Google Marketing Live 2026
I attended Google Marketing Live in Dublin yesterday (think of a Gemini version of an Apple or Samsung launch event; and it’s day deux today).
My biggest takeaway was that Google is actively reinventing Search before AI rivals get the chance to do it for/ ‘to’ them, whilst continuing to enjoy competitive advantage in the process. The pace of this Gemini enabled evolution is pretty epic; aided by ~$180B in AI infrastructure investment this year alone.
”Harder, better, faster, stronger” (serious Daft Punk vibes) was the underlying mantra and coupled with these 4 words; here are my 4(core) themes from yesterday:
* The Biggest Search Box Update in 25 Years
AI isn’t replacing Search (usage is actually accelerating); it’s giving Search superpowers. Debbie Weinstein (President, Google EMEA) highlighted the new “Intelligent Search Box.” It expands dynamically for conversational prompts, accepts multimodal inputs (files, images, videos) and introduces background agents into the mix.
* The Best Ads Are Becoming Answers
As Shashi Thakur (VP and GM of Search Ads) put it: “The only way to win in the age of AI is with AI.” Generic commodity content loses. Expertise, specificity, USPs, reviews & differentiated perspectives become even more valuable. Crucially, websites now need to be both user-friendly + agent-ready. If not; you will lose.
* Agentic Commerce is Arriving
(Though I suspect this area will see a slower rate of expansion Vs Discovery%). Dan Taylor (VP, Global Ads) and Vanessa Hartley (Head of Google Ireland & VP, EMEA) spoke to removing buyer friction. With the new Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), Universal Cart & Gemini powered shopping flows; we are heading toward natively integrated, AI assisted checkout seamlessly across the web.
* The Marketing Operating Model Shift
The manual burden of campaign management is shrinking. With AI driving creative generation (like the new Gemini Omni Flash) > seamless A/B testing, AI ‘vessels’ (DLG, PMax, etc) & advanced measurement (DDA > MMM); competitive advantage moves into other ‘workstreams’ e.g Company strategy, data quality, commercial judgment + signal utilisation.