Google – Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is testing a new approach called Topics API, aiming to replace the FLoC – Federated Learnings of Cohorts – announced last year. With the move, the internet giant is poised to offer users relevant ads as third-party cookies are on the way out.
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Google’s API Approach
According to tech portal Engadget, after the rollout of FloC was delayed, Google is testing a replacement called Topics API, with which the internet company wants to offer a better surfing experience.
“Topics API relies on the Chrome browser to determine a list of top five topics a user is interested in, based on their surfing history,” the website reports.
Further, “It'll determine what the topics are by comparing known websites (that you visit) against a list of about 350 topics drawn from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Google's own data.”
Later, partner publishers can use Topics API to ping the browser for the data and adjust their ads accordingly.
How Does It Work?
For instance, if a user visits several websites related to music instruments, the Chrome browser will include them in a list of top interests during in a period of time; then, it will also share those interests with participating publishers who will, for example, show the user drums, guitar, or saxophone ads.
Topics will choose one group of interests identified in the previous three weeks and share them with advertising partners.
“Topics are kept for only three weeks and old topics are deleted. The data and processing happen on your device without involving any external servers, including Google servers,” the company said.
“There will also be options in Chrome for users to see the topics assigned to you, remove those you don't like, or disable the feature altogether. At the moment, since Google has only just announced Topics and hasn't started user tests, it hasn't shared whether Topics will be opt-in or opt-out for users,” Engadget reports.
Google is part of the Entrepreneur Index, which tracks 60 of the largest publicly traded companies managed by their founders or their founders' families.
