Google gives merchants new brand profiles, AI branding tools

New shopping features aimed at helping merchants better showcase their brands and create visual content using AI technology are now available, Google announced today at Google Marketing Live 2024.

The big picture. More than 40% of Google shopping searches mention specific brands or retailers, per internal Google data, signaling shoppers rely heavily on brand reputation and imagery when making purchases.

Why we care. With the proliferation of AI use, branding differentiation will become much more important. Advertisers will be happy to have specific tools to differentiate themselves from competitors through their brands. 

New brand profiles

• Google is rolling out visual “brand profiles” on Search to highlight key merchant information in one place.
• Profiles will feature brand imagery, videos, customer reviews, deals, promotions and shipping policies pulled from Google Merchant Center and Google’s shopping graph data.
• Ads will continue to appear alongside the new brand profiles.

AI content tools upgraded

• Google’s AI-powered Product Studio tool, which helps generate product imagery and videos for merchants, is getting new brand alignment features.
• Merchants can now upload reference images to ensure that generated visuals match their brand’s aesthetic and style.
  • For example, an apparel brand could create fresh campaign imagery by blending real product shots with lifestyle scenes.
• New video generation from just a single product photo is also being added.

The rollout. The new brand profiles on Search will roll out over the coming months, while Product Studio upgrades are launching now in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia.