Google Marketing Live 2026: What even is Search anymore?

Google Marketing Live 2026 wrapped up last month - and as always, it set the tone for what’s ahead. This is one of Google’s biggest stages, where the products and roadmap for Search are revealed. 

This year made one thing clear: Google is moving towards a more automated, AI-driven and multimodal ecosystem. Brands that adapt early will be best placed to capture demand and drive performance.

We've pulled together the key takeaways, summarising what this means for your ongoing strategy and how IDHL is adapting: 

Search is no longer keyword led

With the rapid use of AIOs and AI Mode, search journeys are more exploratory and context-driven, with users browsing via text, image, video, and refining queries conversationally. 

What it means...

For brands

How visibility is earned is changing. Ranking for individual keywords is no longer the primary lever, with intent and trust increasingly determining whether your brand is selected as a reliable source by AI. 

For IDHL

Our experts are moving beyond keyword-first strategies, focusing on intent-led content and structuring it to be easily surfaced by AI.

Gemini is the engine behind everything

Gemini’s 3.5 Flash model is now the default model powering AI Mode globally, delivering faster, more advanced reasoning and multimodal outputs. New capabilities have launched alongside it, Gemini Spark (24/7 AI agent) and Gemini Omni (multimodal content generation).

For brands

From search experiences and ad delivery to creative generation, Gemini is powering richer, more personalised results, influencing where and how brands appear and offering more early engagement opportunities. 

Performance is no longer just about campaign setup - it’s about the quality of inputs feeding that system. 

For IDHL  

Our role is shifting from pure campaign execution to feeding the right inputs into AI systems. We’re placing greater emphasis on input quality across data, product feeds, creative assets and messaging consistency. 

AI-driven campaigns are becoming the default

Google is consolidating campaign activation around AI Max and Performance Max. New features like AI Briefs and enhanced controls are providing more guidance but ultimately, the system is doing more of the heavy lifting.

For brands

Campaign structure is no longer top priority. Instead, inputs like creative quality, feed accuracy and audience signals matter more when it comes to performance.

For IDHL

Focus is moving from campaign setup to training the model. Our experts are shaping the inputs that drive performance in the right strategic direction, rather than relying on manual optimisation alone. 

Discovery is its own commercial moment

AI Mode and AI Max for Shopping are revealing earlier-stage engagement opportunities, allowing connections during discovery before users have even searched for a product. Meanwhile, ads are being integrated directly into AI responses through AI Max for Shopping and dynamic promotions.

For brands

Brands now have the opportunity to influence early on, driving incremental demand and building preference before intent is explicit.

For IDHL

We’re helping brands expand their presence across the full funnel - leveraging discovery-led formats and aligning messaging to earlier-stage user needs.

Commerce is moving on platform

Developments such as Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) and Universal Cart are moving Google into the transaction layer, enabling users to seamlessly purchase within its ecosystem. 

For brands

Journeys from discovery to purchase are becoming shorter and more competitive. Harnessing this successfully will heavily depend on brands doing the groundwork: accurate product feeds, real-time pricing and promotions, and strong inventory signals.

For IDHL

We’re strengthening feed management and product data strategies, ensuring brands are well-positioned to compete in this seamless commerce environment.

Turning creative assets into performance levers

New tools like the Asset Studio and Pomeli are elevating creative from just a supporting asset, removing friction from the process. Powered by Gemini, brands can generate and test assets directly from URLs and brand guidelines, developing them into full multi-format outputs spanning text, image and video.

For brands

Creative is no longer a bottleneck. AI-powered tools are making it significantly faster and more cost-effective to produce high volumes of creative, while also enabling more advanced personalisation.

For IDHL

Our experts don’t treat creative as a separate workstream – we help brands scale high-quality assets efficiently, while using data to continuously refine and improve performance.

Measurement is evolving beyond ROAS

This year’s event marked Gemini’s steady influence on search behaviour, so to provide a single view of performance and value, marketers need more advanced measurement infrastructure. The integration of Meridian into Google Analytics 360 and introduction of AI-led tools like Data Manager unify data to demonstrate true ROI.

For brands

Previously relied on metrics like platform-reported ROAS are becoming less reliable. Google, instead, is pushing measurement toward incrementality, profit and long-term value, allowing brands to evaluate performance based on future intent signals and outcomes.

For IDHL

These updates are validation of an industry shift already underway: moving from attribution-led reporting to causality and value-led measurement. Our approach revolves around making cross-channel forecasting and long-term performance modeling more actionable for our clients. 

Take our advice

• Test AI-led campaigns (AI Max, PMAX, Demand Gen) to unlock new inventory
• Optimise your product feed to improve visibility across AI-powered formats
• Invest in creative, especially video and imagery, to support more visual journeys
• Strengthen data foundations throughtracking,integrations and enhanced conversions
• Maintain flexibility in budgets to allow AI campaigns to scale effectively
• Strengthen SEO fundamentals such as technical health, content quality, site experience
• Invest in content beyond text (video, imagery, product-rich content)

Want to know what this means for your business? Get in touch with the IDHL team to explore how your current strategy stacks up and where new opportunities lie.