AI in action: See the future with Predictive Targeting

On Monday we shared that our commitment to innovation drives us to continually evolve our technology. Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) directly into our advertising platforms and enhancing consumer enjoyment are just some of the developments on the horizon. Today we’re demonstrating this with Predictive Targeting.

Have you ever wished you could see the future of your advertising campaigns? Imagine if you could discover new audiences that are more likely to convert, even if you hadn’t considered targeting them before. Imagine if you could easily reach your ideal customers with personalized ads that resonate with their preferences, interests, and behaviors.

That’s the power of Predictive Targeting—and it’s the future

Predictive Targeting helps you easily find new audiences who are more likely to convert. It uses the data you provide, like your existing ads and landing pages, combined with Microsoft’s unique audience intelligence signals to deliver the perfect ad to a relevant audience, driving the best performance for your campaigns.

We’re excited to announce that Predictive Targeting is now available to all advertisers on Audience Ads. Whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, leverage Predictive Targeting to grow your audience and achieve your marketing goals.

With Audience Ads, deliver the best ad for an individual user based on intent. Our AI learns about all individual consumers: What they’re searching for, what they read and engage with on the web, what they purchase, and much more. Then, it matches intent to ads in placements across MSN, Microsoft Start, Microsoft Edge, Outlook, and more.

So, what does Predictive Targeting have in store for your audience campaigns? Let’s explore our top three predictions.

Prediction one: Finding your target audience will be a lot easier

Predictive Targeting requires little to no effort from you. Just switch it on at a click of a button in your ad group settings and Microsoft will use your existing assets to find the right audiences for your campaigns. We use signals from your ads and landing pages, and pair those with our audience intelligence signals to find the best audience for your ad.

Prediction two: You’ll save time and drive efficiencies

When it comes to achieving advertising success, two factors hold utmost importance: Saving time and maximizing efficiencies. With Predictive Targeting, these goals become easily attainable. Setting up Predictive Targeting is a breeze, as it eliminates the need for advertisers to create an entire audience targeting strategy from scratch. The powerful algorithms do the heavy lifting to identify the most promising prospects for your campaigns.

By focusing on users who are more likely to convert, Predictive Targeting helps you optimize your return on investment (ROI) and gain efficiencies.

Advertisers using Predictive Targeting saw an average of 46% higher conversion rate.¹

Prediction three: You’ll have the flexibility to best suit your needs

With Predictive Targeting, you have the power to mold your strategy to your needs. Whether you prefer to use it as a standalone strategy or layered on top of your existing audience approach, Predictive Targeting offers flexibility.

When used independently, it acts as a comprehensive solution to identify and target the most relevant users for your campaigns. Predictive Targeting can also be layered on top of your existing audience strategy.

By doing so, Predictive Targeting expands your reach and uncovers users who are outside of your defined target audience, yet still highly relevant to your business objectives. It reveals untapped opportunities and helps you discover a new pool of potential customers that you might not have considered targeting.

With this level of flexibility, Predictive Targeting empowers you to optimize your advertising efforts, adapt to changing market dynamics, and unlock the full potential of your campaigns.

Make these predictions a reality

Predictive Targeting will now be the default targeting option for your audience campaigns.

When setting up a campaign, it will be turned on by default—this means you don’t need to define a target audience, and we’ll find the best audience for your ads. What’s more, if you use it as a complement to an audience strategy, you benefit from additional signals to enhance your targeting. If you don’t wish to use Predictive Targeting, simply add an audience target and switch off the Predictive Targeting toggle. Easily toggle on or off your Predictive Targeting settings from the ad group settings in your campaign.

Ready to get started? Here are some best practices to consider

• Ad content and landing page: Use clear and descriptive ad copy that is aligned with your target customer. Ensure your landing page provides a great consumer experience.
• Automated bidding: Use Predictive Targeting in combination with automated bidding, such as Enhanced Cost Per Click (eCPC) or Target Cost Per Acquisition (Target CPA),^* to help drive the best performance from your campaigns.
• Reach expansion: We recommend switching on Predictive Targeting across all ad groups in your Audience campaigns to drive increased performance.
• Review and adjust: Keep an eye on your performance and adjust bids, ads, and landing pages as necessary to drive better results.

It’s time to make these predictions a reality for your business. Harnessing the power of Predictive Targeting will propel your campaigns to new heights and bring you closer to the future of targeting.

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