Google unveiled a new suite of Gemini-powered advertising, commerce and measurement tools for Indian marketers at Google Marketing Live India 2026, with the developments shared during a virtual roundtable on 8 July led by Dan Taylor, vice president, Global Ad, Google, and Roma Datta Chobey, managing director, connected consumer commerce, Google India.

The announcements aim to signal Google's push to reshape digital advertising as consumer behaviour evolves, moving beyond marketing automation towards what it calls 'marketing intelligence'.

From AI-powered Search experiences and conversational brand agents to new YouTube, creative and measurement capabilities, the company is positioning Gemini as the engine powering the next generation of Ads and Commerce products.

Chobey highlighted, "With 86% of surveyed online Indians turning to Google Search and YouTube, Indian businesses have a tremendous opportunity to meet consumers where they are, and we are enabling that with Gemini. Which is why Gemini is now the engine accelerating growth for our customers across our ads products as we move beyond marketing automation to marketing intelligence, setting the stage for the agentic era where AI acts as a true strategic growth partner."

Taylor said the shift is being driven by the way people now search online.

"People are increasingly turning to Google with more complex and diverse questions, whether through longer queries, multi-turn conversations or even visual searches using their phone cameras," he added.

According to Google, AI Mode queries are now three times longer than traditional 'search' queries, while one in six AI Mode searches are non-text, using voice or images. In India, 84% of users report making faster decisions using AI Mode, and 87% say they make more confident decisions.

Against this backdrop, Google announced Business Agent for Leads, a Gemini-powered conversational agent built directly into Search ads.

Rather than directing users to a website or lead form, the AI agent can answer questions in real time using information from the advertiser's website before generating a qualified lead.

Search advertising itself is also evolving to include AI-powered experiences.

Taylor expressed that Google's learnings from testing ads in AI Mode in the US have shifted the focus away from simply where ads appear to the value they provide. "The best ads are no longer just links; they're answers," he said, adding that ads across AI experiences will continue to be clearly labelled as sponsored.

On YouTube, Google introduced YouTube BrandStack, an automated solution conceptualised and built in India that combines campaign planning, buying and measurement into a single workflow. The platform aims to eliminate the traditional divide between brand building and performance marketing by using AI-powered insights and audience targeting to drive business outcomes.

The company also announced YouTube Affiliate Partnerships Boost, enabling brands to amplify creators' organic product videos as advertisements. The format is designed to help advertisers scale authentic creator content while allowing creators to expand their reach and earn additional affiliate commissions.

Google is also extending AI deeper into campaign management. The company launched AI Max for Shopping Campaigns, building on the momentum of AI Max for Search, which it says has become its fastest-growing AI-powered Search advertising product.

Advertisers will also gain access to AI Brief, currently in beta in India, allowing marketers to guide campaigns using natural language instead of manually configuring campaign settings. Gemini interprets campaign objectives, references brand guidelines and generates previews that marketers can refine before launch.

Further updates include Retention Only Mode in Performance Max with Dynamic Remarketing, enabling brands to re-engage loyal and lapsed customers with personalised creatives, while Demand Gen campaigns will now extend to Google Maps and support Merchant Center product videos.

Google also announced enhancements to Asset Studio, allowing advertisers to upload creative briefs, reference images and brand guidelines to generate on-brand text, image and video assets using Gemini. On the analytics front, Meridian, Google's open-source marketing mix model, will integrate directly with Google Analytics 360, while Attributed Branded Searches will help marketers measure how YouTube campaigns influence branded Google searches.

Google introduced Ask Advisor, a Gemini-powered assistant that works across Google Ads, Google Analytics, Google Marketing Platform and soon Merchant Center.

Taylor described it as a unified AI collaborator capable of understanding campaign goals, generating reports across platforms and even launching campaigns by pulling product information directly from Merchant Centre.

The company also outlined its broader vision for agentic commerce, introducing AI Performance Insights and conversational product attributes in Merchant Center to help brands understand how their products appear across AI-powered shopping experiences and optimise listings for increasingly conversational consumer journeys.

Together, the announcements underscore Google's ambition to embed Gemini across every stage of the marketing workflow, from discovery and creative development to campaign execution, measurement and commerce, as AI increasingly becomes central to how consumers search, discover and buy.