Google Assistant will make revenue from online sales

Back in March, customers started getting riled up when Google Home began playing advertisements for the new movie Beauty and the Beast. It did this by including a spot for the film in the daily briefing, and asked the users if they wished to know any fun facts about the movie. Customers weren’t too happy about this move, and it seems that Google is testing another revenue acquisition model using Google Assistant.

Google Senior Vice President of Advertising and Commerce Sridhar Ramaswamy expanded on the Assistant revenue model at the Google Marketing Next conference on Tuesday, citing that this revenue would come mainly from suggesting specific sales partners rather than inserting ads. In this way, Google is working like an affiliate for these businesses, getting a cut of each sale for assisting in the purchase. Marketers will not be charged for having their business listed in Assistant suggestions, as the system simply pulls the information already present in traditional search.

Google says they will be focusing on user features first, and will be working on this revenue model secondarily. While some might feel strange about the fact that Google is making money from suggestions, it is quite a useful feature that should help customers to find products nearby.

What’s your opinion on the move? Let us know in the comments below.