As expected, AI was the headline act. Google is leaning heavily into its positioning as having the best AI for the best ROI, and much of the day was focused on what that means practically for advertisers, platforms, and the future of search.
“The latest updates from Google Marketing Live 2025 highlight a future where marketers can harness AI to reach audiences at every stage of the journey, delivering more relevant, personalised, and measurable results than ever before.”
— Brendan Christie, Head of Search
Here’s a summary of the key takeaways that are most relevant to our work and our clients.
AI Is Already Changing Search (and Everything Around It)
New product releases—Gemini 2.5, Veo 3, and Waymo—are now live. More importantly, Google reinforced that they’re taking a measured, responsible approach to AI. Their pitch isn’t about being first; it’s about doing it well and in a way that keeps user trust front and centre.
Search, YouTube, Shopping—every channel is being reshaped by AI.
People Don’t Move in Funnels Anymore
One of the big reminders was how non-linear the customer journey has become. Google outlined that users bounce between:
Streaming
Scrolling
Shopping
Searching
Some useful data:
65% of journeys start on Google or YouTube, even when social is involved
70% of people use Google to evaluate products they discovered on social
Gen Z (18–24) are heavy users of Google Lens—visual search is growing fast
In total, Google handles over 5 trillion searches per year, and 20 billion Lens searches a month. That’s a lot of real-time intent signals.
AI Mode: Personalised, Contextual Search
AI Mode is already live in the US and will continue to roll out globally. It’s a more natural, contextual way to search, and Google is building it to understand why someone is searching—not just what they typed in.
Some key features:
AI Mode queries are 2–3x longer
It can personalise responses (with Gmail syncing via “Personal Context”)
Ads will be included in AI Mode and AI Overviews, with Overviews expected to land in Australia this year
It’s more than just a different look for the SERPs—it’s a shift in how commercial intent is understood and responded to. Basically, AI-powered responses that:
Include images
Offer follow-up questions
Show ads aligned with inferred commercial outcomes
Example they used:
If someone searches “how to get dogs on flights in the US,” the AI might explain airline policies and serve ads for dog carriers, anticipating what the person likely needs next. It’s a more intuitive ad experience that connects informational searches to practical actions.
AI Maturity Across Organisations
According to BCG’s research into AI maturity:
First, companies need to get their data right. Without a unified customer view, AI has nothing to work with (the old adage, garbage in is garbage out).
Whilst doing this, use AI to accelerate creative development—concept ideation, asset generation, and rapid testing can all be supercharged
This isn’t about replacing strategy with automation. It’s about using AI to do what you’re already doing—better and faster.
To operationalise this:
Know your starting point
Identify high-impact opportunities nearby
Set 1–2 quarterly goals to make short-term incremental change
Build a team that’s aligned in mindset and skillset
Performance Tools: What’s Available Now (The “Power Pack”)
Three key tools were highlighted as core to Google’s performance stack in 2025:
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Performance Max (PMax)
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90+ improvements over the past year
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Now includes channel-level performance reporting
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AI Max for Search
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Uses keyword-less targeting
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In open beta in Australia now
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Coming to SA360 soon
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Worth running small tests to benchmark against current campaigns
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Demand Gen
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60+ upgrades over the past year
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Google reports a 26% lift in conversions per dollar spent
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These tools are designed to take full advantage of AI’s ability to match creative to intent across channels. Input quality still matters—so multi-asset creative setups are key.
For Lead Gen clients, Smart Bidding Exploration allows you to explore adjacent categories with commercial relevance and capture demand that traditional keyword strategies might miss.
Creative, Tagging & Measurement Updates
Asset Studio is now built into Google Ads and lets you quickly generate and test creative variations
Meridian (MMM) is available in Australia for brands wanting deeper marketing mix modelling
Google Tag Gateway is a simplified tagging setup, also live now
Incrementality testing is now open to all campaign types, with lower budget thresholds
Good set of tools here for testing, optimising, and maintaining visibility on what’s working.
Budget Strategy: A Lesson from Xero
Xero shared that they were hitting artificial performance ceilings—but not because of a lack of demand. It was due to budget limits they’d set themselves, which led to adjusting bids unnecessarily and further increasing performance volatility.
Their takeaway: Model your Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) and Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) properly. Use those to guide budget decisions. If profitability targets are being met, don’t artificially restrict growth—scale with guardrails in place.
Final Thoughts
Nothing announced was wildly unexpected, but the level of maturity in Google’s AI tooling is becoming clearer—and more usable.
The big takeaway is that AI is changing how people search—both organically and through paid experiences. To stay visible and competitive, we need to opt in to AI-driven automation across creative, targeting, and bidding. That doesn’t mean going all-in blindly—but it does mean running controlled, well-structured tests as new features roll out, ensuring we protect client interests while staying ahead of the curve.
“It’s an exciting time to be in digital marketing. We’re clearly in the middle of another platform shift—AI is changing everything, much like mobile did when it first launched. It’s a time of transformation, both big and small, and the decisions we make now will shape how effective we are in the years ahead.”
— Bec Russell, Performance Client Services Director