Google outlined a two-phase product vision for Google Analytics 4 (GA4) during the first episode of its Google Ads Decoded podcast. Host Ginny Marvin interviewed Eleanor Stribling, Group Product Manager for Google Analytics, about near-term and longer-term plans, focusing on GA4's role in measurement, business decisions, and advertising workflows.
Key Details
- Over the next 1 to 2 years, Stribling said GA4 is focused on becoming a cross-channel, full-funnel measurement platform and "that one place where you can really understand the impact of your media."
- She emphasized that GA4 should support better business decisions by presenting data that "makes sense and resonates" with stakeholders.
- Looking 3 or more years ahead, she described GA4 evolving into a decision-making platform and "growth engine" that uses AI to make "a world-class analyst available to every single person."
- Stribling highlighted the GA4 Advertising Workspace as a key area where marketers will see significant changes within the next year.
- Planned updates include reports that better visualize user journeys across campaigns and channels.
- Google is also building budgeting and planning tools that can ingest cost data from other media buys, help create spend plans aligned with campaign goals, and generate AI-based optimization suggestions.
- Marvin acknowledged that GA4 replaced Universal Analytics and that the transition frustrated many advertisers, noting that the early GA4 interface "felt designed more for developers than for marketers."
Background Context
Google introduced GA4 as the next generation of Google Analytics, using an event-based data model across web and app properties. GA4 later became the default property type for new Analytics accounts and was positioned as the long-term successor to Universal Analytics.
Google announced that standard Universal Analytics properties would stop processing new hits in 2023. Data collection for most standard Universal Analytics properties ended on July 1, 2023, making GA4 the primary analytics platform within Google's product suite.
The Advertising Workspace in GA4 brings together campaign and media performance reporting within the analytics interface. It connects GA4 data with Google Ads and other media sources to analyze advertising outcomes, and Stribling's comments place upcoming reporting, budgeting, and AI recommendations within this part of the product.
Data Foundations and AI in GA4
During the podcast, Marvin and Stribling stressed the importance of strong first-party data foundations for using GA4 effectively. They linked GA4's future decision-support capabilities to the quality and completeness of an organization's measurement setup, with Google's recap underscoring the importance of data strength for reliable AI outputs.
The conversation framed GA4's AI features as dependent on accurate, privacy-compliant event data, positioning robust measurement as a prerequisite for the platform's longer-term role as a decision-support system and growth engine.
Source Citations
- Google Ads Decoded podcast episode featuring Eleanor Stribling and Ginny Marvin, summarized on the official Google Ads & Commerce blog.
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