TLDR: Darline Jean, Google’s Managing Director of Global Publisher Platforms, predicts a significant transformation in advertising workflows within the next two years, driven by generative AI. Speaking at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Jean highlighted the trend of buyers moving closer to inventory sources and the role of AI in enhancing efficiency, transparency, and audience targeting.
CANNES – The advertising industry is on the cusp of a major transformation, with generative AI poised to dramatically reshape ad workflows by 2030, according to Darline Jean, Google’s Managing Director of Global Publisher Platforms. In a discussion at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Jean stated that the desire for buyers to get closer to the inventory source is the primary trend shaping the evolution of the relationship between advertisers and publishers.
Jean, who leads Google’s SSP (AdX), explained that her team connects buyer demand with publishers across all platforms. She emphasized that as buyers seek more proximity to inventory, deeper relationships with SSPs and new technological developments are emerging. One of the most significant innovations is curation. ‘Curation holistically allows you to target the right audience,’ Jean said. She introduced Google’s new Ad Manager Curation platform, which moves the data layer closer to the SSP side of the business. ‘Traditionally the data layer resided within the DSP. With brands trying to get closer to the inventory source, that data now resides within the SSP,’ she explained. This shift is expected to lead to a ‘tremendous increase in match rate and a greater increase in transparency,’ as well as ‘better forecasting.’
Jean described generative AI as a ‘multiplier’ that will elevate adtech to a new level. ‘I see generative AI as a multiplier in terms of what we can potentially do,’ she remarked. ‘If you think about reaching the audience, if you think about personalized ads, I do think generative AI is going to take it to an entire new level for the industry.’ She revealed that the ad manager team at Google is actively developing AI-powered tools.
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Looking ahead, Jean anticipates a ‘dramatic shift’ in workflow processes within the next two years. She believes that AI will automate many of the ‘mundane’ tasks, enabling a greater focus on strategic work. ‘Being able to actually just automate a lot of that mundane work and really focus a much more strategic vision is going to be much more easier,’ she asserted. Jean also suggested that the cycle of testing and learning with AI will be rapid, allowing the technology to become progressively smarter and make jobs easier.
