Google Expands AI Ad Formats and Agentic Tools for Advertisers
Google announced two new AI-generated ad formats and expanded agentic commerce capabilities at its annual Google Marketing Live event on Monday. The new ad formats-Conversational Discovery ads and Highlighted Answers-both use Google Gemini to create AI-generated explainers that appear in Google's AI Mode search results.
Conversational Discovery ads tailor creative to specific searches and highlight product features. Highlighted Answers surface relevant ads within AI Mode recommendations based on what users search for. Both formats are currently in testing in the US.
New Lead Generation and Shopping Tools
Google is testing Business Agent for Leads, an agentic tool now in open beta in English. When users click a chat button in an ad, they can converse with an agent that pulls answers from a brand's website to answer their questions.
AI-powered shopping ads will feature Gemini-generated explainers showing why specific products match what customers are searching for. These ads roll out in the US later this year.
Google is also expanding Direct Offers, a feature that lets advertisers provide bundled promotions, discounts, and coupons through Google Ads. The company is extending the pilot to travel brands offering hotel deals. Brands using Google's Universal Commerce Protocol can enable native checkout. Chewy and Gap are among the merchants testing the feature, which is available to US advertisers.
Agentic Commerce Expansion
Google is bringing its Universal Commerce Protocol to Canada and Australia. The company plans to let consumers purchase multiple items and transfer items from a Google cart to a merchant's site to complete checkout.
Ask Advisor, a new agent, can pull product details from Merchant Center to set up campaigns in Google Ads and surface insights from Google Ads and Google Analytics data. The tool provides a unified entry point into agents across Google Ads, Google Analytics, Google Marketing Platform, and soon Merchant Center. These agents share context with each other to maintain continuity.
Campaign Setup and Measurement Updates
Google Ads is integrating Google Omni, a multimodal model, into Asset Studio for asset creation. Advertisers can use 1-Click Creative Testing to identify which assets perform best.
YouTube retail advertisers can now upload product videos to Google Merchant Center for use in Demand Gen campaigns, which account for user interests. Demand Gen is expanding to Google Maps, with checkout links rolling out to nine additional markets and product feeds extending to verticals like automotive.
Google Meridian, the company's marketing mix model, is integrating into Google Analytics 360. Marketers can view first-party data and metric signals, then forecast potential outcomes.
Dan Taylor, VP of global ads at Google, framed the announcements as part of a shift "from marketing automation to marketing intelligence." He said the company is "fully transitioning from AI's potential into its everyday reality."
For marketing professionals looking to understand these tools, AI for Marketing resources and an AI Learning Path for Marketing Managers can help navigate the expanding set of capabilities.
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