Google introduces new AI-powered ad tools ahead of holiday shopping season

Google has unveiled a set of new advertising tools for retailers during its “Think Week” event in New York, aiming to expand the use of artificial intelligence across search, shopping, and creative asset generation. The updates arrive as marketers prepare for the holiday shopping season, when competition for visibility and conversions peaks.

One of the key announcements is the testing of ads within AI Overviews, Google’s generative AI feature in Search. The company has been experimenting with sponsored placements in these AI-generated summaries since May 2025 and is now extending the format. Ads will appear in a dedicated “Sponsored” section within AI responses, offering businesses a way to maintain visibility as users increasingly rely on AI-generated answers instead of clicking through to traditional web results. These placements will be available through AI Max for Search campaigns, which have now rolled out globally, though the ad units remain in testing.

Google also introduced text guidelines for advertisers. This new feature is designed to guide the platform’s AI in producing ad copy that aligns with brand standards while optimizing performance. The tool will be gradually added to AI Max and Performance Max campaigns beginning this fall.

In addition, the company is expanding its Asset Studio with AI-driven creative generation capabilities. Advertisers can upload product photos and use text prompts to generate campaign-ready images and videos. The tool preserves brand-specific details, such as logos and product textures, while placing items in new contexts. Batch generation and text-to-video functions are also being introduced, giving retailers additional ways to scale creative production.

Google is further enhancing collaboration with new project sharing options, allowing teams to circulate and review ads during the development stage.

On YouTube, Google is making its masthead ads shoppable, enabling users to engage directly with featured products. The update adds another commerce-focused layer to one of YouTube’s most prominent ad formats.