At this year’s Google Marketing Live 2026 EMEA event, the most notable strategic shift is Google’s positioning of its AI model, Gemini, not merely as an app, but as a foundational operating system that connects the advertising, measurement, creative, and production layers.
👉 In short: The topics covered at the event demonstrate that the entire ecosystem—from the search engine to YouTube—is becoming more integrated around Gemini.
Next Generation Search and Gemini Focused Ad Formats
As Google makes the search experience more conversational, it is introducing new ad formats:
- Conversational Discovery ads and Highlighted Answers formats, which include a standalone AI explainer to address users’ search intent, are currently being tested.
- An AI-powered Shopping ads format has been announced that highlights relevant products based on user queries and explains why they are suitable.
- For lead generation, static forms are being replaced by Business Agent for Leads, which offers a conversational experience that acts like a brand agent.
- Direct offers—including discounts, local coupons, and bundles—are being expanded to become a natural part of the AI-powered discovery flow.
Dynamic Budgeting with AI Max and Smart Bidding
Processes are becoming more autonomous:
- AI Max, the campaign template for the new era, is expanding to include Shopping and Travel formats.
- AI Brief, which allows brands to define their tone and target audience using natural language, and text disclaimers, which ensure compliance with mandatory text requirements for regulated industries, are now available.
- On the bidding side, Journey-aware bidding—currently in the testing phase—optimizes campaigns by learning from both bid-eligible and non-bid-eligible intermediate conversion signals (such as calls and forms).
Budget management is becoming more flexible with features such as demand-led pacing, which increases spending on days of high demand and reduces it on slower days without exceeding monthly or daily limits.
Data Power, Meridian, and Privacy-Focused Measurement
The Meridian model, which consolidates first-party and cross-channel signals into a single hub, is being integrated with Google Analytics 360. Additionally, Qualified Future Conversions signals—which link upper-funnel ad spend to future sales—are now available.
To strengthen the data flow of this measurement architecture, Data Manager takes center stage. This system seamlessly consolidates data from various platforms—such as Google Drive, Shopify, and HubSpot—into a single location.
Creative Automation with Ask Advisor and Asset Studio
New tools are being added to the system to streamline workflows and produce modular creatives:
- One of the most strategic steps is the cross-product AI assistant, Ask Advisor, which connects Ads, Analytics, and Merchant Center to deliver personalized recommendations, visualize data, and resolve feed issues.
- At the heart of the creative process, Asset Studio can make natural-language revisions in line with brand guidelines, generate videos through Gemini Omni integration, and streamline the testing phase with One-Click A/B Testing.
Agentic Commerce and the Evolution of YouTube
The line between performance and brand awareness (brand vs. performance) is becoming blurred:
- Google is streamlining the shopping experience by introducing multi-retailer-supported in-platform cart structures and fast payment options (such as Google Pay) through Universal Cart and UCP.
- Conversational attributes, which optimize product descriptions for dialogue-based searches, and AI Performance Insights, which provide AI-powered visibility reports, have been announced.
- On the YouTube and Demand Gen sides, innovations aimed at directly monetizing creator partnership videos and access to the Google Maps inventory have been introduced.
Recommended Action Plan for Brands
For brands looking to adapt to the innovations at Google Marketing Live 2026 EMEA:
Artificial intelligence works more effectively with a robust data infrastructure. Connections to Data Manager and Tag Gateway must be established. The unified setup for advanced conversions must be completed. Additionally, product feeds must be optimized for conversational search.
AI Max should be rolled out in a controlled manner on the Search side. On the creative side, Asset Studio and One-Click A/B testing should be utilized. On the YouTube side, Demand Gen tests should be initiated.
The roles of Meridian and Ask Advisor within the company must be defined. Preparations should be made for UCP and autonomous commerce integrations. Teams in Turkiye must verify the account-based regional access to these features.
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