It is not a secret that artificial intelligence tools entered the marketing and advertising world to change how things work. While some adopt these tools without questions, others use them with caution to ensure ethics and work quality are respected. At HEM, for instance, we continue to be a specialist-led digital marketing agency that leverages the latest AI tools to deliver the best results possible for our clients. While the AI conversation can quickly inspire many to become twenty-first-century Luddites, it matters most to understand how these tools work and how they have come to be. This will enable marketers to maximize their benefits while being mindful that, similar to any other technology, biases and potential risks are ingrained in their design, underscoring the importance of human agency.
In the current AI marathon, Google, a significant player in the marketing industry, has been slowly introducing new tools to facilitate the life of users. From a writing assistant to a generative AI search engine, the tech giant has been working hard to develop tools that help the company stay competitive and keep up with new developments in the artificial intelligence industry. This summer, the company launched two new AI-powered advertising tools to help marketers “accelerate” business growth. That all sounds good, but can education marketers fully trust these tools? Given that schools are increasingly pressured to adopt AI tools for marketing purposes, this blog will discuss some critical issues education marketers should consider when working with Google Ads AI.
Understanding the Basics of Google Ads AI
If you have not kept up with the latest AI developments, you might wonder, “What is Google Ads AI?” Google Ads AI refers to the implementation of advanced machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence tools within the Google Ads platform. These AI tools are designed to help advertisers improve the performance of their advertising campaigns. When used correctly, these tools can help schools optimize their campaigns, improve performance, and “unlock incremental conversions and value from [their] budget.”
Though Google has been using machine learning over the past few years to power its ad solutions, recently, the company has been releasing some innovative generative AI tools. The use of AI for Google Ads, the company says, aims to help Google Ads users “drive new customer connections, build high-quality creative, and make confident decisions grounded in insights.”
Schools wanting to leverage these tools to create and write great ads must begin by understanding what they can be used for and the potential pitfalls of relying solely on Google Ads AI. For instance, in talking about Google’s automated bidding, Alexander Nachaj, HEM’s Director of Paid Ads & Analytics, told us that although this tool helps schools keep a close eye on the ads, the team has observed that it can “over-optimize and bring in massive volumes of leads at low quality, or simply break and start spending way too much chasing one more lead.” Additionally, Alexander says that Performance Max campaigns can sometimes get too good at finding leads but that sometimes these leads are low quality. In such cases, advertising specialists must reboot the campaign and ensure it is more stable.
Schools using Google Ads might already be familiar with tools like smart bidding, audience targeting, and keyword planning. What follows then is an overview of Google’s latest generative AI advancements:
- Automatically created assets: This opt-in campaign setting creates relevant headlines and descriptions for each ad using content from your school’s landing page and existing ads. These automatically created assets, along with the assets your school has already provided, are used by search ads to enhance performance.
Source: Google
- Chats to help marketers get started and run a new campaign: All advertisers need to do is bring a school’s landing page, and Google’s AI will summarize it and generate keywords, headlines, descriptions, images, and other assets. Google states that its new chatbot will help advertisers change and improve results.
- Performance Max: This goal-based campaign lets performance advertisers access all their Ads inventory from a single campaign.
- AI-powered Search ads: Google has started to use AI to set suitable bids, reach the right searches, and create relevant ads for consumers. This feature uses generative AI to power search.
What’s new this summer?
- Demand Gen campaigns: This feature uses top-performing video and image assets to reach consumers across YouTube, YouTube Shorts, Discover, and Gmail. It is aimed to streamline the ad creation process.
Source: Google
- Video View campaigns: This feature can help schools maximize views across in-stream, in-feed, and YouTube Shorts.
Is your school trying to get started with Google Ads? Our specialists are here to guide you every step of the way! Get in touch with us today.
Beware of Possible Inaccuracies and Misinformation
Because AI tools cannot discern between true and false information, it could happen that in creating written content or images, misinformation is spread. This could be regarding facts about programs, locations, or professions, but it is also known that AI tools tend to invent numbers and sources.
For instance, if a school that offers a Medical Office Assistant program asks an AI tool to write some copy about it and the information the tool is getting is from another country, prospective students will likely be confused, as MOAs do not have the same duties across countries.
Something similar happens with images generated by AI. While it is true that they are getting close to being indistinguishable from photos, as Alexander points out, “they have to be closely scrutinized if anyone wants to use them” as they might have “uniforms with fake credentials or tags on them, people with too many arms, etc.” For example, the hands have too many fingers in the following images generated by Memorable Ad Maker (left) and Freepik (right).
Thus, advertising departments looking to use Google Ad Generator within the education industry must keep an eye on these potential issues, as low-quality images and misleading copy can affect the results of ad campaigns.
Avoid Copyright Infringement and Plagiarism
Although Google AI advertising can speed up the ad creation process, higher education marketers should know that, as with the use of any other AI tool, legal issues can arise if specialists are not overseeing the creative process. Given that AI tools use publicly available information to generate written content, it is likely that copyright infringement and plagiarism will come up at some point. If the ads created by AI tools are too similar to copyrighted material, schools may be brought to court. This could affect schools financially, and the institution’s credibility since schools are constantly asking students to avoid plagiarism, so reinforcing the same policies within marketing teams is essential. Ensuring a person continually reviews and edits the AI-produced content is necessary to avoid legal issues.
In addition, as Alexander told us, if schools rely “too much on AI to write text, it can cause compliance issues, such as using words like “diploma” to describe a non-diploma course or state that it offers certain qualifications that are not part of the course.” For example, at HEM, we asked ChatGPT to write a paragraph about a Dental Hygiene program. While this is not the same generative tool used by Google Ads AI, it is easy to observe that although parts of the text are compelling, they remain vague at some points. A marketing expert must take a text like this and ensure the copy aligns with the institution’s offerings, values, and curriculum.
Finally, schools also want their copy to be unique and not sound like competitors, so relying too much on generated content can lead to a neutralized voice that fails to appeal to prospects. To ensure that your school’s copy stands out, it’s essential to highlight your unique selling points and what sets your institution apart from others. It is recommended that your copy expands on your school’s mission, values, specific programs and courses, faculty expertise, campus culture, and student life.
No AI Tool Can Know Your Audience Better Than You
While it might be true that AI tools in education marketing can help schools overcome creative blocks–as it is often advertised–there’s only so much these tools can do, given that they work with the input we give them. Google Ads intelligence offers powerful tools for advertisers to streamline their workflow, but knowing their limitations is key to creating effective and attractive ads. Results can be tremendous and impressive at first glance, but if schools don’t make an effort to personalize their assets, likely, the quality of leads generated is not as expected. In sum, while Google Ads AI tools can be used during the creative process to obtain better results, they should not be trusted as creative directors.
Entirely relying on the assets produced by these tools can lead to a lack of a personal touch. As Alexander explains, “When using Google Ads’ ad-making tools (where it pulls text and image from a site), it often pulls generic information that doesn’t convey strong USPs or pulls random images from pages that are not relevant.” In addition, AI won’t know what is happening in your institution; it lacks contextual understanding, so creating timely ads with AI is almost impossible. What’s recommended is that education marketers working with Google Ads for schools, who know their prospects and enrollment journey better, use these tools to enhance their assets but always ensure that the content produced is appealing to their target audience.
Human Agency is Needed to Ensure Biases Are Not Inserted in Education Ads
Given that schools are constantly working on fostering inclusive environments in which diversity is valued, education marketers should be attentive to the many biases embedded in AI. Algorithmic discrimination, potential issues with ad targeting, and data privacy are among the most pressing issues that schools should consider when using Google Ads AI.
Over the past years, many AI tools and companies have faced backlash due to racial, gendered, and socioeconomic discrimination. For instance, in 2019, The MIT Review revealed that Facebook’s ad-serving algorithm was discriminating on a race and gender basis. Advertisements for preschool teachers and secretaries, for instance, were more frequently displayed to a larger percentage of women, whereas ads for janitors and taxi drivers were more prominently shown to minorities. Research has also shown how women in STEM professions are less likely to get ads related to their industries. This could impact the leads that schools and universities get from platforms like Google Ads.
Google states that the company seeks “to avoid unjust impacts on people, particularly those related to sensitive characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender, nationality, income, sexual orientation, ability, and political or religious belief.” Though the company might be actively working to avoid these biases, education marketers should still ensure that AI tools are not leaving unrepresented communities aside. Schools want everyone to see themselves addressed when it comes to ads, so ensuring that minorities are represented and that stereotypes are not propagated is a must.
Finally, it is not a secret that AI algorithms and models may unintentionally gather sensitive consumer information. Schools using Google Ads AI must make decisions about safeguarding specific consumer data to mitigate the risk. In addition, education marketers should determine language and targeting principles their teams should follow to ensure that AI is used ethically. Understanding these issues and assessing what other issues could arise should be a priority for the team.
