Google announced the latest ads and commerce product innovations coming to Google and YouTube at Google Marketing Live (GML).
Key News From GML 2026:
Creating Ads That Actually Answer
Announcing new formats for Search and AI Mode to transform ads into seamless interactions, bridging the gap between a user’s initial discovery and their final purchase.
Google has also made it easy for partners to access these new formats with new features that best align with their brand goals.
When researching a topic, consumers want to know exactly how a product suits their unique situation. In fact, 75% of people report making faster, more confident decisions using AI Mode in Search. That’s why Google is testing two new types of ads, built with Gemini, that offer relevant product details along with helpful guidance.
To help people evaluate their choices, both of these new formats will feature an independent AI explainer as part of the ad. The Gemini model evaluates and synthesises information about a product or service, and displays that context alongside the advertiser’s creative. This coherent, independent response ensures transparency and builds trust. These formats will also continue to be clearly labeled as ‘Sponsored’.
Transforming Automation Into Intelligence
Google is connecting its agents through a unified experience called Ask Advisor. Rolling out later this year, Ask Advisor works across Google’s products to offer proactive personalised recommendations that save users time and help them reach their business goals. Ask Advisor orchestrates a team of expert agents across Google products, serving as an always-on collaborator and problem solver throughout a campaign journey.
Scaling Human Creativity:
The new Asset Studio features, powered by Gemini, will help marketers remove the guesswork from the creative process by scaling a team’s unique vision globally and ensuring assets connect with the right audience.
Asset Studio is a one-stop-shop for developing creative assets in Google Ads, helping brands multiply the magic of their creativity and scale it across the globe. Google is making it even easier to create the range of assets needed to drive performance across Google and YouTube.
Asset Studio understands a user’s marketing brief, brand guidelines, website, and goals to instantly generate a high-quality range of assets across multiple creative themes and asset types. Users can create and refine them to match their vision using natural language. And users can soon build compelling video assets all in one place with the integration of Gemini Omni, the new multimodal model.
Harnessing The Next Era Of Agentic Commerce:
Google is bringing more Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) capabilities, including the checkout experience on AI Mode in Search and the Gemini app, and further evolving the experience for merchants by integrating Direct Offers.
The new Universal Cart is a truly intelligent shopping cart that works across retailers and across services like Search, Gemini and more. When shoppers are ready to buy, UCP makes checkout from their cart smooth. They can check out with Google Pay in just a few taps with many of their favourite brands, or transfer items to the merchant’s site to complete their purchase. Shoppers can try these select checkout features soon across retailers like Nike, Sephora, Target, Ulta Beauty, Walmart, Wayfair and Shopify merchants such as Fenty and Steve Madden. Regardless of how a shopper chooses to buy, the retailer always remains the merchant of record.
Driving Discovery Across More Surfaces, Verticals, And Markets:
Google is introducing new AI-powered Demand Gen features, like new Google Maps inventory that connects brands with people exploring the local area, and checkout links in nine new markets. Product feeds are expanding to more surfaces and verticals, including auto. Users can get started faster with AI-assisted Demand Gen campaign creation.
With just a few prompts, build more relevant and performant YouTube ads with Multimodal video creation in Asset Studio. Advertisers can also easily boost authentic creator partnership videos directly within the asset picker during Demand Gen campaign setup.
For retailers, serving dynamic product videos at scale will soon be even more seamless. Simply upload videos to Google Merchant Center to dynamically distribute them across Demand Gen campaigns based on real-time user interest.
Leveraging Data By Unified Measurement
Google is bringing Meridian, their open-source Marketing Mix Model, into Google Analytics 360.
Soon, users will be able to:
– Unify insights: Bring together first-party, cross-channel data and metrics signals in one place.
– Pinpoint what is working: Users can measure causal performance to prove exactly what is driving their business and optimise their media mix.
– Forecast outcomes: Use predictive scenarios to guide smarter investments.
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