Google’s Vidhya Srinivasan to lead Ads & Commerce teams

Vidhya Srinivasan, a key figure in Google’s ad business for years, has been appointed as vice president of Ads and Commerce at Alphabet.

Srinivasan’s new role encompasses oversight of Google’s shopping and payments products and services. Srinivasan will continue reporting to Nick Fox, senior vice president of knowledge and information.

Srinivasan’s appointment signals Google’s continued push to integrate AI-driven innovations into its commerce and advertising ecosystem.

The details:

• Fox described Srinivasan as a “force for smart, AI-driven innovation,” emphasizing her track record for product development and operational efficiency.
• Shopping remains a standalone experience within Google’s offerings, boasting over 45 billion AI-powered product listings within its Shopping Graph.
• Google users conduct more than a billion shopping searches daily, underscoring the scale and opportunity in Srinivasan’s new role.

Backstory. Srinivasan replaces Maria Renz, who had served as vice president and general manager of commerce and is now pursuing other opportunities. This leadership change is accompanied by a consistent strategy to empower merchants, retailers, and consumers through AI.

Zoom out:

• Google’s recent AI advancements in advertising, spearheaded by Srinivasan, include:
  • Performance Max and Demand Gen campaigns.
  • Generative AI capabilities for campaign creation.
  • New ad formats for AI-powered Google Search experiences.
• Srinivasan has also been pivotal in launching interactive shopping ads like 3D product rotation and Virtual Try-On.

Between the lines. Srinivasan’s leadership highlights Google’s ambition to bridge ads, commerce, and AI. Her previous contributions include the rebuild of Google Analytics, pixel-less YouTube ad measurement, and innovations in Ads Data Hub.

The big picture. Commerce is central to Google’s strategy. By leveraging AI, Google aims to:

• Provide merchants with tools to transform their business.
• Deliver a unified shopping experience for consumers across the web.

Looking ahead. Srinivasan’s vision for the future includes further integration of ads into AI Overviews and tailored creative ads that dynamically adapt to individual users. As she continues to lead Google’s Ads and Commerce teams, the industry can expect a steady evolution of AI-driven solutions.

Bottom line. Srinivasan’s track record and AI-first approach position her as a driving force behind Google’s efforts to redefine shopping, advertising, and payments in a rapidly evolving digital economy.