If your favorite map app suddenly pops up a window while driving, and asks you to pay attention to the pop-up reminder of “Sponsored Advertising Attractions” while driving, I believe everyone you meet will suddenly stop laughing. Unfortunately, this is the new feature that foreign media have recently paid attention to that Google Maps is suspected of being experimentally testing. Continue reading Google Maps is testing “pop-up ads in navigation”? Official: It’s not new. Content of the report.
▲Image source: Anthony Higman
Google Maps is testing “pop-up ads in navigation”? Official: It’s nothing new
Although we see that Meta has been working on the metaverse, they will joke that if you use their virtual reality service in the future, you will probably encounter the spirit behind the advertisements that is difficult to find the “XiCha” cancel button from time to time. After all, this is like the pop-up window of your favorite map app that suddenly pops up during navigation, asking you to pay attention to the “sponsored advertising attractions” pop-up reminder while driving. I believe everyone you meet will definitely stop laughing.
Unfortunately, this is the new feature that foreign media are paying attention to that Google Maps is suspected of being experimentally tested recently – although the official has immediately come out to put out the fire, saying that this is not actually a new feature (eh, so there is something better? XD).
This all started when Anthony Higman complained through the social media of the former Twitter (now known as X) that he encountered unprecedented “pop-up” advertising windows when using Google Maps navigation.
The point is, this advertisement, which seems to be a gentle reminder to “take a short detour” to a gas station/charging station or to eat at a restaurant, is actually like the “faster route” suggestion that often makes the author busy. It will use a pop-up countdown window to very radically suggest that users consider taking a detour to a location sponsored by the Google Maps advertising service.
▲Image source: Anthony Higman
That is to say, although the countdown button is the “Cancel” button, so in theory, it will not have an overly radical impact on the navigation path. However, according to Anthony Higman, he mentioned that he did not enter any keywords related to this sponsored attraction at all. However, when passing by a gas station, I was proactively pushed a reminder of this new navigation point of Royal Farms. It makes people confused as to why such information is being pushed.
This overly radical navigation pop-up advertising push method has naturally attracted the attention of many foreign media. Staff from Google’s advertising department also responded quickly to this social post. Mentioning that this “Promoted Pins” sponsored point advertising item is not a new feature, it was emphasized that users need to click on it themselves before the window to add a new stop will appear, and even if it is accidentally touched, it will quickly disappear in a short period of time.
However, Anthony Higman quickly responded and stated that he received the pop-up advertisement without clicking on the navigation screen. In this regard, official personnel stated that “this was an unexpected action” and hoped to learn more about the situation through private messages.
Hi Anthony, Promoted pins in navigation are not new – they let people see relevant ads for businesses like gas stations, restaurants, and stores along their route. To avoid driver distraction, these ads do not pop up, expand only if they’re tapped on, and disappear quickly after…
— AdsLiaison (@adsliaison) July 8, 2024
Recently, many “sponsored” advertising business locations have appeared on Google Maps. Therefore, it can be expected that their advertising team has already Invaded this world Pay attention to the potential of this service in advertising monetization.
▲Image source: Google
To be honest, I think that for a company as big as Google, at least for now, countries such as the European Union are still strictly reviewing their privacy-related practices. I would be inclined to guess. The navigation pop-up ad function that was revealed this time should be at best an internal test function, and may have been accidentally leaked to ordinary users (really just guessing).
However, it is not difficult to imagine that Google has felt a bit out of rhythm recently in the development of generative AI. They should be really actively trying to squeeze out more advertising revenue from various services to stabilize their main business income.
Therefore, I personally would guess that active pop-up ads may not be encountered in the navigation function in the future. But there is a good chance that we will see a new interface that is “easy” to accidentally touch or that encourages more reference to other attraction information in the future?
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Source: KOCPC Chinese