A new Google Ads report puts the full customer journey on one screen,
and AI Brief expands to give advertisers more say in how their ads
behave, just as businesses gear up for Black Friday.
LAGOS, Nigeria, 25 September 2026 – Google has announced two new
features for AI Max for Search, giving Nigerian businesses a clearer
view of what their Search ads deliver and more control over how those
ads behave. Unveiled at DMEXCO in Cologne, Germany, one of the world’s
largest digital marketing events, the updates are a new reporting
feature in Google Ads and an expansion of AI Brief, a tool built with
Gemini that lets advertisers guide their ads in plain words.
The new reporting feature shows, in a single view, what a customer
searched for, which ad they saw and which page of the business’s website
they landed on. Advertisers currently piece this together from different
parts of their Google Ads account. Bringing it into one place means a
business can quickly see which searches its ads are reaching and whether
customers are landing on the right pages. The feature will roll out to
advertisers around the world, including in Nigeria, later this year.
AI Brief lets advertisers tell AI Max, in their own words, how their ads
should work. A business can set what its ads should and should not say,
such as “never mention prices”; which searches to focus on, such as
“prioritise searches for school uniforms”; and how to speak to different
customers, such as “for first-time buyers, highlight free delivery in
Lagos.” Before a campaign goes live, AI Brief shows previews of sample
ads and searches so advertisers can fine-tune them. The tool is
expanding as a closed beta around the world, with seven new languages
added.
“We’re excited to give Nigerian businesses a clearer view of what their
advertising delivers,” said Olumide Balogun, Director, East & West
Africa, Google. “Every naira matters, especially in the weeks before
Black Friday. With the new report, business owners will see on one
screen the question a customer asked, the ad she saw and the page she
landed on, which makes it far easier to decide where their budget works
best.”
Dan Taylor, Google’s Vice President of Global Ads, unveiled the updates
in his DMEXCO keynote, where he set out how search is changing. People
now ask longer, more detailed questions, and many search by voice or
with their phone camera. Searches in AI Mode are three times longer than
traditional searches, and one in six is made by voice or image. AI Max,
launched last year and adopted by half a million advertisers in its
first year, is Google’s fastest-growing Search ads product and is built
for this shift. It focuses on what a customer means, beyond the exact
words typed, and advertisers using it are seeing 27% more conversions,
such as sales or enquiries, at a similar cost.
Nigerian businesses can also reach these customers in a new place on the
page. Ads now appear above and below AI Overviews, the short AI answers
at the top of some Google searches, in more than 200 countries,
including Nigeria, reaching two billion people.
For Nigerian businesses, the change is easy to picture. The customer who
once typed “generator” now asks which small generator can power a
freezer and two fans without using too much fuel. AI Max helps a
business reach that customer, and the new report will show exactly which
of those questions its ads answered.
“With Black Friday on 27 November and the festive season close behind,
now is the time for businesses to set up their peak season campaigns,”
Balogun added. “Most of these tools already sit inside the Google Ads
accounts Nigerian businesses use today, and we want to help them make
the most of them.”
