Google rebuilds search ads around Gemini
At Google Marketing Live, Google introduced AI-powered Shopping ads, a Business Agent for Leads and Conversational Discovery ads. Ads now run inside AI Overviews and AI Mode passed one billion users.
Mariano De Vitto · June 2026
Google used Google Marketing Live to remake the search ad. It introduced AI-powered Shopping ads that use Gemini to surface relevant products and write a short custom explainer on why an item fits the shopper. It added a Business Agent for Leads, a brand-trained chat agent inside the ad so customers can ask questions instead of filling out a static form. A third format, Conversational Discovery ads, builds creative tailored to the exact query.
The change sits on a bigger shift in how people search. Google said AI Mode passed one billion monthly users and that Gemini 3.5 Flash is now the default model. Ads now run above, below and inside AI Overviews across twelve markets, including the United States. The result of a query is no longer a ranked list of ten blue links. It is a written answer, and the ad has to earn a place inside that answer.
What it means for your plan
The unit you are buying is becoming a conversation, not a click. Copy written for a keyword match will feel thin next to a Gemini explainer that compares options. Brands with clean product data and clear differentiation give the model better raw material. There is a tradeoff: the more the format writes itself, the less control you hold over the words attached to your name. Test in a contained budget, read what the agent says on your behalf, and keep a human reviewing the output before it scales.
The signal: The search ad is turning into an answer. Feed the model clean product data, and read every word it writes in your name before you let it run.
The Signal Brief · Mariano De Vitto — Head of Marketing, Barcelona