All around we’re hearing buzz about machine learning. In a world seeking to balance privacy with insight, machine learning is all the rage, and it’s easy to understand why.
Google Analytics 4 uses machine learning to strike that balance and goes above and beyond to make the most out of its machine learning model. The benefits of machine learning are myriad, and GA4 takes full advantage.
What is machine learning in Google Analytics 4?
Machine learning combines artificial intelligence and computer science, and Google integrated it into the new GA4 platform. Using machine learning, GA4 fills in data gaps and provides sophisticated insights about user behavior, trends, and anomalies.
Today we’re going to discuss what machine learning looks like in Google Analytics 4 and how this technology makes GA4 a sophisticated and insightful tool for all your data analysis needs. So come with us to learn more about machine learning in GA4.
What is Machine Learning?
Okay, so first, let’s talk about what machine learning is, and then we’ll discuss how Google Analytics 4 uses it.
You’ve probably heard a lot about machine learning, since platforms of all kinds are now relying on it—from streaming services to data analysis tools. Machine learning combines artificial intelligence and computer science to fill in data gaps and make predictions. It relies on algorithms and snippets of data to become “smarter” over time, mimicking human intelligence in the process.
Machine learning looks for patterns of activity that can be fed into an algorithm to come up with an accurate view of how users behave online. All kinds of platforms use machine learning to collect data and understand user behavior—from Netflix to Google Analytics—so it’s no wonder discussions about machine learning are taking the internet by storm.
So now that we understand how machine learning works, let’s talk about how Google Analytics 4 makes use of it.
How GA4 Uses Machine Learning
To understand how Google Analytics 4 uses machine learning, let’s first take a look at a major change to the platform. Arguably the most significant difference between GA4 and Universal Analytics is that GA4 can track users across your mobile apps and website all in a single property using data streams. It can also track users across different devices, meaning GA4 can follow users seamlessly in a way that Universal Analytics cannot.
But even though Analytics can track users more efficiently in GA4, protecting user privacy has poked holes in the data Analytics can collect. But this is where machine learning comes in. It seeks to fill in these gaps and provide predictive data.
GA4’s machine learning model makes accessing user behavior and website traffic data possible while still keeping users anonymous. In a nutshell, machine learning is essential for data analysis in an increasingly cookie-less and privacy-centric world.
On top of filling in the gaps and providing user-centric measurements that aren’t restricted to a single device or platform, GA4’s machine learning also provides valuable insights. By looking at subsets of your audience, Analytics can glean insights and fill in data gaps. These insights are some of the best features in all of GA4, so let’s explore them and the other benefits of machine learning in our next section.
5 Benefits of Machine Learning in GA4
Machine learning is truly the only way a platform like Google Analytics can function in a privacy-centric world. Without machine learning, tracking and predicting user behavior would be impossible. There are a lot of benefits that come along with this new kind of data collection, so let’s discuss them in detail:
Fill in Data Gaps: First, as we mentioned above, machine learning is really the only way to fill in the gaps in data that come along with increased user privacy. Because of legislation and the fact that users can opt out of allowing cookies, there is a lot of ambiguity surrounding your visitors’ behavior.
But machine learning serves to fill in the gaps. One of the ways this happens is by putting users into cohorts of similar traits and behaviors. Using cohorts, Analytics can protect individual privacy and track the cohorts’ behavior and patterns to create a composite overview of how people with certain traits move through your sites and mobile apps.
Automated Insights: Among the benefits of machine learning are the insights it can generate. Google Analytics 4 offers superior automated insights, which can save you a ton of time mulling over data. You can access them easily in your reporting view, and they’re customizable, so you can tell Analytics what you want to monitor. Even without customization, Analytics will alert you to important trends and changes, which we’ll discuss in more detail below.
Detect Anomalies: Using machine learning and the automated insights it generates, GA4 can detect anomalies in user behavior. GA4 is extremely sophisticated when it comes to identifying changes in user behavior. This can help you monitor areas of weakness on your website and mobile apps as well as your marketing campaigns.
Generate Predictions: Along these same lines, the insights GA4’s machine learning provides will generate predictions. You can receive predictions about purchases, interests, and Google Ad campaigns. You can also receive predictions about the probability of conversions, and you can create audience forecasts for Google Ads based on these predictions.
See Trends: Automated insights generated by machine learning can also help you observe trends. You can keep an eye on changing user behavior which helps make critical adjustments. For example, you can be alerted to changes in buying patterns that will let you know you need to stock up on certain items in your inventory. Analytics can also calculate churn probability, helping you to invest in the correct remarketing campaigns.
There are plenty of other benefits to machine learning in GA4 on top of the ones we discussed. The insights it provides are invaluable, and there is even more to come. Since GA4 is still very new, updates are rolling out regularly. Expect to see more insights as the platform continues to develop.
Machine Learning in GA4
Machine learning is a necessity for the newest version of Google Analytics. Because of increased user privacy regulations throughout the world, there’s really no other way to fill in the gaps in data collection.
Not only is machine learning necessary, but it also serves to elevate your data to new heights. Thanks to machine learning , GA4 can provide sophisticated insights that the previous versions simply can’t match. From observing anomalies to generating predictions, GA4 can create superior reports and alert you to changes in performance automatically.
How are you adjusting to the new GA4 platform? Let us know below!