Bing Ads Is Now Microsoft Advertising (So What’s In a Name?)

Bing Ads is no more. Name-wise, I mean. Bing Ads is overhauling its brand focus; part of that restructuring is changing its name. Bing Ads will now be called Microsoft Advertising.

The new name is more than just a brand play; it’s a way for Microsoft to signal a more substantial change in targeting capabilities and data usage.

“In the next year, we’re introducing more advertising products with built-in AI, more connected to your data and your business,” Rik van der Kooi, corporate VP for Microsoft Advertising, wrote in a blog introducing the change.

Bing Ads was previously called Microsoft adCenter. But the current name change to Microsoft Advertising is no throwback to simpler times: increased functionality is promised along with the new name.

“Automation and AI are amplifying what’s possible for humans to do,” Keith Eadie, VP and GM of Adobe Advertising Cloud, told CMO.com.

Last year, Google Ads announced a slew of new AI-powered ad opportunities for marketers. AI helps Google adjust to user searches, resulting in more-impactful ads being served.

“It’s a simple shift because our clients and partners already know us as Microsoft, and many are already tapping into our new advertising products that go above and beyond search, such as the Microsoft Audience Network,” Kooi also wrote.

Microsoft Advertising leverages AI technology found on the Microsoft Audience Network (MSAN). And last year, MSAN began using LinkedIn data.

The annual Bing Ads Partner Summit commences today in Redmond, WA. While Microsoft Advertising replaces Bing Ads in name in the paid search realm, the consumer search side will still be called Bing.

Last January, Microsoft and Bing announced a more expansive advertising relationship. This eliminates the need for marketers to log into multiple platforms. Instead, marketers have access to Bing, Yahoo!, and AOL in a single platform.

In 2018, Google AdWords changed its name to Google Ads. Though a subtle change, it signaled Google’s expansion from keyword-based search ads into more expansive ad types. In other words, name changes in advertising platforms are hardly ever inconsequential. They are usually a harbinger of more significant changes. Bing Ads becoming Microsoft Advertising is no exception.