Google Plays Catch-Up in Video Ad Tech as Streaming Ads Take Off

Google is good at operating the technology independent websites use to sell their ads—so good that the U.S. says it has a monopoly in that area. But it has been surprisingly poor at developing streaming TV ad technology—advertisers, TV ad sellers and former Google employees say its technology lag those of rivals.

Buyers say Google’s video-streaming ad technology doesn’t let them target audiences as precisely as rivals’ offerings do, nor does it pass back as much data. They also complain that Google’s user interface for buying streaming ads is harder to use than that of its biggest rival, The Trade Desk.