Google’s Ads Chief Details UCP Expansion, New AI Mode Ads

Google’s VP of Advertisements and Commerce, Vidhya Srinivasan, printed her third annual letter to the trade, outlining how the corporate plans to attach promoting, commerce, and AI throughout Search, YouTube, and Gemini in 2026.

The letter covers agentic commerce, AI-powered advert codecs, creator partnerships, and artistic instruments. A number of of the bulletins construct on options Google previewed at NRF 2026 in January and detailed throughout its Q4 2025 earnings call earlier this month.

What’s New

UCP Adoption

The letter confirms that the Common Commerce Protocol now powers purchases from Etsy and Wayfair for U.S. customers inside AI Mode in Search and Gemini. Google mentioned it has acquired curiosity from “tons of of high tech corporations, funds companions and retailers” since launching UCP.

When Google announced UCP at NRF, the corporate mentioned the protocol was co-developed with Shopify and that greater than 20 corporations had endorsed it.

Google additionally mentioned UCP’s potential “extends far past retail,” describing it as the inspiration for agentic experiences throughout all industrial classes.

AI Mode Advert Codecs

Srinivasan wrote that Google is testing a brand new advert format in AI Mode that highlights retailers providing merchandise related to a question and marks them as sponsored. The letter describes the format as serving to “customers simply discover handy shopping for choices” whereas giving retailers visibility throughout the consideration stage.

The letter additionally talked about Direct Presents, the advert pilot Google introduced at NRF that lets companies share tailor-made offers with customers in AI Mode. Google plans to develop Direct Presents past price-based promotions to incorporate loyalty advantages and product bundles.

Creator-Model Matching

Srinivasan described YouTube creators as “at the moment’s most trusted tastemakers,” citing a Google/Kantar research of two,160 weekly video viewers. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan outlined related creator and commerce priorities in his personal annual letter final month.

The letter highlights new AI-powered instruments that match manufacturers with creator communities primarily based on content material and viewers evaluation. Google mentioned it began with its “open name” characteristic for sourcing creator partnerships and plans to go additional in 2026.

Artistic Asset Stats

Google mentioned it noticed a 3x improve in Gemini-generated property in 2025, and that This autumn alone accounted for almost 70 million property throughout AI Max and Efficiency Max campaigns, in accordance with Google inner information.

Srinivasan wrote that Veo 3, Google’s video technology instrument, is now in Google Advertisements Asset Studio alongside the beforehand launched Nano Banana.

AI Max Efficiency Claims

Srinivasan wrote that AI Max is “unlocking billions of net-new searches” that advertisers had not beforehand reached.

Google introduced AI Max as an growth instrument for Search campaigns and mentioned its efficiency throughout the This autumn earnings name.

Why This Issues

We’ve coated every main announcement on this letter because it was made. The UCP checkout announcement got here at NRF in January. The retailer tradeoff questions adopted days later. The pricing controversy performed out the identical week. The AI Mode monetization details got here by way of throughout the earnings name.

What this letter provides is an even bigger image of the place Google’s management sees these items becoming collectively. Srinivasan says that is the yr agentic commerce strikes from idea to working actuality, with UCP because the connective layer throughout purchasing, funds, and AI brokers.

For advertisers, the notable updates are the growth of Direct Presents past value reductions and the testing of AI Mode advert codecs in journey. For ecommerce shops, the Etsy and Wayfair affirmation reveals that UCP checkout is processing actual transactions with recognizable retailers. However the open questions I raised in January’s coverage about Service provider Middle controls, opt-in mechanics, and reporting stay unanswered.

Trying Forward

Srinivasan’s letter didn’t embody particular launch dates for the options coming later this yr. Google Advertising and marketing Dwell, the corporate’s annual advertisements occasion, takes place within the spring and could be the seemingly venue for extra detailed bulletins.

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