Google announced a new generation of Gemini-powered ad formats at Google Marketing Live 2026 - from Conversational Discovery ads to AI Shopping ads. Here's what's changing and how to prepare your campaigns.
At Google Marketing Live 2026, Google announced a wave of new ad formats powered by its Gemini AI models. The headline message: Search is becoming more conversational and AI-driven, and ads are following suit. For advertisers, this represents one of the most significant shifts in how Google Search ads work in years.
Google is testing or rolling out four new ad experiences, each designed to make ads feel more like helpful advice than interruptions.
These ads respond directly to a person's specific question in AI Mode. Instead of showing a standard text ad, Gemini builds creative tailored to the search query - highlighting the product features most relevant to what the person is actually asking. A search like "what are low-maintenance ways to make my home smell amazing?" could trigger an ad that speaks directly to that need, rather than a generic product listing.
When AI Mode surfaces a list of recommendations - say, the best language apps for an upcoming trip - high-quality ads can now appear as a Highlighted Answer within that list. This puts advertisers directly alongside AI-generated organic recommendations, in a clearly labeled Sponsored format.
For high-consideration purchases like electronics or appliances, Gemini now writes a custom explainer for each product result - explaining why that specific product may be the right choice for the person searching. This replaces the static product listing with something closer to a personalized recommendation.
Instead of a static lead form, this format puts a Gemini-powered chat agent inside the ad. A prospective student researching universities, for example, can click "Chat" to get instant answers based on the university's own website - turning a passive ad impression into an active conversation and a qualified lead.
Google's Direct Offers pilot - which lets brands surface deals directly in Search - is getting an upgrade. New features include promotion bundling (letting brands upload multiple offer types and letting Gemini construct the most compelling deal for each search), native checkout via the Universal Commerce Protocol, and travel deals through partners like Booking and Expedia. Offers will now surface naturally within AI Mode responses, making them easier to discover at the moment of intent.
The common thread across all these formats is that Google is using AI to generate ad creative in real time, tailored to each individual search. This puts more weight on the underlying product data and campaign structure you provide - the AI can only build good creative if it has good inputs to work with. Google recommends building your campaigns around AI Max for Search, AI Max for Shopping, and Performance Max to take full advantage of these new formats as they roll out.
As Google's ad formats become more dynamic and data-driven, the quality of your product feed becomes a critical factor. AI-generated ad creative is only as good as the product information it draws from - accurate titles, descriptions, prices, and images all feed directly into what Gemini generates for each search. Campaign Builder's catalog ads tools help you keep your product data clean, structured, and optimized so your products are ready to perform across all of Google's AI-powered formats.
Ready to get started? Explore Catalog Ads on Campaign Builder - the fastest way to keep your product feed optimized for Google's evolving AI ad formats.
