Google Marketing Live 2026: Gemini reshapes search advertising with agentic AI
Updated: Aug 19
Google used its annual Marketing Live event to make one thing clear: the future of search advertising is generative and increasingly automated. The headline announcements centred on Gemini, Google's AI model, which now powers a wave of new ad formats and tools designed for a search experience being reshaped by AI.
Among the launches were Gemini-powered conversational formats — including Conversational Discovery ads and Highlighted Answers — that let brands appear inside the back-and-forth of AI-assisted search rather than alongside a traditional list of blue links. Google also introduced new ad placements within AI Mode, its AI-first search experience, and rebuilt its creative tools into an Asset Studio capable of generating images and video from text prompts.
The rise of agentic advertising
Perhaps the most significant theme was agentic advertising — the idea that AI agents will increasingly handle the mechanics of campaign management on the marketer's behalf. Google positioned tools such as its Ask Advisor assistant and automated business agents as a way to triage inquiries, build campaigns and optimise performance with minimal manual input.
Industry reaction was a mix of excitement and caution. Analysts welcomed the creative tools, which promise to level the playing field for smaller advertisers without in-house design resources. But several flagged a serious gap: some new AI Mode placements currently lack reporting infrastructure, meaning advertisers cannot yet tell whether their ads appeared there or how they performed.
What it means for UK marketers
For UK brands, the message is that automation is becoming the default rather than the exception. As Google folds more of the campaign process into AI, the marketer's role shifts from manual optimisation towards strategy, creative direction and — crucially — oversight. The experts' consensus was blunt: treat these features as table stakes to be understood, not experiments to be ignored, while keeping a firm hand on measurement and brand safety.
The practical takeaway is to experiment now, but to insist on transparency. Where reporting is missing, brands should push for it and avoid pouring budget into black boxes they cannot measure. AI can do more of the work, but accountability still has to sit with the marketer.
— Dimitro Cohen, Technology & Ad-Tech Correspondent at Marketing Minute
For marketers, agentic tools are becoming table stakes — but never hand budget to a black box. Embrace the automation, and demand the reporting to match.
Are you ready to let AI agents run more of your campaigns — and do you trust the reporting behind them?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
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