Last week, Bing announced their new Audience Network feature to be used in advertising and marketing. The Microsoft Audience Network is powered by AI and identifies users in all stages of the consumer journey. With this new feature, advertisers are exposed to more detailed targeting options and brand-safe ad placements.

AI, Artificial Intelligence, is a task performed by a program or machine that would require human intelligence (Minsky, 1950s). Over the past few decades, AI has boomed from voice-searching devices, such as Google Home, to medical uses in detecting tumours.

Search engines use AI with machine learning, automated bidding and improving audience targeting.

Microsoft Audience Ads

Using this Audience Network, advertisers can create ads in two formats; image-based and feed-based, both of which are responsive. Benefits from this release to advertisers will include higher-quality clicks, assurance in ad placements and boosted performance overall.

Advertisers will be able to use Audience Ads in the standard interface and create responsive image ads.

The new Microsoft Audience Network can detect specific features of users. This could be; customer intent, customer profiles and location/devices. This feature can be applied to Ad campaigns and Ad search extensions.

How does it work?

The Audience Network reportedly improves “ad selection and relevancy matching as well as pricing, click and conversion prediction”, which will adapt and learn with use from advertisers. This will be done through machine-learning and other Bing AI technology.

Compared to Google

As with every Bing feature, it is always compared to Google. On Google, advertisers can use machine-learning to expand audiences. However, Microsoft state that “that there are 63 million search users that Google can’t reach in the MSAN”. This could potentially mean that Audience Ads will reach users that go undetected by Google’s machine-learning.

This feature is said to be released in the upcoming months, however Bing are trialling Audience Ads with big brands such as Kohls. When released, it will be available in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia initially.