TPE #129: 7 surprising GML observations
May 21, 2025Read time: 4 minutes
GM, Miles here with a special issue of The PPC Edge.
Last night, Google announced a suite of new products and features at Google Marketing Live.
I don’t know why, but I thought it was a special edition.
Not because we got some cool new features… But because it revealed a glimpse of the future — of where the industry is headed as a whole.
So today, I’ll share 7 surprising observations and highlight the things I’m excited about the most.
It’s not a complete recap of every new feature, but just the things that got my attention.
For a complete overview of all announcements, check out Google’s blog.
All images in this issue belong to Google!
Let’s dive in!
Observation 1: AI does really change extremely fast.
When you’re in the thick of it, you don’t really see how fast technology really changes. But when you zoom out, it’s actually insane:
Last year, GML was all about how Product Studio can use AI to change image backgrounds for your Shopping Ads.
Super cool, at the time.
But this year, Google really showed how advanced the technology has become in just 12 months:
- Complete cinematic videos made with VEO 3.
- Insane images created with Imagen 4.
- AI Agents are on the rise.
Super impressive! Just imagine where we stand in 12 months…
In addition, Google has revealed they will start experimenting with ads in the new AI Mode, as well as ads on AI Overviews on desktop.
As expected: AI is everywhere and it’s not slowing down.
Real quick: as you can see, AI is changing the industry fast.
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The PPC Hub turns 2 in June, that’s why the image is so festive ;-).
Observation 2: AI is lowering the barrier to entry even more.
With all of these updates, Google is making it even easier for advertisers to start using Google Ads.
For instance, Google announced different AI Marketing Agents that you can talk to about your performance, get recommendations on what to do next, and even instruct to take certain actions.
A few thoughts, I believe:
- This will not be great at first.
- It will get really good in 12-24 months.
- It’s gonna feel like AARs initially (same Optiscore advice).
- If Google allows us to program it per account, then it’s game over.
However, no matter how good it gets, there’s always a trust hurdle (having Google as a single source of truth is dangerous for many reasons).
Observation 3: AI is changing the Shopping experience.
I love how AI is changing online shopping:
Google’s new “Try it on” feature allows you to try on products digitally:
- Upload an image of yourself.
- Swipe through clothes to see how they fit you.
- Use agentic (automatic) actions to buy directly with Google Pay.
I think this could significantly reduce return rates for ecom brands, which is a good thing!
On the flip side, I fear this will increase consumerism… But that’s a different discussion.
Observation 4: The days of nitty-gritty features for advertisers are over.
A few years ago, GML was all about new product updates.
This year, it felt like a summary of the direction we’re headed with our industry as a whole: more AI, more automation, and less control.
The day of nitty-gritty features for advertisers is over…
Well, almost… Google announced A/B testing for Shopping Ads in Google Merchant Center Next — including AI-enabled recommendations on how to improve your titles, images, etc.
This was something that was lacking, so I’m super happy about this update.
Google also showed the new channel reporting for Performance Max campaigns, which was already announced a while ago.
Although not new, it’s a great feature we welcome with open arms.
Observation 5: Google is pushing YouTube more than ever before.
Bob observed that Google is really doubling down on AI-powered discovery and multimodal understanding.
In other words: helping people discover products in real-time, across different platforms.
And that’s exactly why Google is pushing YouTube so hard now (via Demand Gen campaigns).
In the upcoming years, it’s gonna be a great cash cow for Google.
I liked the Creator Partnerships Hub that is coming to Google Ads:
Google is doubling down on Influencer Marketing, making it easy to find and partner with creators directly in Google Ads (including pricing, audience sizes, etc.).
And Google is going to roll out video ads in Search & Shopping results soon — that’s an actual gamechanger…
Observation 6: Google is great a repackaging older features.
I have to call Google out: they are the masters of taking old features, and putting them in a new “jacket” (as we say in the Netherlands).
For example:
AI Max for Search was hyped as the next big thing, with keywordless targeting that will take everything to the next level.
But after digging more into what it actually is, it’s just a combination of Broad Match, auto-generated ads, and DSA.
Not groundbreaking at all, but they make it seem so.
In addition, Google said goodbye to the “Power Pair” (Performance Max + Search), and introduced the idea of the “Power Pack” (LOL, cringeeee).
This is Google’s new holy grail and I expect this to be the main talking point for reps moving forward.
It felt like a huge buzzword, and also not groundbreaking at all.
Observation 7: Google tried really hard to show its dominance.
My last observation has nothing to do with the actual announcement, but the way Google talked about the announcements:
They used a lot of (what we call in the Netherlands) “big muscle language”.
In simple words: they were really hyping up their own successes, putting a lot of time and effort into saying how fantastic YouTube is, how small features are “gamechangers” because of a flat 10% uplift in performance, and how they’re processing billions if not trillions of searches per year.
It makes you think: when someone is putting so much effort into saying how good he is, is he really that good?
Quick recap.
And that’s it, 7 observations after GML 2025:
- AI does really change extremely fast.
- AI is lowering the barrier to entry even more.
- AI is changing the Shopping experience.
- The days of nitty-gritty features for advertisers are over.
- Google is pushing YouTube more than ever before.
- Google is great at repackaging older features.
- Google tried really hard to show their dominance.
What was your favorite announcement of GML 2025?
Feel free to reply, I’d love to hear from you!
Final note: don’t forget to sign up for our free workshop!
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Thank you for reading, catch you next week!
Cheers,
Miles (& Bob)
