Key Takeaways from Google Marketing Live 2025: Search, Shorts & Ads Get An AI Upgrade

Google Marketing Live 2025 wasn’t just an event. It was a wake-up call for marketers everywhere. AI is no longer the future of marketing. It’s the foundation. Whether it’s search visibility, creative output, or campaign performance, AI is reshaping it all.

As John Nicoletti, VP Google Customer Solutions, succinctly puts it, “You’re not competing against AI, you’re competing with those who are already using it…”

The 360 OM Team attended the event live in Dublin, Ireland, and here’s a look at what’s next in the world of Google Marketing, straight from the insights shared at Google Marketing Live 2025:

Key Metrics Across Google & YouTube

The theme, “where discovery starts and decisions are made,” reflects a growing shift in user behaviour and advertiser strategy. Below are some of the standout metrics presented at the event:

• 83% of people use YouTube and Google daily.
• 27% more conversions with AI Max for Search.
• 45% of YouTube Shorts users are not on TikTok.
• 250% increase in advertisers adopting Generative AI.
• 58% of users discovered new brands through short ads.
• For every $1 spent on Google Search, you get $6 in return.
• Over 1 billion conversions are driven by users who see YouTube ads on TV.
• 70% of users use Google Search to research products they found on social media.

The Biggest Marketing Challenges in 2025

At the start of the event, attendees were asked: “What is your biggest challenge?” Their responses paint a clear picture of the pain points modern marketers are navigating.

• Attributing ROI across the full marketing mix – 36%
• Harnessing the latest AI solutions – 26%
• Connecting with customers across entire journey – 24%
• Engaging and converting new audiences – 12%

Introducing The Power Pack 

Earlier, Google was keen on pushing the Power Pair (PMax and Broad Match), but at the event, Google launched the “Power Pack” (PMax, AI Max, and Demand Gen). This is designed to drive next-level performance across Google Search and YouTube:

• Performance Max (PMax): Offers marketers greater control and visibility, with Asset Group and channel performance reporting launching in beta.

• AI Max for Search Campaigns: Built for the evolving search landscape, AI Max learns from landing pages, ads, and existing keywords to supercharge ad performance with targeting and creative enhancements. It’s described as the biggest leap in bidding technology in a decade for smart bidding exploration and flexible ROAS targets for efficient conversions.

• Demand Gen: Using Floodlight capabilities, Demand Gen within the Power Pack allows users to create and capture demand across Google’s most visual surfaces, including YouTube, Shorts, Discover, Gmail, and Google Display Network.

As Sylvanus Bent, Group Product Manager at Google, said, “The only way to win in the new era of search is with AI-powered search.”

Search Gets Smarter: Ads in the Age of AI Discovery

With over 5 trillion searches annually, Google Search has always been where curiosity begins. But now, with AI Overviews, Lens, and AI Mode, it’s where decisions are being made faster and more intuitively.

What’s Changing?

• Ads are expanding in AI Overviews (now available on desktop).
• AI Mode is getting ad placements, opening up fresh real estate for advertisers.
• AI Search goes from delivering information to providing intelligent, decision-driving answers.

‍Key Opportunity:

Marketers must now optimise for AI-enhanced search journeys, not just keywords. Understand how AI interprets queries and offers context-rich results that guide action.

Instant Creativity With AI-Generated Media

With Veo (video) and Imagen (image) models now integrated into Google Ads and Merchant Center, any marketer can be a creative director.

‍What’s New?

• AI-powered tools for video and image creation directly within Google Ads.
• Speed and quality improvements that drastically reduce production time.
• Enhanced creative testing with multiple variations at scale.

Why It Matters:

Time-consuming creative bottlenecks are a thing of the past. Now, campaigns can be ideated, produced, and optimised all in one place with AI-generated visuals of top-notch quality tailored to your audience.

Introducing AI Max & Smart Bidding Exploration: Predicting the Unpredictable

The consumer journey is more fragmented than ever. People don’t follow funnels, they follow instincts. Google’s new tools aim to make sense of this chaos.

Big Updates:

• AI Max for Search campaigns uses Google’s AI to optimise in real time across all touchpoints.
• Smart Bidding Exploration is the biggest bidding innovation in over a decade,  now pursuing non-obvious, high-performing search queries.

The Advantage:

Marketers can now move from reaction to anticipation, placing ads in high-intent moments that weren’t even on the radar before.

Meet Your Google AI Agent: Work Smarter, Not Harder

AI is not just powerful, but personal too. Agentic capabilities are a new suite of tools that help marketers have an AI teammate that adapts, learns, and works for them.

Features to Watch:

• Agentic tools assist with campaign setup, optimisation, and learning curves.
• Embedded into tools like AI Max, Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Meet
• Helps make the complex world of digital advertising more approachable.

Why It’s a Game Changer:

This isn’t just automation. It’s delegation, with the confidence that your AI assistant knows your goals and actively works to achieve them.

YouTube and Shorts Go Shoppable: Convert in One Swipe

As platforms blur the line between content and commerce, YouTube is stepping up with shoppable Shorts and advanced ad formats that integrate seamlessly into the discovery journey.

Key Enhancements:

• New YouTube ad formats that are immersive, interactive, and commerce-friendly.
• Shoppable Shorts bring the product journey directly into the video stream.
• More personalisation, without being intrusive.

Impact:

This is storytelling-meets-sales at its best. Brands can now engage, inspire, and convert within seconds, exactly where consumers are already spending their time.

Streamlined Measurement For A Fragmented World

With AI touching every aspect of advertising, measurement is evolving to keep pace. Google is doubling down on transparency and actionable insights.

What’s Coming:

• Simplified performance dashboards across Search and YouTube.
• AI-generated insights that highlight not just what’s working, but why.
• Better brand controls to ensure trust, safety, and alignment with brand values.

Takeaway:

Marketers can now focus less on manual data crunching and more on strategic decisions powered by real-time intelligence.

AI Isn’t the Future of Advertising. It’s the Now.

According to Google, the age of predictive, personalised, performance-driven advertising has already begun. Whether you’re a global brand or a local business, the message is simple: Get ready to move faster, think smarter, and connect deeper — all with AI as your co-pilot.

This moment isn’t about incremental change. It’s about fundamental transformation.

What Marketers Should Do Next

• Embrace the tools from AI-powered creative to smart bidding.
• Reassess measurement and trust the AI insights.
• Test early and often, especially with AI Overviews and YouTube Shorts.
• Upskill your team not only in using the tools, but understanding AI strategy.
• Partner smartly, this new era favors those who move with agility and intelligence.

Google’s Top 5 Takeaways

Google’s key takeaways from Marketing Live 2025 emphasise the strategic direction for marketers:

1. Be where your customers are in real time with the best returns.
2. AI is giving Google Search superpowers.
3. There’s only one YouTube - utilise its untapped potential.
4. Maximise ROI with the Power Pack.
5. Fuel your AI (creative, data, and measurement).

The future is here — and it’s personal, predictive, and powerful. Forget an AI strategy. Build a strategy supercharged by AI.

Need a fresh perspective? Let’s talk.

At 360 OM, we specialise in helping businesses take their marketing efforts to the next level. Our team stays on top of industry trends, uses data-informed decisions to maximise your ROI, and provides full transparency through comprehensive reports.