Google's Smart Bidding Revolution + 4 AI Tools Beyond Marketing

Google's biggest bidding breakthrough, legal AI that's transforming professional services, and why Character.AI has 20M users talking

Author

Aleric Heck
May 27, 2025

In partnership with

The AI marketing world just experienced one of its most significant weeks in recent memory, and I'm genuinely excited to share what's unfolded.

Google just announced their largest advertising update in a decade, TikTok rolled out AI features that boost reach by 45%, and we're seeing AI evolve from a simple automation tool into a true strategic partner for marketing teams. Plus, I've discovered some fascinating new AI tools that could completely transform how you approach content creation and audience targeting.

In this week's newsletter, you'll discover the game-changing updates that could impact your campaigns immediately, explore cutting-edge AI tools that are pushing creative boundaries, and learn how to position your marketing strategy ahead of these rapid industry shifts.

📍 Quick Preview:

  • Google's revolutionary Smart Bidding Exploration feature and new AI creative tools

  • How TikTok's AI is delivering 45% better reach for premium ad placements

  • 4 powerful AI marketing tools worth your attention (including one that's setting new safety standards)

  • The shift toward real-time hyper-personalization and what it means for your campaigns

Let's dive in...

📈 This Week's Top AI Marketing Story

Google just dropped what they're calling their most significant advertising update in 10 years, and it's centered entirely around AI capabilities. The centerpiece is their new "Smart Bidding Exploration" feature, which uses machine learning to identify conversion opportunities that traditional bidding might miss.

But that's just the beginning. Google simultaneously launched a suite of AI-powered creative tools that feel like something out of a sci-fi movie: image-to-video generation, AI outpainting that extends your visuals beyond their original boundaries, trending campaign ideas generated in real-time, and shoppable video ads that can adapt dynamically to viewer behavior.

What caught my attention most is how Google is positioning this as an exploration tool rather than a replacement. Advertisers can opt into Smart Bidding Exploration to test new conversion paths while maintaining their existing campaigns. It's Google's way of letting you dip your toes into AI-powered bidding without diving headfirst into unknown waters.

Why This Matters: This isn't just another incremental update. Google is fundamentally changing how advertisers discover and capture demand. The AI isn't just optimizing your existing strategy – it's finding opportunities you never knew existed.

🎯 Quick Action Tip: If you're running Google Ads, look for the Smart Bidding Exploration option in your campaign settings within the next few weeks. Start with a small budget allocation to test how the AI identifies new conversion opportunities for your specific business.

🚀 AI Marketing Quick Hits

TikTok's AI-Enhanced "Pulse Premiere" Delivers 45% Reach Boost

TikTok expanded their premium ad program with AI-driven content curation that automatically places your ads alongside the platform's top 4% of content. The system uses machine learning to create "Custom Lineups" and seasonal packages that align with trending categories.

Why This Matters: Premium ad placement just became accessible to smaller advertisers through AI automation. You no longer need manual media buying expertise to access TikTok's most engaging content environments.

Action Item: Check if Pulse Premiere is available in your TikTok Ads Manager and test it with your best-performing creative assets.

YouTube Tests AI Video Summaries for Better Discovery

YouTube is rolling out AI-generated summaries that appear alongside videos to improve content discoverability and help viewers quickly understand what they're about to watch.

Why This Matters: This could significantly impact how your video content gets discovered. The AI summaries will influence click-through rates and audience retention.

Action Item: Review your video titles and descriptions to ensure they clearly communicate value – the AI will use this information to generate accurate summaries.

ChatGPT Launches Conversational Shopping Features

OpenAI introduced shopping capabilities within ChatGPT, allowing users to discover and purchase products through natural conversation. Users can describe what they're looking for, and ChatGPT will provide personalized recommendations with purchase links.

Why This Matters: Conversational commerce is moving from concept to reality. This could reshape how consumers discover and evaluate products, especially for complex purchases that benefit from Q&A interactions.

Action Item: Consider how your products might be discovered through AI assistants and ensure your product information is optimized for AI consumption.

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Now, after 41% gross profit growth last year, they recently reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO. But the real opportunity is now, at the unlisted stage.

Until May 29, you can join Pacaso as an investor for just $2.80/share.

This is a paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals. Under Regulation A+, a company has the ability to change its share price by up to 20%, without requalifying the offering with the SEC.

Google's new Smart Bidding Exploration feature is genuinely exciting me this week, and here's why it could be a complete game-changer for how we approach campaign optimization. This isn't just another bidding strategy – it's Google's AI actively hunting for conversion opportunities that traditional bidding methods completely miss.

What makes this particularly fascinating is how Google positioned this as an exploration tool rather than a replacement system. You can opt into Smart Bidding Exploration while maintaining your existing campaigns, essentially giving Google's AI permission to test new conversion paths and audience segments that you might never have considered.

The AI analyzes patterns across Google's entire advertising ecosystem to identify demand signals that align with your business goals. It's like having a tireless research assistant that's constantly discovering new ways people might want to engage with your products or services.

What You Can Do With It:

  • Discover Hidden Conversion Paths: Let Google's AI identify user journeys and touchpoints you weren't targeting

  • Test New Audience Segments: Explore customer segments that traditional keyword research might miss

  • Optimize Budget Allocation: Allow AI to shift spend toward newly discovered high-converting opportunities

Notable Capabilities:

  • Machine learning that identifies demand patterns across billions of searches

  • Opt-in exploration that works alongside existing campaigns

  • Real-time optimization based on conversion probability

  • Integration with Google's new AI-powered creative tools

The feature is rolling out to Google Ads accounts now at no additional cost – it's included with your existing Smart Bidding campaigns.

What I find most compelling about this development is how it represents Google's shift from reactive optimization to proactive opportunity discovery. Instead of just improving what you're already doing, the AI is actively seeking entirely new ways to achieve your business objectives.

🛠️ More AI Tools Worth Exploring

Harvey AI - Professional-Class Legal AI Platform

  • Specialized AI platform built specifically for legal professionals, trained on legal datasets and case law materials

  • AI-powered legal research, document drafting, predictive analytics, and secure document management

  • Used by major law firms like Allen & Overy with over 3,500 lawyers testing the platform

  • Custom pricing through waitlist and demo process (historically around $500 per lawyer per year)

  • Learn more about Harvey AI

Interactive Character AI

Janitor AI - AI Character Chatbot Platform

  • Chatbot platform for creating and interacting with customizable AI-generated characters

  • Attracted over one million users within the first week of launch by Jan Zoltkowski

  • Free to use with JanitorLLM Beta, with API costs varying by model selection

  • Strong focus on contextual understanding and multi-age interaction capabilities

  • Explore Janitor AI

Conversational AI Entertainment

Character.AI - AI Companion Platform

  • Platform for creating and chatting with AI characters including fictional, historical, and celebrity figures

  • Over 20 million users with monthly traffic of 168.8 million and remarkable $1 billion valuation

  • Freemium model with unlimited messaging in free tier, Character.AI+ at $9.99/month for priority access

  • Built on proprietary LLM optimized for conversational empathy and engagement

  • Try Character.AI

AI Writing Enhancement

QuillBot - AI-Powered Writing Assistant

  • Advanced paraphrasing and writing tool that uses AI to improve writing quality and overcome writer's block

  • Comprehensive suite including grammar checking, plagiarism detection, and summarization tools

  • Praised for affordability at $4.17/month annually, offering great value with solid reputation

  • Handles over five billion paraphrasing requests yearly with millions of active users

  • Get QuillBot

Note: While these tools weren't specifically designed for traditional marketing applications, they each offer unique capabilities that forward-thinking marketers are exploring for content creation, customer engagement, professional services, and interactive experiences.

💡 Pro Tip of the Week

Leverage Real-Time Hyper-Personalization for Dynamic Campaign Optimization

One of the biggest trends I'm seeing is the shift from static personalization to dynamic, real-time adaptation. Here's how to implement this advanced strategy:

Step 1: Set Up Event-Based Triggers Configure your marketing automation to respond to real-time events: weather changes, news events, competitor actions, or even global happenings that affect your audience's mindset.

Step 2: Create Modular Content Templates Build content pieces that can be dynamically assembled. Instead of creating 50 different ad variations, create 10 headlines, 10 descriptions, and 10 CTAs that AI can mix and match based on real-time signals.

Step 3: Implement Contextual Decision Trees Use AI to automatically adjust your messaging based on time of day, user behavior patterns, and external events. For example, your software tool might emphasize "productivity" during work hours and "work-life balance" during evenings.

Step 4: Monitor and Adjust Decision Parameters Track which contextual factors drive the best performance and refine your AI's decision-making criteria accordingly.

Success Metric: Monitor engagement rate improvements when content adapts to context versus static campaigns. Many brands see 25-40% improvements in engagement when implementing real-time personalization effectively.

The developments this week signal a fundamental shift in how AI integrates with marketing operations. We're moving beyond AI as a tool for automation toward AI as a strategic decision-making partner.

Three Key Implications:

  1. Marketing Teams Become AI Innovation Hubs: Forward-thinking marketing departments are pioneering AI adoption that influences broader business functions. This positions marketing as a strategic driver of digital transformation.

  2. Real-Time Becomes the New Standard: Static campaigns and preset audience segments are becoming obsolete. Success will depend on your ability to adapt messaging and targeting in real-time based on contextual signals.

  3. Ethical AI Becomes Competitive Advantage: As Anthropic's transparent approach shows, companies that prioritize AI safety and transparency will build stronger consumer trust and regulatory compliance.

The marketers who thrive in 2025 will be those who embrace AI as a strategic partner while maintaining the human oversight necessary for brand safety and authentic customer relationships.

Ready to Supercharge Your Ad Targeting with AI?

The AI marketing landscape is evolving rapidly, but you don't have to wait for the next big announcement to start benefiting from these innovations.

KeywordSearch.com helps you implement AI-powered audience targeting today:

✨ Complete AI Audience Solution:

  • AI Audience Builder for instant targeting insights

  • One-Click Google/YouTube Sync

  • 100k+ Ad Examples Database

  • Competitor Targeting Intelligence

  • Regular AI Feature Updates

Used by 15,000+ marketers who've transformed their targeting approach.

Aleric & Greg
KeywordSearch.com 

P.S. While everyone's talking about AI content creation, the real competitive advantage is reaching the right audience. Try KeywordSearch free for 5 days and discover why smarter targeting beats better ads every time.

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