence-powered advertising tools designed to help Nigerian businesses better understand campaign performance and manage online advertising.

Google Director for East and West Africa Olumide Balogun said the features form part of the company’s AI Max for Search platform.

One of the updates introduces a new Google Ads reporting view that combines information about the search terms customers use, the advertisements they see and the webpages they eventually visit.

Google said bringing that information together should make it easier for businesses to understand how advertising campaigns lead customers from searches to specific landing pages.

The company also announced an expansion of AI Brief, a Gemini-powered feature that lets advertisers give AI Max instructions using ordinary language.

Businesses can, for example, tell the system to avoid mentioning prices, prioritise particular searches or emphasise certain offers.

Google said advertisers will be able to preview sample adverts and searches before campaigns are activated and adjust instructions where necessary.

AI Brief is also being expanded in closed beta to additional languages including French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Italian and Japanese.

Google also said ads can appear around AI Overviews in more than 200 countries, including Nigeria.

Balogun encouraged Nigerian businesses preparing for Black Friday and the festive shopping period to begin developing their advertising strategies early.

Google said around 500,000 advertisers worldwide have adopted AI Max, although performance figures cited by the company are global and should not be interpreted as results specific to Nigerian businesses