AA insurance and its media agency OMD have become the first partners to test machine learning technology with Google’s Performance Max to automate certain advertising functions.

Performance Max is a new campaign type designed to consolidate performance advertising activity into a single campaign that runs across Google channels, StopPress reported.

OMD and Google worked on the technology’s beta test in New Zealand to learn how it uses automation to engage customers effectively at scale. They also implemented it on a first-to-market basis.

AA Insurance was the first New Zealand business to trial Performance Max in recent online campaign. The insurer saw a 64% reduction in costs per application, while increasing applications from digital media by 12% in a highly competitive market. Harnessing Performance Max also helped reduce manual handling time by 33%.

“Machine learning is the future of performance media, and we were delighted to offer our clients an early view of how it can perform,” said John Buckley, chief digital officer at OMD. “Our business and performance team thoroughly tested and measured this solution and were blown away by the ease at which we were able to save costs and scale our conversions.”

“Combining Google’s Performance Max with our existing campaigns through OMD has enabled us to drive significant digital conversion growth and cost efficiency thanks to the work of machine learning,” said Catherine Dilly, marketing manager, brand and media at AA Insurance.