Google unveils major Responsive Search Ad asset updates

Google launched substantial updates to asset management and creation for Responsive Search Ads (RSAs), including:

• The ability to display a single headline.
• Associate up to three headlines and two descriptions at campaign level.
• Implement account-level automated assets.

Google utilizes AI technology to predict which of the above capabilities could enhance your campaign performance, determining the most suitable approach for your ad.

Why we care. Leveraging Google’s AI for predicting campaign strategies has the potential to enhance engagement and drive performance. However, this does mean handing over more control to Google. It’s also important to recognize that AI, while powerful, is not always 100% accurate, leaving room for potential errors in predicting campaign performance.

Headline update. Responsive search ads have the capability to display a single headline when it’s predicted to boost performance, and headlines can also appear at the beginning of description lines – a feature implemented after testing observed by advertisers last year.

However, assets pinned to specific positions will maintain their assigned spots. To assess the frequency of one headline or a headline at the start of description lines, you can check the combinations report.

Campaign level update. Advertisers can associate up to three headlines and two descriptions at campaign level, with the flexibility to pin them to specific positions.

Additionally, for time-sensitive promotions like sales, advertisers have the option to schedule start and end dates for these assets. Once headlines and descriptions are added, they become eligible to appear in every responsive search ad within the campaign.

Account level automated assets. You can opt in to account level automated assets to leverage Google AI to create assets like:

• Dynamic images.
• Dynamic sitelinks.
• Dynamic callouts.
• Dynamic structured snippers.

Google AI-generated assets will replace manually created assets of the same type when they are predicted to enhance performance. This marks a shift from the previous approach where manually created assets always took precedence over their automated counterparts.

What Google is saying. A Google spokesperson said in a statement:

• “RSAs have have always been designed to help advertisers deliver the best ad possible to the right person at the right time and these updates will help increase the effectiveness of RSAs.”
• “These types of changes will be reflected in an advertiser’s combinations report and the pinning mechanism will continue to be available.”

Deep dive. Read Google’s guidelines on search ad best practice for more information.