On May 21, 2026, the Google Marketing Live (GML) 2026 event officially introduced the new generation of Gemini integrated solutions, designed to help businesses of all sizes grow smarter and more effectively on Google Search and YouTube.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is moving from a promising technology to an everyday reality, opening new growth opportunities for businesses. At GML, Google showed how Gemini is driving new approaches that help brands improve discovery, creativity, commerce, and measurement. By making AI a strategic partner for marketers, extending human creative capabilities, and providing deeper investment-performance analysis, Gemini is turning AI from a purely operational tool into an intelligent “growth engine.”
Here are the key announcements from GML 2026.
People are turning to Google with an increasing number and variety of questions. Powered by generative AI, Search is becoming a more specialized tool that better serves discovery and decision-making. In this new era, Google is also reshaping advertising to meet two goals at once: answering questions and inspiring users.
Alongside continuing to test ads in AI Mode In the US, Google introduced two new advertising formats, designed to be more useful and suitable for the context of use.
With Conversational Exploration Ads in AI Mode, Gemini models use deep context from the user's question to generate personalized ads from the business providing the solution, while also highlighting relevant relevant features. appear as a featured recommendation in the “Featured answers” section. This happens only when a recommendation is high quality and relevant to the search query. These features are currently being tested in English in the US, and ads in AI Mode will continue to carry a clear “Sponsored” label.
Google also launched the “Direct Offers” pilot in the US in January and is now expanding it with two updates: promotion bundles and new travel offers. Brands can upload promotions such as discounts, gifts, and local coupons, and Gemini will combine them to show the most attractive offer. The tool will soon also integrate hotel-booking offers from travel partners such as Booking and Expedia in the US directly into users’ AI-assisted trip planning.
Alongside this, two new Gemini-based ad formats are being developed directly on the search results page. The first is AI-app Shopping Ads (available in the US) – displaying relevant products with an AI explanation of why they are the best choice, anticipating a specific need before the user even asks. The second is Business Agent for Prospects – a brand assistant embedded directly in the ad that lets shoppers chat with an AI agent trained on the business’s own website. This allows a useful interaction to quickly become a valuable lead.
Google is upgrading Asset Studio, its AI-powered creative hub, to streamline the design of the advertising assets needed to drive performance across Google and YouTube. Users can now describe what they need in natural language to create engaging, on-brand advertising content. Because Asset Studio is integrated directly into Google Ads, it understands a business’s previous campaign performance and goals.
The tool can also accept more information, allowing users to upload complete Marketing Briefs, reference images, Brand Guidelines, and other materials. Google AI uses these materials to design and refine high-quality copy, images, and videos that accurately reflect the advertiser’s vision. Once the creative is ready, advertisers can run a test with one click through “1-Click A/B Testing” to find the best-performing content. These new features will roll out globally in English.
AI-powered campaigns help marketers keep pace with new ways users search for and discover products across Search, YouTube, and other platforms. Demand Gen is now available globally, expanding to new display surfaces and adding more improvements. Demand Gen is now available globally and is expanding to new display surfaces with additional improvements. Through the new advertising inventory on Google Maps, Demand Gen helps brands reach users while they search for and consider nearby places. Google is also enabling direct integration of product videos from Merchant Center into Demand Gen campaigns, helping retailers bring their products to life at scale.
Alongside this are tools that provide a complete view of cross-channel performance, helping businesses make more effective investment decisions. One of these is Meridian – Google’s open-source Marketing Mix Model, now integrated directly into Google Analytics 360. It helps businesses worldwide analyze cross-channel and first-party data in one place. Google has also launched Qualified Future Conversions to help marketers measure outcomes that occur over a longer period after users first see their ads.
Earlier this year, Google announced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) and began developing it with leading partners in the retail ecosystem. UCP addresses the core challenge of scaling agentic commerce across the web by allowing agents to connect with businesses securely and seamlessly.
UCP is now expanding into additional industries and providing new capabilities for retailers on Google. Building on the single-item checkout experience, which lets customers buy products on Google without leaving the conversation, UCP is being developed to let shoppers buy multiple products from one business at once.
Soon, shoppers will also be able to move items from their Google cart directly into a retailer’s cart to complete the transaction. These features will launch first in English in the US with selected retailers.
Besides, the UCP-powered checkout feature in YouTube Shopping ads will help users easily buy products on the spot.
People are using AI Mode and Gemini more often for shopping. To help retailers be discovered in those moments, Google will launch an AI performance analytics tool in Merchant Center in the coming months across Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, and the US. The tool will help brands compare their Share of Voice with similar brands across shopping journeys that begin in AI Mode, AI Overviews, and the Gemini app. Google is also introducing conversational attributes globally, allowing retailers to update product descriptions to reflect users’ more natural, conversational search style.
Powered by Gemini, Google’s advertising and commerce tools are moving from marketing automation to marketing intelligence and becoming strategic business partners. The new Ask Advisor tool, currently being tested for English-language accounts, works across Google’s built-in agents, including Google Ads, Google Analytics, Google Marketing Platform, and soon Merchant Center. It provides proactive, personalized recommendations that help marketers save time and achieve business goals.
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