Google is about to make ads on television work just like ads on the web. Through Google, advertisers will know how many times their ads were viewed. They'll be able to target audiences based on location and viewing history. In other words, TV advertisers will have access to the same audience intel online advertisers take for granted.

Finally, after all this time, your TV is going to know as much about you as your web browser.

This stands in stark contrast to the way ads on television have traditionally been sold. Advertisers have had to estimate the reach of the commercials based on services such as Nielsen ratings and have only been able to target ads based on specific shows, not on specific viewers. That's started to change in recent years, but now that Google is in the game, a future where TV ads work like the web feels inevitable.