🏗️ The great Google rebuild

Today’s Insights

Feature

Google has served as the de facto homepage of the internet for over 20 years. 

Now, Google is disrupting its original product by starting to replace traditional search with a new engine called 'AI Mode'.

According to Google, this represents "the future", and this feature is currently rolling out to all US users.

Unlike traditional search that retrieves the most relevant links, AI Mode will present results pages curated specifically by Gemini.

In the future, Gemini will create its own content for searches.

Today users can make longer, more specific searches and get highly personalized answers based on their search history in return.

Google is even inviting users to connect their Gmail accounts to enable more tailored suggestions.

While Google has confirmed that ads are coming to AI Mode, the advertising model will evolve significantly. Keywords will no longer serve as the centerpiece when Google has detailed conversational context. The company has already announced 'AI Max for Search' campaigns as part of this shift toward keywordless search advertising.

Zooming Out

Google was initially caught off guard by ChatGPT, but they have since developed a plan to fully embrace AI Search through a measured, phased rollout.

Traditional search is giving way to conversational AI that understands context and intent rather than relying on keywords. The question isn't whether AI Mode will become Google's default homepage, but how quickly it will happen – and how the broader search ecosystem will be built around it to serve advertisers and incentivize publishers of content.

Is the advantage back with Google?

Google & Meta

📊 Google Marketing Live 2025 roundup

Google provided a recap of recent announcements including PMax Channel Performance reporting, Creator Partnerships Hub in Google Ads, Ads in AI Overviews expanding to desktop, AI Max for Search campaigns, Smart Bidding Exploration for ROAS targets, and Video ads in Search and Shopping results is currently in testing.

Full rundown from Ginny Marvin

🧪 Meta launches early release program for advertisers to test generative AI ad tools 

Selected advertisers can now test new AI features in Ads Manager before they are widely released. They can choose to opt in or out of each feature which may be adjusted or removed based on performance.

More Headlines

🤝 YouTube’s Creator Partnerships Hub expands features

The partnership hub allows brands to find videos to sponsor, identify creators who have mentioned them, and request video links to use in more ad campaigns. It unifies organic and paid performance tracking in one place. The tool supports both Demand Gen and Video Reach campaigns.

🚀 YouTube launches Peak Points ads that appear after key video moments

The new ad format uses Google’s Gemini AI to scan videos and identify emotionally charged and high-engagement moments. It then recommends and places ads immediately after these peak moments. YouTube also adds shoppable product feeds to CTV ads, allowing brands to display products on TV screens during ads.

✅ YouTube Shorts matches revenue per watch hour of regular videos across key markets

According to YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, in some countries, YouTube Shorts is also generating higher ad revenue than traditional YouTube videos. He attributes this to an increase in ad opportunities and improved AI-powered targeting. Mohan also says that Shorts viewership rose by 20% YoY in Q1 2025 and that 70% of creators are now posting Shorts.

🛍️ Perplexity partners with PayPal to launch in-chat shopping for U.S. Pro users

The feature will allow users to purchase products directly within the Perplexity chat interface. Shoppers can pay using PayPal or Venmo without leaving the platform.

📈 Netflix's ad-supported plan tops 94 million monthly users

That's a 34% jump from the 70 million reported in November 2024. According to Netflix, ad-plan users now stream an average of 41 hours monthly. The platform also claims to lead all U.S. broadcast and cable networks among 18- to 34-year-olds.

🎥 Netflix is planning AI-powered interactive ads by 2026

The new formats will use generative AI to place ads into Netflix shows in real-time. Advertisers will be able to add overlays, calls to action, and second-screen buttons when a show is paused or during an ad break.

Thanks for reading

That’s all for today. Thanks to today’s sponsor, Scroll. Scroll turns your research into well-written white papers, case studies, newsletters and more. You can try it for free.

Have a marketing friend who would find today’s newsletter useful? There’s a share button below.

We’ll be back next week!