Snapchat has started testing an ad-free paid subscription plan in Australia.

For $US10.50 a month, the new Snapchat+ tier enables consumers to use the platform without disruption from Story or Lens ads.

However, the app notes that users may still see sponsored places or My AI responses.

Why we care. Should ad-free subscriptions gain popularity, there is a potential for a notable impact on ad reach within Snapchat, subsequently affecting campaign performance and advertiser ROI. However, considering the substantial revenue generated by ads on Snapchat, it is improbable that the platform would willingly allow any negative impact on its advertising ecosystem.

Snapchat+ tiers.
Here is a breakdown of the various subscriptions currently offered in Australia. It’s important to note that as of now, ad-free plans have not been made widely available:

• Monthly plan: For $US3.91 a month, users can experience a version of Snapchat that serves all ad formats – this totals to $US46.97 a year.
• Annual plan: By signing up to a 12-month subscription, users pay $US2.73 a month for a version of Snapchat that serves all ad formats – this totals to $US32.67 a year.
• Ad-free monthly plan: For $US10.50 a month, users can experience a mostly ad-free version of Snapchat.

Snapchat+ subscriptions can be cancelled any time in the app store.

Australia market only. The ad-free Snapchat+ subscription plan is currently only being tested in Australia. It’s unclear if the new tier will be rolled out to consumers in the US given the platform’s reliance on ad revenue in America.

First look. The new Snapchat+ tier was first spotted by social media consultant, Jonah Manzano. He shared a screenshot of the new offering with his followers on Instagram:

When asked why he thought the plan was being tested in Australia before potentially being rolled out to additional markets, Manzano said:

• “The perception that Australia gets new features first may stem from social media companies choosing the country for initial testing due to its diverse user base and advanced technological infrastructure.”
• “It’s not solely based on laws or regulations but rather a strategic decision influenced by factors like user engagement and feedback.”

Deep dive. Visit the Snapchat Help Center for more information on the platform’s ad-free subscription plans.

Sam Altman is returning as CEO, OpenAI announced.

It is – perhaps (hopefully?) – the final chapter of a chaotic week that saw Altman ousted as CEO, two interim CEOs announced and nearly every OpenAI threaten to quit and go to Microsoft unless the entire board resigned.

The announcement. OpenAI announced the news via an X post on Tuesday night:

• “We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo. We are collaborating to figure out the details. Thank you so much for your patience through this.”

Why we care. Now that the drama is over, let’s solve these ChatGPT service interruptions. Some of us are trying to work.

Status quo ante. Despite all the drama, OpenAI seemingly is now returning back to the way things were before all the drama that unfolded started Friday, with the shocking news that Altman had been ousted as CEO and all the chaos that followed.

They’re back. OpenAI’s (former – and once again(?) president) Greg Brockman shared this image via X:

Microsoft’s reaction. Altman posted that this move had the support of Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella:

• “i love openai, and everything i’ve done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together. when i decided to join msft on sun evening, it was clear that was the best path for me and the team. with the new board and w satya’s support, i’m looking forward to returning to openai, and building on our strong partnership with msft.”

Nadella reposted Altman’s message and added:

• “We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board. We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance. Sam, Greg, and I have talked and agreed they have a key role to play along with the OAI leadership team in ensuring OAI continues to thrive and build on its mission. We look forward to building on our strong partnership and delivering the value of this next generation of AI to our customers and partners.”

Dig deeper. See Techmeme for all the coverage.

YouTube has admitted to intentionally creating a suboptimal experience for users employing ad blockers.

Reports of a deliberate five-second delay in loading video pages on Mozilla’s Firefox have emerged on forums like Reddit and Hacker News.

Despite initial speculation about browser specificity, YouTube has clarified that users across all platforms may encounter loading delays. This deliberate delay is part of YouTube’s ongoing campaign to discourage the use of ad blockers.

Why we care. Encouraging users to disable ad blockers on YouTube can benefit advertisers by expanding reach. However, this broader reach might increase advertising costs and result in ads reaching less valuable customers, impacting the effectiveness of the marketing strategy. Achieving a balance between reach and targeting is crucial for optimizing return on investment.

Who is impacted? Not everyone is experiencing the reported five-second delay. Attempts by some individuals to recreate the issue on both Mac and Windows machines, while logged into YouTube or not, using ad-blockers or not, and in incognito mode or not, did not result in any observed delay. However, those that are impacted do have ad blockers installed.

What YouTube is saying. A YouTube spokesperson told Business Insider:

• “In the past week, users using ad blockers may have experienced suboptimal viewing, which included delays in loading, regardless of the browser they are using. Users who have uninstalled their ad blockers may still experience a temporary delay in loading, and should try refreshing their browser.”
• “Ads are a vital lifeline for our creators that helps them run and grow their businesses. That’s why the use of ad blockers violates YouTube’s Terms of Service.”
• “We’ve been urging users for some time to allow ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium for an ad-free experience.”

Deep dive. Read our report on YouTube’s ad blocker crackdown for more information.

Google Ads is investigating reports of an issue impacting AdMob.

The affected users have said that while they are able to access AdMob, they cannot retrieve their most recent data.

Some clicks that are recorded from Apple iOS 17 devices are not being counted in the reports, leading to inaccurate reporting as a consequence.

Why we care. Inaccurate data may result in an incorrect understanding of the performance of ad campaigns, making it challenging for advertisers to optimize their strategies effectively.

When will the problem be fixed? Google is continuing to investigate this issue with an update expected at 7pm UTC on 22 November 2023.

Google confirmed that it started investigating the issue at 11.14pm on 21 November 2023.

Fixed. Google posted an update later today saying, “The problem with AdMob has been resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and continued support. All the clicks are now being counted in the reports.”

Deep dive. Read the service disruption announcement from Google in full for more information.

Google Ads has confirmed that it is going to update the Location asset requirements in December.

The update will clarify the types of location assets that are not permitted on Google Ads.

Locations that will not be allowed as Location assets include:

• Locations that are closed
• Locations that are not recognized by Google
• Locations that do not match the business running the ad.
• Assets with products or services that do not match the specified location.

Why we care. Using location assets in ads lets you display important business information, like the address and phone number, boosting conversion potential. Not following these requirements may mean leaving out crucial details, potentially harming your return on investment.

Deep dive. Read Google’s Location asset requirements article for more information.

Google Ads has stopped supporting Store Sales Direct (SSD) as a standalone product.

The update means that SSD conversion upload requests to the Google Ads API are also no longer supported.

Why we care. If you relied on SSD, Google said to review the Store Sales onboarding guide to understand your eligibility for ongoing store sales measurement. Work with your Google Ads account team to update the feature.

Improving shop sales reports. The update aims to simplify Google Ads’ Store Sales product, providing improved shop sales measurement and reporting data. It impacts businesses falling into:

• Automotive OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) or Automotive Regional Dealer – Beta.
• Restaurant.
• Retailer.

Error message. Users previously allowlisted for this feature will now receive a NOT_ON_ALLOWLIST_FOR_STORE_SALES_DIRECT error when attempting to upload SSD conversions. However, existing SSD conversions will continue to be available in reports.

Google has addressed the most commonly asked questions it receives about automatically-created assets (ACA) and provided some much-needed answers.

Why we care. As more generative AI tools become available to marketers, choosing the right one can be challenging. The confusion about these tools and their proper usage adds to the complexity. Understanding the capabilities of features like ACA can empower marketers to make informed decisions on whether to incorporate them for optimizing their campaign performance.

Google addresses ACA confusion

Ginny Marvin, Product Liaison at Google, used her X account to answer some of the most commonly asked questions her team receives about ACA:

What’s the point of ACA? “When you enable automatically-created assets at the campaign level, it will create headlines and descriptions for your RSAs. The main goals are to help you save time and provide incremental conversion opportunities with more relevant ads.”

How are ACA used? “RSAs can assemble ad combinations that are predicted to perform best using both the assets you’ve provided and automatically generated assets.”

Where does ACA pull content from? “Automatically created assets are generated from your own content, including your landing pages, existing ads and keywords. Tip: Be sure your website is up-to-date when using this feature!”

Where can I see automatically-created assets? “ACA will be labeled as ‘Automatically created’ in the ‘Asset source’ column in ad- and campaign-level asset reporting. You’ll also see when ACAs are included in Combination reports.”

Can I remove ACA? “Yes, you can review & remove assets you don’t want to serve any more. In addition, any automatically created assets with a ‘low’ performance rating get removed, well, automatically.”

Can I test ACA in Campaign Experiments? “Yep! Draft and Experiments are compatible with ACA. You will see automatically created assets on both the test and control arm, however the control side will serve 0 ACA impressions.”

Should I just rely on ACA? “ACA should augment, not replace, your existing assets. Keep the assets you’ve already created and continue to provide as many as you can (up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions). Note that ACA don’t count toward these asset limits.”

Marketers give their verdict

Thomas Eccel, SMX Next speaker and Senior Performance Marketing Manager at Jung von Matt IMPACT, advised that while ACA can be a great source of inspiration, this feature needs to be closely monitored. He told Search Engine Land:

• “RSAs can work in my opinion to get inspiration of which Headlines and Description Google think could be potentially driving conversions for my account.”
• “I would not blindly active them on all accounts: do not activate them for accounts with high brand-control or for accounts where only some specific texts and wordings are allowed.”
• “If activated I would advise to closely monitor the asset creation and the sense of texts to not find surprises.”

Sarah Stemen, MBA, paid search expert and board member of the Paid Search Association, also shared her findings regarding ACA after experimenting with them in beta:

• Risk awareness: “I got client permission before we tested this (whenever you are testing something like this NEVER test this without making the risks very clear to ALL stakeholders, everyone MUST be on the same page).”
• Monitor daily: “These are indeed pulled from the website which means if you are running a sale on the website a headline will be pulled! If this is a short term sale you risk this headline or description running until the asset is removed by Google so YOU need to monitor this.””
• Headline issue: The platform will generate headlines longer than the rules (I see this as an advantage).”
• ACA can be boring: “I know, I know we complain that the automatically created anything is ‘bad’ but during the time we tested this in our account +95% of the assets were harmless. Mostly the assets were boring.”
• Human created assets win: “None of the automatically created assets performed better than the human created assets (note when I say perform I mean ‘had more impressions’ because RSA assets don’t perform the ad unit performs).”
• Watch for case inconsistencies: “All title case human written assets vs sentence style assets – but again you can remove.”

Language expansion. ACA for responsive search ads was rolled out in September for general availability in eight languages:

• Dutch
• English
• French
• German
• Italian
• Japanese
• Portuguese
• Spanish

Deep dive. Watch Google’s quick video tutorial on automatically created assets for more information or read Google’s responsive search ad guide for best practices on creating responsive search ads.

Google is updating the language in some child and teen ads policies next month, including:

• Ads & made for kids content.
• Ad-serving protections for children.
• Ad-serving protection for teens.

The search engine explained that while there are no enforcement changes, it is tweaking policy language to provide more clarity and transparency for brands and advertisers.

Why we care. Enhancing clarity in advertising policies is crucial for brands to avoid inadvertent violations of rules and regulations. This is particularly important, as breaching these regulations can lead to substantial financial penalties. By clearly understanding and adhering to advertising guidelines, brands can protect themselves from potential legal and financial consequences.

Ads & made for kids content. Google is reorganizing and clarifying the language in the restricted categories and prohibited content section to align with its Ad-serving protections for children policy.

Ad-serving protections for children. Google is incorporating a new article into the Google Ads help center to make it easier to find and understand its existing protections for children when displaying ads.

Ad-serving protection for teens. Google is revising the language for clarity and for better consistency with its other policies.

Why now? Following an Adalytics study in August accusing Google of improperly tracking children for targeted advertising, the search engine is taking steps to offer more clarity on its child and teen ads policies. The research suggested that brands using the PMax product may have unintentionally violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Despite the allegations, Google denied any wrongdoing, attributing the concerns to “confusion about brand safety controls and reporting supported in PMax” – an issues it appears to now be addressing.

Deep dive. Read our report on concerns around PMax ads inadvertently violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act for more information.

Apple is reportedly pulling all of its adverts from X after Elon Musk endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory.

The tech giant has allegedly also been concerned about its products being promoted alongside far-right content, according to Axios.

Why we care. As one of X’s longstanding major advertisers, Apple’s move to halt all ads is a powerful signal to other brands regarding the effectiveness of X as an advertising platform. Since Musk took over the social networking site last year, ad revenue has plummeted by 59%. Apple’s choice to withdraw its ads will undoubtedly be another huge blow for X’s ad revenue.

Far-right concerns. Apple, IBM, Amazon and Oracle were named as organizations whose ads appeared next to far-right posts on X, according to a report published by the left-leaning nonprofit Media Matters for America. IBM pulled all ads in response, with Apple becoming the latest major company to follow suit.

Antisemitic fears. More than 160 Jewish rabbis and activists have been calling on Apple, Google, Amazon and Disney to stop advertising on X after Musk endorsed an antisemitic post earlier this week. In response, X CEO Linda Yaccarino wrote in a post on the platform:

• “We have been extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination. There’s no place for it anywhere in the world — it’s ugly and wrong. Full stop.”

Deep dive. Read our report on X’s partnership with Google Ad Manager for more information on how the social platform is trying to salvage its advertising revenue.

Meta has previewed two new generative AI tools for video asset creation and picture editing.

The projects will eventually be rolled out to Facebook and Instagram, enabling content creators to generate videos and edit in-stream images within seconds using text prompts.

Why we care. Instantly generating various video assets and image edits reduces the back-and-forth time between creative and media teams, freeing up resources for strategic tasks like audience analysis. Quick access to diverse creatives can also serve as inspiration for marketers.

Emu Video. Meta’s latest generative AI tool for video creation, named Emu Video, is built upon the technology from the company’s “Emu” AI research project. This tool enables creators to generate short video clips using text prompts. Emu Video can produce high-quality video content from simple text or still image inputs. The same model can also animate user-provided images based on a text prompt, surpassing previous work by a significant margin and setting a new state-of-the-art standard.

Emu Edit. Meta’s new picture editing tool, Emu Edit, enables flexible editing through detailed instructions, handling tasks such as local and global edits, background removal and addition, color and geometry transformations, detection, segmentation, and more. Emu Edit accurately follows instructions, ensuring that pixels unrelated to the specified tasks in the input image remain unchanged.

What Meta is saying. A spokesperson for Meta said in a statement:

• “Although this work is purely fundamental research right now, the potential use cases are clearly evident. Imagine generating your own animated stickers or clever GIFs on the fly to send in the group chat rather than having to search for the perfect media for your reply.”
• “While certainly no replacement for professional artists and animators, Emu Video, Emu Edit, and new technologies like them could help people express themselves in new ways — from an art director ideating on a new concept or a creator livening up their latest reel to a best friend sharing a unique birthday greeting. And we think that’s something worth celebrating.”

Deep dive. Read Meta’s Emu Video and Emu Edit announcement in full for more information.