Google Marketing Live 2025 has wrapped up, and it was a whirlwind of exciting new features and solutions designed to help advertisers thrive. Right after the main keynote, product experts and Google Ads Product Liaison Ginny Marvin joined forces to unpack all the announcements and answer your burning questions. This session offered a fantastic opportunity to get a closer look at what’s new and how it can benefit your business.
Key Takeaways
- AI-Powered Features: A significant focus was on integrating Artificial Intelligence across various Google Ads products to drive more conversions, improve creative processes, and offer greater flexibility.
- Enhanced Measurement and Reporting: New tools and updates aim to provide advertisers with clearer insights into campaign performance, making it easier to diagnose issues and optimize strategies.
- Creator Partnerships: Tools are being introduced to simplify finding and collaborating with online creators, tapping into their reach and authenticity.
- Accessibility for All: Many of the new features and updates are designed with simplicity and accessibility in mind, aiming to benefit businesses of all sizes, from small to large enterprises.
Understanding the Google Ads Product Liaison Role
Before diving into the specifics, Maya Shankar, Senior Director of Behavioral Economics at Google, clarified Ginny Marvin’s role as the Google Ads Product Liaison. Ginny explained that her job is all about connecting with the advertiser community, listening to their feedback and questions, and then bringing that information back to the internal Google Ads teams to help shape product development. It’s a vital link between Google and the people who use its advertising tools every day.
Top Announcements for Advertisers
When asked to pick her top three favourite announcements, Ginny Marvin highlighted:
- AI Max for Search Campaigns: This is a one-click option to enable AI features in Search campaigns, specifically designed to drive more conversions and conversion value.
- Creator Partnerships Hub: Integrated within Google Ads, this tool aims to make it easier for advertisers to find and partner with creators, leveraging their reach and authenticity.
- Smart Bidding Exploration: A new feature offering more flexibility for Smart Bidding, helping advertisers find conversion opportunities they might have otherwise missed, particularly for those using Lead Gen or online sales goals with ROAS targets.
Ginny also added incrementality testing as a fourth exciting development, noting the significant advancements in this area.
Advertiser Reception and New Features
Advertisers have shown enthusiasm for the new features, especially the cross-channel performance reporting in PMax, which offers a level of transparency that has been a long-requested feature. The asset-level metrics for Search, PMax, and Display campaigns are also a big hit, allowing for more granular insights into performance. AI Max for Search Campaigns, while taking a bit longer to grasp, is seen as a significant step forward, especially since it can be enabled within existing campaigns without needing a rebuild.
Expert Insights on Key Areas
The post-keynote session featured a panel of Google Ads product experts, including Michael Foroobar (Director of Data and Measurement Solutions), Cecilia Wong (Head of Global AI-powered Search Ads, Creatives, and Formats), and Pallavi Naresh (Director of Product Management, Generative AI). They addressed several key questions from the audience:
The Future of Search and AI Overviews
Cecilia Wong addressed concerns about AI Overviews potentially reducing ad clicks. She explained that AI Overviews allow users to explore more complex topics, and by understanding both the user’s query and the AI’s response, Google can generate the most relevant ads. The expansion of ads in AI Overviews to desktop and more countries, along with experiments in AI Mode, signals a growing opportunity for advertisers.
Generative AI for Creatives
Pallavi Naresh spoke about how generative AI tools are simplifying and making the creative process more efficient. For small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), these tools provide access to high-production-value creatives. For larger advertisers, they empower media teams to create variations and make edits more easily while staying on brand. The key benefit is that these tools offer value to advertisers of all sizes, regardless of their existing creative resources.
Data Management and Performance
Michael Foroobar discussed the importance of data for performance. He highlighted how Data Manager helps advertisers diagnose what’s working and what’s not, providing specific actions and precise feedback. For example, it can identify dips in conversions from Display and offer solutions. Data Manager aims to reduce guesswork, allowing advertisers to spend more time optimizing campaigns. It provides both the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ behind performance, enabling smarter, on-the-fly decisions.
Video Ads in Search and Shopping
Ginny Marvin explained that videos are starting to appear in ads on Search and Shopping to make them more visual and engaging. This feature is currently in beta for retail and PMax campaigns. Advertisers need to add relevant videos (horizontal and portrait) to their asset groups. The most effective videos focus on features, how-to content, and testimonials, supplementing existing text assets.
AI Max for Search vs. Traditional Campaigns
Cecilia Wong addressed the control and transparency of AI Max for Search campaigns. She noted that new reporting features show exactly where AI is driving new searches and the headlines it’s generating. Early beta testing showed advertisers getting about 27% more conversions at the same CPA or ROAS compared to using exact or phrase match keywords.
Maintaining Brand Authenticity with AI
Ginny Marvin and Pallavi Naresh emphasised that advertisers remain in control of their brand identity. They can guide generative AI with their brand’s voice and values. Pallavi highlighted new features using product images to show them in realistic settings, which helps maintain authenticity by showcasing products in context.
Making Incrementality Testing and MMMs Accessible
Michael Foroobar acknowledged that incrementality testing and Marketing Mix Models (MMMs) have historically been complex and costly. Google is changing this by introducing a new Bayesian methodology for incrementality testing, allowing for high-quality studies with lower budgets and conversion requirements. For MMMs, Meridian is designed to be accessible, open-source, and transparent, with features like Google Query Volume and interactive scenario planning to help marketers of all levels understand media spend attribution.
Creator Partnerships Hub in Detail
Ginny Marvin elaborated on the Creator Partnerships Hub, located within Google Ads. It allows advertisers to search a vast library of YouTube creators by keyword or genre, find information on their reach and demographics, and even get pricing insights. Once a collaboration is set up, both paid and organic performance data can be tracked within Google Ads.
Smart Bidding Exploration Clarified
Cecilia Wong clarified that Smart Bidding Exploration is not just about more aggressive bidding. It combines a flexible ROAS target with bidding mechanisms to find traffic that advertisers are eligible for but might be missing. This increases traffic diversity and finds new pockets of customers and opportunities, offering incremental value and reach, which differs from simply lowering a ROAS target.
Gen AI Creative Features: Google Ads vs. Merchant Center
Pallavi Naresh explained that both Google Ads (Asset Studio) and Merchant Center (Product Studio) offer powerful AI-driven creative tools. Advertisers can use either, and assets created in one can be pushed to the other. The goal is to ensure marketing teams are successful regardless of where they work.
Google Tag Gateway Explained
Michael Foroobar described Google Tag Gateway as a way to build a secure, high-performing measurement foundation without heavy lifting. Tags load from the advertiser’s first-party domain, improving performance and signal increase. It’s built with privacy in mind and is easy to adopt with no retagging required.
AI Max for Search vs. Performance Max
Cecilia Wong summarised the relationship between AI Max for Search and Performance Max. Performance Max remains the best option for maximising performance across all Google channels. AI Max for Search offers simplicity and a one-click upgrade for existing Search campaigns, boosting performance and positioning ads for evolving AI-powered Search results. Advertisers are encouraged to continue running PMax campaigns and start testing AI Max for Search.
Accelerate with Google and Impact Awards
John Nicoletti announced updates to Accelerate with Google, making it more personalised with plans based on marketing objectives, recommended products, and resources. It will serve as a central destination for events, announcements, guides, and expert support. Additionally, the Google Ads Impact Awards were introduced to celebrate marketers and agencies driving extraordinary impact. Winners were announced across categories like Data Innovation, Media Achievement, Creative Impact, and AI Excellence, recognising achievements in leveraging Google Ads and AI.
