Latest news with #iAsk
Skift
07-05-2025
- Business
- Skift
Google Places Travel Ads in Startup AI Search Engine Results
This is the first time that the public can see Google testing ads for the future of AI-generated search results. Google is now placing ads for travel companies within the search results of some generative AI search engines. Similar to ChatGPT and Google's Gemini, there are many startups developing their own versions of AI search engines. Through a connection with Google's Ads program, those startups can now display ads within their normal search results, as Bloomberg first reported. At least one of those startups, iAsk, shows sponsored posts from travel companies in response to user prompts about travel. Skift asked the iAsk chatbot several questions about traveling to New York City. The questions triggered sponsored results from multiple travel companies: Trivadvisor, Viator, American Airlines, Kayak, Furnished Quarters, CheapOair, and several lesser known booking sites. A screenshot of ads for American Airlines and Kayak below AI-generated search results on The prompt: "Best ways to get to NYC." Source: Skift Making Money from AI Search Google makes billions of dollars each year from Expedia and Booking Holdings from sponsored links. Since OpenAI released the first generative AI chatbot in 2022, there have been questions about how to continue to make money from search. Perplexity was the first AI search engine to say it was experimenting with an advertising program, which launched late last year. It doesn't appear that Google's Gemini displays sponsored results — yet. The new ads come through Google's AdSense for Search, a service that historically allows clients to deploy a search engine on their website and earn money by displaying ads within search results. Google matches advertisers with websites to show relevant ads to users. Google confirmed with Skift that it expanded the AdSense for Search program earlier this year to AI search engines after testing the tech with a "handful of publishers." Google added: "As always, we offer advertisers tools to control over where their ads run and they can choose to exclude specific sites that they don't want their ads to run on, or opt out of the Search Partner Network altogether." Google did not disclose the websites it worked with, but iAsk confirmed its relationship with Google in a post on LinkedIn: 'As part of early tests with Google's AdSense for Search, iAsk was one of the first AI startups selected to explore ads within AI chat experiences.' iAsk did not respond to a request for comment. Chicago-based iAsk was founded in 2022 and raised $4.2 million in seed funding last year. The Bloomberg article also named the startup Liner as a Google client, but questions on that engine didn't trigger travel ads. This comes shortly after a U.S. federal district judge ruled that Google carried out anticompetitive acts to exert monopoly power in online advertising, which some travel execs believe could benefit their companies in the long run. That ruling led the U.S. Department of Justice to propose this week that Google sell two of its ad tech products.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Google is reportedly showing ads in chats with some third-party AI chatbots
Google's AdSense advertising network started supporting ads inside users' chats with some third-party AI chatbots earlier this year, Bloomberg reported. The company is rolling out the feature following tests with AI search startups iAsk and Liner, the report said, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter. 'AdSense for Search is available for websites that want to show relevant ads in their conversational AI experiences,' Bloomberg cited a Google spokesperson as saying. The search and advertising giant is ostensibly seeking to capitalize on — and offset the potential threat of — the burgeoning trend of users increasingly using AI chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude, and Perplexity to search the web and answer common queries. Google has invested heavily in AI tools and products, with a slate of large language models and frequent updates to its Gemini AI apps and models. The company late last year started showing ads in AI Overviews, the AI-generated summaries it supplies for certain Search queries. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. This article originally appeared on TechCrunch at
The Star
01-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Google places ads inside chatbot conversations with AI startups
The Google AdSense network, which traditionally displays ads in search results and in the margins of websites, has expanded to include conversations with chatbots operated by AI startups. — Bloomberg Google's ad network has begun showing advertising within the flow of conversations with chatbots – part of Alphabet Inc's efforts to keep its edge in digital advertising as generative artificial intelligence takes off. Earlier this year, the Google AdSense network, which traditionally displays ads in search results and in the margins of websites, has expanded to include conversations with chatbots operated by AI startups. Google made the move after conducting tests last year and earlier this year with a handful of startups, including AI search apps iAsk and Liner, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private information. Showing ads alongside its own search results is the heart of Google's business, bolstered by a business that serves up advertising across much of the web. That empire has come under threat as new entrants like OpenAI and Perplexity AI seek to siphon off the search giant's audience with products aiming to help users find what they are looking for more quickly. As Google invests heavily to protect its lead, finding the best way to monetize generative AI will be crucial, said Tomasz Tunguz, a general partner at Theory Ventures. "Feedback loops are incredibly important,' Tunguz said. "Having greater visibility into what's working' is essential to success. A Google spokesperson confirmed that "AdSense for Search is available for websites that want to show relevant ads in their conversational AI experiences.' Startups iAsk and Liner declined to comment on their relationship with Google. Regulators are increasingly scrutinising Google's influence over the advertising economy that underpins the open web. Google Search, an industry juggernaut, yielded more than US$198bil (RM854.27bil) in revenue in 2024, almost 60% of Alphabet's annual sales. In April, a federal judge found that the Alphabet unit violated antitrust law in the markets for advertising exchanges and tools used by websites to sell ad space, known as ad servers. The company has argued that it has a dominant position because its tools are effective and easy to use. Now, with its burgeoning business relationships with startups, Google aims to profit even if its share of the search market dwindles. Running experiments with AI startups will allow the company to test the waters for advertising in the relatively new world of AI chats. Generative AI startups are increasingly exploring advertising-based business models to offset the high costs of answering users' questions with artificial intelligence. For example, before inviting users to ask follow-up questions, iAsk shows ads below its AI-generated responses. In addition to Google, startups such as Koah Labs have begun allowing brands to serve ads to the chatbot audience. AI search startup Perplexity, one of the most prominent players using AI to reshape internet services, establishes relationships directly with brands that want to buy ads on the site, according to a person familiar with the matter. Perplexity allows brands to sponsor follow-up questions to users' queries. To keep its product accessible for students, a key audience, Liner has focused on delivering a select number of ads tailored to users' searches. People using generative AI tend to click on fewer links – which may pose challenges for startups seeking to make money through online advertising, where brands often pay per click. But Liner users, who come to the site for research, often click on links, and the longer queries allow for more targeted advertising, Chief Executive Officer Luke Jinu Kim said in an interview. With its advertising, Liner is trying to achieve something that is "more like a very early version of Google search ads,' Kim said, adding that he hopes the site will show a small number of ads that are highly related to the query. – Bloomberg
Bloomberg
30-04-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Google Places Ads Inside Chatbot Conversations With AI Startups
Google's ad network has begun showing advertising within the flow of conversations with chatbots — part of Alphabet Inc.'s efforts to keep its edge in digital advertising as generative artificial intelligence takes off. Earlier this year, the Google AdSense network, which traditionally displays ads in search results and in the margins of websites, has expanded to include conversations with chatbots operated by AI startups. Google made the move after conducting tests last year and earlier this year with a handful of startups, including AI search apps iAsk and Liner, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private information.
Forbes
15-04-2025
- Forbes
AI In Education: Personalized, Adaptive, And Breaking Barriers
How does AI help students learn better? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Answer by Dominik Mazur, CEO and co-founder of iAsk, on Quora: Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing education by making expert-level knowledge more accessible, personalized, and interactive. Traditional search engines provide access to information, but AI-driven tools go a step further by guiding students through the learning process, helping them grasp complex concepts and apply knowledge more effectively. One key advantage of AI in education is adaptive learning. Unlike static content, AI can adjust explanations based on a student's level of understanding, breaking down difficult topics into manageable, step-by-step insights. This personalized approach helps students learn at their own pace and ensures that they receive targeted explanations rather than generic information. AI also addresses educational inequality by making high-quality tutoring more accessible. Private tutors and specialized courses are often expensive and limited to students in certain geographic locations. AI-powered learning tools, however, provide on-demand academic support, bridging the gap between underprivileged students and those with greater resources. Another transformative aspect is real-time feedback and interactive problem-solving. AI systems can evaluate how a student arrives at an answer, identify misconceptions, and offer immediate corrective guidance. This is particularly useful in STEM subjects, where step-by-step reasoning is crucial. Unlike traditional search engines, which merely return definitions or formulas, AI learning assistants walk students through the problem-solving process, helping them develop a deeper conceptual understanding. Looking ahead, AI will play a growing role in education beyond rote memorization. By simulating expert mentorship, facilitating collaborative learning, and offering dynamic problem-solving experiences, AI can empower students to think critically, explore new ideas, and apply knowledge in real-world contexts. The future of learning will be defined by AI's ability to make expert knowledge universally accessible, interactive, and engaging. This question originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.
