Google on Tuesday confirmed the layoffs of several hundred people within its global ad sales team, as a growing number of administrative and creative tasks are automated using artificial intelligence (AI).
“Each year, we follow a rigorous process to structure our team to provide the best service to our Ads clients (…). As part of this, several hundred positions are being eliminated globally,” said a spokesperson for the internet giant.
“Affected employees will be able to apply for vacant positions within the team or elsewhere at Google,” he said.
The information was first reported by Business Insider.
The Californian group has assured that the changes in this service will allow it to better support SMEs, with more clients supported, while the remaining staff will focus on large corporate clients.
Google also plans to create new roles and increase hiring this year, signaling an even bigger shift than during the pandemic.
The online search giant did not mention generative artificial intelligence (automated production of various content), which is however in the process of disrupting many sectors, including that of advertising.
Last week, Google Cloud announced new AI and generative AI solutions “to help retailers personalize online shopping, modernize operations, and transform the deployment of new technologies in stores,” according to a press release from the remote computing branch.
New tools allow brands to create virtual agents capable of interacting with consumers on websites and mobile applications, in a much more fluid and sophisticated way than chatbots without generative AI.
This technology, which has been igniting Silicon Valley and beyond for the past year, also accelerates and automates creation.
One of Google Cloud’s new tools, “generative AI to create and analyze product images, as well as associated descriptive texts, and automatically generate content such as compelling product descriptions, product metadata and a language adapted to search engine optimization (SEO),” underlines the press release.
Google had laid off around 12,000 people in January 2023 (6% of its workforce) in the face of inflation and rising interest rates, synonymous with reductions in advertiser spending. The internet giant has since had to invest massively in generative AI.
