AdWords was the former name of Google's advertising platform, now called Google Ads. Launched in 2000, AdWords was originally a pure keyword advertising platform where advertisers could create ads and bid on keywords to display ads on Google's search results pages. Since then, the platform has evolved to include serving ads on other websites, mobile advertising, Google Shopping ads and video advertising. The name change from AdWords to Google Ads took place in 2018 to better reflect the breadth and capabilities of the platform.