AI is transforming Google Search, making it more intuitive and responsive to user needs. Evolving search behaviors also require new ways to succeed with Search advertising. Asset flexibility is key in order to build effective and relevant ads that deliver a great user experience.
We're constantly looking for new ways to optimize your ads and drive better performance with the assets you've invested time in creating. That’s why we're exploring new AI-powered changes to Search campaigns and creatives, designed to increase asset flexibility and improve your results by finding the best combination of assets.
More flexibility with responsive search ads
Responsive search ads (RSAs) allow you to use the power of Google AI to find the best combination of headlines, descriptions, and other assets to deliver the most relevant ads to your customers while meeting your performance goals.
Last year, we updated responsive search ads by allowing them to show one headline when it’s predicted to improve your performance. As part of this change, an RSA headline became eligible to show at the beginning of your description lines.
We've learned that different combinations of content and messaging resonate differently with various users and queries. To realize our vision of delivering the right message to the right user in the right format, we’re exploring giving our AI systems greater flexibility to optimize the overall combination of headlines, descriptions, and other assets.
Our vision is that your headlines, descriptions, and other creative elements can be intelligently assembled and served in a variety of formats. In some cases, our systems may even consider not showing certain pieces of content—such as description lines—when it leads to better performance, allowing for a truly adaptable and optimized ad experience tailored to each individual search.
Beyond the headline: new ways to use your existing assets
In this example, the additional headlines that didn’t serve as part of the responsive search ad combination—“Free Shipping on Laptops” and “Unbeatable Prices & Family Savings!”—showed in the site link format because they were predicted to improve performance.
Here’s an example of how we’re introducing greater asset flexibility to your Search ads, while maximizing relevance. Starting today, up to two RSA headlines can serve in the space that previously only sitelinks were eligible for when they’re predicted to improve performance. When this occurs, the two links built from your headlines will point to your ad's final URL. We understand that additional links in your ads are important because they can drive traffic to different pages on your site, which is why we’re only allowing a maximum of two headlines to serve as secondary links.
We’ve heard from advertisers that you invest significant time and resources crafting compelling headlines—up to 15 variations, despite our current formats only allowing 3 headlines to be displayed in a single ad. This update aims to maximize the impact of your headlines by giving more of your unused assets the opportunity to connect with potential customers and deliver high-quality messaging that enhances their search experience.
In our testing, we've found that introducing enhanced asset flexibility, like enabling additional headlines to serve in different parts of the ad, drives increased user engagement with text ads on Google.com.1
It’s important to note that we will continue to maintain high relevance of your assets to the keywords in your campaign and ad groups. We will also continue to respect the parts of your ad copy that you want to control by adhering to your pinned assets. If you have assets that are pinned to headline position 1, headline position 2, or description position 1, they'll continue to show in those designated positions when your ads serve. We will optimize the placement of all other assets while ensuring they remain relevant to the user's search query. And you’ll be able to see how your assets are coming together using the combinations report. Use this to check the most common headline, description and asset combinations shown—including if a headline is serving frequently in the sitelink format, for example.
Rolling out globally in all languages, this update is a continuation of our work to make the most of all your assets while delivering the most relevant and meaningful experience possible to users. To optimize your ads and messaging on Google Search, continue to follow our guidance on RSA best practices, as these will remain the same. We’re committed to helping you achieve the best results and are excited to see how these updates help you connect with more customers and achieve your marketing goals.
Posted by Rushil Grover, Group Product Manager, Google Search Ads
1. Google Internal Data January 2025
