Following Google Marketing Live, Google shared a 70-page PDF packed with updates and insights with PPCers that never made it into the keynote presentation. During this week’s PPCChat session, experts took a closer look at some of those hidden gems, revisited a few of the headline announcements, and shared their perspectives on what these announcements could mean for advertisers.
Q1: So, two weeks removed from Google Marketing Live, how are you feeling about what was announced (or not announced) or just generally?
Given the updates and features – more delighted than not. A 7/10 from my side. Purely coz of the different features and indication that more controls will be shared, and all platforms are shipping, so that’s a good sign. The bad sign is still the squeezing of professionals and how it will turn out, and the AI, but much better than previous years. @alimehdimukadam
That’s the upside of AI – the platforms can ship more faster @alimehdimukadam
I am a bit all over the place on it, honestly. The keynote part felt like a lot of sizzle but not much steak. The document I got from Google (that I shared up stream) had a lot more things in it. Some of which are intriguing. Some of which are headache inducing and a lot in between. I do think it is very clear that AI and all that it entails is coming/in pretty much every single part of Google now. @NeptuneMoon
I’m a little overwhelmed if I’m honest. I feel like the product updates were interesting and quite cool, but I don’t have basic answers my clients consistently ask me about how to show up more, will their brand be safe, how to deal with approval boards, and the general, what should we do question. @JuliaVyse
Google is going full on AI. It already is, or will be a core part of every campaign type. That said, I think the speed Google can move is faster than the speed consumers are moving. You can push more AI Overviews, but after spending 25 years getting people comfortable with the traditional search experience, it’s going to take time to get people comfortable in a new experience. @robert_brady
I agree 100% @robert_brady on the lack of thought about the inertia involved after training the population to search for so long in a specific way to just upend it so completely and think it will have no impact. Like regular people just want to find what they are searching for. They are not interested in deep conversations with AI. @NeptuneMoon
There were a lot of things but I still can’t figure out what’s actually out and how you get access to it — and it seems like a lot of our reps don’t know either. Seems like some stuff was announced before it’s actually available… @revaminkoff
The document I shared does have some info on what is out now and when other things are scheduled to start rolling out and where. https://officialppcchat.com/2026/05/21/from-google-everything-announced-at-google-marketing-live/ @NeptuneMoon
Q2: What was the most surprising thing to you that came out of GML this year? And why was it surprising?
Universal commerce protocol was a nice surprise, but it’s also a development that makes a lot of sense. I didn’t feel like there were a lot of surprises this year – most things seemed like they reasonably followed from other things that had been announced before. @revaminkoff
Yeah, I felt fairly prepared for this year, no big swerves for me. @JuliaVyse
I was surprised at the push to blend awareness and search conversions. I get wanting a bigger piece of the awareness pie, but to aggressively tie it to what happens in search was a head scratcher for me. Same with the Qualified Future Conversions. Seriously? I can’t sell that to people who deal in real numbers and who we have trained to expect real numbers for 20+ years. @NeptuneMoon
lol, I think quite a few of us have long strings of excel formulas for exactly that @JuliaVyse
I was surprised at how many times they used that annoying horn sound. @robert_brady
Can I safely share that the very cringe podcast episode format was NOT a surprise to me? ugh @JuliaVyse
I hope Sylvanus gets a bonus for always having the most cringe things he has to say in his part @NeptuneMoon
Oh the horn was awful – I forgot about that! @revaminkoff
Journey aware and future qualified conversions was a big one for me @alimehdimukadam
I think i was expecting better from them, considering the feedback over the last couple of years, it just felt like it keeps getting worse. Then they share a 70 page PDF and I’m like when did you even discuss like most of this stuff?!? It used to be factual and fun now it feels like more and more of a joke. @Meriem
Q3: What was the most exciting thing to you that came out of GML this year? And why is it exciting?
I’m actually really excited about Qualified Future Conversions, Lead Scoring, and a few of the other more B2B feedback options that were released. @revaminkoff
I don’t love the AI of it, but seeing B2B get some things in the post event document felt good @NeptuneMoon
I’m intrigued by the Business Agent for Leads product. It could be very cool, but I don’t know how the auction-based bidding model of Google works with it. @robert_brady
I’ll shamelessly plug that Microsoft’s Brand Agents are also available – you can learn more here: https://clarity.microsoft.com/brand-agents @navahhopkins
I mean, I really like the 70 page PDF – Not had that before and it’s pretty clear and nice, just wish I got some WOW factor from the event to go along with it… LOL (or next time i’ll just have that please) @Meriem
AI Brief! I’m cautiously optimistic that this could be an absolute game-changer for Pmax and AI max. Although I think I also heard that it had been revealed or teased before GML, technically, but I didn’t hear of it till the event. @AnthonyMcDaniel
Q4: What was the most disappointing thing that came out of GML this year? And why is it disappointing? EDITED: Actually, let’s include things you wish would have been announced here too!
We all knew it was coming, but the AI-ing of absolutely everything was a lot @NeptuneMoon
I was hoping the full AI Mode push doesn’t happen till later this year @alimehdimukadam
I was disappointed that the whole event felt more like a shareholder hype meeting and less like the advertiser-focused product road map meeting it has been in the past @robert_brady
Ads Advisor & Ask YouTube I think. I haven’t tried it lately….heard there have been improvements. @alimehdimukadam
It was definitely for investors and not advertisers. Which is a bummer because it used to be more focused on advertisers @NeptuneMoon
I wish it wasn’t so AI everything. I think this push is short-sighted and vastly overestimates the average person’s desire to interact with an AI agent or experience @NeptuneMoon
Too much AI-ing – and agreed that the presentation felt more for shareholders and the press and less for the people who do this every day. I wish they would do more events that actually talk to the advertisers on our level and tell us what we need to know to do our jobs. @revaminkoff
There’s a difference between “look how awesome Google is” and “this is what you need to know in order for your clients to get their best possible results” @revaminkoff
As usual, the lack of any examples/case studies that are even close to relevant to 99% of advertisers is a bummer. No actual b2b or lead gen love in the live event is also weird every year (I don’t count hotels as lead gen). So disappointing because why don’t they want to make it easy for us to sell these features to our clients? Make our job easier so we can spend more money with you! @AnthonyMcDaniel
Q5: Is there anything you are testing now and/or planning to test as it becomes available in your accounts?
Not AI Max on Brand lol…@Meriem
I am still trying to wrap my head around it all and figure out what might be worth trying or recommending be added to planning. Most things were not directly or easily applicable to lead generation unless you want to turn things over to AI and I am not really comfortable pushing that.@NeptuneMoon
I have A LOT of questions about how all the AI replying for you will work @NeptuneMoon
Journey Aware, Future Qualified Conversions & Business Leads Dashboard are top of my list @alimehdimukadam
I said in another thread, but AI Brief will be very much tested in my accounts with Pmax. Just signed up for the beta today, so hopefully I can get access sooner rather than later @AnthonyMcDaniel
Q6: Do you have any more questions about anything that was announced? Ginny and I are working on finishing up the recap post from last week and can add more Q&As if you have them!
I think there was a question about whether a specific setup is valid for showing ads on AI Overview, but I’m not sure it was directly answered. Are all Pmax and/or AI Max-enabled campaigns eligible for AIOs, or only certain setups/configurations (like keyword expansion, landing page expansion, broad match, etc.) @AnthonyMcDaniel
Am definitely still very curious about the AI agents and whether client data will be protected if we use them. @revaminkoff
PPCChat Participants
- Julie F Bacchini @NeptuneMoon
- Julia Vyse @JuliaVyse
- Reva Minkoff @revaminkoff
- Meriem @Meriem
- Ali Mehdi Mukadam @alimehdimukadam
- Robert Brady @robert_brady
- Navah Hopkins @navahhopkins
- Anthony McDaniel @AnthonyMcDaniel
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