GML 2025: Actually very useful
So Google Marketing Live 2025 just happened...
And for once, I'm not writing to complain about a bunch of useless features that'll disappear faster than free donuts at a PPC conference.
Don't get me wrong - there's still plenty of "Coming Soon™" announcements that'll probably arrive sometime between now and the heat death of the universe.
But buried in all the AI hype, Google actually released some genuinely useful stuff.
The Stuff That Actually Matters (Plot Twist: There Is Some)
Ads in AI Overviews - Okay, this one's actually pretty clever. When someone searches and gets one of those AI-generated summaries at the top, your ads can now show up right there. It's rolling out in the US first (shocking, I know) but this could be a game-changer for capturing attention when people are just browsing around.
AI Mode - Think ChatGPT but for search, and your ads can appear in the conversation. Finally, a way to reach people during those "I'm just exploring" moments when they're not quite ready to buy but definitely getting warmed up.
Performance Max Got Less Annoying - Remember how we all complained about PMax being a black box? Well, Google listened (I know, I'm surprised too): • You can actually see which channels are working now • Search term insights are finally here • You can add negative keywords (only took them 3 years)
Creative Tools That Don't Suck - Veo and Imagen are Google's fancy AI tools for making videos and images. And honestly? They're pretty impressive. No more begging your designer for "just one more variation" of that banner ad.
The Stuff That Sounds Cool But...
Smart Bidding Exploration - It's supposed to find high-performing queries you missed. Cool in theory, but I'll believe it when my ROAS doesn't tank.
AI Agents - Google promises AI that'll manage your campaigns for you. Because that's never gone wrong before, right?
Shoppable TV Ads - You can now buy stuff directly from your TV. Which is either the future of commerce or a great way to accidentally buy a treadmill at 2am.
The Reality Check
Here's the thing - most of this is US-only for now. If you're anywhere else, you're basically watching from the sidelines until Google decides your country exists.
And let's be honest, for all the AI bells and whistles, the fundamentals still rule:
- Know your audience
- Write ads that don't put people to sleep
- Have landing pages that actually work
- Don't waste money on garbage traffic
Revolutionary stuff, I know.
What I'm Actually Excited About
The AI Overview ads? That's genuinely smart. People are using AI search more (still tiny numbers, but growing), and being there when they're exploring could be huge.
The Performance Max transparency? About bloody time.
The creative tools? Could save a lot of headaches.
Everything else? We'll see.
Bottom Line
For the first time in ages, Google announced stuff that might actually help us do our jobs better instead of just making them more complicated.
Still plenty of hype and "coming soon" promises, but there's some real meat on the bone this time.
If you want to chat about how any of this might affect your campaigns (or just need someone to help you separate the useful stuff from the marketing fluff), hit reply.
Cheers, Tomasz
P.S. I give it 6 months before they rename AI Mode to something like "Gemini Conversational Discovery Experience Plus" and add 47 new settings that nobody understands.
