The Latest Announcements from Google - It's Big!

It's been a while since we have had some truly interesting updates from the Big-5 Tech Giants. ChatGPT has taken the limelight for the past couple of years, with every tech and app developer adding open-source AI capability to cash in on the early adopters.

Google seemed to be holding back for the mass market, squirreling away working holistically through each and every touchpoint in the Google Suite. I assume to ensure a fully integrated, intuitive, and seamless connection across all parts - held together by their new baby: Gemini. From data analytics to file management in Google Drive; Google Ads and Analytics, and new creative tools that look like strong competition for all the other AI creative tools on the market.

And nothing like a big move from Google to get all the other platforms scurrying to release updates and improvements. We love it! Healthy competition at its best.

So What Happened?

Google hosted multiple events in California over the past couple of weeks allowing each area of Google to present what they have been working on to their relevant users; with many of these new technologies launching that same day in the US.

In a nutshell, these advancements aim to elevate user engagement - both customer and marketing - and boost advertising effectiveness by providing more AI creative tools and importantly, real-time customer insights to improve on ROAS.

Key topics of discussion included the evolution of search behaviours, a shift towards a more intuitive purchasing journey, and methods for businesses to leverage Google’s technologies for stronger customer connections and engagement.

APAC may need to wait a little longer, but here's summary what's to come from the latest Google Marketing Live 2025 and the Google IO 2025 Event.

A Quick Snapshot of the Onlinescape

• 83% of people globally use Google or YouTube Daily

• There are 5 Trillion Searches globally a day on Google

• Gen Z are the heaviest users of Google Search

• AI Overviews - the new 'baby' in Search - is already a crowd pleaser with 1.5 billion users using it currently (it's still rolling out) and greatly increased satisfaction and results.

• Only about 40% of Searches will give you an AI Overview, but this number is growing.

  
  

YouTube

Did you know the first "unboxing video" was shown on YouTube in 2006? For many it seems that somehow TikTok took over the world of video content and creators, however, first there was YouTube. With content creators on YouTube having since amassed millions of followers and have created - Mr Beast - empires and franchises around their name. TikTok simply enabled anyone to get views, whilst YouTube still prioritises threshold metrics to unlock features to monetise your channel.

• YouTube still has the most streaming shows of any network

• Globally - 1 Billion hours of YouTube videos are consumed every day

• 45% of Shorts shown on YouTube are not available on TikTok

• 65% of Shorts shown on YouTube are not on Reels

• It's the only main social media channel that takes content onto TV screens

• The content is more accessibly shoppable than other social media channels

• These connected ads are visible on TV screens, not just mobile

• The A-List celebs are here

• YouTube is still the most trusted social media channel

• YouTube drove 1 billion conversions through ads in the P12m

  
  

This integration of paid and organic views combined - ie: ads are not run separately to your organic content like on Meta and YouTube - turns YouTube into an essential marketing channel for businesses.

Big Question - What's Next for Google Ads?

With AI Overviews and ChatGPT we know that standard "SEO" practices and the original Search Ads have been under scrutiny. Over the past couple of years Google have been moving away from old ad formats such as Smart Ads, Display Ads and Shopping Ads across into PMAX (PerformanceMax), and DemandGen Ad formats, integrating YouTube and more visual communications into these campaigns, along with serving their ads across multi-format platforms. The concept of organic SEO seems to have been replaced by "Search Everywhere Optimisation". Making sure you show up in multi-media formats across multiple channels.

So Google's take on "The future of Search" was something I was most interested to hear about this year.

The Evolution of Google Search

Search is the foundation of most advertising strategies. It's the natural starting point for most consumers in-market for something. Search now covers all parts of the marketing funnel given its ability to get really granular in answering some very specific questions - such as "do I need to buy shoes for my baby".

1. It started simply with Keywords - whatever you typed into Search: ie: Baby Shoes, Google picked up results based on one keyword at a time: ie: Baby and Shoes - serving you a series of Baby related sites, and Shoe related sites, some of which may have contained "Baby Shoes".

2. This evolved into more complex search sentences - such as "do I need to buy shoes for my baby" (the short answer I can give you right now is "no!" - silliest invention ever). This long-tail search has been evolving steadily over the past 5 years and now even includes some real opinions, videos, blog posts and forum comments - from real mums!

3. From there we had Sound searches - initially 'owned' by Soundhound, and then Shazam took the lions share, however, neither could identify the songs I sang to them - until Google came along.

4. Our most recent search has been Google Image Searches - not just the typed in kind, but the kind that enabled you to take a photo of anything and find its original, or look-a-like for sale online. Although it couldn't help me find the source of this bottle top I found washed up on Long Bay Beach after a recent storm event.

   
   
   
   

   

   The mystery soft drink brand Shrink?

Google Search 3.0 - Next-Gen

1. Circle to Search - this one is already live, but you have to try hard to find it. And it mostly works like Google Image would have, only this time you simply "circle" what you want to search with your finger. Somewhat annoyingly is that you first need to click the "Google image search" icon in the browser address bar - once the gesture is made, Google will search for it offering you a wide collection of look-a-like items and where to buy them.

2. AI Mode Search - an extension of Voice Search - now live in the USA and coming soon with the Gemini 2.5 updates - so instead of showing you links on the subject - while you are driving (so useless) - it will be able to read out the AI Overview answer.

   
   

3. Deep Search - among others - are extensions you may need to pay for to enable going deeper into topics and adding more data and visuals to the findings. Once linked with Gemini and Google Docs, you will be able to include your own documents in the process to ensure a relevant and customised outcome.

   
   

4. Project Astra - where you can talk back and forth with AI - ie: based on locations services and your use of Google Maps, the team demonstrated how you could ask AI "what was the name of that coffee shop we went to this morning?" and "what Google Review rating does it have" and "could you share that location with Bob in my phone book".

   
   

5. Project Mariner - your personal assistant and agent, who could book appointments, tickets and other activities for you.

Many of these may rings bells. They are not new concepts. Some have been presented years back, but never quite came to life. Others the stuff of movies. But is seems they are all coming to a cellphone near you in the next few months. Made possible by the escalated and disruptive releases from OpenAI, and the subsequent work done by many, to train AI using LLMs (Large Language Modules) to respond in authentic and accurate ways.

Google - Try it On!

Way back in 2008 at Euroshop, a Retail Trade Show held annually in Germany, I was able to experience some of the early "virtual try-on" apps. They were good. It was all very exciting, but they took a very long time to materialise into something affordable, practical and available to everyone.

Google have finally done it - and from the demonstration it looks pretty good. However, I do wonder if it could decrease some impulse buys if you're the hot bodied, natural mannequin, size 8? Bad for the retailer, but good for my pocket. Perhaps my wardrobe won't be bulging with online purchases I don't really love and couldn't be bothered to return.

Google's Virtual Change Room. Best we all get our full bodied selfies right (the face was hard enough!).

The Google presenter pictured in action bottom left demonstrated the tool using the blue dress she found online.

Once you have "tried it on", you can ether buy it using the "buy for me" option and Google will integrate all its other tools (Google Pay and your saved delivery addresses) to make this purchase as seamless as possible. Or you can opt-in track the price. Once the item goes on promotion or sale, you will get a notification and can, once again, seamlessly make the purchase. I imagine logging into sites with your Google profile will quickly become the go-to option to capitalise on this ease of functionality.

Practically, these images people will be using to "try-on" will become a critical focus area for many. Google seem to be planning to work this through their revamped Asset Studio tool will integrate the feed from eg: Shopify, across to Google Shopping via Google Merchant, to enable this functionality.

What about Google Ads? Prospecting in the AI Era

With AI determining which ads to serve and when, traditional funnel management faces new challenges. While AI can enhance efficiency, it requires continuous education and input to meet marketing goals effectively.

Google have whittled dow the vast portfolio of Google Ads into 3 Buckets:

1. PMAX - a visual integration of brand assets served across multiple channels.

2. AI MAX for Search - more about this below

3. Demand Gen - a better integration of video across YouTube to drive conversions.

AI MAX for Search Campaigns

So firstly it's safe to say that Search on Google is not going away as a marketing tool. It remains an effective way to capture in-market audiences based on their "searches" - as simple as that. What's new is now not that new - the results they receive could include:

• AI Overviews

• Links to Websites

• Videos

• Podcasts

• Spotify

• Forums

The introduction of "keywordless" search campaigns marks a significant shift; leveraging natural language and conversational AI will be crucial for future marketing efforts.

What About Analytics? Introducing Meridian

The much-anticipated Marketing Mix Measurement tool, Meridian, offers insights into attribution solutions and incrementality experiments, placing a strong emphasis on data-driven decision-making.

Only 44% of eligible users are using the current tools:

• Marketing Mix Modelling

• Attribution Solutions

• Incrementality Experiments

The new tools to be available soon remain the domain of advertisers with "budgets as low as $5000" they tell us.

The New Marketing Advisor

If you have ever had a call with a "tag-technician" or "Google Advisor" it is somewhat sad to know that many of these opportunities Google created for jobs for people out in the "middle of nowhere" may be drying up soon.

LLMs are busy teaching AI Agents to check Google Tags, install tags and give you a view on why your conversions may not be firing, or what you could do to improve your campaign effectiveness.

What about Google AI for Creative?

I am not even going to touch on the "coding" upgrades for "those guys" but certainly there are a number of creative options coming your way, some of which will need to be paid for.

So far it's been bad - models with 3 arms and breasts on their backs. AI creatives have been touch and go. Sometimes surprising, often ridiculous!

Google Product Studio to be Replaced with Many Upgrades. Below are some examples of trying to use this tool with diamond rings and pre-selected backgrounds available in their templates.

Using the above templates, we tried to place our ring into a stone pedestal setting.

Sad results. I will not terrify you with versions where we tried to add the rings to hands - which looked more like roast chickens! So we are still holding out here.

While Google’s AI-generated content has faced criticism, advancements in generative AI, such as the introduction of "Asset Studio," show promise. Integrated into Google Merchant, this tool allows users to manage product images and videos more effectively.

Gemini - AI Pro & AI Ultra

There were too many creative tools to go into, but they include all the things you dreamed of including:

• Voice overs and voice creation

• Images created from not just prompts, but look-a-like visuals.

• Text overlays added with creative input to align the text and font with the creative

• The ability to add characters, scenes and props as you go along

• The ability to educate it and maintain more consistency from one frame to the next - ie: the first chicken you used stays the same throughout the creative.

Below is a frame by frame view of a video that was created using a few prompts along with a basic image of a chicken and an "old man".

Created with AI using written prompts, uploaded visual references such as the car, chicken and old man driver

The AI enabled him to crop, edit and extend scenes as you would in any video editor.

But Wait! There's More

Gemini seems to be the AI beast holding it altogether, with a number of partnerships being working on to bring these features to life across your extended devices:

• Your Car dashboard through partnerships with Volvo

• Your TV through partnerships with Samsung

• Your sunglasses, and your reading glasses - using Android XR and Samsung - with the ultimate goal of "reducing the need to reach for your phone" while you go about your day

  
  

The evolution of Google’s AI capabilities with Gemini will play a pivotal role in the future of marketing enabling you to reach audiences beyond their cellphones, laptops and desktops.

Final Thoughts

As Google continues to innovate and adapt in the realms of AI and digital marketing, staying informed and leveraging these tools will be crucial for businesses seeking to enhance their marketing strategies. The landscape is evolving rapidly, and those who embrace these changes stand to gain a significant competitive advantage.