Users Can Now Ask Google Analytics Natural-Language Questions
Google Analytics is incredibly useful, but it is not always immediately obvious how to extract actionable insights from such a vast wealth of data.
Google is changing that with the introduction of natural-language processing within Analytics. Now users can ask questions like “How many new users did we have from organic search on mobile last week?” and get a virtually instant answer.
“This feature, which uses the same natural language processing technology available across Google products like Android and Search, is rolling out now and will become available in English to all Google Analytics users over the next few weeks,” says of the Google Analytics team. “The ability to ask questions is part of Analytics Intelligence, a set of features in Google Analytics that use machine learning to help you better understand and act on your analytics data.”
A recent report from Forrester found that 57% of marketers find it difficult to give their stakeholders in different functions access to their data and insights, a problem that Google’s new tech for Analytics solves. There’s also automated insights, which can show spikes or drops in metrics like revenue or session duration, tipping users off to issues that they may need to investigate further.
“Insights may present opportunities to improve key metrics by following specific recommendations,” explains Google’s For example, a chance to improve bounce rate by reducing a page’s load time, or the potential to boost conversion rate by adding a new keyword to your AdWords campaign.”
The great thing about AI is that systems get smarter with time. Google Analytics is no exception to this rule, and to accelerate the process, Google suggests users leave feedback when prompted.
“Our goal is to help you get more insights to more people, faster,” affirms Alusi. “Your answers will help us train Analytics Intelligence to be more useful.”
