TikTok made a big splash at New York’s Advertising Week with a series of cutting-edge announcements, unveiling AI-driven tools designed to enhance campaign performance, provide better measurement insights, and bolster privacy protection for advertisers.
David Kaufman, TikTok’s global head of monetization product solutions and operations, highlighted the platform’s commitment to innovation: “We’re building for the future. By listening to our advertiser partners, we’ve developed solutions that deliver real performance. Our goal is to help brands engage with TikTok communities while driving meaningful business results.”
Introducing the Smart+ Suite
The headline feature from TikTok’s announcement is the new Smart+ suite, powered by the platform’s TikTok Symphony AI. First revealed during the fourth annual TikTok World event in May, Symphony AI allows advertisers to automate the performance bidding process across targeting, creative, and bidding strategies.
Advertisers simply upload their assets, set their budget, and define their target audience. The Smart+ system then uses AI to select the best creative assets, identifies the most appropriate audience, and delivers the ads to users who are most likely to engage and convert.
This fully automated process offers four campaign objectives:
- Smart+ Web Campaigns: Driving traffic and sales directly from TikTok ads to an advertiser’s website.
- Smart+ Catalog Ads: Delivering personalised product recommendations based on user interests and behaviour.
- Smart+ App Campaigns: Designed to increase app installs and conversions.
- Smart+ Lead Generation Campaigns: Converting interested users into high-value customers.
Early results are promising, with TikTok’s internal data showing that Smart+ Web Campaigns can improve return on ad spend (ROAS) by up to 52%. EssilorLuxottica’s performance marketing manager, Roberta Atzori, also shared impressive results: “We saw a 50% reduction in acquisition costs, a 47% increase in conversion rates, and a 42% improvement in ROAS using the Smart+ tools for our RayBan campaigns.”
GMV Max for TikTok Shop
In addition to Smart+, TikTok introduced GMV Max, a tool aimed at merchants using TikTok Shop. This feature helps sellers streamline campaign creation by automating audience targeting, bidding, and creative selection.
By integrating organic content, paid ads, and affiliate posts, GMV Max optimises traffic to boost return on investment (ROI). The tool also significantly reduces the time it takes to set up campaigns, giving sellers access to placements across TikTok’s For You feed, search, and the Shop tab within a single campaign.
Brands involved in the initial testing of GMV Max reported an average gross merchandise value (GMV) increase of 30%. Nish Samantray, co-founder and co-CEO of wellness brand Arrae, praised the tool: “GMV Max lets us focus more on creative optimisation, which is the most critical part of ad buying. It allows our team to concentrate on what matters most.”
Enhanced Measurement with Conversion Lift Studies
On the measurement side, TikTok is now offering Conversion Lift Studies to advertisers of all sizes. This tool measures the impact of TikTok ads beyond simple click-through rates, analysing the relationship between ad exposure and consumer behaviour to identify sales that may not have occurred without the TikTok ad.
TikTok’s research revealed that traditional click-and-buy methods undervalue TikTok conversions by 73%. Furthermore, brands using Conversion Lift Studies are seeing conversion rates at least 25% higher than those of consumers not exposed to TikTok ads.
Privacy Protection for Advertisers
TikTok also announced new integrations with privacy-enhancing technology providers, including Anonym Trusted Execution Environments, Amazon Web Services Clean Rooms, LiveRamp Clean Rooms powered by Habu, and Secure Multi-Party Computation. These partnerships are designed to ensure advertisers can protect user data while still accessing the insights they need to run effective campaigns.
A Clear Focus on Performance and Innovation
TikTok’s suite of new tools signals the platform’s growing focus on helping advertisers maximise their ROI through advanced AI and automation. As the platform continues to expand its capabilities, brands can look forward to smarter, more effective advertising solutions that enhance performance while respecting user privacy.
With Smart+, GMV Max, and enhanced measurement tools now available, TikTok is doubling down on its commitment to deliver value for advertisers in an increasingly competitive digital landscape.
Reference: https://www.adweek.com/social-marketing/tiktok-ai-powered-smart-tools/#
