Google unveils AI tools for Nigerian businesses

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Technology company Google says it has unveiled new Artificial Intelligence-powered advertising features to assist Nigerian businesses in better tracking the performance of their online adverts and managing campaigns.

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The Google Director for East and West Africa, Mr Olumide Balogun, made this statement on Friday in Lagos.

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Balogun said that the features, introduced under its AI Max for Search platform, would give advertisers clearer information on customer interactions with Search ads.

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He said that the updates comprised a new Google Ads reporting feature and
nan expansion of AI Brief, a Gemini-powered tool that allowed advertisers to guide campaigns using plain language.

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According to him, the reporting feature brings together information on what customers searched for, the adverts they see and the webpages they subsequently visit.

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He said that the information, currently accessed from different sections of Google Ads accounts, would now appear in a single view.

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“We are excited to give Nigerian businesses a clearer view of what their advertising delivers.

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“Every naira matters, especially in the weeks before Black Friday.

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“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.

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“This makes it far easier to decide where their budget works best,” Balogun said.

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He said that the reporting feature, unveiled at DMEXCO 2026 in Cologne, Germany, would be rolled out globally, including Nigeria, later in the year.

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Balogun said that AI Brief would also allow businesses to specify, in everyday language, what their advertisements should or should not communicate.

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He explained that an advertiser could instruct the system not to mention prices, prioritise particular searches or highlight specific offers to certain categories of customers.

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According to him, advertisers can preview sample adverts and searches before campaigns go live and adjust their instructions where necessary.

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He said that AI Brief was being expanded as a closed beta, with support for seven additional languages – Japanese, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, French and Italian.

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Google also announced that advertisements could now appear above and below AI Overviews in more than 200 countries, including Nigeria.

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Balogun urged Nigerian businesses preparing for Black Friday and the festive shopping season to begin planning their campaigns early.

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“With Black Friday on Nov. 27 and the festive season close behind, now is the time for businesses to set up their peak-season campaigns,” he said.

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Google’s Vice-President of Global Ads, Mr Dan Taylor, said at DMEXCO that changing search habits were influencing how businesses reached potential customers online.

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Taylor said that consumers increasingly used longer and more detailed questions, voice commands and images when searching for products and services.

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He said that searches conducted through Google’s AI Mode were three times longer than traditional searches, while one in six searches was made through voice or images.

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Taylor added that AI Max, introduced in 2025, had been adopted by about 500,000 advertisers globally.

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He said that advertisers using the product recorded 27 per cent more conversions, including sales and enquiries, at a similar cost.

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Taylor, however, noted that the performance figures were global data presented at DMEXCO 2026 and not figures specific to Nigeria.

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